The Knitting Fiend

Look what I made from seven tiny, 20 gram balls of mohair! No fancy stitches, no trememdously difficult techniques. I’ll admit, you do need to know how to increase, and you need to work short rows. Both are very easy to do, and discussed in most “How to Knit” books. Well, I also admit, you need to know how to count to 12, and add simple numbers like 21+2 = 23.

I have yet to meet a knitter who didn’t know how to do those.

If you want to knit my pattern, visit the hand knit cape page. (Machine knitters, I knit the MK version long ago. Visit here.) The instructions are bit long winded, because, well… I’m long winded. More importantly, I really do want knitters who have never knit short rows to do them right the first time. So, I describe how to do it in much greater detail than most other pattern writers do.

Now, I’ve said short rows are easy. So, you’re probably wondering: “Why would you need to explain in greater detail?” Well…., I get email from visitors who have messed up short rows. They send me photos, and the text of directions in patterns they got from…. somewhere…. (Not me. These are generally, proof read directions published in books and magazines which advanced knitters told them were very, clear and concise.) For some reason, the pattern will tell them to knit part way across the row, but won’t explicitly mention you need to turn the work before you knit every stitch on the left hand needle. Then, you start knitting back.

So, the puzzled intermediate knitter doesn’t turn — because they’ve never turned the work before knitting every stitch in the row. This results in some ridiculous looking messes.

I once saw the funniest photo of an attempt at a saddle shoulder you can imagine. The knitter was eight rows into the instructions for the saddle, and was sure things weren’t going well. She typed her instructions word for word.

I emailed the knitter, replying: “At the end of the instruction for row 1 write, turn the work. Then start row 2. You need to turn the work even though you haven’t knit all the way across the row. So, write turn work, after every row.”

The knitter wrote back and said: “Oh, that’s easy. So, why didn’t they say so?” I replied, “Well, the pattern writer, or possibly the copy editor, probably thought it was sufficient to start the next instruction with the word ‘row’. They are under the impression ‘everyone’ knows you ‘turn work’ before beginning a new row! So, some pattern writers think saying ‘turn work’ is redundant; they may pride themselves on writing ‘concise’ patterns.”

I also assured the knitter she was not the first to email me with this problem!

The reply was: “Ahhhh, concise!”

You’ll see.. my directions are not concise. But, do email me if they are confusing. I’m usually here, and I do email back!