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jjarachne
New Pal
6 Posts |
 Posted - 09/18/2003 : 11:03:20 AM
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I'm a non knotter. I either "spit splice" or else overlap old and new ends and knit 2-3 stitches weaving in the ends as I do the next row or so. If the 2 together looks too bulky I unravel and cut each end back so there is half on one end and half on the other to knit together. Works for me.
I don't much like the woven in effect since those ends can work their way to the public side and show up, thus the splicing.
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cannd
New Pal
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 11:07:41 AM
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I too have knotted and woven in the ends. I have tried the weaving in the ends without a knot and had the dreaded loose ends turn into a hole. I generally do a loose knot until I am half inch to an inch above the join, then i tighten on the wrong side or keep loose and weave in the ends for afhans , shawls and scarves.
Diane Cannizzaro |
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cannd
New Pal
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 11:07:48 AM
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I too have knotted and woven in the ends. I have tried the weaving in the ends without a knot and had the dreaded loose ends turn into a hole. I generally do a loose knot until I am half inch to an inch above the join, then i tighten on the wrong side or keep loose and weave in the ends for afhans , shawls and scarves.
Diane Cannizzaro |
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myronroy2@cox.net
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Posted - 09/18/2003 : 11:41:56 AM
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I also having been knitting for many years and I knot as I go along. Have put many hours into projects without knotting only to have them come undone.
Elaine
Tiverton,R.I. |
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Genie
New Pal
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 12:16:39 PM
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Gosh, I am so happy so many of you have come out of the closet and admitted you knot! All this time I thought knotting was a no-no!
I knot and weave, normally with very good results. But then, I'm also one of those persons who uses 100 yards of mailing tape on an UPS package and 50 wraps around a button. Guess my creed is that a knot in time saves a sweater or whatever. I try to do the knots at the ends of rows where possible. I'm had some of those store-bought sweaters with ends barely woven in that come undone and are too short either to reweave or knot. What a mess! Sure don't want my knitting to earn that reputation.
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mswoozie@yahoo.com
New Pal
11 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 3:50:53 PM
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I feel so much better. The owner of my LYS chastised me when I explained how I was excited to move on from afghans and scarves to sweaters because I wouldn’t have to weave in my ends. I thought she was going to have a spell when I told her.
Thanks for the relief!
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luv2knit944
Permanent Resident
USA
1789 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 4:54:43 PM
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I`ve noticed that most of you knot your yarns.I guess I`m a little different.I usually like to start a new yarn at edge,unless i`m doing something circular or an afghan.But wherever I start another skein I knit the first stitch with both the piece I ended with & the new skein.This works good for me.Just a suggestion.
Pauline |
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Frances
New Pal
Australia
3 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 5:47:00 PM
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Hi everyone I often knot too - usually I knot when there is a seam and weave in the ends. However, if I think the knot is obvious then I often undo the knot and weave in the ends - I think if you leave a long enought piece to weave in then it wont come undone. I have been knitting for a very long time and have knitted a lot of cotton garments and I have never had one come undone in the wash. However, I must add that after taking the time to handknit a garment I usually take a little care with the washing, however nothing too time consuming!!
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mmurray@flk.com
New Pal
7 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 6:08:26 PM
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I tie knots and weave in ends, compulsively. I don't make knots in the middle of the work, though, since it leads to funny gaps or strange tension. It's not too hard to just do it at the seams.
Does anyone really use fabric glue? |
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chicksinger@surfbest.net
Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 6:13:09 PM
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| Oh, this is a good topic!!! I'm a relatively new knitter, so I will set the scene in crochet for you: I'm sitting crocheting a sweater and, gasp, THE SKEIN OF YARN I'M WORKING WITH WAS TIED IN A KNOT AT THE FACTORY. There were actually TWO knots in this particular skein. Hey, what was I supposed to do, right? This was long ago in my crochet career, so I went with the flow, carefully crocheted the next stitch, pulled the knot tight, cleverly hid it on the "wrong" side of the garment, and weaved in the ends of the tie. No one was any wiser than I, and I dare ya to find the knot!!!! Knots away. Since that day, I've had peace of mind tying knots when joining in yarn...ESPECIALLY in an open weave like crochet. So now in my knitting, I'm a knotter. |
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lottasocks
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2003 : 10:20:24 PM
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| I've been a knitter for many years. I always knot loosely and then redo the knot a few inches of rows later, and kind of massage the join area to ensure that the knot is comfortably placed in the back of the work and the threads are not strained so that a pucker will show where the knot might have been too tight. Depending on the use of the garment, I would usually not weave in the ends, in case I need or want to again rework the knot at some later date. Personally, I would not dream of only weaving in the ends. Even if its 100% wool, there is all that time prior to washing, when the fibers won't have really grabbed each other yet. I personally just wouldn't do it. As I'm thinking about it, I've sometimes just laid the new yarn in and not knotted until the row is finished. This takes quite a bit of babying the new yarn to ensure that the first new stitches are sufficiently tight. But then you don't have to "redo" the knot, only "do" the knot at the end of that row. This way you can still ensure that the knot is placed correctly at the back of the work. If this were my biggest worry I would be thrilled. Can't forget the bad old days when regardless of the beauty of one's stitches and knots, you could end up with a heck of a clunky looking garment. :^) Joy |
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eclaire26
Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 05:49:04 AM
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| I have been knitting for years and years, and worked for 2 1/2 years in a speciality yarn shop in Minnesota (had to leave when we moved to Ohio). We always told knitters not to knot. Weaving in ends works extremely well, as long as you leave a long enough tail. It does not come undone!!! Another great method, if you are working with one color, is to overlap the end of one ball with the beginning of the new ball for about 6", and knit the two together, easily moving from the old to the new. It is a little bit bulkier, but it does not show up in the finished product. I have done it forever, with all types of yarn, and can never tell where the join is. My newest way to join is the one that is used in the "Domino Knitting" book, which involves weaving in the old ends as you knit the new ball. This you can do with different colors of yarn, and it does not show at all. It's a wonderful technique, and if all my books were unpacked, I could describe it better for you. |
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yachting5@yahoo.com
USA
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Posted - 09/19/2003 : 09:19:34 AM
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Funny you should ask.!! I attended a knitting demo with Lilly Chin (author and fastest crocheter fame)this past week end. She demonstrated tieing the ends just to keep the stitches from loosening while you're knitting then untieing them when you do your finish work. Not only do you have shorter tails but you illiminate those loose stitches when changing colors, etc. Soooooooo just make one tie, not a knot. Try it, you'll see how easy it all works and then you won't have a bump with your finished work.
Good luck and happy knitting.
Anne
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frodosmom
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
480 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 09:44:19 AM
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Here's the link that demonstrates the Russian join. (Thanks to Vicky and Susan T-O for the information)
www.knittinganyway.com/freethings/russianjoin.htm
This join looks very easy and will likely work with most yarns. If joining intarsia, you would need to practise getting the join in exactly the right place. I have always used knots after my mom's granny-square afghan fell apart in dozens of places, but now I will start using the Russian join wherever possible.
Margaret |
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Heather
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
456 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 1:43:38 PM
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Ok, tell me what you think of this: I enjoy knitting fairisle, but even when knit in the round you have 1,000,000 ends to work in. Somewhere I read (in a real-live book) that you can eliminate most of that by tying the two different yarns together in a square knot when changing colors at the end of a round, then breaking the yarn off with a short tail. I have made a few sweaters employing this technique and it is VASTLY less excruciating than weaving in the ends. So far, I have never had troubles. The yarn has always been fairly fine wool, like Alice Starmore's Scottish Campion or Jamieson's whatever--size 2 & 3 needles. Is this heresy? I am so converted that I don't think I can change.
--Heather
How often I saw where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else... --R.Buckminster Fuller |
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draymer
Permanent Resident
USA
1481 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 4:18:47 PM
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Well, I think I responded above that I NEVER knot. I just took my DD's cotton dress out of the dryer - and the ends I had Oh so carefully woven in had come through to the right side! I have decided, for her clothing, from now on, if I can't do the Russian Join, I'm knotting!
JM2C,
Debra
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myshelle10
Permanent Resident
USA
2749 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 4:34:22 PM
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I usually dont' knot with wool-- it doesn't seem to go anywhere... but what about mercerized cotton? Since it's slippery, won't it come undone if it's not knotted? (I'm thinking whether or not to knot must depend a bit on the yarn, no?)
myshelle |
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vicky by the bay
Permanent Resident
USA
4768 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 8:53:36 PM
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Oh Good you found it! I love this join. I'm not sure you could use this precisely....but it works well in the middle of a row...You will love it and it's easy once you practice a bit!
quote:
Here's the link that demonstrates the Russian join. (Thanks to Vicky and Susan T-O for the information)
www.knittinganyway.com/freethings/russianjoin.htm
This join looks very easy and will likely work with most yarns. If joining intarsia, you would need to practise getting the join in exactly the right place. I have always used knots after my mom's granny-square afghan fell apart in dozens of places, but now I will start using the Russian join wherever possible.
Margaret
Vicky (Queen O'Yarn archivist-QYA) |
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lit+knit
New Pal
6 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2003 : 10:03:20 PM
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This is my first post --I've been inspired by this discussion and curious that more people don't use my favorite join method, so of course I have to weigh in and try to talk you into it. I didn't even know this trick had a name until while reading posts today I saw the "spit splice." Although the idea of spitting on your yarn may sound odd, this is a terrific way to join yarn with no ends, knots, weaving, worrying, although it only works with wool. I've learned to overcome my hesitation at spitting on my yarn -- but I sometimes think twice if I'm riding in the car and someone might see me! I guess that's some deeply buried "not ladylike" taboo.
Anyway, there's a link that shows how to do the join at sheewe.com, but I learned from a teacher at the LYS and rather than undoing plys I just pull a little fiber out of each end to keep the join from being bulky.
I can't wait to try the Russian join on cotton, though, and I also weave in ends or knot them as the need arises --I seem to remember lots of knots on the steeks of my one and only fair isle, although I don't think they're really supposed to need it. But the armholes have lasted 9 or 10 years so far on a vest for my husband.
Ok, now that that's off my chest I can go introduce myself ... |
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berlinknits
Chatty Knitter
230 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2003 : 7:31:02 PM
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I thought I would pass along the advice I got from my knitting teacher. She says that she recommends that on slick yarn or certain cottons to make the first part of a square knot and then weave those ends in. On wool she suggests that you do not knot it as it is sticky enough to hold. That's what I ended up doing on the cotton sweater.
http://berlinknits.blogspot.com |
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