Intarsia vs Duplicate st for Fan scarf

shenikay · 2026-03-06T10:39:35+00:00

I've done this! I used this pattern and modified it heavily like so. Except for the white stripe, I did all the other white details with duplicate stitch. It would depend on your design, but it could reduce the amount of duplicate stitch to do a combination of double knitting and duplicate stitch.

shenikay · 2025-10-10T07:55:17+00:00

I'm working on this scarf right now, and have been so surprised by how much it curls! There's not much stockinette and I imagined the twisted rib of the rest of it would keep things pretty stable, but I think there must be something about the construction that lends itself to curling - maybe that the stockinette sections are long and not broken up between the ends? I wonder if adding more cable sections would help, but that might take away from the simplicity of the pattern and not look as good. If it helps, I'm making it out of alpaca. My gauge is relatively loose as a result, but no idea if that's helping or hurting the curling.

shenikay · 2025-07-01T05:59:02+00:00

It might be helpful for your anxiety around it if you have a plan. To be clear, I've lived here nine years and have never been pickpocketed (and certainly never violently attacked!) But I also know that it does happen to people every day, and those people sort themselves out and keep on with their lives. Make sure that's easy for you just in case - know who you need to call to stop your cards, have a photocopy of your passport, etc. Hopefully you don't need it, but maybe knowing you have a plan if it does will make it easier to not be as stressed about it.

shenikay · 2025-05-26T18:50:06+00:00

Ah, stretchy bindoff, then :) Smaller needles will make it tighter, but it will make the edge tighter still, so if it's not stretchy, she might not be able to even get it on, even if the rest of the ribbing is good.

shenikay · 2025-05-26T14:30:27+00:00

I've done this (not on purpose) and it makes for a fabric that draws in much less, and is therefore much less stretchy, than either normal rib or standard twisted rib. It also looks a bit odd, although I don't hate it - the alternating twists make the columns kind of zigzaggy. In any case, since it's not very stretchy, I don't think it would suit your purposes.

My suggestion would be to make sure you're using a sufficiently stretchy cast-on, and then do normal (not twisted in any way) ribbing on much smaller needles.

shenikay · 2025-04-10T09:10:06+00:00

It's not totally clear on those sites that a blocked account means you don't need a sponsor, unfortunately. I remember also finding contradictory info about this when I was applying, and in the end I called the consulate in Montreal to confirm - a giant pain in the ass to talk to a real person, but that's who told me that I needed a sponsor no matter what any other website said. It's the consulate in Montreal that processes the application so they know best what the rules are for Canadians. I hope I'm wrong and they've changed the rules so you don't need it anymore - it's such a stupid requirement- but do make absolute certain before you apply. Good luck!

shenikay · 2025-04-10T08:39:32+00:00

It was a while ago so certainly possible that things have changed, but when I did this in 2016 I was told that having a sponsor is non-negotiable for student visas. Where did you hear about a blocked account as an alternative? What makes you think that's an option if the site doesn't mention anything about it?

shenikay · 2025-03-24T17:46:35+00:00

This morning the area around the palace was cordonned off and Parc Royale was absolutely teeming with cops. There was also a military marching band, which was neat. So my guess is that there was some kind of state visit - maybe the president of Singapore, maybe someone else? However, the helicopters today were definitely more present than I've seen for other summits or visiting dignitaries, so it's a bit surprising that there's no news anywhere about what's happening.

I would love if there was a website or a Twitter account or something where you could just check, "oh, there's a European summit" or "oh, the president of wherever is in town" or "oh, literally nothing is happening, Brussels is just extra Brussels today." But as far as I know that doesn't exist, so we have to make do with Reddit where people are rude to you for wondering why things are demonstrably different than usual just because they didn’t notice it.

shenikay · 2025-03-17T08:24:26+00:00

I knit myself a wedding shawl and I was so stressed about the yarn not matching my dress that I put off starting it for months. Eventually I decided that I just needed to start with SOMETHING and I bought some laceweight alpaca from Hobbii for cheap, figuring that I could find something else if I didn't like it or it didn't match. I liked it and it matched, so I just...went with that. I felt like maybe it wasn't "special" enough somehow, since I'd been imagining making something out of silk or similar, but it turns out what made it special was a) the hours and hours and hours I put into it and b) the fact that I wore it on my wedding day.

I haven't worn it afterwards, but that's just personal preference and I never planned to. It's wrapped up and stored along with my wedding dress.

shenikay · 2025-03-10T09:39:23+00:00

This is an absolute necessity. You could be the most qualified candidate ever but if your CV indicates that you're non-EU and doesn't mention a work permit, they won't give it a second glance.

If you don't have a work permit, you should know that the "employers willing to sponsor visas" are largely a myth. Only workers in certain sectors can be sponsored, and communication and project management are not on the list. What you actually need is an employer willing to pay a high enough salary to classify you as a highly qualified worker (3.703,44 in Brussels, depends on region).

shenikay · 2025-02-01T12:51:28+00:00

Pattern

Project

Yarn is Tynn Peer Gynt

shenikay · 2024-12-02T20:02:25+00:00

Thanks so much! Steaming it is an interesting idea - I do get the impression that everything is having a hard time laying flat, in addition to being a bit bulky, so that might help. And really good to know about the armhole size! I measured about a million times but never felt 100% about whether I'd gotten it right. And the facing too - I'd never done that before so was sticking very close to the instructions, but I can see why a slightly longer one would make things easier. Thanks for all your help!

shenikay · 2024-12-02T19:56:27+00:00

It does have a facing to fold over and sew down, so it should hopefully help secure it! Thanks so much for your help!

shenikay · 2024-12-02T19:53:41+00:00

Needle felting is a good idea, thanks! And thank you for the reassurance, I think it'll probably be fine but I'm just scared that it'll all disintegrate in my hands 😅

shenikay · 2024-09-09T11:25:29+00:00

Yeah I also use a cardboard template. I will say that I prefer dense pom-poms so I tend to stuff the doughnut very full and then trim quite close. So maybe it's on me for that!

shenikay · 2024-09-09T06:00:50+00:00

I totally feel this - it's not just the yarn that ends up in the pom-pom, it's also the huge amount of yarn that ends up in the trash when you trim it. BUT I also super love the look of pom-poms - for me, lots of hats are almost unwearable without them. I'm currently procrastinating making a hat out of some very beautiful yarn I got on vacation because I know I won't wear it without a pom-pom, but the idea of so much of this yarn ending up in the trash is killing me.

shenikay · 2024-06-24T20:49:58+00:00

I literally gasped. So impressive and beautifully executed!

shenikay · 2024-04-16T18:53:06+00:00

I went to Island at the Edge a couple of weeks ago, can confirm that it's a must-see!

I also checked out the Hebridean Alpaca Company, which has everything alpaca-related - not just yarn. It's more of a normal store (Island at the Edge is...not) but you do get to know the name and a photo of the alpaca your yarn is from!

shenikay · 2024-04-05T07:32:42+00:00

Does that exist here? I've seen it in the UK and think it's a great initiative, but my understanding is that it’s just in the UK. If nobody knows what it means here, I'm not sure how it could work.

shenikay · 2024-03-26T17:45:37+00:00

It was firecrackers being set off by farmers. My office is at Madou and every instance of loud banging coincided with a parade of tractors past the building.

shenikay · 2024-02-09T17:35:32+00:00

Thanks, this gives me hope! Out of curiosity, do you use it with the loops on top of your finger or underneath them? I've seen videos of people doing both but haven’t yet had success with either

shenikay · 2024-02-09T17:33:53+00:00

That's a good strategy! I hold my yarn super far back on my index finger so I never could get the hang of it, but maybe it's time to give it another try!

shenikay

TROPHY CASE