Now I’m all about Tools but not all Tools.
I’m all about Tools that work for me.
1. Circular Needles (easy to use on public transportation – don’t POKEMON the neighbor – less dropped stitches when quickly putting in and out of bag moving at high speed – less stress on the wristlets)
2. Really Sharp Scissors – my small pair are razor-ish professional, surgical
3. A Clickable Row Counter – I tend not to trust my measuring tape alone, but am a dedicated row counter to match sleeve lengths, armholes, etc.
4. A 2″ darning needle – why we’re sold needles longer than this I do not know unless everyone is suddenly making all their sweaters out of 2 st/inch yarn ;p
5. A Needle Sizer – who the heck is Susan Bates????
And Drumroll Please…
6. Stitch Holders.
Plural.
I have a whole bunch of standard metal ones that I acquired on eBay from an auction of vintage tools. I can only wonder who had these, but they filed down the pointy edge to pin-like sharpness. I use them to *baste* seams together to try things on – but I RARELY use them as stitch holders.
Instead?
Here you see my favorite Stitch Holder of all – Scrap Yarn. It is simply threaded through the stitches that need to go to the sideline for awhile and knotted on the ends.
Finally.
Make an Honest Yarn out of all that Acrylic in your stash!
My Ribby Shell has one the Right Front done and is waiting to jump back on the needles for the Left Front finishing…
Ohh! what yarn is that? that your using for the Ribbi Cardi? It’s lovely!
I do the same thing with waste yarn. So much more flexible than stitch holders.
I think my Boye Needlemaster makes an excellent stitch holder for longer pieces. For sorter pieces I will sometimes use a 2mm, very long circular needle. I found some on sale for 99 cents and I bought a bunch. I like the fact that the needle point helps me get those stitches back in action.
But I use acrylic or scrap cotton too.
Interesting! I’ve used scrap yarn before, but often find it harder to get the stitches back on the needles. Perhaps if I’d used a more durable yarn. I usually am just grabbing what’s closest.
I agree with LaurieM. I use 000 long circulars for stitch holders. You can knit right off of them – no rethreading – and they are flexible. I they are long enough, you can try on for size, etc.
a big hallelujah to all of your tools except the row counter… no good if you forget to click :) though i do count and re-count many times, so maybe need to find a better system!
circular needles have my heart forever. my couple of pairs of straights from the early days sit languishing in my tool box…
Right On! I’ve been know to use the extra circ for holding but it seems like the way I knit (especially as the shoulder pieces get progressively smaller) that I was spending a lot of time whipping myself with the free ends of the circ. Then I’d have to get up and go find a rubber band and lash ’em together…
Over the years, because I’m such a craptastic Knitter and have to frog All the Time, I’ve learned how to put stitches back on the needle with the speed of light! ;p
[and, there is nothing more durable than acrylic yarn except maybe the Cheerleader…]
I’m a circular fan as well. I have a whole
collection of straights, but rarely use them.
I also use scrap yarn for stitch holders, as I’ve occasionally had “real” stitch holders open up and stitches jump ship. I use smooth crochet cotton for this; it’s a little firmer than yarn, and it’s a bit easier to get the stitches back on the needles.
Absolutely a fan of circulars ever since my embarrassing event on an airplane several years ago. I accidentally dropped a needle when the plane must have been ascending–the needle shot back about twenty rows on the floor. I had to go from row to row asking people to look under their seat for it.
The one thing spare yarn has over stitch holders is that when it comes back to threading the stitches onto a (straight) needle, you can come at them from either end.
Will keep my stitch holders though – I got given them for free from my LYS on my first ever visit. They’d sold out, and all the workers had brought in their spares and asked for donations to a local charity for every one taken. Warm fuzzy feeling…
Hee hee, I always wondered about Susan Bates too. I love her needle sizer, but she really is lacking when it comes to her circulars. I love my addi’s. My daughter put a Sponge Bob sticker on my needle sizer so it would be easier for me to spot.
I had to chuckle at the part about making honest yarn out of acrylic.
You all are brilliant! I just flashed on how cool it would be to take long size 0 or 1 circs and use them as *thread* to baste a sweater together for a Try-On!
LOL. The Cheerleader!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but that looks like Lorna’s Laces yarn. I just swatched for my Ribbi Pulli in LL.