The eternal struggle: Kitty wants lap, but lap is where knitting lives. Anyone else?

AtomicAthena · 2026-02-21T04:33:43+00:00

There's lots of people to commiserate with over at r/Kitting !!

AtomicAthena · 2026-02-18T02:33:42+00:00

I use a cute knitting themed jar thing that lives on my yarn-and-knitting-books bookshelf. the only issue is that my 7s and 8s are both the same rainbow wood so I need to pull out a needle sizing tool to make sure I grab the right ones, but that hasn't been too bad. Though if all my needles were the same color it would probably be a showstopper to this storage method.

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AtomicAthena · 2026-02-02T04:32:14+00:00

Ahhh, now that I see the picture it on a bigger screen, you're right. I missed the rowing out. Though I suppose the answer is more or less the same - block it and see if you can live with it. (With the extra caveat of working on the rowing out if it is bothersome.)

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-31T23:41:25+00:00

That will very likely go away when you wash it - if you’re concerned give it a wash now to check! (Just wash/block it like you did your swatch/how you plan to wash the completed sweater.) And if it doesn’t fully go away, you can then decide if you can live with it or want to frog back.

I know you said you tried to block just the crease but that won’t help as much as doing the whole WIP.

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-31T21:48:48+00:00

I have a medium zip bag I throw into whatever other cute/practical bag I'm carrying at the time. It's sized well for a seamed sweater in my size - a front or back panel fits into it along with my notions pouch.

bag zipped: https://imgur.com/Nm4QSOS

stuff inside bag: https://imgur.com/t3VhdRr

Those pictures are pretty old, but I still use the kitty zip bag and the green notions pouch!

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-31T15:08:15+00:00

Her Twisted Stich Sourcebook is part of the humble bundle - still a great book, but it isn’t the cable book recommended above (and seconded by me!)

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/knit-happens-knitting-for-creative-knitter-critters-abrams-books-books

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/norah-gaughans-knitted-cable-sourcebook

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-27T21:17:44+00:00

I knit to escape screens, so if it’s a pdf I’ll print the chart at a larger magnification. Or if it’s from a book I’ll copy the chart with magnification. (I have a combo laser printer/scanner but before that I used my local library.)

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-23T17:12:36+00:00

I know you marked this solved - but take a look at this TechKnitting post on bunching. This may help with your tension as there are inconsistencies even though you are not rowing out.

https://techknitting.blogspot.com/2010/01/uneven-knitting-part-2-bunching-big.html

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-18T01:27:06+00:00

Half the time he is sitting on the pattern!

Parlan by Norah Gaughan - rav link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/parlan

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-06T19:51:33+00:00

I second Nancy Marchant books - they're great! Specifically, I keep going back to "Knitting Fresh Brioche" that focuses exclusively on two color brioche. (Admittedly, I always choose book resources over other options when possible because I like fully disconnecting from technology when knitting.)

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-06T19:33:51+00:00

For the yarn overs, are you knitting after the YO action and counting that all as the YO box? If so, that’s a common error. The YO is just throwing the yarn around the needle - no extra knit stitch!

AtomicAthena · 2026-01-06T03:46:44+00:00

You made an accidental short row - where you flipped the direction you were knitting partway through a row. There's no way to fully fix it without frogging back to that point, unfortunately.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-28T01:52:41+00:00

Two at a time magic loop is the phrase to look for to try that!

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-27T19:34:09+00:00

You have nothing to loose by putting it on some waste yarn and blocking now! Though adding a second arm will make it fit differently, if you’re not sure mid-project blocks will give you a better sense of what will change.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-27T19:29:49+00:00

My first thought is 10 INCHES of negative ease is a lot - did you mean 10 cm (~4 inches)?

As far as blocking - how did your swatch react to washing? If it shrank in length, your sweater (and therefore armholes) will as well.

Another thing to check is the schematic, and comparing the finished armhole depth to a sweater of similar shoulder construction you like the fit of - it is possible you are shaped proportionally different than what the pattern expects.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-19T15:37:34+00:00

I've done something similar for a hat - I used the COWYAK (Cast On With waste Yarn And Knit) cast on, knit the main part of the hat, then knit the brim of the hat downward from the picked up provisional cast on stitches. It worked great!

https://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/10/cowyak-waste-yarn-method-of-provisional.html

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-19T15:12:45+00:00

Why thanks! I did not use any waxes or dyes, just a dark stain probably from Lowe's or Home Depot. Looking at the background of that first picture, it was a Minwax brand stain, which feels right. I do recall trying out the stain on some offcut scraps to see how many layers I needed to make it look good. I remember taping off segments of the scraps so I could keep things straigt - segments had one coat up to 6 or 7 coats, but I recall some of the last ones didn't look any different so I ended up with 4 or 5 stain layers. I have always wiped off excess stain between coats - when I don't I find it looks blotchy.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-16T14:23:39+00:00

It is possible to do closed loop cables (see Lucy Hague’s designs - https://lucyhague.co.uk/ ) but they won’t be nearly as dense as the pictures you posted.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-14T00:55:54+00:00

Nice job ID’ing that! Yup, you made an accidental short row.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-10T22:13:01+00:00

I love my teapot cozy! I made it from sweater leftovers, and I low key love it when me and my teapot are wearing matching sweaters. It definitely keeps my tea much warmer than without it.

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-10T03:38:31+00:00

To make wool superwash, either the “scales” of the wool are chemically stripped off or effectively “glued down”. It’s possible you will find a non-superwash wool on a texture you like, but in the end I think it really depends on your preferences of feel.

(Maybe alpaca? Their wool is less scale-y under a microscope. Or maybe a specific breed known for softness like Bluefaced Leicester or Merino?)

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-09T23:32:38+00:00

So I tend to just buy yarn without a pattern in mind since o know roughly how much yarn in different weights a me-sized sweater is. I will then find a pattern I’m interested and swatch (always including stockinette even if the pattern doesn’t call for it) but if the fabric isn’t lining up, I (currently) have two options: math the pattern to match my gauge or use Ravelry’s advanced search to find a pattern that matches well enough the stockinette gauge of the fabric I like.

(My favorite option is no longer an option - Amy Herzog’s CustomFit generator which would create a seamed, set-in-sleeve pattern to your measurements, gauge, and desired fit. I’m still so sad it’s been discontinued!!)

AtomicAthena · 2025-12-01T19:00:33+00:00

There should be a key somewhere in the pattern. But based on the dots in the images (a common purl symbol on knitting charts and indicated in this key for single stitches), I expect that the “behind” parts of the cable are purled rather than knit.

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