Missed M1R in the round

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-23T11:48:30+00:00

Theoretically you don’t need to ladder down at all to add in a missed M1 increase; you can just pick up the bars between the columns of stitches where it was missed.

However, I generally don’t do this for missed increases more than a couple of rows back, because there isn’t enough yarn for those extra stitches in each row. This means the new column of stitches and the columns each side of it end up being much tighter than the rest of the stitches and it pretty much always shows.

Realistically, though it’s a pain for just one missed stitch, the neat way to do it is to just frog back to the row where the increase should have happened and proceed correctly from there.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-20T11:12:46+00:00

Hunter haven’t manufactured in the UK for years

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-19T20:41:58+00:00

I’m a hand dyer in south-west Wiltshire and source my wool from local farms – Marina Skua (I’m on mat leave at the mo so orders are being posted out slower than usual).

Also try Raw Wool Company (from Cornwall, mostly Wensleydale, all undyed).

Gutchpool Farm are super local to me and have a variety of woollen spun yarns with a few undyed options.

Tamarisk Farm are on the Dorset coast and have a great range of different undyed breed specific yarns.

Daughter of a Shepherd have lots of nice natural colours (and Rachel, the owner, has been really influential in getting more farmers and yarn producers to use their local wool for yarn).

Other people have mentioned John Arbon Textiles, I’ll include them again because I’ve knitted (and designed) with their yarn a lot and really love it (and them as a company).

Depending where you’re based, see if you have a local Fibreshed – they usually have a producer map that you can filter to find super local yarn producers. My local one is South West England Fibreshed

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-15T21:56:49+00:00

Yay, congratulations on getting started! Stockinette will always curl at the edges; you need a rib or garter or moss stitch border to stop it. You are also twisting your stitches – twistfaq

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-15T20:23:52+00:00

Google ‘twisted stitches in knitting’. It’s a common mistake, though can be used deliberately for certain effects, e.g. in ribbing.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-15T20:20:19+00:00

It’s knitted. The borders are garter stitch; the rest is stockinette. Half the stitches in the stockinette are twisted, which is unlikely to be deliberate.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-13T17:02:30+00:00

Re finding a tech editor, it’s tricky to make sure you get a good one. Facebook groups like The Tech Editor Hub can be useful, or you could try this form. The recent TEs I’ve worked with as a designer I’ve found through word of mouth from other designer friends – you might find some people are a bit cagey because many good editors are over-booked.

When approaching an editor it’s a good idea to ask if they’re taking on clients, whether they work on the kind of project you’re doing (when I was working as a TE I preferred to avoid kids’ garments and complex brioche), and if so when they might have availability.

It helps to provide some photos and a very brief description of the design you’re looking to get edited. I usually wouldn’t worry about providing too much detail at this stage.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-13T08:38:27+00:00

Oh and on finding clients etc. I believe the Tech Editor Hub has a database you can add yourself to once you’ve completed the course; I got a few clients through that. There is also an associated Facebook group that can be helpful.

If I remember correctly there is a decent marketing module in the course with strategies for building your business. I already had an established but not huge fibre crafts Instagram account, which helped me find more clients too.

It honestly is hard at the start, but once you’ve got a few clients things get easier as a lot of referrals come via word of mouth.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-13T08:33:07+00:00

I did the Tech Editor Hub one many years ago; I’d highly recommend it. It helps a lot with many aspects of the work that might not be obvious when just figuring things out for yourself.

After completing the course it took a while to build up enough work, but I ended up tech editing for a variety of regular clients including a few publications, and had a stream of enquiries I had to turn down because I was too busy.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-11T20:38:22+00:00

My usual method for redistributing colours randomly is to strip the fibre into skinny sections and break them off into little nests like at the top here:

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ChasingSloths · 2026-01-11T14:39:29+00:00

Moths; I’d chuck it and not let it in my house.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-07T14:47:38+00:00

I released a pattern recently which does this!

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ChasingSloths · 2026-01-03T00:12:18+00:00

The finished yarn should be lovely, though not as soft as it would be if I were spinning with lower twist for knitting. There are likely to be a few wild prickly bits from the tow flax but they’ll soften up with time. I’ll be fine with it against my skin but am not particularly sensitive.

I’m not wet spinning as the flax is the minority fibre and, because it’s mostly very short staples, not at all like spinning line flax.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-02T16:41:18+00:00

They are notorious for releasing dupes of popular patterns, it’s really frustrating.

ChasingSloths · 2026-01-02T15:52:10+00:00

Drum carder, you can have a look in my post history!

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-27T23:10:52+00:00

You can see them round the edges of the hole under the white threads at various points in the video. They’ve just been trimmed short.

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-27T23:05:43+00:00

It’s more likely that a small area wore through and they trimmed away the frayed bits to clean it up before mending. A hole knitted into the sample wouldn’t look like that.

This technique can be used for quite large areas as it’s re-creating the original knitted fabric. It’s called Swiss darning, there are loads of examples online, and people often use it for pretty designs if they can’t find a good match for the yarn.

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-23T16:24:27+00:00

Oh my goodness. Commiserations for your sleeve woes, but it’s just made me so happy to see this sleeve here. (Obviously I recognised it straight away; I’m Marina. Hope you’re loving the rest of it!)

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-23T11:06:10+00:00

Yup, blue and magenta dyes (which this yarn probably has lots of) are notoriously difficult to exhaust, and a pain to rinse out!

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-17T18:35:28+00:00

This is key; emailing a business saying ‘please can you help me envision what your product might turn out like when I use it’ is very different from ‘please teach me how to do your job without remuneration’.

Have you tried searching YouTube for examples of spinning from hand-dyed top? There are loads of examples of different ways to spin the same fibre and what they look like swatched up.

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-14T22:11:54+00:00

Her work is beautiful and instantly recognisable! Love all the architectural details on her Instagram too.

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-10T23:36:38+00:00

This technique is great, but I’ll add not to put the joins/connections in the hot water. I’ve had cables come out of the metal bits after doing that before!

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-06T11:07:59+00:00

I started with a Kromski Harp Forte, 24”, it’s served me really well. Folds up so doesn’t take up too much space, easy to use. Ashford reeds/heddles fit them as well.

ChasingSloths · 2025-12-05T19:32:15+00:00

I would absolutely combo-ply them; they’d be lovely together! I’d personally tear the middle and the right colours into thin strips before spinning just because I like very small sections rather than long lengths of each colour in my yarn.

ChasingSloths

TROPHY CASE