On Ease
Finally I’m back in the swing of things. I no longer feel quite so apathetic about my knitting; I’m actually excited about something. Mittens! These mittens are great, this yarn is great, the colors are great, nearly everything is great (so far).
While knitting these mittens I have this incessant urge to try them on after every few rows. The yarn is Frog Tree Yarns merino worsted, and this stuff is right up there with Malabrigo in softness and luxuriousness. I can’t help but touch it and hold the unfinished mitten in my hand. It’s really quite silly, because I really could be using that time to knit it! Since I’m using size US 3 needles with a worsted yarn I’m getting quite a dense and not so stretchy fabric, which is perfect for mittens. As I keep trying them on I am repeatedly reminded of the concept of ease in knitting.
If you’re not familiar with ease, it’s basically how much of a negative or positive you adjust your measurements with. If you want a form fitting item, you’ll put negative ease. If you want it loose, you’ll do the opposite. I have a tendency to ignore ease altogether and cast-on to nearly the exact measurements I need, with adjustments for the stitch count having a multiple of whatever I need (4 for 2×2 ribbing, 2 for 1×1, etc). Generally the fabric I tend to knit up is fairly stretchy, and the ease is very flexible. Since the fabric created in these mittens is fairly dense, there isn’t a whole lot of stretching which necessitates a more careful thought to ease. Any negative ease might make them too tight. Fortunately for me, I like snug mittens so having no ease at all has worked in this case. However, these mittens are a lesson in paying attention to ease because they could have easily been too tight, and would be so if they were even a couple of stitches smaller in circumfirence.
If I’m going to be knitting more sweaters (nope I haven’t neglected the Tangled Yoke, stay tuned) I need to pay more attention to ease. Forgetting might lead to a sweater that’s way too big and running out of yarn, or I might barely be able to fit my somewhat large bust into a small space. Also, tight sleeves? Not so fun.
OK, enough trying to be smart. Look at those colors, just imagine its softness. I have fallen completely in love with this color combination and the sharp contrast between the two colors. Green is my absolute favorite color, and green & red together is my most favorite combination of colors. The individual yarns look very soft and lightly twisted, but when you tug on them they have a feeling of a sturdy held together yarn. It does not shed or fall apart in my hands.
One thing I find incredibly exciting about knitting is the ability to create my garments exactly how I prefer them. If I have the patience to do the math, re-knit bits I don’t get quite right, and think about how I want it just right, I’ll end up with something exactly suited to me. In this case a closely fitted mitten with a long cuff and a literal ton of softness.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Those colors are very, very pretty!
So, I started knitting - it’s going… ok. I cast on lefty but I found it easier to learn English style for the knit stitch. I think it is easier because I crochet lefty and hold the yarn in my right hand. Anyway, I can do the knit stitch ok. I feel all thumbs thought. I balance the right needle on my stomach, haha and try really hard not to let the left stitches slide off. Just learned the pearl stitch this morning - haven’t quite mastered it yet. I wish everything didn’t feel so awkward! It does get easier right?
January 6th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Heh, it sure does get easier! It does take time and practice. When I was first starting, at one point I thought I’d dropped a stitch. I spent about 45 minutes trying to fix this dropped stitch, and it was all I could do to keep the stitch from dropping further. In the end I realized that there was no dropped stitch, I was just widening the space between stitches trying to fix it!
January 9th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Lovely mittens, I know what you mean about wanting to try them on every few rows, I did that with some silk/wool gloves I made myself recently.
And good points about ease! I recently started in on some fair isle socks and was wondering why the pattern called for 72 stitches on size 2 needles. I thought they’d be way too big so I went down in stitches and needles and a little ways in realized, duh, fair isle doesn’t stretch like plain knitting! It’s got the double thickness thing plus all those strands in the back holding it nice and firm.
I know what you mean about being able to make things that fit just so. I’ve found that I have absolutely no qualms with ripping something back, even a completely finished large object, if I realize a way to make it better. More knitting fun and a better finished object!