This week I have mostly been knitting a new tank top in Re:Treat Chunky.
And I did another thing that I remind knitters to be careful about when knitting.
It’s so easy to get excited with the knitting. It feels good to knit. The logistics of gauge and measurements are sometimes things we want to ignore or do quickly and think, “that will do, it’s near enough, it doesn’t matter”.
And yes – all those things can apply. That is the great thing about knitting. If you are an inch or a centimetre or two out, sometimes it doesn’t matter.
(Don’t stop reading there! That isn’t the takeaway from this blog!)
Because, as you might have guessed, this isn’t about the times when it doesn’t matter… or maybe it is. That’s the beauty of knitting.
I am loving knitting this tank top, and I hope you will enjoy knitting it too when I get this pattern out to you – or as they say nowadays, when the pattern is “dropped”!
One of the things I always remind knitters is to take care when measuring the length of your knitting on your needles. If you measure your knitting by holding the needles up and letting it hang, this will make the length longer and narrower.
The best way to measure is on a flat surface like a table or the floor. Make sure it is even and not distorted by being pulled in either direction. Measure it a few times – I always measure under the needle.
If I am knitting in pieces, I will measure the back and then count the rows so I can match the same number on the front. That way I don’t need to measure again, and it makes things much easier when using mattress stitch to join the edges.
It’s so easy when you are sitting in your favourite comfy chair to not want to get up and measure… so you measure it on your lap (or is that just me?). But that doesn’t give the best result.
And this is where my “multiple projects” come in.
I’ve realised it’s actually a very good reason to have more than one project on the go (not that I needed an excuse – I would be casting on something new anyway!).
When a project needs more thought and care – like measuring or shaping – I save that for when I have the time and headspace to concentrate.
And then I have another project ready for the moments when I just want to knit. No thinking, no measuring – just stitches.
So I move between them. One project to focus and one project to switch off.
And then I come back to the tank top when I have a spare few minutes to concentrate on the next stage – because I am very excited to get this finished and share it with you all.