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yarn in the opposite direction for your yarnover before a purl. Instead of bringing the yarn between the needles and then wrapping over, wrap over the needle to the front first and then immediately do your purl. That should shorten up the amount of yarn used." Joan also recommends vigorously blocking lace / openwork patterns:
"Many times a stringent blocking will even things up immensely". Kathy adds: don't forget to do that gauge swatch -- try wrapping both ways and blocking your swatch first to see which looks best.
When shaping openwork patterns, please remember the buddy system. All increases should have a paired decrease to keep stitch count constant. For example, if you are shaping a neckline and a yarnover is eliminated, you must also eliminate
its "buddy" decrease. If there are not enough stitches to work the pairs, work in stockinette stitch or the background pattern until there are enough stitches. The reverse is true when increasing stitches for sleeves.
Thoughts on twist stitches~
The slip, slip, knit decrease is the recommended method of choice to "mirror" a K2tog decrease, so that the decreases will be slanted appropriately -- ssk to the left,
K2tog to the right. This visual effect also applies to working twist stitch patterns.
To work a right twist (RT), knit 2 stitches together but do not slip off needle, knit the first stitch again, then slip both stitches off the needle together. To make a "mirrored" twist in the opposite direction, work the left twist (LT) by knitting the 2nd stitch on the needle through the back loop, knitting the first stitch and the second stitch together through the back loop, then slipping both stitches of the needle together…
August 2002 tips and ideas
Need to organize your circular knitting needle stash? Here's a great tip from our customer, Linda Sporlein. Linda keeps her circular needles
in the original packaging and uses a large stitch holder to gather circular needles of the same length in numerical order (inserting the holder through the hole in the top of the package). She keep her double-pointed needles together with 16" circular needles of the same sizes, since these may be needed for the same project. Thanks, Linda, for sharing your idea…
August 2002 tips and ideas continued
For binding off in the round, when you have one stitch remaining, knit one more stitch into the first bound-off stitch. Pull the right stitch over the left stitch, cut yarn and pull through loop. Weave tail through inside of ladder for a couple inches to secure.
For binding off when working flat in rows, at the last stitch, pick up both the stitch from the previous row and the stitch you would normally work, then bind them off together. This action pulls the last stitch down from the ribbing.
Cast off in pattern when binding off ribbing. If a looser bind off is desired (ex., when knitting socks), pull each stitch after you knit it, gently stretching between the two needles. Then, pull the right stitch over the left stitch, but do not tighten.
Sock patterns worked in the traditional manner from the cuff down may also be worked
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