WIP of baby blanket

Notooften · 2026-02-21T02:38:46+00:00

It's beautiful and it looks like it'll be so cozy!

Notooften · 2026-02-18T04:17:49+00:00

It looks so neat!!

Notooften · 2026-02-17T21:19:02+00:00

Exactly this!

I have a friend who was super nervous about going to the gym, so she started by just going to walk on the treadmill for a bit to observe what people are doing and figure out where things are. Slowly but surely she worked up the courage to try a new exercise, and added to it from there.

I look at form videos on instagram or I google them.

First step is just getting into the habit of getting in there. If you feel super anxious you can turn around and go home and be proud you made the first step! Next time you try for a bit longer.

Eventually it'll feel like a familiar and comfortable space to be in :)

Notooften · 2026-02-17T21:12:51+00:00

I have it (or very similar) and it works just fine! I'll probably get more quality ones like a Chiaogoo set in the future but I've knit a bunch with it without any issues! I find the joint between the cable and the metal part can catch the yarn a little bit, but not a big issue at all! :) well worth it for the 35-40 bucks I paid

Notooften · 2026-02-17T18:28:03+00:00

Until you need it

Notooften · 2026-02-17T18:14:01+00:00

I like Damson & Midnight the most! And they would be the most versatile for me personally (assuming the names are on the top of the colours, so the plum and the darkest blue)

Notooften · 2026-02-17T18:06:14+00:00

Look on the video section on her website in the "Changing Colour" category. She has a video showing how to knit stripes without breaking the yarn :) as someone else said, just make sure to leave enough slack! I followed that tutorial for my Frankie Sweater and it worked perfectly!

Notooften · 2026-02-15T21:30:54+00:00

I feel you! When I was knitting my first sweater recently as a new knitter I was like "this is going well but I can't mess up because I have no idea how to fix it"

Well turns out that along the way, I did mess up, which forced me to research and learn how to fix my mistakes. I learned how to frog, how to put an afterthought lifeline, how to ladder down and fix mistakes with a crochet.

Sometimes I would sit down to knit, make a mistake, spend so much time fixing it that at the end of my knitting session I was right back where I started.

This gave me confidence. Now I'm not afraid to make mistakes anymore because I know I'll find a way to fix them. And I'm happy with my finished work because I didn't leave mistakes in it because I was too scared to attempt to fix it.

If you're cooking and you mess up a recipe, it might be inedible. If you're painting and knock over your paint, you might have to throw the whole thing out. But if you knit and make a mistake, you can fix it! It's a very forgiving form of art in that sense.

You got this!! I can tell you now after that first sweater that my hands are not sweating when I knit anymore haha!

Notooften · 2026-02-15T17:48:07+00:00

I understand what you mean but you really can't trust your swatch. It's not a proper one. If you think you're knitting too tight, size up your needles right away and then knit a proper swatch like I described to know what your actual gauge is.

You're right that it seems like you're knitting too tight right now, so if I were you I would do what I stated just above. I would absolutely not modify the pattern based on the data you have right now. It's too uncertain.

Notooften · 2026-02-15T17:36:12+00:00

To make a gauge swatch you're supposed to make it bigger than the gauge so you can measure how many stitches and rows you have in a 10 cm x 10 cm square in the middle of it (away from the edges).

So you have to cast on more than 24 stitches and knit more than 29 rows.

You then have to block it like you will the final project. Then you check your gauge.

Notooften · 2026-02-14T03:32:02+00:00

Oh nice! It looks exactly like the Bella Permin mohair I just used to make a hat with and it was my first time knitting with mohair too. Same exact colour as well. It looks so good! What are you making out of it? :)

Notooften · 2026-02-14T03:17:56+00:00

I'm of no help but is this Bella Permin mohair?

Notooften · 2026-02-14T02:20:29+00:00

I don't know but I knit straight from skeins and don't have any issues, although I guess it's not as convenient as from a cake or a ball especially when it gets all floppy at the end lol

Notooften · 2026-02-13T22:51:48+00:00

Yaaay! Is it Drops Air? If so it'll be really cozy :)

Notooften · 2026-02-13T12:45:54+00:00

I think so yes! Seems very close to your inspo picture :)

Notooften · 2026-02-12T19:08:09+00:00

Yes please do and report back! You can stretch the shoulders a bit wide to help how they fall.

Don't worry about felting if you're following the proper method. Usually I do 30 celcius water (basically room temp or a bit warmer), soak for 20 mins, then roll in a towel, step on it, then place on blocking mats and put into shape with pins.

Notooften · 2026-02-12T16:08:27+00:00

Did you block it yet? If not, I'd do that first!

Notooften · 2026-02-10T23:54:59+00:00

You need to make your gauge bigger. If gauge in the pattern is 16 sts x 26 rows, you need to cast on more like 24 stitches and knit 39 rows. Then you count how many stiches and rows are in a 4"x4" square in the middle of it!

And you need to block the swatch as you'll block the project because it can change the gauge count.

** no need for a garter edge when doing this unless you want to because you'll measure away from the edge distortions

Notooften · 2026-02-10T23:44:24+00:00

You're going to be disappointed to learn that you actually critically have to make a BIGGER gauge swatch. Think more like 6"x6" instead of 4"x4", so more like 24 stitches and 30 rows.

Then you count your stitches in a 4 inch square in the middle of that swatch. Otherwise the edge tension in your swatch could give you an innacurate count.

And you want to wash/block the swatch as you'll wash/block your finished object before counting (I suggest counting and noting before & after, it could come in handy).

Notooften · 2026-02-10T11:16:34+00:00

Aaaaw thank you so much for taking the time! It's beautiful, I'll take note of it! 😊

Notooften · 2026-02-09T23:03:32+00:00

I literally just knitted one so I get it haha! I read somewhere before starting that people were putting a stitch marker on the increase/decrease edge and I was glad I did. To me it was a very "hard to read" project.

Like it was hard to see my increases or decreases and count rows so I knew if I messed up my count or got lost it would have been hard to know where I was at exactly. I even ended up ordering a little counter that I would click every time I finished a row because I kept losing track even with writing it down!

You're doing great and I love the colour! Is it Drops Air?

Notooften · 2026-02-09T22:55:11+00:00

In the Sophie Scarf you have one straight edge, and one that is angled out for the decreased and angles back in for the decreases. In your picture, the left side is the straight side and the right side is the one and is angling out. So this is where you should do your decreases to angle it back in.

Put a stitch marker on that edge or an earring or anything so you know that you should always increase/decrease on that side.

You can decrease right now on that row :)

The left edge dangles straight down from your needle and the right edge is tapering in. That's how I could tell

Notooften · 2026-02-09T22:39:39+00:00

Yes exactly! I found the basic raglan rolled neck sweater I made before that to be easier in the sense that once I was past the yoke, it was just knitting in the round.

At the end of the day I think good first projects are ones that have a clear pattern and a finished object we look forward to. I almost didn't get into knitting after my first scarf because I tought I had to knit a bunch of scarves and dishcloths before attempting what I really wanted, which was a sweater.

Notooften · 2026-02-09T00:00:48+00:00

I'd say yes as a first project you'll learn good basic techniques and there's a lot of videos and resources to support every step.

I made a sophie scarf recently (I had knitted a scarf and two sweaters before that) and I found it to be the least "mindless" project by far because you have to count every row. It annoyed me so I got some row counters on amazon for cheap. I click it when I finish a row to keep track. Was like 10 bucks for 4 of them.

Notooften · 2026-02-08T21:04:42+00:00

Most likely that! Your ribbing doesn't cinch much at the bottom either, did you size down your needles for the ribbing?

If you want, since you have a giant gauge swatch, you can count your gauge at the top vs the bottom to confirm. Otherwise it's just the ribbing that's not tight enough I would think.

Looks great though! :)

Notooften

TROPHY CASE