ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

If you are considering “knitting in the round” these are the advantages as I see them.

Knitted in the round from bottom up.

Advantages:

1. No purling – you are always knitting on the right side, so unless you are ribbing or creating a pattern which requires purl stitches on the right side then you do not need to purl.

2. Little or no seaming / finishing

3. May use less yarn if the pattern is altered from a flat or pieced pattern. When altering a flat or pieced pattern one can reduce a stitch at each side of the body front and back – reducing the yarn required but not the finished size.

4. Speed – knit stitch is faster and your knitting rhythm works to your advantage.

5. Great knitting for watching a favourite TV program.

6. Less seaming is better for a knitted piece – it will rest better on the body without stresses and strains of a seam.

7. You can design as you knit. You can adjust length and shape as as you go.

8. You do not need to check that front and back pieces match exactly. Place a marker at the begining of the first row and you will always know exactly where you are and where to measure.

9. Using circular needles means that a large garment rests in your lap and not on the needles and your arms.

10. A garment can be altered – lengthened or shortened for another wearer later by unravelling and knitting down as required.

Disadvantage:

1. Boring knitting – Sweater done in knit stitch in the round can be boring.

2. Pieced or flat knitting is easier to create if starting with a sewing pattern.

Folk knitting was originally created circularly and seaming was very minimal so Knitting in the Round has been the “norm” in many cultures.

think tubes

Socks, arm warmers, body warmers, leg warmers, corsets, skirts, ponchos, cowls, hoods, boob tubes, etc and the leap to knitting a whole garment in the round occurs when one joins the knitted or crocheted tubes to create the desired garment.

Gallery of Examples of My “Knitting in the Round”

In New Zealand in my early knitting and designing days I was totally unaware of the movement toward knitting in the round as reintroduced to the US by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I was a busy young mother and wanted to finish my garment when I had completed the knitting whereever possible and so I worked on achieving that.

Fashion shaping may have been the impetus for creating flat pieces and joining them. I have worked on shaping my pieces when knitting in the round. The other area I have worked on is knitting a waistcoat, cardigan or jacket or sweater in one piece to the underarm or from cuff to cuff – again to reduce seaming requirements but that will have to be another post.

And then of course there is also top down knitting and steeks and ……

What a nice group of people – sitting in a dark corner of the cafe hunched over their knitting and talking about who knows what – all double dutch to me. But then they are Dutch – so what could I expect.

They were lovely – they all speak English, at one level or another, and one of the group is English and has lived in the Netherlands for 35 years. And they knit the most amazingly beautiful things. They create beautiful fair isle knits -with tiny needles and thin yarns and delicious and beautiful colours. I am so in awe of their skills and patience to knit such beautiful time consuming pieces – shawls, socks, baby garments etc.

And they didn’t laugh at how I knit – which is really great. I thought they might knit the way I do as I understood from my teachers (my mother, and 2 aunts), that my way is the Continental way – or European way or perhaps the Scandinavian way. The group mostly seem to knit more like the English way I saw in New Zealand.

But they really are sitting in a poorly lit corner of the cafe – and there is lots of talking, and it could be bitching, I don’t know. I came away feeling really tired from trying to follow the conversation. I do have some hope because I do understand knitting, but my Dutch language is pretty hopeless.

I will go back – as just maybe this will encourage me into fair isle knitting and to creating socks and gloves etc using double pointed needles. I have only once knitted with DPN’s – my fingerless gloves.

So I may become a more capable knitter because these ladies have set a challenge – their work is fine and beautiful and I should explore the techniques and just maybe I will understand more Dutch before I return to New Zealand and that would be a bonus.

Well I think they would. Mor, Moster Maria, and Tante Ranghilde taught me to knit – and they all knitted wonderful socks, lacy collars for our dress, and gloves with fingers. I still have some examples of their work – at home in New Zealand.

Me, I knit bigger things using many colours and have never until now created anything using a set of double pointed needles.

I have just knitted a pair of fingerless gloves / wristwarmers.

I enjoyed it and I hope they are watching from somewhere, as I am now going to knit red socks before Christmas and I may well need their advice.

I have orders for 2 pairs of red socks. These are to replace those tired Red socks which have been worn in memory of Sir Peter Blake and his red socks, which he wore in 1995 America’s Cup campaign – plain red socks.

Every time the black boats went into battle off San Diego, Blake, wore red socks. And every afternoon, the team returned to shore victorious. One fateful day severe tendonitis in his elbows forced Blake off the boat and it was the only time in the entire 1995 series that Team New Zealand sailed without Blakey’s lucky socks. And it was the only time the boat was beaten on the water.

Now my son has given up his tired, tatty red socks and I am to make him and his father each a new pair – for luck and in memory of Sir Peter Blake.

On our holiday in Denmark, in August, we were taken to the Old Town (Den Gamle By), by Anne and Michelle where I discovered (or rediscovered) the Danish shawl – and I have made 4 so far – just to see how they work. I have played with the shape and number of Yarn Over increases to see how I can modernise it as the original is wrapped around at the waist and tied at the front which is absolutely charming, but not too modern looking.

The Danish Shawl is not a true triangle – The long edge is curved, which makes it sit well over the shoulders.

The first one I started at the point and increased only on the sides – and of course, as I knew it would – it created a true triangle. I knitted it in gorgeous purples/blues in SandnesGarn (from Norway), yarns that I purchased in the north of Denmark. That was for Natasha

I then looked for a pattern and found the Osark shawl – and have been playing with that. My first attempt is not even worthy of a photo, the shape looked like a salmon steak – not the colour – but the resulting shape was too long and not wide enough. It will be unraveled at some time. But it gave me a starting point.

My next was okay, I have not added the 2 colour crochet edging as yet. I used a grey/fawn 100 % natural yarn with a variegated New Zealand yarn from Manukau Knitting Mills.

The latest shawl / scarf I have created had increases – by single Yarn Overs at the 2 side edges as well as up the middle and has been knitted with a variety of 4 ply yarns which has included sock yarn, Rowan kidsilk haze, Rowan 4 ply Botany and some other odd scraps. The bell ruffle edge I used is from a pattern by Jane Sowerby. I love the resulting shawl/scarf and will create fingerless gloves to go with it. (That means double pointed needles – very scary !!).

I have aready created the hat using the same yarns last winter.

It is amazing what knitting opportunities there are when you live in the Northern Climes as opposed to New Zealand.

A pattern will be created.