Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Spool Knitting


f/4, 1/160, 1600ISO

I can't believe it has taken me this long to try out spool knitting.  I love to crochet (as you've probably figured out by now) but I am really quite spastic when it comes to knitting.  I can't figure out how those straight needles are supposed to pick up the yarn.  I spend more timing cursing than knitting.

But spool knitting -- this is pure brilliance.  And the queen of this brilliance as far as I'm concerned is Tamara over at Etcetorize.  She has fabulous video tutorials on how to spool knit, starting with how to make the knitter and moving through different stitches and projects.  Definitely check out her tutorials if you're going to try this.

I used a Cool Whip container to make my knitter.  It was fine, but maybe a little bit too small.  I ended up with a nice-sized scarf, but would try a bigger container next time to get a little more width.  The edges curl in on the finished product, so you might want to make your project a little wider than you want in the end.

f/5.3, 1/800, 1600ISO

Because it wasn't as wide as I would have liked, I made this scarf extra long so it could be doubled up.  The yarn I used was Country Loom in Rich Granite made by Loops & Threads and I got it at Michael's (on sale of course).  I used a little bit less than one skein of it.

Though Tamara has most of the tips covered, I would say to be careful of dropped stitches.  At one point, I looked at the scarf and there were 3 rows that had a stitch missing.  I had to unravel my work past that point so that I could find the stitches to go back onto the plastic knitter.  I also put it down once and got the yarn caught on myself (yeah, just a tad clumsy) and pulled it off of the plastic again.  This time I didn't have to unravel, thankfully.  I was able to slide the stitches back on.  So anyway, if you have any clumsy tendencies, be careful to avoid that.

Here it is wrapped around more like a cowl.  It is so incredibly soft, I wish I was keeping this one.  I guess I'll just have to make another one for me.

f/4, 1/160, 1600ISO

This is where I'm partying:

15 comments:

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

That is pure brilliance!! Thank you for finding out about it. I can't wait to try it. I just have to make myself wait until after Christmas!

Etcetorize said...

Your scarf turned out great! Looks very chic on you. Thanks for the shout out~

Unknown said...

Such a cute scarf! I have been meaning to try out the spool knitting it looks like fun. I LOVE the scarf you made so stylish.

Lesley said...

I have several spools that I can't seem to get the hang of. they're those big, pastel colored ones you can get at Michael's or WalMart.
I've had them...3 years and tried many times to use them but they're awful. The wool wraps too tight and there's this ball on the end of each stick that is very difficult to pull the wool over.
I'm going to try this way. I looked at the tutorial on youtube and it looks like the wool just slips over no problem! Yay!

Mindy said...

There's no way I'd ever recognize you on the street. Every picture I ever see is different from the last! lol
This is the kind of knitting I need. My hands don't work as a team when they're holding needles and my frustration could result in one or more people being impaled.

Ann from On Sutton Place said...

Love the scarf, the color of the scarf and the photo of you! Gray is the new black these days so it goes with everything. Great job with the spool. Hope you are well and not crazed getting ready for Christmas.

Town and Country Gals said...

Terry,
your scarf is adorable! My "sewing" skills stop at x-stitch and the blanket stitch! LOL!
Saw your post on the mittens, I've been making them for years small and bigge along with stockings. I'll be posting them soon so if you get a chance check it out, I think you'll like them.
Merry Christmas!
Rebecca

Carmella said...

Terry! This is so great! I love it!

Kei said...

Your scarf looks awesome! You're certainly patient, to be able to go back and unravel and reknit where you dropped stitches! They are the bane of my life whenever I try to knit, but I can never bring myself to go back and fix it!

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

The scarf looks smashing, my dear.

Macey said...

It looks great!!

west_starlight said...

I cannot knit to save my life but, when I was a teenager I made loads of stuff this way. I am pretty sure I still have one of my spools. I'll have to look and give it a go.

Brandi said...

Beautiful job Terry! I bet it keeps your neck nice and warm!

Shiloh said...

Oh how cool! I used to do spool knitting years ago with a wooden spool and nails, but it was super tiny. I LOVE this idea!:)

Trish@MomOnTimeout said...

Thanks so much for sharing at Taking A Timeout Thursday. This is so cool and something I definitely will be trying. I crochet but just cannot figure out knitting! You're being featured tonight :)

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