Skip to main content

Following a knitting pattern - first steps

Now that I have mastered socks, I decided it was time to start on the vest that I have been wanting to make since I started knitting a few years ago.  I have been collecting vest patterns from the op shop, this booklet was 20c.

cheap knitting pattern booklet
There's a few things to look for before starting a new pattern.  First look at the sizes and figure out which size you will be knitting.  I then go through and underline the stitches for the size I'm making.  Next check that you have everything you need.  This pattern specifies 8 ply yarn (the ply is the thickness).  The ply should be written on the wrapper, if you buy yarn from the market like I do, and it doesn't have a wrapper, you can work it out roughly by wrapping the yarn around a needle and measuring the width of a set number of loops, for example here.  This pattern also uses 4mm and 3.25mm needles, you can check your needle sizes with a ruler.  The most important part though is the gauge or tension.  This is the number of stitches per cm, on the specified needles, for example this pattern has a tension of 22.5 stitches per 10cm in stockenette stitch.  I stitched up a nice size 22 stitch swatch just to be sure.  Mine was just over 10cm, which means that my vest will turn out a little bigger than the pattern, so I chose a slightly smaller size that normal.

reading the pattern
Finally, check that you have enough yarn.  The pattern will list the yarn requirements for each size pattern.  For this one I need 6 50g balls of 8 ply, and as the yarn I want to use is in 100g balls, and I have 4 of them, I think I'm pretty safe.  Nothing worse than running short on yarn, especially if its from the markets and you probably can't get any more the same!

Its also a good idea to read through the pattern and make sure you can follow most of the steps.  I tend to read each step in detail as I come to it, otherwise I get confused by steps that I'm not up to yet, but it does help to have a rough idea of what is coming up next.  Then just focus on completing each step as accurately as possible.

checking the tension
Having done all that, its finally time to start casting on 105 stitches!  Wish me luck!  Any tips for starting a knitting pattern?

Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Simple Saturdays Blog Hop
From the Farm Blog Hop
Homestead Barn Hop
The HomeAcre Hop 
Labels:

Comments

  1. thingsforboysSeptember 17, 2013 at 8:17 AM

    Good luck! I think you're going about it the right way. Read only a couple of steps ahead rather than the whole thing so that you don't get overwhelmed. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LaneSeptember 17, 2013 at 11:02 PM

    I like to go through a pattern and mark the instructions for the size I am making. Nothing is worse than realizing you are working on "large"number of stitches for your "medium" sweater! Vests are fun to make.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 27, 2013 at 12:06 PM

      yes exactly and usually I'm trying so hard to get everything else right, its easy to make a simple mistake and have completely the wrong number of stitches!

      Delete
  3. KathiSeptember 25, 2013 at 1:06 PM

    Thank you for sharing at the HomeAcre Hop! I hope you'll join us again this Thursday.

    Kathi @ http://www.oakhillhomestead.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

Popular posts from this blog

The new Eight Acres website is live!

Very soon this blogspot address will automatically redirect to the new Eight Acres site, but in the meantime, you can check it out here .  You will find all my soaps, ebooks and beeswax/honey products there, as well as the blog (needs a tidy up, but its all there!).  I will be gradually updating all my social media links and updating and sharing blog posts over the next few months.  I'm very excited to share this new website with you!
4 comments
Read more

Farm update - August 2017

Its been cold this month, and very nice to have the fire going every night.  Here's a photo of my boy in his cape, great for late night woofing at things.  Most of July we were either preparing for the butcher to come or putting meat away.  Its always a big job, but its only once a year, and its all done now.  My lovely neighbour came over to help, so it was fun to have the company and work together.  Taz was a champion once again as she helped us to move cattle in the yards ready to load for the market.  Gus is not at that level yet and had to stay home (he cries when he gets left behind, but he just gets in the way and scatters the cattle).  We have had a few sprinkles of rain here and there, but also plenty of cold nights, so the grass is mostly dead and dry, waiting for the warmer weather to revive our summer-active pasture. Gus in his cape Taz after she helped to move cattle Food and cooking It was all about beef in July and we are v...
2 comments
Read more

Neem oil for insect control

** Sign up for my weekly email updates here , you will find out more about soap and our farmlife, straight to your inbox, never miss a post!  New soap website and shop opening soon.... I also make neem soap, neem insect repellent and neem salve, all available in my Etsy shop .** A few weeks ago now I was watering the garden just after dark, torch in one hand, hose in the other, when I was attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes (mozzies).  I could feel them biting me, but there wasn’t much I could do with both hands in use and I really needed to finish watering.  When I came inside I found that I had several bites on each leg between the top of my gumboots and the bottom of my shorts.  These proceeded to itch, swell and annoy me for several days. At this time of year, when the mozzies start biting, as I do have such a terrible reaction to the bites, I usually reach for my bottle of conventional insect repellent, typically containing DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamid...
21 comments
Read more