Handmade knitted gifts for individuals with limited dexterity
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All the products designed by My Grandmother’s Old Singer are available as downloadable patterns and knitting kits if you want to make your own!
We have provided a guide for beginner knitters.
Check out the following articles if you have questions about knitting our patterns.
If you want to eventually knit more than scarves, it’s important to understand knitting tension and gauge swatches.
Tension refers to how tight or loose your specific knitting is. It is 100% all about YOUR knitting style. This is dictated by how tight you pull the yarn tail while you’re knitting. Often Continental style knitters (or pickers) will have looser tension than English style (or throwers). But again, it’s all about your style.
A Gauge Swatch is typically 4 in x 4 in piece a knitter uses to test their tension with a specific yarn and needle combination.
If you are following another knitter’s pattern your tension and gauge swatches can make or break a project. Imagine spending a month knitting a sweater only to try in on and realize it’s too big or too small. But you followed the pattern perfectly! What’s up?
If your knitting tension is tighter than the pattern writer your piece will end up being too small.
If your knitting tension is looser your pieces will end up being too big.
I’ve already said that tension is 100% about YOUR knitting style. Knitting patterns should have always have gauge information.
Yarn and needle sized used.
The size of the gauge swatch. Often this is 4 inches x 4 inches but can vary.
The number of stitches to cast on and rows to knit to produce a gauge swatch of the specified size.
A stitch or pattern type. This generally is the most common stitch type used in the pattern or simple stockinette stitch.
So you knit your gauge swatch and it perfectly matches the pattern. Great! Rock on with your sweater!
But what if it doesn’t?
Step one, don’t panic, grab a towel.
Kidding about the towel.
If you’re not off by very much, try knitting another swatch but make an effort to loosen up on the tension. If that works, continue the project using that same loose tension.
If you’re way off, use larger needles. How many sizes larger depends on how far off your search is. It may take some experimenting, but it is time well spent!
Off by a little? Re-swatch trying to get a tighter tension.
Off by a lot? try smaller needles.
I hate making gauge swatches. When you are so gung-ho about a new project the last thing you want is to delay getting started. But gauge swatching really matters for anything fitted! I’m serious. Do it!
So what if it’s not fitted? If I’m knitting a scarf I don’t really care if it’s 15 inches wide or 15.5 inches wide. I don’t gauge swatch. Has it bitten me in the butt? Yeah. Big time. But what can I say, it’s how I roll.
If you’ve been knitting a while: Your skill, comfort level, and bravery will determine how much and when you gauge swatch.
If you’re new: Do it for every project. EVERY PROJECT. {insert stern face here}
Do not be surprised if your tension changes over time! Styles change. In the beginning you don’t have the technique down. You’re thinking about EVERY stitch. As your comfort level grows, knitting becomes more automatic. Give yourself some time to establish a routine and style while knitting and your tension will become much more even.
Keep learning with more illustrated tutorials and guides:
How to Knit – Getting Started Yarn Weights and Needle Size Conversion Chart
(How to get stitches off the needles)
You learned how to cast on, knit and purl stitches? Once you’re done with your project, then what? Well, you’ve gotta get stitches off the needle.
Each stitch on your needle is a “live” stitch. Meaning if you drop one of those stitches off the needle it will unravel AAALLLL the way down to the bottom. I know that sounded really scary, but don’t worry. I’m going to teach you how to bind off each stitch so they don’t unravel.
There are literally dozens of ways to bind off your work when knitting. There are super stretchy ones, tubular ones, decorative methods. You name it. I’m going to cover a very basic, perfect for beginners, bind off method. It will get the job done for anything edge that doesn’t need to be super stretchy.
Once your work is the length you want or you’ve finished the pattern, move the needle with the stitches to your left hand.
Work one stitch in pattern. Purl on a purl stitch or knit a knit stitch.
Work another stitch in pattern for a total of two stitches on your right needle.
Insert left needle into the first stitch on the right needle. Basically you are picking up the first stitch worked with your left needle.
Using the left needle, pull the first stitch over the second stitch.
When you have one stitch remaining, cut the yarn tail. Leave at least 3 inches attached to your piece.
Pull the yarn tail through the single remaining stitch and pull tight to secure.
Congrats!! Lets go over all the things you’ve learned so far.
Casting On
Knit Stitch
Purl Stitch
Casting Off/Binding Off
You’ve also probably learned a lot about needles and yarn. What did you make this time? Maybe just a little square. Or something more substantial? If you’re new to this, try making a little washcloth. Grab some cotton yarn (from any craft store) and knit a square. If you’ve been at this for a little longer try a hat or ear warmer! Keep practicing!
Every fancy knit stitch or intricate pattern is created from only two types of stitches. That’s right, just two! Recap time: If you read the tutorial on the knit stitch then you’re halfway there. Purl stitch is basically a backward knit stitch. If you look at a regular sweater, the purl stitch is the one that makes the bumpy side. A knit stitch makes the smooth side with little “v” shaped stitches.
Here’s the fun part, the backside of a knit stitch looks like the front side of a purl stitch. And visa-versa. Using knit vs purl stitches depends on what you want you want the front of your work to look like.
Creating a stitch involves inserting the right needle into first stitch on the left needle. Insert the needle from the front to the back with yarn held in the back to create a knit stitch. Insert the needle from back to the front with yarn held in the front to create a purl stitch.
So let’s break down the purl stitch. Make sure you’ve got your yarn and needles and you have stitches cast on. Don’t freak out if that meant nothing to you. Click back through the getting started guide and tutorial on how to cast on stitches and you’ll be all set!
How to Knit – Getting Started How to Knit – Casting On
Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand. Insert the right hand needle into the first stitch from back to front. The pointy end of the right needle should point toward you.
Hold the yarn tail in front of the work. Loop the yarn around the right needle from right to left. Make sure the yarn comes forward in between the two needles.
Bring the right needle from the front to the back. Make sure to catch the looped yarn tail with the tip of the right needle.
Slip the first stitch off the left needle. You now have a new stitch on the right needle.
Repeat steps 1-4 until all the stitches have been worked from the left needle to the right needle. Each time you move all the stitches from the left needle to the right needle is called a Row. Move the needles with the stitches to your left hand and purl another row. Keep going until your piece is as long as you want it to be.
Yarn is held along the front of the work for a purl stitch.
Hold the yarn with whichever hand feels right for you.
I wrap the yarn tail around my pinky finger to help create a little tension on the stitches. Read up on what tension is and why it’s important here.
Holding the needles and yarn and coordinating both hands to work together can take some time to master. The only way to get better at this is to PRACTICE! Don’t worry, it’ll soon start to feel normal/comfortable/like an extension of your body.
So there you go! Keep practicing! If you are brand new, you’ll practice this stitch today and then tomorrow pick up the needles and feel like you are starting from scratch again. Don’t Freak Out! Don’t give up! Bookmark this page and come back tomorrow and we’ll go through it again. You’ll build up muscle memory and this will get easier!
If you’ve been with me from the beginning (AKA: the getting started guide) you’ll know that any pattern (no matter how complex) is made up of combinations and adaptations of two basic stitches, knit and purl. Knit stitches create a little “v” shaped stitch that is smooth on the front. Purl stitches create nubby or bumpy stitches. Creating a knit stitch vs a purl stitch is all about how you insert the right-hand needle into the stitch and wrap the yarn.
To create a stitch you insert the right needle into first stitch on the left needle. Inserting the needle from front to back with yarn held in the back produced a knit stitch. Inserting the needle from back to the front with yarn held in the front produced a purl stitch.
So let’s break down the knit stitch. Make sure you’ve got your yarn and needles and you have stitches cast on. Don’t freak out if that meant nothing to you. Click back through the getting started guide and tutorial on how to cast on stitches and you’ll be all set!
How to Knit – Getting Started How to Knit – Casting On
Hold the needle with the cast on stitches in your left hand. Right hand holds the empty needle. Check back for more information on holding the needles and yarn right here.
Insert the right needle into the first stitch from front to back.
Loop the yarn tail around the right needle. Yarn should loop behind and come forward between the two needles.
**NOTE: Notice the needles are turned in this picture to show how the yarn comes in between.
Next, bring the right needle forward through the first stitch on the left needle. Catch the wrapped yarn as you go, bring it forward with the right needle.
Slip the first stitch off the left needle.
The good news: You have now created a new stitch on the right needle!! Whoop!
The not as great new: You have to do this many more times. Ha! But it’s worth it. Keep going!
Each time you work all the stitches from the left needle to the right needle this is called a Row.
Move the needles with the stitches into your left hand and knit another row. Keep knitting rows until your piece is a long as you like.
Yarn is held along the back of the work for a knit stitch.
Hold the yarn with whichever hand feels right for you.
I wrap the yarn tail around my pinky finger to help create a little tension on the stitches. More on what tension is and why it’s important can be found here.
Holding the needles and yarn and coordinating both hand to work together can take some time to master. The only way to get better at this is to PRACTICE! Don’t worry, it’ll soon start to feel normal/comfortable/like an extension of your body.
So there you go! Keep practicing! If you are brand new, you’ll practice this stitch today and then tomorrow pick up the needles and feel like you are starting from scratch again. Don’t Freak Out! Don’t give up! Bookmark this page and come back tomorrow and we’ll go through it again. You’ll build up muscle memory and this will get easier!
I’m providing this Yarn Weight and Needle Size Conversion Chart to help you choose the right needle for your yarn or visa versa. Yarn weights in this chart give an approximation of appropriate needles size.
Your own tension as you knit.
How dense or loose you want your piece to be.
Needle size and yarn weight specified in your pattern.
When in doubt, gauge swatch first! More on gauge swatches and knitting tension can be found here.
How to Choose Knitting Needles How to Choose Yarn
Liz@mygranmothersoldsinger.com
