Holiday Knitting Is A Marathon (by Robyne Devine)

Say what you will about me, but I’ve already begun my 2010 holiday knitting. One of the joys of the holiday season for me is giving the gift of something hand-made; from hats to sweaters to mittens, I love the look on a loved-ones face when they open a package full of items I’ve made just for them.

Gifting handmade takes far more time than gifting store-bought, however. Making each individual item takes a far amount of time – there’s the picking out of patterns and yarn, sizing items properly, not to mention the actual knitting! To keep myself from losing my mind (and giving myself Carpel Tunnel) this November, I’ve already begun my holiday knitting.

Getting your holiday knit on this early is as easy as a few simple planning steps. Here’s how I got myself into the holiday groove so early.

First, I spent some time making my Gift List. I put everyone’s name into a document on my computer, and started to figure out what each person might like. For some, it’s as simple as a hat or a pair of mittens. For others (like my nieces and nephew) something more substantial like a sweater was in order. I made this list as large and “Ideal World Knitting” as possible – practicality comes into play later.

Once the list was made, I started to figure out what I already had yarn for. This is key in getting as many hand-knits made for the holidays as possible, truth be told. If you’re constantly running to the store for more yarn, you’re cutting into precious knitting time and spending far more money than you may want.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find much of the yarn you need in your stash – in my case, I had enough yarn for at least five of the projects on my list. That’s when the fun really starts. I updated my list to reflect the yarn I already had, so that I could start figuring out what yarn I needed. If you don’t know what you need, you won’t know what to get!

I watch the sales at my local yarn shops as well as at the big box stores, and when I saw yarn on sale for a holiday knitting project I wanted to tackle, I snapped it up. Thanks to this, I was able to purchase almost all the yarn I’ll need for holiday knitting before April 1!

Once you have your yarn, or have begun to figure out what yarn you already have for your projects, you can begin knitting! I started knitting some of the smaller items (scarves, mittens, etc) right away. With the weather turning warmer every day here in the Midwest, I don’t want to get bogged down with too many larger pieces on my lap. Plus knocking out a bunch of smaller items will get more names crossed off the list faster – a huge mental boost! Figure out which project you want to knit first, and jump right in!

Finally, I designated an area in my craft room for holiday presents – it’s actually the top drawer of my “knitting dresser” for now. As I finish gift-able hand-knits, I write down basic information (who it’s for, yarn content, care instructions) and pin that piece of paper to the hand-knit so it doesn’t get lost. Then I store finished items until it comes time to gift! You may also want to keep a running list of what you’ve knit up and who it’s for, to help remind you at a glance which projects still need to be tackled. I’ve been using Ravelry for that so far, with much success.

Even if you don’t start your holiday knitting as early as I do, if you love to gift hand-made presents, a little organization can go a long way to keeping your gift-giving in order – and help keep you sane!

Knitting A Baby Sweater – Part One (by Robyn Devine)

Ok, you’ve been knitting for a bit now.  So far you have tackled making scarves and dish cloths.   You’re ready to move onto something a bit more challenging. You’re not sure about hats.  You know someone who is going to have a baby soon.  You’re thinking, ”Why not try to knit a baby sweater”?

Wait a minute.  Let’s give a baby sweater a little more thought.  Maybe you’re thinking a baby sweater would be too hard. Don’t let the thought of sleeves get you nervous.  Baby sweaters can be the easiest thing to knit. With a good pattern like the Five-Hour Baby Sweater to start you off right you’ll do fine.  You shouldn’t let your beginning knitter status sway you away from attempting a baby sweater.

That’s not to say there won’t be a few tricks which is why I’m here to help you out! The Five Hour Baby Sweater For Boys is one of my favorite items to knit.  I’ve been taking pictures and devising a tutorial to get you through the tricky parts.  Grab some size 10 needles and some worsted weight yarn and let’s get you knitting baby sweaters!

Step one: The cast on.  While this part of the project is something you may already have down, I wanted to take some time to talk about various cast on methods. The pattern in question calls for a knitted cast on. In this, you basically knit each stitch onto the needles.

For a sweater I like to use a long-tail cast on method (see the video for instructions if you need to here). It gives a firmer edge and as this is the edge closest to the baby’s face you’ll want to be sure it looks well constructed.

  

 

 

Step two: Work the collar.  This is the easiest part of the sweater – just a few rows of garter stitch (knitting every row).  Your sweater is starting to take shape. Are you getting excited?! Increases are next!

 

Step three: Increases for the yoke.  This tends to be where people start to freak out a bit. Beginner knitters may not know how to increase by knitting into both the front and the back of a stitch.  I’ve taken a few pictures to help explain it.

Photo one shows the needle ready to knit into the front of the stitch.  This is done like a regular knit stitch.  Before you drop the left-hand stitch off the needle pull your right-hand needle back into the stitch as shown in photo two. Then knit that stitch as well and you’ve increased one!  Continue following the pattern increasing like this through the five sets of yoke increases. You’re almost done with the top half of the sweater.

 

 Step four: Final increases.  Once those five sets of increases are done you’ve got just a few more rows to go before you can divide for the sleeves. First you need to add in your stitch markers and this row gets a bit tricky. The pattern has you both adding stitch markers and adding in a large set of increases at the same time.  Don’t get nervous – you can do it!

For this set of increases you’ll be using the *M1* increase in which you make one stitch. Instead of increasing into an already-established stitch, you’ll be making a stitch in between two already established stitches. The following photos illustrate how.

For each place you see a M1 note in the pattern simply make a loop on your right finger and transfer it to the right needle. Easy-peasy and you’ve made a stitch! Continue following the pattern adding stitch markers and making stitches through the row.

Finally, you’ll have to add a few more rows of *make one,  front and back* increases to finish off the yoke.  Since you’ve had so much practice at it you should fly right through it.

 

 Now step back and enjoy your work – you’ve officially knit half a baby sweater!

Up next in Part Two – Dividing for the arms, stitching those arms up (seems harder than it is!) and finishing off your sweater!

 

Robyn is a 30-something newlywed who has focused her life on craft, sustainability, and changing the planet for good. Having been a crafter most of her life, it wasn’t until recently she discovered she could meld her love of handmades with her passion to help the world become a better place for all humans, instead of a place that seemed to work only for a privileged few.

She divides her free time between knitting and scrapbooking most days, is in a constant battle with all the clutter threatening to take over her house, and truly believes that with a bit of compassion, some wool, and a slice of pizza, the world could be a happier place for all!
 
Visit Robyn’s blog: http://robyndevine.typepad.com