You Can Knit: SWATCH ME KNIT!

I’ve been introduced to knitting at a fairly young age. My aunt taught me how to knit when I was about 6 or 7 years old. She only taught me the really basic things, like how to cast-on and the knit stitch, but she didn’t teach me how to bind off so all of my scarves were unfinished. I like knitting because I like to learn how to do new things, or re-learn to do things and also because it’s relaxing. It gives me a sense of accomplishment especially after making a scarf. In the book You Can Knit! written by Stephanie White, I finally learned how to bind off, and other really cool knitting techniques.

 

Gauge Swatch: Super Bulky Garter Stitch

The garter stitch is the “Simplest of all stitch patterns” (White 12). 

Materials: 
-         Super Bulky Yarn

-         Size US 10 needles, or size needed to obtain gauge

-         Measuring tape

-         Scissors

-         Yarn needle 

Gauge:

11 stitches x 26 rows= 4” 

STEP 1:

The first step to making this swatch, and any other knitting project, is to cast-on. This cast on method is called the long-tail method, but it doesn’t matter what method you use. Repeat this cast-on method until you have 11 stitches, but in my case, I only made 8 stitches. 

To start casting-on, you start with a single slip knot.

I made 8 stitches for my swatch.

STEP 2:

Now for the actual knitting! Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and an empty needle in your right. Take the empty needle and slip it through the loop of the first stitch, making sure the empty needle is behind the left one. “The two knitting needles will form and X” (White 15).

Using just your left hand to hole both of the knitting needles, take your right hand and grab the ball side of the yarn (the string of yarn that is directly connected to the ball of yarn) and wrap it around the empty needle from behind (wrap it counterclockwise).

Now that the yarn is wrapped around the empty needle, slip it out of the loop. Make sure the yarn wrapped around the empty needle still on wrapped around it after you take it out of the first loop. So now you should have a single stitch on the right needle and 10 on the left needle, but in my case I had 7. 

You can see the two knitting needles form an X.

STEP 3:

Repeat step 2 until there are no more loops on the left needle, and they’re all on your right one. Take the right needle and place it into your left hand, and put the empty needle into your right. Now it should be how we started, all of the stitches on your left and the empty needle on your right, the needle with the stitches should always be in your left hand (White 15).  Now you’re ready to start the next row.

As you continue to creating each row, your swatch gets longer.

STEP 4:

Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the length of the swatch is 4”, but my swatch is only 2.5”.

STEP 5:

To bind off, start a new row, but only knit 2 stitches. With the left needle, slip it through the first loop on the right needle. Then take that loop, go over the second one, and off of the right needle. Now there should be 1 stitch on the right needle and 9 on the left (or 1 and 6). Next, knit another stitch so that there are 2 stitches on the right needle again. And repeat slipping the left needle through the first loop and pulling it out until there are no more stitches on the left needle and 1 on the right needle. 

Cut a short tail on the yarn that is connected to the right needle. Using the right needle pull it straight up, this pulls the yarn through the stitch.

The swatch, before I pulled the yarn through the stitch.

Now you should have 2 tails on either side of your swatch. To tuck those in, use a yarn needle and thread the ends through the stitches of the scarf. 

Cut the excess yarn off the ends, and you’re done!
 

My finished swatch! (those are my knitting needles not chopsticks)

What activities do you do to get a sense of accomplishment?

White, Stephanie. You Can Knit!: Knit and Purl Your Way through 12 Fun and Easy Projects. Cincinnati, OH: Fons & Porter, 2015. Print.