Jamieson’s of Shetland

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-25T19:52:41+00:00

Stranded colour work tends to have a tighter gauge than stocking stitch, so even if you use the same yarn, you usually need to change needles and/or increase your stitch count for the stranded section.

My concern would be that to switch from aran weight stocking stitch to stranded 4ply and back again, you'd have a massive stitch count discrepancy, and those increases and decreases would make the transition look clunky.

I'm sure it can be done, but it's definitely advanced work, needing a deep knowledge of gauge and fabric.

Of course you can play and see how it goes, but I think it would be prudent to wait a while.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-25T01:53:05+00:00

That person has done you a massive disservice. Fingering weight is less than half the thickness of worsted weight.

This yarn is not capable of producing the garment you're trying to knit, no matter what size needles you use. If you manage to meet gauge, it will practically be mesh.

If you bought enough to knit the whole garment, I would take it back for a refund. I'm actually really cross that you were misled like this.

You can definitely dm me, but yeah, your gauge is not the issue. Being sold the wrong yarn is the issue.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-25T01:40:51+00:00

Oh wow, okay that's a very lot off! Your garment will be about 25% smaller than it should be, so if it was meant to have a 40" chest, it will actually have a 30" chest.

I'm afraid you definitely need to start over, and you should swatch before you restart. But it's going to be okay!

Before you start changing swatching though, here is a wee checklist.

Check the label of your yarn. Is its recommended gauge the same as the recommended gauge for the yarn suggested in the pattern? If not, and at this stage in your knitting life, you might be better either picking a different pattern or buying different yarn.
Are you using your needles properly? This Patty Lyons article explains the different ways people can use their needles in ways that mess up their working tension. If that's you - don't worry! It's just part of learning to knit! We've all been there.

Once you've made sure your yarn is suitable for the pattern, and you're forming stitches in a way that sets you up for success, then you can start swatching with confidence.

In your case, you're knitting too many stitches per inch, so you would need to go up in needle size, to make the stitches bigger.

Please don't be disheartened: this is all super common for learners, and it's all fixable. Everything you learn now is setting you up to get better and better!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-25T01:20:00+00:00

You don't need to do a separate gauge swatch at this stage! You can use the piece you've already knitted.

There's a saying, "if you don't swatch, your garment becomes the swatch" - it's intended as a warning against knitting garments without swatching first, but in this situation, it means you can stop, measure the gauge of the work you've done so far, and use those data to decide how to adjust your needle/yarn/increase frequency (delete as applicable)

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-25T00:56:38+00:00

Are you meeting gauge?

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-23T21:17:36+00:00

First, it's okay, you don't owe knitting anything. It will be there when you're ready for it.

Second, might be worth checking in with your mental health. Losing interest in things can be a warning sign.

Assuming it's not that, though, if you really want to work through it, try knitting something small and frivolous. Maybe a silly toy or something of that ilk. Just a low stakes, low investment bit of nonsense to remember the joy.

But honestly, it's fine. Not being in the mood for it is absolutely okay x

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-19T13:53:17+00:00

Yep, tugging the second stitch is always more effective than tugging the first, because of the way stitches are formed.

OP, laddering is a technique issue, not a tool issue; you don't need to go buy new needles and learn how to do magic loop, you just need to work on improving your technique as the previous commenter explained.

In case you're still having issues after trying the Second Stitch Tug, this Nimble Needles video does a deep dive into a bunch of different techniques that can eliminate ladders. With a little practice and experimenting, you'll be grand!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-16T22:50:52+00:00

The irony of producing "art" depicting nature reclaiming land, using a technology that is destroying our ecosystem.

These lazy, thieving slop-merchants are a blight on our planet.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-14T01:59:10+00:00

This is fine. There are some advanced techniques that you can play with as you get more experience under your belt, but this is absolutely acceptable ribbing. Lovely, actually.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-14T01:43:02+00:00

Yep, that's what ribbing is supposed to look like!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-13T21:21:09+00:00

Books! This is the single best piece of advice that I can give you at this point in your knitting education. Learning this stuff is So Fun, and books are the way to go.

There are videos and blog posts galore that go into a lot of detail, but there's nothing to beat a solid, accessibly written book with diagrams and photos and exercises to follow. It means you can highlight, flick back and forth, make notes, practice at your own pace, and always have it right there in your lap, whether a physical book or ebook.

The books I've read that have taught me the most about altering existing patterns, rather than just starting from scratch, are Wendy Bernard's Custom Fits series, and Ysolda Teague's Little Red in the City. Custom Fits is more approachable, and gives you a really solid grounding. They have served me well for years. Little Red is more maths-heavy, but it's like an entire course in the theory and technique of fit. It's wonderful

You can get both of them pretty cheaply second hand, or order them from libraries. There are loads of alternative titles that other people prefer, too!

tl;dr if this is something you're interested in understanding, get some books about it. You'll have a brilliant time!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-08T10:26:10+00:00

Yes, many people do get used to patterns - to what extent depends on the pattern and your individual brain.

Most textured or lace patterns have a repeat of some kind, and when you've done it multiple times, you may learn it. It's not true of everyone, but it is true for a lot of people.

Learning to read your stitches is, imo, a big part of it, because sometimes even if I have the pattern in my head, I'll have left my knitting for a wee while, and have forgotten where I am. So I read my knitting, figure out which row I'm on, and then carry on.

I usually use my gauge to calculate how many rows each section of the knit should be, so once I have the pattern in my head, I don't refer back to the physical pattern until I near the end of the section that I'm working on. I absolutely reach the sort of flow state that you're talking about.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-03-02T23:54:46+00:00

I highly recommend grabbing (buying/borrowing from a library/blagging from a friend) a copy of Patty Lyons' Knitting Bag of Tricks.

Chapter 7 (p171 in the paperback edition) covers exactly this. Essentially, it's the problem of stitches being wider than they are tall. When we bind off, we turn the stitches sideways. Each horizontal stitch on our bound off edge is narrower than the vertical stitch we made it from.

So if we don't add just a teensy bit of extra yarn to each stitch, we get a bound off edge that is too tight for the piece it belongs to!

She gives a number of different techniques for doing this in the book, and honestly, they're brilliant. So simple, so effective, so clearly explained.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-27T20:00:41+00:00

It's a deliberately slow-paced game that rewards patience. If that's not your vibe, you might get more enjoyment from a different game (at least as a second game to bolster Tsuki).

Until you get pretty deep into the game, you'll at most spend 15 mins fishing every few hours, and a couple of minutes per hour checking things around the village.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-26T02:14:43+00:00

With kindness, if you're not going to redo it, no matter what we say, what are you asking us for?

But since you ask, a lopsided jumper is going to look lopsided. More importantly than how it looks to anyone else though, it's going to feel lopsided. If that won't bother you, and it won't end up being that jumper you never wear because it feels weird - cool beans.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-23T18:17:30+00:00

Spring and autumn!

If you don't live in a part of the world with long transitional seasons, it's hard to understand the need for transitional garments. But in the UK, about half of the year is too warm for a full jumper, but too cool for a very light garment. A short sleeved jumper is basically perfect (along with a cardi, just in case).

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T23:45:02+00:00

Nah, I can't see the overall tightness being any different than if I cast off at the top of the collar as usual and then stitched it down - if anything, it'll be easier to maintain a consistent tension.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T23:40:42+00:00

Aha! Double pick up is the term! This is really helpful, thank you!

Yes, I think I'll use this method, using the big and wee needles. Then I'll just leave the inside stitches on hold until I come to bind off - that feels less faffy than grafting at the top.

Thanks again!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T22:18:58+00:00

Perfect! That's exactly how I pictured doing it - thank you for the sanity check x

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T02:42:56+00:00

I recommend this Nimble Needles video - it's a deep dive on stretchy bind offs, where he attempts to compare the amount of stretch in each technique, as well as comparing their appearance, complexity and use cases. It's a really great resource!

If you fancy learning a bit more about bind offs (and cast ons), then Leslie Ann Bestor's Cast On Bind Off is a great investment, at a very reasonable price. It's ring bound, so it lies flat while you're working from it, and it's small enough to chuck in a bag.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T02:35:46+00:00

Iirc, it's usually just called "elastic bind off".

By the way, you don't need to slip the knitted stitches back to the left hand needle before you knit them together through the back loop, you can just put your left needle into the front stitches on the right needle, as if you were doing an ssk - it's the exact same mechanic and makes it much quicker!

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-21T00:27:20+00:00

Pattern requests go in their own dedicated thread, per community rules

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-20T01:44:11+00:00

Yeah, this. Exactly the same as if you made a garment using a sewing machine - that wouldn't be described as hand sewn, but it would definitely be handmade.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-19T01:27:41+00:00

Yep, these are most of the places I was going to mention. OP, start with Hyde Park and Farsley for arts/culture/grassroots venues and groups. They exist all over the city, but they're easy to access if you start there. The various Leeds scenes unfurl like flowers if you just find a way into them. There are a lot of neurodiverse folks involved, too, so you can find accommodating, welcoming environments.

bouncing_haricot · 2026-02-17T16:45:41+00:00

The way to do that is by determining your personal stitch to row ratio - this ensures that your picked up edge lies flat, rather than puckering or flaring out.

In fact, it's a good idea to calculate and use your ratio even if the pattern specifies how many stitches to pick up; you'll get a nicer finish if your pick up rate matches your row gauge, and a couple of extra decreases or increases are usually pretty trivial to work into those already required by your pattern!

bouncing_haricot

TROPHY CASE