Tips and Techniques Set 9

 Lace Tips

Anytime is a good time to try out some lace techniques. These hints on making lace knitting easier have been collected from several different sources. Basically, all the lace carriage does is pick up a stitch from one needle and transfer it to another needle. But, by trying some of the following, you should be able to make it easier for your lace carriage to work.

1. As with any knitting, check your equipment first. Do you have any bent needles? Are the needles and the bed clean and free from oil/lint buildup? Bad needles will catch and make transferring hard, if not impossible.

2. After you've cleaned up the needles, the bed, and the carriages, be sure to add a small amount of lubrication to all of the equipment. Put a drop of oil on your finger and wipe it over the needle butts. Repeat for both carriages. Often knitters forget to oil the lace carriage, so be sure to include it in the process.

3. Choose a compatible yarn. Yarns that are fuzzy or hairy will tend to get caught up on needles and gate posts. These yarns will have many more dropped stitches because the lace carriage is working against the fuzzy parts. Likewise, soft yarns should be saved for other projects as they may tend to unravel and cause problems. Dress or tight twist yarns make the best lace. Cotton has less give than acrylic, so you may want to use wax if you are making cotton lace.

4. The best motion for the lace carriage is a slide, not a pull--push method. Downward pressure will not make the knitting easier. Perhaps a mental picture of skimming across ice will give you an idea of the correct feel.

5. Lace needs the proper tension and weight. While you are making your swatch, try several different tensions to discover the best one for the yarn you are using. Also the weight needs to be even across the bed. If you are using a cast-on comb, be sure to hang the small weights at regular intervals all across the piece. As the piece gets longer, you may want to substitute triangle weights for the cast-on comb. I personally like the triangle weights from Studio because they are easier to insert into the yarn. Don't forget the edge weights.

6. If you have yarn that you just have to make into lace, but it has a tendency to drop stitches, check out the pattern you have chosen. If you are making multiple passes with the lace carriage, you may want to choose a simpler pattern with only a few passes.

7. The first lace carriage passes should not be done right after the cast-on row. Knit a few rows of stockinette first. You may even want to cast on with waste and ravel cord so you can hang the weights properly before you begin the lace pattern.

8. Because your main carriage has been pushed far to the side of the knitting, perhaps even out on the lace rails, you may want to check the yarn before you knit the first row after the lace transfers. Make sure the yarn is not caught on any part of the machine and can move easily through the feeders. Making the yarn tight will keep loops from forming on the sides of the piece.

9. When is it a do-over? Check your knitting regularly. One or two dropped stitches can be worked back into the pattern. Probably the easiest time to work them back in is after you have taken the piece off the machine. However, if you have multiple drops, you will probably want to take the piece off, rewind the yarn, take a break and try again later.

Chenille Tips

Chenille can make beautiful garments and is usually worth the bit of extra trouble it takes.

1. To help prevent worming in chenille, knit the yarn tightly. A single strand of serger thread will also help stabilize the chenille.

2. The chenille swatch should be larger than normal. Chenille is a heavy yarn and will often stretch longer and narrower as it is worn. Again, knitting it with a strand of something else will help solve this problem.

3. Chenille works very well in weaving patterns. The background yarn may be the same color, or it may be a contrast color. The background yarn stabilizes the chenille.

4. Weaving elastic with chenille in a 1x1 rib pattern will form a very good "faux rib". Knitting elastic or lycra are good for this.

5. Because of the nature of chenille, it will fuzz and create "chenille fog" in the knitting room. Be sure other machines are covered. Some knitters have worn a nose and mouth mask if the chenille fuzzes badly enough.

6. After washing and drying flat, chenille items look better if they are fluffed up a bit in the dryer. Most dryers have an air-fluff or no-heat setting, which works well with chenille.