Tips on the January 2018 Knitcrate

photo by Dayana Knits

“Oooooooh!” Yes, that was me when I opened up my standard KnitCrate this month! I had heard there were three possible colorways coming from the yarn line Audine Wools by KNITCRATE, and was very happy to pull out this oh-so-sleek shade called Turtledove. “Is that gray?” I asked myself, moving in and out of daylight. “Bluish? Greenish?” Aha! It was exactly the color of the ‘pickling’ I had done to the wood outside of my house… that’s why I loved it!

photo by Dayana Knits

I also thought that the included knitting pattern, En Pointe Shawlette by Joyce Fassbender, would look divine in it.

TIP 1: Blocking shawl edging

The En Pointe Shawlette has a classic triangle shape with beautiful lace medallions that cascade into a pointed edging. Now how is that edging accomplished? It doesn’t just fall into place after knitting, I’ll tell you that much! A lace shawl could always use a little extra blocking love on the edge, which is often the ‘wow’ moment in a shawl. In this video, I show you two ways to block the edging into exactly the shape you want:

A note about how I prefer to block my shawls. To avoid stretching them out beyond what they may want to do, I pin my shawl while it’s dry, not wet. I then spray it generously with water and let it dry overnight. If you’d like to clean your shawl or have it smell nice, you can also add some no-rinse wool wash to your spray bottle!

Blocking Fleck by rhyFlower Knits, from the September 2017 KnitCrate

TIP 2: Marking your place in a chart

Most lace patterns require you to follow charts with motifs/rows that repeat. Over the years, I’ve used many different methods to mark what row I’m at in a chart, but guess what? My favorite one is the easiest method you’ve NEVER HEARD OF! Seriously – I only discovered it while reading a knitting tips column in a 1960’s women’s magazine:

In the video I showed you two “analog” tips for when you’ve printed out a copy of your chart. Many of us are more “digital”, so here’s the method I use for the .pdf patterns I use on my phone or tablet. Most .pdf reader apps (I use GoodReader) will have a drawing toolbar you can activate. Simply choose the line-making tool and extend the ends of the line so that they are wide enough for your chart.

graphic from Dayana Knits

When you’ve finished a row, just select the line and move it upwards! I also like to make vertical lines in a different color that I can move as I decrease or increase. This helps me start at the right stitch every row without having to think about it.