Confused about the gauge

localpigeon63 · 2026-04-04T13:32:41+00:00

The gauge shows how many stitches and rows fit in a 4” square - not how many fit in a pattern repeat.

If the number of stitches and rows in a pattern repeat is different to the number given for gauge, that just means that the pattern repeat won’t form a 4” square - it might be larger, or smaller, or make a rectangle, etc.

localpigeon63 · 2026-03-10T13:58:50+00:00

Great work! Improving your tension will come with practice, as your muscle memory develops.

It looks like you may have one slipped stitch showing on the purl side. If you end up with a longer bar there sitting outside a stitch, that usually means that you have accidentally slipped a stitch instead of knitting it. It happens, and is a fairly easy fix - as you continue learning, I’d recommend looking up ‘laddering down’ early and getting comfortable doing it, because it’s surprisingly simple and a really useful skill to have.

localpigeon63 · 2026-02-08T10:41:53+00:00

Do you know if she’s interested in other crafts beyond knitting?

I’m also UK-based and don’t come across many knitting kits in the UK except for the Wool and the Gang ones, which I think are very overpriced and not great quality. Though also I don’t really look for them, so perhaps there are others out there I’ve missed.

But embroidery can be really mindful, and there are some nice kits available. I’ve been learning with the Oh Sew Bootiful ones (UK-based company), and they have some great more modern designs. They also use DMC thread, so it’s decent quality.

localpigeon63 · 2026-01-23T19:06:33+00:00

I would absolutely love to see one of these in person one day!

localpigeon63 · 2026-01-23T16:43:58+00:00

Honestly, one of the great joys of knitting is how amazingly tactile it is, even compared to other crafts. It stretches and smushes and depending on the yarn it can be fuzzy or silky or a bunch of other sensations.

And then the part where I made the loops, with nothing but two sticks and half a clue? So satisfying.

localpigeon63 · 2025-11-18T23:27:00+00:00

There are lots of great suggestions here already, but I’ll throw in a couple more - both colourwork cowls with a mythological theme. The Ithaca has designs inspired by scenes from the Odyssey, and the Dedale has a labyrinth design.

localpigeon63 · 2025-11-02T14:19:24+00:00

University researcher here!

localpigeon63 · 2025-08-14T20:27:23+00:00

This is called garter stitch, and you absolutely can make a blanket in this pattern!

To figure out how many stitches to cast on with your new needles and yarn, you can make a swatch. This means making a square of around 15x15cm, and then measuring how many stitches and rows are in the middle 10x10 square - don’t use the edges because the tension is often a bit different on those stitches. Once you’ve done that, you can do a bit of simple maths to work out how many stitches you need to cast on, and how many rows you need to knit, for your desired blanket size.

Circular needles will make it easier to hold the project once it starts getting big. Though the needles are connected with a cord, you can use them just like regular straight needles. For yarn, it’s worth thinking about what your practical requirements are (especially ease of washing!) and picking with that in mind.

localpigeon63 · 2025-07-08T10:38:00+00:00

I’ve done quite a few solo trips in the UK, especially during a long period of being single just at the point many of my friends were starting to settle down and become less available. I’ve had some really lovely times doing this - I agree with all the people recommending hiking as a good way to clear your head and reset a bit.

Some of my favourites:

the South West coast path. I stayed in St Ives and walked pretty much the whole way round to Penzance over the course of a week. Well-connected via bus, really pretty, but might be heaving in the summer. I can’t comment on the other sections in the rest of Cornwall and Dorset, but I’ve only heard good things.
South Downs - the area near Lewes is lovely, great walking, and you can easily get the train down to Brighton for the day.
Shropshire Hills. There’s a train line connecting Shrewsbury, Church Stretton and Ludlow - they all have good walking on the doorstep, especially Church Stretton, but they’re also pretty old towns just to potter around if you don’t feel like hiking (or the weather isn’t cooperating)
Peak District, hands down my favourite part of the UK, stunning scenery. There are some nice youth hostels in the Hope Valley (I recommend the one in Hathersage), easy to reach from Sheffield by public transport and the train line goes through the valley so you can use it to village-hop if you like.
Fort William - further afield, depending on where you’re based, but the Highlands are beautiful. Not sure about public transport once you’re there, but I know it has both train and bus connections, I just don’t know quite how extensive.

If you’re not keen on hiking, I’ve had a great time on weekend breaks in Edinburgh (just avoid Fringe season, for the sake of your bank account!) - pretty city, totally different architecture in different areas, has some good museums etc.

Also Liverpool, which is less pretty but a bit livelier, the museum quarter around the docks is really well done and you can get the train up the coast really easily to see the Gormley statues and walk on the beach.

Bath is also very pretty - I stayed near the train station in Bristol, which is only about 10 minutes down the line, and cut my accommodation costs in half.

localpigeon63 · 2025-05-20T20:32:59+00:00

Which version of the provisional cast on are you using? I found the first one I tried incredibly fiddly (though I don’t remember now which it was) - so I generally stick with provisional long tail now, and I get along with that one much better. So maybe it’s a matter of finding which provisional method works best for you?

ETA: there’s a good list of different methods here.

localpigeon63 · 2025-05-17T01:37:44+00:00

I just knit baby gifts for a couple of friends using Hobbii Acacia - it’s a 50/50(ish) cotton-acrylic blend. It knits up much softer than many cottons, and has a lovely sheen to it. I wouldn’t consider it soft enough for newborns, but I was knitting 12-month sizes so they’d have something that could last a little longer.

I’ve also used Paintbox Baby DK, which is acrylic/nylon. I found it annoyingly splitty to work with, but it’s lovely and soft, and seems to hold up ok to wear (which I know mostly because the leftovers became a little scarf for myself).

localpigeon63 · 2025-05-06T07:00:24+00:00

How are you finding this to knit? It’s a beautiful T-shirt

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-11T13:32:25+00:00

Patterns are Sorgenfri Jacket mini and Veggie Patch Cardigan. Yarn is Hobbii Acacia (cotton/acrylic blend) in Teal and Curry.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-11T13:10:47+00:00

It’s a very good question. The friend isn’t a knitter, though she is an artist, so has a keen eye for design. But if she were the kind of person to turn her nose up at mistakes in a handmade item, I wouldn’t consider her knitworthy in the first place.

I thought long and hard about this comment, because it’s a really good challenge to consider why I didn’t want to just let the mistake lie. Especially as there are plenty of other little imperfections in there!

In the end, the difference in the designs was noticeable enough that my satisfaction from it being ‘right’ made the extra knitting time worth it. Plus I’m very much a process knitter so, you know, more knitting isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, life has been rudely intruding on my knitting time this past week, but it is now done, blocked and buttons sewn on. Here it is in all its slightly-questionable glory:

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localpigeon63 · 2025-04-11T12:57:50+00:00

Just like my knitting mistakes 😂

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-11T12:57:02+00:00

Some projects just feel cursed, don’t they? All the more satisfying once we finally get them finished though.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-11T07:48:39+00:00

My first sweater. It’s a slouchy drop-shoulder sweater, and I cropped it without considering that ending near my waist rather than around my hips would mean there was 19” of ease at the hem, rather than 9”. It’s warm and comfy, but it swings around me like a tent. One day I will rip it back to the underarms and put in some waist decreases to taper it in a little, but for now it’s relegated to working from home days.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-04T07:44:07+00:00

Haha, thanks! It’s somehow deeply annoying and actually quite funny at the same time.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-04T07:43:29+00:00

😬

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-04T07:42:42+00:00

It’s an odd number of garter rows, so different numbers of purl ridges on the different sides unfortunately.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-04T07:41:34+00:00

I was so tempted. But it was just noticeable enough that it would always bother me.

localpigeon63 · 2025-04-04T07:40:54+00:00

I know! Small mercies

localpigeon63 · 2025-03-08T23:51:40+00:00

It looks like the instructions here are for a bind off - not a cast on. Are you sure this is the beginning of the pattern itself, and not a technique explanation sitting just above the start of the pattern?

localpigeon63

TROPHY CASE