| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
 Posted - 10/12/2002 : 7:24:44 PM
|
Just last week I bought one of the circular row counters Clara talked aobut in this weeks letter. I like it a lot. I still have the problem that I can't remember whether I turned the dial already or not.
I "Knitting In Plain English", the author describes how to make your own. She takes a regular row counter (the kind you put on a straight needle) and uses a tapestry needle to run some thread through it. She then loops the thread thorugh a ring marker and puts that on her circular needle.
Another great tip from the book:
If you have to say, increase 6 times every 4 rows, make a chain of 6 safety pins. Every time you do an increase row, take one of the safety pins and attach it to your work. When you run out of pins, you have done all the increases. I did this on some sleeves and it works great.
The book has many other great tips, and I highly recommend it.
Anita
See my completed projects!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=977585&uid=619962&members=1 |
|
|
Jenanne
Chatty Knitter
154 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 04:51:55 AM
|
To help me remember if I've moved my row counter forward or not, I've got into the habit of ALWAYS knitting two stitches after incrementing it. So, if I change the number, I knit two stitches no-matter-what - that way I know I've incremented.
(I also just use thread to hang my counter from my circular work LOL!)
To keep track of decrease or increases, I do the math - and write it down if I need to. So I'll know that I need to increase on rows 34, 39, 44, 49, etc. This is part of my prepratory work before I ever pick up my needles. (I have severe memory problems - without tricks for keeping track, I'd never knit anything recognizable.)
--
Jenanne
http://www.jenanne.com/blogger.htm
|
 |
|
|
Dot
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
350 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 06:58:36 AM
|
I do the same thing Jenanne does. The first step in a project involving anything more than simple stitch pattern repeats is to plot it out row-by-row. And I always use a row counter. When I finish a row I click or turn the dial before turning the work, as if using the counter is the last stitch. I'm planning a couple of in-the-round projects (my first) for holiday gifts so will need to work out a similar "don't forget to hit the row counter" system for that method. I'm thinking that associating it with moving the marker might do the trick...that I'm not allowed to move the marker until I've counted the row. We'll see it if works when I get started.
That spaced-out knitting zone envelops me all too easily and without my system I could knit in pattern way beyond where I was supposed to increase or decrease.
|
|
|
|
megknits
Sustaining Member
USA
728 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2002 : 08:29:47 AM
|
I have a low-tech way to keep track of where I am when I'm doing a section of increases or decreases (i.e. "increase once every fourth row"). I take a two inch scrap of contrasting yarn and lay it on top of the yarn on a stitch next the increase as I'm working. That way I can see exactly where all the increases are and just count the rows above the last one to see if it's time to increase again. (This works better with stockingette stitch than with garter stitch, which I always have trouble counting.)
Meg
"Do not meddle into the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." |
|
|
|
tdunn
New Pal
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2002 : 05:02:56 AM
|
I, too, do a combination of all the things mentioned above. One trick we learned at a workshop with Carol Anderson was a variation of the linked safety pins. If you're working with a pattern where you have several types of shaping or pattern repeats going on at the same time (such as a complicated aran), take different colors of yarn to make markers for each element. If you have a pattern that repeats every four rows, make a chain of four loops and place at the beginning of the repeat. As you knit across, move down to the next hole corresponding to the row you are on in the pattern motif. If you use colored markers (marching the yarn markers) to highlight the title of each chart, you'll always know which row you are on in each chart. It's a good way to double check yourself along with using post-its. Hope this makes sense. I didn't realize how difficult it was to write out without "visual aids"!
I'm also one of those people who makes charts of all the shaping row numbers along with what to do. That way all I have to remember is to click over the row counter at the end of each row, and check my spreadsheet to see what's coming up next.
Theresa
"If you can't change your life, change your attitude." |
|
|
|
Emaruottolo
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
472 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2002 : 07:14:41 AM
|
I was wondering if the circular row counter could be used as the marker for the beginning of the rows. I am not used to knitting in the round, however, I am currently knitting a "Harry Potter" scarf that needs to be sewn into a tube. If I make another one, I think it would be easier to knit in the round, but I would need a row counter. Didn't know before that they actually make a circular counter. I always use a row counter on straight needles (one of my habits that I can't break) even if I don't really need to keep track.
"Happiness is not the destination, but the road traveled." |
|
|
|
katxena
Chatty Knitter
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2002 : 07:50:39 AM
|
I use the "straight row counter dangling by a string" method for all my knitting, circular or no. I attach it to a marker -- that way, every time I slide the marker over and feel the counter dangling there, I know to turn the dial.
Emaruottolo -- I use my dangling row counter as a "start of round" marker in circular knitting, and I use it between the first & second stitch of the RS row (or sometimes after the first pattern repeat -- it depends on the pattern) in flat knitting.
Kris
http://www.papaya-palace.com |
|
|
|
fmarrs
Guardian angel
USA
9776 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2002 : 7:13:45 PM
|
I use yarn markers almost exc;usively but I always incorporate them withing the knitting fabric because if I put them at the end of the knitting they tend to be ignored or dissappear. I tend to zone out when knitting and use anything I can to make counting automatic or to get my attention when I have to make changes. The only reason I pay attention to my yarn markers is because they have to be moved.
fran
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Knitter's Review Forums |
© 2001-2013 Knitter's Review |
|
|
|
|
Topic Locked
