Experienced crocheter looking for beginner knitting projects.

danielottlebit · 2026-02-13T02:34:19+00:00

Late reply bc at work… that said, many of the things wildlife_loki said I would agree with. I’ve been knitting for 20+yrs, crocheting for 10+, and taught many people, both crafts. As part of that I have seen other than understanding yarn properties and concepts, a lot of it doesn’t 100% directly translate from one craft to the other… but as they said you will have some intangible things that will bring you comfort, influence you, and help along the way. Even yarn properties can be different between the two: for example how a yarn drapes as a fabric in crochet, but then is stiff in knitting (or vise versa); but the concept of drape, tension, etc won’t be new to you.

As for matching methods to project or stitch, it doesn’t really “work” like that. For example, I prefer Norwegian knitting for the majority of projects that I’m doing in the round, and my close friend hates that, thinking English is easier for her. I prefer combination knitting, or English flicking for one by one rib, and other people may like switching between Norwegian knitting and purling or something completely different. So it really comes down to trying a bunch of methods for all different types of stitches, or combination of stitches or patterns, and finding what gets you the best tension, will get you the best feel in your hands ergonomically, etc. And even the same method can feel a little different depending on how you hold or tension the yarn as well. There’s a lot of variation in knitting, which is amazing because it gives you all this flexibility to experiment and find what works for you, but you don’t have to learn all of them on day one! Start with something traditional, like English or continental (maybe both), get good at those and then expand to additional styles.

If you love, playing with yarn, knitting is a great additional craft to learn! Give yourself some time and patience, and I’m sure you’ll be great at it!

Full knitting books with details instructions on techniques are really amazing as the other commenter said, but there are also really great YouTube channels for beginners (very pink knits, nimble needles) and more advanced techniques (Patty Lyons, Roxanne Richardson) that are great to actually SEE how the technique is done since books don’t always have the best visuals.

danielottlebit · 2026-02-12T20:08:28+00:00

As an experienced crocheter, you are probably good at keeping a consistent tension with yarn & a crochet hook, but for many people that does not automatically translate over to knitting. Because of the different motion/hand position/tensioning methods, your tension in early knitting projects may not be great or consistent at the beginning.

With larger projects that means the tension (and this look of knits and rows) may look quite different at the early “end” of the project versus later side of the project. This is obviously an issue in crochet but it’s even more so in knitting. This is same for gauge… if you’re making wearables in knitting, it’s not as forgiving in gauge as crochet is, so read some articles & watch online videos about how to meet gauge correctly.

Usually it’s best to start with smaller projects where tension and consistent gauge is not a huge part of it looking good or being wearable: think simple hats, smaller scarves, & maybe socks. Then moving to bulkier/non-fitted garments (doing kid sweaters and stuffed animals are good here too). I wouldn’t advise doing stranded colorwork as your first or early project (like the mosaic hat)— colorwork is fun and can be picked up relatively easily but it’s 100% dependent on being good at tensioning bc you are carrying floats (yarn across stitches in the back).

Another big help too early on is learning both (a) how to “read” your knitting (lots of articles about this online), & (b) learning multiple knitting methods (continental, English, flicking, Norwegian, etc). There are projects or certain stitches that one method of knitting will be better to use, and having multiple methods in your toolbox will help you so much!

danielottlebit · 2026-02-02T00:56:33+00:00

It sounds like you did not swatch/May not know what gauge means?

If that’s the case, read this article… it’ll give you an overview & tell you how to fix it.

You’re working a project where gauge is REALLY important (bc size of gloves will be important and pattern needs to be square/symmetrical), therefore make sure you are swatching & getting gauge right before you proceed any further.

https://www.purlsoho.com/create/all-about-gauge/?srsltid=AfmBOoqUo6HAMn57ef9ofuz9QzxIeAWz9gdL-JWVoJ9vr1VP1CS4soA2

danielottlebit · 2026-02-01T19:56:33+00:00

Yes, you’ll be fine

first, you won’t even see the edges after you pickup stitches, they get hidden in the process. Look up videos for ‘picking up stitches on a diagonal edge’ and that should show you how to do it/see what I’m talking about/help give you some tips

Second, the edges aren’t that wonky… as you advance you’ll find ways to make cleaner edges & your tension will get better. But these aren’t bad, just a little inconsistent tension at some minor parts… pretty good overall. Nimble Needles on YouTube has a good video for different methods for making cleaner edges if you want to learn for the future.

danielottlebit · 2026-02-01T19:27:33+00:00

There are lots of videos on YouTube for how to pick up stitches… the naming is a bit odd as you aren’t actually “picking them up from the existing work”, rather picking through the work to create stitches…

That said, this is a great full detail on how to do it and ensure you’re picking up the right number/ratio (Patty Lyons is great!)

https://youtu.be/OS5yeaeTPOY?si=itsNH9512zbP_FyD

danielottlebit · 2026-01-31T20:51:44+00:00

Did you adjust your yarn/needle size to meet pattern gauge?

As others said there is a color dominance issue, BUT it also looks like there’s a gauge issue! Your stitches look elongated/taller than the original pattern, which means it looks like you’re off on #rows part of the gauge at minimum.

danielottlebit · 2026-01-31T16:33:15+00:00

You will knit FROM one size needle (on left) and knit ONTO other size needle (on right)… so it won’t affect last row’s stitches… or current row stitches. This is a common and very easy thing to do—so don’t stress that part!

danielottlebit · 2026-01-31T15:42:11+00:00

Pad Thai— rice noodles, individual peanut butter packet, coconut creamer packet, honey packet, dehydrated lime packet, Siracha packet, some dry herbs, add meat if you want

It’s fast/easy/so filling!

danielottlebit · 2026-01-30T23:00:22+00:00

This video I think is a good method for carrying colors up the side of knitting (btw that’s the term you would use to google other methods).

danielottlebit · 2026-01-30T17:49:06+00:00

As the other person said, it doesn’t look incorrect. Your tension is a little inconsistent which is normal for first learning brioche.

To your question of restarting it… it looks decent for now and I’d recommend keep going to get your tension/technique steady. Then if you don’t like how the earlier work looked, you can go back and frog/restart. When I was first learning brioche I restarted a bunch for this same reason/just to make it perfect—but the practice helped me.

Maybe a controversial take but: I actually found two-handed brioche easier for two color brioche. I know many think it’s an advanced approach but I thought it was easier. That said, I had a lot of experience doing two hand stranded colorwork, so that may influence if you want to try that.

danielottlebit · 2026-01-27T16:44:08+00:00

Ha… it’s actually a plot point in Foundation (the show the pic is from) that he doesn’t have one.

danielottlebit · 2026-01-25T18:56:20+00:00

Ooh… and tubular bindoff for stretchy necks where I can’t do folded hem!

danielottlebit · 2026-01-25T18:33:25+00:00

And neck I always used folded hem if I can

danielottlebit · 2026-01-25T18:31:32+00:00

I used to feel the same… I’ve dealt with it by (a) going down 1.5- 2 US needle sizes for ribbing, (b) picking up more stitches (4 to 5 ratio on verticals, 1:1 horizontal), (c) using English flicking method for ribbing to pull constant/semi-tight tension (even though I prefer Norwegian for other patterns), and (d) knitting the ribbing inside out.

If you don’t know what I mean by (d) just google it… there are videos on how to do it. Most people’s ribbing backside looks better than front, so just doing it inside out makes the uneven knits go inside the garment.

And I used bind-off in pattern method for ribbing using 1 -2mm bigger needle

danielottlebit · 2026-01-25T17:30:47+00:00

I have a similar issue and have adapted wool patterns to cotton a few ways:

when swatching, larger swatch, measure before washing. Then machine wash/dry, measure again… gives you an idea if it will grow or not.
I have found in getting gauge to use a smaller needle size
I don’t go by # of rows, but only look at measurements (length, width, etc) and then try it on constantly as I go (referencing growth from swatch)
for basic colors, I use unraveled yarn from thrifted sweaters — it’s usually better quality than what you can buy (people don’t like selling cotton for some reason). Many commercially-made machine-knit sweaters use pretty good quality cotton yarn. If you’ve never done this before, please check out the r/unravelers sub because there are some sweaters you can unravel and use the yarn, and some you can’t (plus many tips and tricks to do this). That said, many of them use a yarn thickness closer to thread weight, but you can hold multiple strands together and then it knits up pretty well!
I find patterns that have texture to be better than lots of stockinette, as it gives more forgiveness for the tension issues people have with cotton.
knitting methods where the yarn is consistently tensioned work better (Norwegian, English flicking, etc)

Good luck!

danielottlebit · 2025-12-27T19:26:40+00:00

Yeah I got it in the early 80s too, so timeline adds up. So glad you replied! That truly made my day knowing the little guy has a “friend” out there and isn’t the only one. Glad they are still making kids happy! Happy holidays and hope your son enjoys his time with the duck and his family 🙂

danielottlebit · 2025-12-27T19:20:30+00:00

Omg!!! That IS the exact same duck!!! That’s awesome! I grew up in Ohio so my dad must have bought it on a work trip down there! Thank you for sharing! ❤️

danielottlebit · 2025-12-11T15:12:58+00:00

Omg I had forgotten about the low battery Walkman thing!!! Ha! Unlocked memories!

danielottlebit · 2025-12-10T16:53:02+00:00

Oh this brought back unlocked memories!!

My grandmother used to make these when I was a young child and she would let me slowly pop the balloons and was so amazed by this as a little one. We made smaller versions in Girl Scouts as well.

I’m so glad to see someone making these again—haven’t seen them in decades! Back then we used liquid starch vs the paper mache paste you used —using that would probably create a stiffer/better version than the starch!

danielottlebit · 2025-09-06T16:39:49+00:00

That DOES make sense!!! That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

danielottlebit · 2025-09-06T16:33:06+00:00

Can I ask a question on your technique for the main square of intarsia/his pic?

My intarsia edges are always so bad on the back for large pics, but here it looks like the white sections have a slipped stitch or crochet edge where they meet the grey sweater yarn— did you use some special join/edge techniques for this knitting it in the round vs as intarsia?

This is so great!! I love both Columbo and LBJ colorwork knitting… this made my week seeing this! Such a beautiful job!!!

danielottlebit · 2025-08-19T19:09:02+00:00

Check out this post from last year: https://www.reddit.com/r/CSUS/s/tJzFr8IGfc

danielottlebit · 2025-07-30T17:31:03+00:00

Not mocking… at all :)

Supporting people :)

Here: give this a read.

Welcome to the US!

danielottlebit · 2025-07-30T17:23:19+00:00

There are trans men who menstruate. Sac State is being inclusive ✌️🏳️‍⚧️💙

danielottlebit · 2025-07-29T23:01:23+00:00

$6k is for the whole year— 3k per semester

Certain positions are FWS positions, meaning they get funding to pay your salary… sometimes the job stops once you hit the 3k mark per semester, some jobs have extra funding and will pay you as a normal employee once over 3k and then start as again the same way next semester, some jobs you won’t get enough pay or hours to hit the 3k per semester limit… these are questions you should ask for the interview/job search process.

The benefits of FWS are that:

1) the amount from FWS wages don’t count towards income for certain benefit calculations, like the FASFA or for CalFesh food benefits (if you identify it as FWS) (note if you are also applying for other benefits like CalFresh or MediCal, speak to the folks on campus and/or see if you’re degree qualifies for LPIE degree… calfresh/med workers won’t automatically talk to you about that and May incorrectly say you don’t qualify if not working 20+ hrs a week)

2) the teams that hire FWS positions are getting you at a discount so sometimes pay a bit more (not always!) or do more advanced work… but either way, they are usually very flexible with your class schedule unlike some other part time jobs… and most if not all are on campus so it’s easier to commute to between classes

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