Picking Up Stitches - Part 2

We started with picking up stitches on the public side, but how about picking up stitches from the private side or wrong side of the fabric? It can be done and turns out to be very useful in a variety of situations.

Picking up stitches from the private side, working right to left is also called purling up stitches. Purling up stitches is to purling as knitting up stitches is to knitting. Remember to utilize your free hand to manipulate the fabric over the tip of the needle on step 3.

To pick up stitches on the private side as if to purl, the steps are as follows:
1. The right hand needle is inserted into the selvedge edge, as if to purl.
2. The yarn wrapped as if to purl.
3. Then the stitch is pull up (away from the knitter), back to the public side on the right hand needle.

Just as you can knit in the opposite direction (see Knitting Backwards), you can also pick up stitches on the public side, but work from left to right.

As with knitting in the opposite direction, I personally find picking up in the opposite direction much more efficient than picking up stitches on the private side. The primary reason being that the public side of the work is facing me and I can watch to make sure that I am picking up the stitches along a consistent line. Also, since knitting in the opposite direction is faster than purling for me, picking up in the opposite direction is faster too. You will need to see what works best for you, but keep in mind there is almost always more than one way to accomplish the same goal.

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Picking Up Stitches - Part 1

Picking up stitches is a key skill utilized in entrelac. Although this is often a practice avoided by many knitters, it is a valuable skill every knitter should have.

The advantage of practicing picking up stitches on entrelac is two fold. First, the number of stitches picked up for any given rectangle is a relatively small number. This means you can practice a little and then knit a little, repeating the process many times over the course of an entire piece of entrelac. Second, for the most part, you get to practice picking up from the public side and the private side an equal number of times. Being able to pick up from the private side is a skill that comes in handy quite often, once it is in your personal skill set.

Let's start with picking up stitches from the public side or right side. Picking up stitches from the public side, working right to left is also called knitting up stitches. This technique eliminates the need for a crochet hook in most instances. And although, a crochet hook my still be required occasionally, the knitting needles used for the project should suffice.

To pick up stitches on the public side as if to knit, the steps are as follows:
1. The right hand needle is inserted into the selvedge edge, as if to knit.
2. The yarn wrapped as if to knit.
3. Then the stitch is pull up, back to the public side on the right hand needle.

The third step usually a combination of pulling the loop through and using the left hand to manipulate the fabric over the tip of the needle. Your speed will improve with practice.

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All About Entrelac

All About Entrelac...it is just a working title, but at least it is a start. I have
had people ask me to write a book on entrelac for years. And it is one of the few books that I am actually interested in trying to put together. Recently I came across a pair of gals called the Blog Squad. How I found them is a bit convoluted, but needless to say, I have started following them. Their primary service is geared toward business professionals wanting to take their blog to the next level. One of the ways to do this is to write your "next" book via a blog.

So for the next few weeks, and most likely months, the Knitting Professor is going to be focusing on entrelac. At least until I move it to a different site or give up on the idea. Now even if you are not particularly interested in entrelac, many of the skills can be applied to other areas of your knitting.

So let's start with knitting backwards. So the question is, how do I learn to knit in the opposite direction? The key, which I have shared in countless classes and demonstrations, is to teach yourself based on how you knit. My particular motions will only work for you if you knit the exact same way that I do.

Before you embark on teaching yourself this very fun skill, remember this is just like learning to knit for the first time. Your tension will probably be all off and it will start out being much slower than just turning the work and purling. However, with practice and a little persistence, you will work out the awkwardness, even up the tension and pick up speed. The final effort is worth the investment.

1. Begin by turning your work to the private side and inserting your needle as if to purl.
2. Without changing your needles, turn your work to the public side and note the position of the inserted needle.
3. Turn your work back to the private side and wrap your yarn around the needle without pulling up a loop.
4. Without changing the position of the yarn, turn your work to the public side and note the position of the yarn and which direction it is wrapped around the needle.
5. With the public side of the work facing you, pull up the loop that is wrapped around your left needle.
6. Repeat these steps until you are familiar with the correct positioning of the needle and wrap direction of the yarn.

So now off you go to practice!

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The Importance of Seams

Seams -- a word that generates fear in some knitters, even to the point of trying to avoid them at all costs. Having recently completed the Sample Stitch Kimono, I had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time not only thinking about, but in fact creating seams.

Now it would be a lie to say that enjoy seaming, but I do get a great deal of satisfaction having completed a seam that is done particularly well. And although there are many classes on finishing, it is a topic that I believe the more options you are aware of, the better chance of having a finished product you are happy with!

And of course, there is no substitute for experience! Seaming stitches to stitches has always been easier for me than seaming rows to rows. However, seaming stitches to rows never bothered me as much because the "fudge factor" was never quite as obvious.

Almost all the seams in the Sample Stitch Kimono are rows to rows, so I had an opportunity to gain a lot of experience. Below are my observations (for what they are worth):

• If both pieces have a slipped stitch edge they are easy to seam, but not a "sturdy". If only one does, it compounds the difficulty of seaming rows.


• A stockinette selvedge edge was easier for me to work with, especially if I was trying to only catch half a stitch in the seam.


• In most cases, catching a whole stitch does not add significant bulk to the seam, but great improves the look of the finished product.

What are your experiences in creating seams?

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Finished Project

Okay -- so it took a while to get this posted, but I have been very busy getting ready to upload a complete revamp of my website along with preparing new product for the TNNA show in January. My New Year's resolution is to post to one of my three different blogs each day.

Notice how the flap on the purse isn't wavy along the bottom edge. Although I did block it slightly, it is based on the method decribed below. Now if you want to know how the purse holds it shape, you will just have get the pattern -- which will be availabe immediately after TNNA (middle of January)!!

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