Neat tricks
Make-Do Needle Pushers
When I wrote More Hand-Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters, Colleen Smitherman allowed me to include her clever, clever method of making a “Make-Do Garter Bar” (MDGB). When I started knitting the sweater in the photo above I further adapted one of my MDGBs for a Make-Do Needle Pusher. If you have a copy of More-Hand…
Read MoreRepairing Cable Crosses
I don’t think there is anything as frustrating as finishing a cable-loaded sweater only to find a mis-crossing right in the front. Or anywhere, for that matter. I can tell you that it happened to me on more than one occasion and, rather than ripping it all out and starting again, this is the method…
Read MoreSingle Bed Drop Stitch
I did a couple of posts on drop stitch and enlarging stitches back in June of 2017, but I wanted to share this method with you as well because I think is is, simply put, a better approach that requires less fussing with the actual stitches. You can never have too many options to choose…
Read MorePopcorns 101
I’ve had a long “love affair” with popcorns because, for me, that is where the whole concept of bridging began. Once I learned how to make a popcorn with a separate strand of yarn, I was on a quest to eliminate all the ends and strings across the back of the fabric. For the first installment…
Read MoreMy Clean Machine!
Open Spaces: Exploring Eyelets, Ladders and Slits is done and out for proofing and my SK860 was as dirty as a machine could possibly be. I decided to give it a good cleaning this week – and to take pictures so I could share the info with you. If you click on each picture they…
Read MoreLatchtool B/O Around the Needles
I almost titled this blog “LK150 Bind Off” because that is the machine I usually work it on. A few blogs back I showed you a latch tool B/O around the sinker posts (gate pegs), but hobby machines like the LK150 and the European machines (Passap and Superba) do not have sinker posts. They have…
Read MoreLatchtool B/O Around the Needles
I almost titled this blog “LK150 Bind Off” because that is the machine I usually work it on. A few blogs back I showed you a latch tool B/O around the sinker posts (gate pegs), but hobby machines like the LK150 and the European machines (Passap and Superba) do not have sinker posts. They have…
Read MoreReduce Your Finishing Time!!
I really love finishing and handwork, but I don’t like what I call “stupid finishing” where I could have saved myself the work right from the start. So, whenever I can, I weave in my yarn ends as I go. Because I use mostly hand knitting yarns that do not come on big cones, I…
Read MoreUp-Cycled Claw Weights
Some of the claw weights in my stash date back decades and I have straightened teeth until I felt an Orthodontist! Recently I decided to “remodel” some of the really mangled claws into something useful. As most of you know, I do a lot of hand-manipulated stitches and right now I am nearing the end…
Read MoreButtonhole Sandwich Band – Delicious!
This buttonhole band has been around forever and is still a winner! The method of attaching the band can be applied to any sandwich band – plain, picot, patterned. The chained effect is on the inside of the garment (if you follow my directions) and a sort of back-stitched effect shows on the knit side,…
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