Yarn is ebil.

[missmiah]

I had one of those "Oh my goodness, I can totally do that!" moments a few weeks ago when I was looking around on some HP knitting communities at the all the scarves being made. I've only been knitting for less than a year (and took several months off in that time), and everything I know came from this really short book called Knitting and Crocheting for Dummies: Special Edition (which is code for very, very short, like the knitting section is 34 pages including the patterns and pictures). Not that there is anything wrong with the book, because it was good enough to teach me how to make Captain's Doctor Who scarf, the Striped Hat of Doom and my handwarmers, buuuttt....

My knitting expertise is very, very limited.

However, even I can handle knitting in the round with my DPNs now.

Which brings me to yarn. Do I want 100% wool, which will hold its shape, but is going to be hotter than hell, or do I go with an acrylic which is apparently frowned on or something. All of the patterns say worsted weight, but I have the brainstorm to order DK instead because it's not really ever cold in southern Oklahoma. Eventually, I'm all set and order the yarn. Of course, at this point it doesn't occur to me that I'll need to alter the gauge, but I've never bothered with gauges before. Gauge-schmauge. Right?

Anywho, after I order some yarn, I look around some more and keep seeing that rather than knitting in the round I should totally knit it k1p1, because when you pause the movie and take stills and zoom in and blah blah biscuit cakes - the scarves are ribbed. And that might seem like I'm mocking the people who did that, but I'm not because A) I couldn't do it and B) someone has to suck it up and be the techno-geek for the rest of us who really, really want a damn HP scarf.

Where was I?

So, yes, k1p1. Should be easy right? I get a leetle suspicious because I can't actually find a pattern for this mythical k1p1, but lots of people have done it, there are pictures on the internets so you know it's got to be true.

Today, the yarn arrives. I squee. This is my first attempt with 75% acrylic/25% wool, and it's super soft.

I sit down and look at the pictures of completed scarves and do a bit of research about how to figure out my gaugeythingymcbober. Then I decide to cast on about 31 stitches and k1p1 for a bit so that I can work out how many stitches/rows per inch with this yarn and my chosen needles.

It looks like crap.

Like my yarn has caught the mumps or something.

Nothing like the pictures. AT ALL.

It takes me three hours (in between working on other things, painting two crocodile mini's for the D&D game, eating dinner, etc) and three different tries to figure out why.

All those people who insisted that k1p1 is totally easy, yo... forgot to mention that it's really a ribbed stockinette stitch, which means yes, the first row is k1p1, but the even rows are p1k1.

Does everyone else who knits just know this? Is k1p1 short hand for a ribbed stockinette type thing, and I'm the only person on the planet who didn't realize it? Because that could very well have happened, see the beginning of this post where I admit I know enough about knitting to not stab myself in the eye. More than once.

If it's not common knowledge, then what the fuck, people? Cause I've seen some pretty snotty comments from people who are all "It's easy, how can you not figure it out, you don't even need a pattern, duh" when newbie knitters pop up and ask for something as simple as "how many rows of the main color before I start the stripes?"

However, I now have worked out how many rows I think I need, how many stitches to cast on, and more importantly how to make the damn thing not look like it has a disease.

Comments

[revena.livejournal.com]

If it's common knowledge, that's the stuff I miss out on each time, too. I generally do the first five rows of any new pattern or stitch or whatever a few times, by the end... ;-)

[missmiah.livejournal.com]

No kidding.

I thought I'd just knit up a few inches to figure out the stitches per inch thing in some unused sport weight and it looked like poo. So I thought maybe it was something with the yarn since it was red heart (I was reaching, I know), and switched to the yarn I bought just for the scarf. It took forever before I realized "Wow, that looks like stockinette" probably meant that it was.

I was not amused.

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

No, it's not you. It's very easy to end up with moss stitch (or seed stitch, as it's also called) when trying to do ribbing.

I think a lot of folks do take it for granted after they learn it because after you figure it out, you tend to forget how it wasn't intuitively obvious.

My favorite knitting book, Stitch N' Bitch, actually included a bit on this just so we newbie knitters wouldn't screw up, so you KNOW everyone does it. Don't feel bad (and probably those snotty people did it too, they just don't want to admit it now).

But yay for doing your scarf in ribbing! And from what I can tell, the scarves in the movie like like DK or VERY thin worsted. I think DK is the way to go but I'm lazy so I'm doing my friend's scarf in worsted. But I am doing it in 1 x 1 ribbing, not in the round.

I'm very impressed that you taught yourself knitting from one of those little booklets, by the way. I had to have my SnB and a couple of friends who demonstrated for me. Kudos.

[missmiah.livejournal.com]

In the round was going to be my back up, because I know I can do that if I couldn't figure out the ribbing thing. But the test swatch last night finally came out ok so this one is going to be flat.

I think I'm going to cast on 69 (I picked that number out of the air because my gauge says it's going to be way to big, but everything else says 69 is right for worsted so who knows) and see how wide it turns out after a bit before I start the trapped bars, and if it's in the range I want to be in then yay.

I don't know why I'm flipping out about the color change because I did make a Who scarf which is a color change nightmare and it turned out just fine, but I am having a panic attack about the stripes.

The 1x1 ribbing does look nice, doesn't it?

You know, I was wondering if k1p1 was how you got a seed stitch, I've heard the phrase, but never bothered to try to look it up before, and it does look like scarf mumps.

Anywho, I haven't cast on yet because I wanted to give myself a day to regroup from yesterday's knitting drama.