reading

About the Book

Perfect your knitting skills or learn the basics of the craft with this handy little book of tips and tricks from the UK’s foremost knitwear designer and bestselling author, Debbie Bliss.

From choosing your yarns, casting on and off, and simple shaping, to how to correct your errors, this is an essential addition to every knitter’s workbag.

About the Author

Debbie Bliss is the foremost knitwear designer for children. With a string of bestselling titles to her name, she regularly tours the US, Canada and other countries, giving lectures and doing workshops and has her own Debbie Bliss branded yarn range which is sold worldwide. Debbie lives in London with her husband and two children. Her website is www.debbieblissonline.com.

To Mid, my exceptional mother

Introduction

THIS HANDY LITTLE book of tips and hints is aimed at both new knitters who want a quick reference guide to the basics of the craft, and the more experienced knitters who want to improve their techniques and begin to create their own ideas. It is just the right size to carry around with your projects and dip into when you need to clarify a technique or better understand a pattern.

From simple shaping to creating textures, to adding embroidery to your garments, working edgings or incorporating buttons and beads, this book will help you broaden your knitting skills and give you some ideas for creating your own unique looks.

Debbie Bliss

YARNS

From rustic tweeds to crisp cottons and sensuous silks, there is a wonderful range of fibres to choose from now. With classic and fancy yarns, smooth and slub, there are yarns to suit every season, look or mood. With such great choice and with new yarns coming out every year, it can be difficult to know which to use. The following pages may help you decide.

YARNS

Yarn Fibres

Types of Yarn

Plies and Weights

Most Commonly Used Yarns

Other Yarn Descriptions

Buying Yarn for a Knitting Pattern

Understanding Ball Bands

yarn fibres

FIBRES ARE DIVIDED into two main categories: natural and synthetic.

Natural fibres are then divided into animal fibres – wool, angora, cashmere, silk – and those from vegetable fibres, such as cotton, linen and hemp.
Synthetic fibres are made from polyester, nylon and acrylic. Synthetic fibres tend to get a bad press – and for good reason. Although they are cheaper and can be thrown into a washing machine, they don’t have the same insulating properties as natural fibres and can produce a limp, flat fabric that will melt on contact with an iron.
When synthetic fibres are blended with natural yarns, they can add durability and lightness.
My preference is to use, where possible, natural fibres or those containing a small amount of man-made fibres.

types of yarn

Wool

Wool, spun from the fleece of sheep, is the yarn that is most commonly associated with knitting. It has many excellent properties as it is durable, elastic, and warm in winter.

Wool yarn is particularly good for working colour patterns, since the fibres adhere together and help prevent Fair Isle or intarsia patterns from ‘pulling away’ and forming gaps.
Some knitters also find that simple stitch patterns, such as garter stitch and moss (seed) stitch, can look neater and the knitted fabric more even, in a wool rather than a cotton yarn.
Superwash wool has been treated to allow for machine washing.

Cotton

Cotton yarn, made from a natural plant fibre, is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, making it an ideal all-seasons fibre. It is a good yarn to use when there is subtle stitch detailing, as the crispness of the yarn adds clarity to the stitch.

Make sure you use a really good-quality cotton for the knitted cotton fabric; if it has been worked in a poorer-quality cotton, it can droop and lose its elasticity after washing, particularly on ribbed borders.

Knitting yarn that is made from a blend of wool and cotton fibres is particularly good for children’s knitwear. This is because the wool content gives elasticity for comfort, and the cotton content is perfect for those children who find wool fibres scratchy and irritating on the skin.

Alpaca

Often as soft as cashmere, alpaca yarn is a cheaper alternative. Made from an animal related to the llama, it is hardwearing and resistant to pilling.

Bamboo

A very silky yarn that drapes beautifully.

Camel

Made from the Bactrian camel, it is soft but rather un-elastic, so it is often better combined with wool.

Cashmere

Made from the underhair of a particular Asian goat, cashmere yarn will always be seen as the ultimate in luxury. It is absolutely beautiful and unbelievably soft to the touch. It can be expensive due to the shortage of supply, but if you find the cost prohibitive, try using it for small items such as scarves or baby clothes.

Linen

Made from the flax plant, linen yarn is one of the earliest fibres used by man in textiles. It is beautiful in classic, simple shapes, but can be rather hard to the touch in hand-knitting yarn.

Organic yarns

Made from fibre that is produced without the use of man-made chemicals, such as herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertiliser.

Rayon

Made from the cellulose of wood pulp, this is a natural fibre that is treated chemically.

Silk

Silk is a fibre produced by silk moths as they spin their cocoons. Its beauty can make up for some of its less practical properties, as it can be inclined to pill and is not a very elastic yarn.

plies and weights

YARN IS MADE up from one or more strands of fibre called plies, several of which are twisted together to form ‘plied yarn’. The thickness of yarn comes not from the number of plies, but the individual thickness of each ply. For example, a yarn with four plies can be finer than a single-ply bulky yarn.

Yarns come in different weights of thicknesses and range from fine 2- or 3-ply yarns to bulky, chunky yarns. The thickness of the yarn determines how many stitches and rows there are to 2.5 cm (1 in) and is the basis on which all knitting patterns are created.
Yarns with a tight twist are usually strong and smooth, and those with a looser twist are generally softer and less even. They can pull apart if over-handled and may not be suitable for sewing up your garment.

most commonly used yarns

THE FOLLOWING YARNS are those that are most frequently used in commercial knitting patterns and are readily available.

Aran weight: Slightly thicker than a DK (see double knitting, below) and traditionally used in Aran or fishermen’s sweaters, Aran is knitted on 4.5 mm (US 7) or 5 mm (US 8) needles. The tension is usually 18 sts to 10 cm (4 in). For example, Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran.
Chunky: Knitted on 6.5 mm (US 10.5) needles, the tension is usually 14 sts to 10 cm (4 in). For example, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky.
Double knitting: Often referred to as DK, this yarn is knitted on 4 mm (US 6) needles. The tension is usually 22 sts to 10 cm (4 in). For example, Debbie Bliss Rialto Double Knitting.
4-ply: A fine yarn knitted on 3.25 mm (US 3) needles. The tension is usually 28 sts to 10 cm (4 in). For example, Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply.
Lightweight yarn: This is a yarn that is slightly thicker than a 4-ply and is worked on the same-sized needles. It is between a 4-ply and a double knitting yarn. The tension is usually 25 sts to 10 cm (4 in). For example, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

other yarn descriptions

YOU MAY COME across these technical terms when choosing yarn:

Blends: Yarns made from a mix of fibres, such as wool/cotton, cotton/silk. They can often combine the best of both worlds; for instance, the elasticity of wool with the coolness of cotton.
Fancy or novelty yarns: These yarns tend to be part of a fashion trend for a particular season. They are often textured, such as the curly looking bouclé, or maybe a shiny ribbon yarn. They do not always have a very long shelf-life, so knit it while you can, or if it is for a project that you are going to put on the back burner, make sure you have enough yarn!
Felted yarns: These have been treated so that when knitted they give the soft and fuzzy appearance of felted fabric.
Heathers: Yarns that combine grey fleece yarn with dyed yarns, giving a soft, muted look.
Marls: Yarns of two or more plies where the plies are different colours.
Random or variegated yarns: These have been dyed with different shades along the length of the yarn. They can be a good way of achieving colour effects without having to change yarn and colours.
Roving: Yarns that are unspun and loosely plied. When pulled, they break easily, but when knitted, they make very soft garments.
Slub: These have a textured appearance with ‘clumps’ on the surface. Achieved by combining a smooth yarn as the core with an outer, uneven ply.
Smooth: These tend to be the yarns with the tighter twist. They are sometimes also referred to as classic yarns. The smooth surface makes them perfect for showing up stitches, which is particularly important with subtle stitch patterns or cables.
Tweeds: Yarns with a background shade contrasting with flecks of different colours.

buying yarn for a knitting pattern

MAKE EVERY EFFORT to buy the yarn specified in the pattern. The designer will have created the design with that yarn in mind and a substitute may produce a garment that is different from the one that you had wanted to make. For instance, a design’s appeal may rely on a subtle stitch pattern, which is lost when using a yarn of inferior quality.