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Provisional Cast-On Using a Crochet Hook

Provisional cast-ons are important in knitting, especially when knitting toe-up socks. Here is an alternative to picking up stitches from a crochet chain, by creating stitches directly on the needle.

The Knitter’s Pride tools I use in this video are Symfonie Dreams Crochet Hooks, and Symfonie Dreamz Double-Pointed Needles from Knitter’s Pride Sock Needle Set.

You can find more information about Knitter’s Pride Symfonie Dreamz needles and hooks, as well as a retailer using these links:
Bryson Distributing
Accessories Unlimited
Knitter’s Pride Shop finder

The yarn I use for demonstration is Berroco Vintage.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, and isn’t actually a color, but I like the way it looks. It’s a nail treatment, called Oxygen Nail Treatment. It seems to help my nails grow, and prevents chipping and peeling.

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Twisted Knit Stitches

In this video, I cover everything you ever wanted to know about twisted knit stitches. When it’s good, when it’s bad, and how to easily correct a twisted stitch.

You can find more information about Knitter’s Pride Marblz needles, as well as a retailer using these links:
Bryson Distributing
Accessories Unlimited
Knitter’s Pride Shop finder

In the video, I mention Combination Knitting, and Annie Modesitt’s website. You can find more about Combination Knitting on her website here.

The yarn I use for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, and isn’t actually a color, but I like the way it looks. It’s a nail treatment, called Oxygen Nail Treatment. It seems to help my nails grow, and prevents chipping and peeling.

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Determining Yarn Weight (WPI)

In this video, I demonstrate how to create your own WPI (wraps per inch) tool, and how to use it to determine the weight of mystery yarns.

The Ravelry Standard Yarn Weights chart can be found here.

The yarns I use for demonstration are Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky, Berocco Vintage Worsted, and Knit Picks Hawthorne Sport.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, and isn’t actually a color, but I like the way it looks. It’s a nail treatment, called Oxygen Nail Treatment. It seems to help my nails grow, and prevents chipping and peeling.

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Sloped Bind-Off

This bind-off is an easy alternative to the “stair-steppy” bind-off many patterns call for when knitting a shaped edge (like when shaping armholes, sleeves, or necklines.) The edge this bind-off leaves makes seaming and picking up stitches easier.

Instructions for working this technique:
Please follow your pattern for the exact bind-off numbers for the shaping you’re knitting.
Left-Leaning Slope
BO the number of stitches specified in your pattern, then work across the rest of the row in pattern. Turn work, and work in pattern to last stitch. Slip last stitch without working it, turn work. Slip first two stitches, and BO the first stitch over the second (this counts as your first BO stitch, follow your pattern for the number to BO).

Right-Leaning Slope
BO the number of stitches specified in your pattern (most likely on the wrong-side of the work, possibly purl-wise), then work across the rest of the row in pattern. Turn work, and work a right-side row to the last stitch, slip that stitch without working it. Turn work. Slip first two stitches, and BO the first stitch over the second (this counts as your first BO stitch, follow your pattern for the number to BO).

Information on things you’ll see in this video:
The needles I’m using are by Clover, and the yarn is – I’m not sure what the yarn is! It’s a worsted wool.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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Correcting a Dropped Decrease

Whoops – you’ve accidentally dropped stitches right through a decrease! In this video, I show you how to recreate k2togs and ssk stitches (two common decreases) without ripping back rows and rows of stitches.

You can see my entire “Correcting Mistakes” playlist here.

The crochet hook I’m using is a Knitter’s Pride Dreamz hook.

The knitting needles I’m using are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo DPNs.

The yarn I’m using is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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Binding-Off in the Middle of a Row

There are several reasons that a pattern will have you binding-off stitches in the middle of a row – the necklines of sweaters, for example. In this video I show you how to do that, while keeping the correct stitch count.

The basketweave stitch in my sample is the stitch I use in my Mimi Hooded Scarf pattern.

The needles I use are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo DPNs.

The yarn I use in the video is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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Tinking Increases and Decreases

Whoops – you’ve made a mistake several stitches back, and “tinking” (unraveling one stitch at-a-time) is your best option for correcting the mistake – but the row you’ve knit is full of increases and/or decreases. In this video, I show you how to tink back through common increases and decreases.

Other videos available on tinking:
Basic Tinking
Advanced Tinking

Information on things you’ll see in this video:
The bulky yarn I used for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky.

The needles I’m using are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo Double-Pointed Needles.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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Knitting Help – Comparing Increases

In this video, I show how different increases look side-by-side, and talk about how to substitute one for the other. A bit more complicated than substituting decreases, some increases “use up” a stitch, while others do not.

The “sister” video comparing decreases can be found here.

Slow demonstrations of the increases shown:
Yarn-Over
KFB (knit front back)
Make 1 (M1)

The bulky yarn I used for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Yonder.

The needles I’m using are Knitter’s Pride Nova Platinas, from an interchangeable set.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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Knitting Help – Comparing Decreases

Sometimes patterns, especially older patterns, will tell you to decrease without specifying which decrease to use. Or you may be working a pattern where you think a different decrease will work better than the one the pattern calls for. In this video, I compare three popular decreases side-by-side so you can see the differences.

Slow demonstrations of the three decreases:
Knit Two Together (k2tog)
Slip, Slip, Knit (SSK)
Pass Slipped Stitch Over (PSSO)

The bulky yarn I used for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Yonder.

The needles I’m using are Knitter’s Pride Nova Platinas, from an interchangeable set.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

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