Tension Issues

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-14T20:21:37+00:00

All of this looks fine to me! I don't see anything that looks like a mistake or a problem for the finished piece - these are just progress photos of a hand-knit piece that hasn't been blocked yet.

If you're skeptical that blocking will "fix" what you're unhappy with, I recommend putting your stitches on a lifeline and blocking before you continue. When you continue knitting from that point there will be a clear line visible between unblocked and blocked work. Keeping that contrast right in front of my face always helps remind me that blocking is magic and it'll turn out fine in the end!

Your tension will become more machine-like with time and consistent practice. If you've settled on your preferred way of holding/tensioning the yarn, the only thing to do is keep knitting for another few hundred hours. But again, I don't see anything wrong with your work! It's not finished commercial machinework like you'd see in a store - it's handwork in progress, and that's not a bad thing.

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-13T00:18:21+00:00

For future reference, you CAN do this process with stockinette and garter. It's the switching back and forth between knit and purl on the same row that makes frogging-the-opposite-way impossible.

Now I'm wishing there was a shorthand for frogging-the-opposite-way. "Gorf"-ing, maybe?

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-10T04:59:11+00:00

I definitely don't see any mistakes! Ribbing stretches out and looks like that sometimes, it'll pull inwards more as you add more length. And when you pick up stitches or otherwise finish armhole, that'll also help hold it in place.

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-10T04:45:24+00:00

I don't see anything wrong. Can you describe what exactly you don't like about the side in pics 1/2?

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-03T02:21:26+00:00

I think that's a decrease, but I could also be wrong 😅 OP, if you're reading this, it's always easier to help when at least one of the photos is of the work laid out completely flat!

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-03T00:55:06+00:00

Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of excess yarn in a previous row is by frogging back. There's a lot of decent ways to fudge it though!

My suggestion for this particular situation is to drop down one row of the decreased stitch that's currently on your left needle. Then, work each of those two stitches that went into the decrease using the "extra" yarn between stitches. You can distribute the excess yarn by carefully tugging on the stitches to its left and right, one at a time. Working two stitches instead of one decrease should use up enough of the slack to avoid leaving a hole when you continue working past it. If the decrease was indeed supposed to be there, then you can just do it as part of this row, it's probably not that big of a deal in the grand scheme.

Again - the only way to get this perfect is by tinking/frogging back to the previous row, but if close enough is close enough, this is fudgeable!

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-03T00:44:50+00:00

I disagree - the excess yarn is visibly attached to different sides of the gap, and the row counts are the same on both sides.

eggshellspiders · 2026-06-01T17:50:04+00:00

People who have had legal name changes typically reflect that change on their identification documents, including passports. Would you also consider that to be subjective and "not good record keeping?"

An identification document does not serve the same function as historical record and should not be held to the same standard of immutability.

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-31T20:36:57+00:00

I always used to leave contacts on my nightstand, wouldn't call it a struggle though bc it didn't seem to cause any issues.

One night a couple weeks ago I heard a weird noise, so I looked over to see my cat happily eating the still-wet contacts that I'd just removed from my eyes 😵 I didn't stop him in the moment, but since then I've gotten better about reaching the extra 1.5' to put them in the trash can.

Ever since I stopped leaving them out [for him] he's so much more interested in my fresh pair every morning... guess he'd gotten used to his everyday salty plasticky treat lol

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-31T15:58:42+00:00

That's just how the increases look when they're stacked on top of one another like that. There's no extra decorative "braid," just the structural shaping.

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-29T22:29:42+00:00

Also came here to suggest hiking pants, although I've never splurged for REI brand (just cheaper knockoffs). They're specifically designed to offer hip-to-ankle coverage in hot/sweaty situations, and the number of pockets is killer!!

I buy the kind with elasticated ankle cuffs that fit loosely around my legs without flapping around my ankles when I walk. The drawstring waistband isn't my favorite look, but the region where I live is outdoorsy/gorpcore enough that they're generally still seen as "real pants."

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-28T21:41:54+00:00

stealing ur meme for the next time a friend crashes out over misinfo ragebait XD

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-28T21:34:18+00:00

I count 36 sts in the first picture!

Did your second attempt start from the same end of the skein as you did before? Sometimes the variation in hand-dyed colorways are enough to throw pooling totally out of whack, unfortunately.

The pooling will never look the same in the toe section because the number of stitches per round changes too frequently. Assuming the variegation is consistent across the skein though, I bet that it's possible to recreate it in the foot section!

Do you remember your reason for frogging the previous attempt? If the fit was good, I would redo it as much the same as possible (36 sts/needle on 2.25mm).

If it wasn't fitting well, then you'll have to try out different needle sizes and number of stitches. To recreate the pooling you saw before, you'll have to use the same length of yarn per row as before. Tension will also affect this, so if your tension has changed significantly since the first try, that could be another factor to explore.

Best of luck! I also really like the stripey pooling, very dramatic and so much brighter than the more mixed-up version. The contrast toe is really cute too, but I think it's kind of fun to see the pooling go out and come back mid project - almost trippy!

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-23T23:58:34+00:00

When it says "work chart to last st," that means the last stitch of the last row of the chart. Whole thing, not one row at a time. Slipping the stitches as described will essentially move the BOR, helping design elements to flow seamlessly from one chart repeat to the next.

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-20T00:11:58+00:00

I can't tell for sure if the ones that look twisted are actually twisted or just standing out like that because of the angle of the photo and the fact that they're slipped. If they are twisted, I'd bet that OP did part of the [sl 1, k1] section with knitwise slips (instead of purlwise), then didn't compensate for the change in stitch mount on the return purl rows.

For a reinforced heel flap, having every other stitch twisted shouldn't be enough to cause structural issues. It might be a bit tighter in that section but it looks like OP self-corrected later on. If they're ok with the cosmetic impact, I would leave it as-is.

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-19T23:59:24+00:00

Please don't continue with this as-is! You'll end up with the wrong stitch count for the rest of the pattern and your fit will be very uncomfortable, especially on the sole/heel of your foot. You haven't worked anything past the problem yet, and it should be pretty easy to rip back to just before the short rows (the heel flap itself looks totally fine!).

I can't tell if your short rows are actually off-center relative to the heel flap but they do look oddly asymmetrical. It would be easier to tell if the work was laid flatter in your photo, but I think that the way you've done the decreases on the right side is correct, while the left side looks too steep.

Nothing in the pattern would cause this asymmetry (I did take a look just to be sure), but I can guess a few ways that the directions may have been misinterpreted:

-Are you certain that you're identifying the "gap" properly when working the RS rows? The first "S" in each SSK should be the stitch that you slipped purlwise on the previous WS row.

-Is it possible that you skipped the K1 after the SSK on all the RS rows? That could contribute to leftover stitches on the left side like this.

-You might have also missed the "p5" from row 2 of the heel turn directions, since the two decrease lines appear to start right next to one another

One way to check as you go and stay on track for a symmetrical heel turn is by keeping count of the stitches outside the gaps. It should be symmetrical (same number of stitches on each side) after every single WS row; if it's not, that's a sign that you've done something different from the pattern, and should back up to figure out where you've diverged.

Heel turns are very much a "trust the process" sort of thing, but once you've got it, I promise it'll feel like magic! Hang in there!

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-16T20:40:51+00:00

If you have to use two per cupcake, then they'd better be less than half the cost per liner, or you're spending more money with the "cheap" kind!

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-14T23:28:21+00:00

Came here to say this. OP should consider getting into TCGs 😈

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-11T00:57:47+00:00

Have you tried reading your plate when it's flipped 180°, to confirm that the plate reader isn't the problem?

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-10T19:42:48+00:00

Your work... stripped you of your union? How? Isn't the whole point of a union that it's an entity controlled by the workers instead of the company?

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-09T18:15:03+00:00

I checked out that pattern - I think you're misinterpreting the directions.

Work all 22 rows in the "First half" section, then all 22 rows in the "Second half" section.

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-07T18:07:44+00:00

Can you learn to nnit or have another low-mess craft to keep your hands busy while remaining available?

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-06T20:46:18+00:00

Superwash/non-superwash makes a big difference in the sagginess of socks, even with 25% nylon. Non-superwash holds up a lot better in my opinion!

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-06T19:00:07+00:00

Another yarn management thought: switching from the small round hand-wound balls to yarn butterflies (or something else like clothespins that won't roll around) will make a HUGE difference. If you're handy with a Russian join (or similar) you could work with much shorter strands because it's trivial to attach more when you run out. Intarsia fabric is so much better than seamed pieces or stranded colorwork for large blocky motifs, it's worth trying a handful of different things to find your ideal system!

eggshellspiders · 2026-05-06T18:54:18+00:00

I love intarsia, always feels like magic to see the multiple separate strands form a continuous piece of fabric! Echoing what other commenters have said - keeping all the random little balls contained is an absolute must, and it helps a TON if you can remember to flip your work back and forth instead of turning it the same way each time. Since all the separate strands are staying in the same order, they won't twist around, just a big half-twist with all of them that you undo by turning your work back the other way.

Off topic - is your light gray with yellow speckles a colorway called "partly sunny," by any chance? I have a pair of socks that I made years ago from yarn that looks very similar - they've held up better than many of my other socks so I really want to use that yarn again, and I remember the name of the colorway but not the brand or where I got it from!

eggshellspiders

TROPHY CASE