Knitting Rules! (39 page)

stash.
The yarn you've squirreled away for a rainy day. Possessing a stash is not only noble and decent, but a source of inspiration as well. Don't allow others to make you feel guilty about your stash, even if it has reached WHACO (see below) proportions. Practice looking unbelievers straight in the eye and asking them how much paint they thought Michelanglo had. By the way, there are several subgroups of stash. Canopy stash, for instance, represents that upper, transient layer that's usually first in and first out; well-aged stash is yarn that has probably taken up permanent residence.

SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).
Yarn you'll never have time to use. Quite common, and isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. After all, you want to have yarn to bequeath to your children, don't you?

steek.
A knitter's shortcut, and a terrifying one. Steeking is when a knitter cuts open her knitting to create armholes or fronts where only a tube existed before.

stitch gain.
The infuriating tendency of newbie knitting to grow in stitch count and width by surprising frequency. Can be countered by either frogging (see above) the work or (and I plead guilty to this one) knitting two together on a subsequent row. Not pretty, but it gives you the right number of stitches again. (It's also a one-way ticket to Ruffletown, but there are limits to how many times you're going to rip back something.)

stockinette stitch.
A tremendously popular stitch with all the flat knit stitches on one side and all of the bumpy purls on the other. If you're knitting back and forth, this is accomplished by knitting all the right-side rows and purling all the wrong-side rows. In circular knitting, you do this by knitting every single stitch, every single time. You know you're doing it right when you have either entered a state of Zen-like bliss, brought on by the meditative quality of the predictable pattern, or your brain begins to leak out of your left ear out of unrelenting boredom. Prolonged exposure to stockinette stitch can also cause an almost irresistible urge to whack a big honking cable right down the middle of a sleeve.

swift.
A wooden or metal yarn holder. Usually it clamps to a table and opens much like an umbrella to accommodate different sizes of skeins of yarn. A knitter places the skein on the swift, pulls an end free, and begins to pull, winding off the yarn into a ball as the swift turns. A swift replaces a family member bitter about the job of holding yarn for you.

tink.
Knit
spelled backwards, and the act of painstakingly undoing your work one stitch at a time. Used when the mistake is small and recent or when you're too afraid (for whatever reason) to pull the work off the needles.

UFO (unfinished object).
A project that's incomplete, and proud of it. A UFO is seldom found alone, but instead roams the knitter's home in packs. The discovery of one UFO should be regarded as a warning sign that there are
many, many more. There are reports of mythic “one-thing-at-a time” knitters but these are only anecdotal. A thorough search usually reveals several objects the knitter abandoned and consequently banished from memory.

WHACO.
An acronym for
Wool Housing and Containment Overload.
This will happen to almost all knitters eventually. It's the state reached when a knitter's stash outgrows her particular ability and her resources to contain it. This is usually a chronic condition, but periods of remission may occur when a knitter runs out of money (and is thus forced to knit some stash yarn) or moves to a bigger house.

wool.
A “gateway” yarn that has the potential to lead to alpaca, quiviut, and other natural fibers. Prolonged exposure to the loveliness of wool can also drag you straight down the path to felting, and, in the vulnerable, spinning.

yarn.
In a knitting context, anything you can knit. Highly addictive and to be approached with extreme caution and an awareness of one's budget. An important note: Yarn is not to be confused with wool. For, while wool is always a yarn, a yarn is not always wool.

yarn diet.
An approach to yarn control known to be ineffective in dropping permanent pounds from the stash. It can lead to dangerous wool bingeing and yo-yo dieting, wherein the knitter holds off on purchases, shrinks the stash, then rebounds to old yarn habits, gains back the merino, and adds nine balls of the silk. Not pretty to watch.

acrylics

blocking/steaming, cautions,
200

features,
10
,
47
,
49

identifying,
40
–41,
42

addiction, symptoms of,
14
–15

animal fibers, identifying,
42

artificial fibers, identifying,
40
–41

ash residue (burn test),
41

babies, head size,
117
,
118

back-of-chair method for estimating ball length,
46

balls, estimating amount of yarn in,
44
–46

beginning knitters

projects for,
153
,
155

stitches for,
213

stitch gain,
214

bigger stitches, how to make,
90

bleach test,
42

blocking

acrylics, cautions,
200

defined,
212

for sweaters,
195
–200

books, collecting and storing,
75
–77

borders for scarves,
160

burn test,
39
–41

button bands and cardigans,
200
–204

buttonholes,
203

cardigan sweaters,
200
–204

casein needles,
63

casting on

knitted-on cast-on,
214

long-tail cast-on,
214
–15

for scarves, formula for,
161
,
164

Christmas decorations,
89

circular needles

features and uses for,
58
–59

knitting swatches on,
87
,
94

using, tips for,
131

Circular Shawl: Method 1,
175
–76

Circular Shawl: Method 2,
176
–78

Circular Shawl: Method 3,
178
–80

color, variety of,
10

containers for yarn stash,
33
–34

cotton

bleach test,
42

burn test,
40
–41

features,
10
,
48
–49

felt-ability,
42

craft of knitting,
97
–99

creative possibilities

and the appeal of knitting,
9
,
14
,
51

hats,
120
–24

scarves,
156
–58

crochet hook,
68

darning needle,
68

Decreasing Triangular Shawl,
180
–81

detail, attention to

importance of in knitting,
8
,
54

project notebooks and,
71

during swatch-creation,
88

diets, yarn,
34
–36

double-pointed needles (DPN),
59
–60,
212

doubling rows,
175
–76

ease of garments,
212

emotional appeal of knitting,
8

entertainment value of knitting,
32
–33

entrelac technique,
212

equipment

appropriate, importance of,
77

knitting bags and contents,
64
–65

needles,
54
–63

etiquette for knitting in public,
22
,
23

exercise, knitting during,
23

Fair Isle technique,
112
,
146
,
199
,
213

fancy stitches, with hats,
122
–23

feet, human and sock length estimates,
130
,
140

felt-ability test,
42
–43

felting (fulling),
213

fiber types

identifying, tests for,
39
–41

and quality yarns,
50

summary,
46
–49

flattening stitches, tips,
112

focused knitters,
15

frog (frogging),
201
,
213
,
217

garter stitch,
213

gauge.
See also
swatches

defined,
213
–14

importance,
79

for knitting socks,
132

measuring, tips,
88

problems with, symptoms,
95
,
97

pros and cons,
80
–81

swatchless, cautionary tale,
92
–97

when to ignore,
81
,
83

when to pay attention to,
81
–82,
84
–85

and wraps per inch,
44

A Good, Plain Sock,
131
–33

grafting (Kitchener stitch),
141
,
142
,
166
,
214

hands

length of, and scarf measurements,
107
–8

watching while knitting,
98
–99

hand-spun yarns, limits,
97

hats

head sizes,
109
–11

length,
116
,
118

making more exciting,
120
–24

The No-Pattern Hat,
115
–20

other uses for,
125

reasons to knit,
104
–5

ribbed edges,
120

Scarf Rescue Hat,
107
–9

versus scarves, as beginner project,
106

tops, finishing options,
111
–13

troubleshooting problems with,
124
–25

who wears them,
113
–14

head sizes,
104
,
109
–11,
117
,
118

heels

heel flaps,
134
–35

picking up flap stitches,
137
–38

turning,
135
–37

Increasing Triangular Shawl,
181
–82

instep gussets,
138
–39

interested knitters,
14

Kitchener stitch.
See
grafting

knitted-on cast-on,
214

knitters

how to identify,
24
–25

types of,
13
–14,
18
–21

The Knitter's Almanac
(Zimmerman),
173

knitting.
See also
yarn

basic process,
7

creative possibilities,
9
,
14
,
51

emotional appeal,
8

passion for, explaining,
7

sensory appeal,
10
–11

therapeutic benefits,
149

knitting bag

reasons for carrying,
64
–66

suggested contents,
67
–69

knitting lace,
33

knitting library,
74
–75

knitting lifestyle,
7
,
10

knitting needles

blocking sweaters on,
200

casein,
63

circular,
58
–59

double-pointed,
59
–60

extra, including in knitting bag,
68

metal,
61
–62

miscellaneous types,
63

plastic,
62
–63

sizes,
54
–57

and stitch size,
90

straight,
57
–58

lace-edged scarf,
164
–66

lace patterns for socks,
146

ladders in socks,
148

length estimates

amount of yarn in yarn balls,
45
–46

button bands,
202

hats,
116
,
118

scarves,
107
–8,
157

socks,
130
,
150

linen, identifying,
40
–41

long-tail cast-on,
214
–15

magazines, managing and storing,
74
–75

mantilla,
172

materials, variety of,
7
,
10
.
See also
stash; yarn

McMorran balance,
45

measuring tape,
67

metal needles,
61
–62

metric sizing system,
55
–56

missionary knitters,
18
–19

mixed-needle projects, swatches for,
87

movies, knitting during,
22

mystery yarn, identifying

bleach test,
42

burn test,
39
–41

felt-ability test,
42
–43

it seems like … test,
43

weight calculations,
43
–44

in yarn stash, inevitability of,
37
–39