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So your pattern tells you to increase at both ends of the row, but it fails to tell you how. There are quite a number of different ways to create increases in knitting and some will suit different situations better than others. Today I'm going to talk about one of the lifted increases - make one left or right.  Make one left (m1l) and make one right (m1r) are mirror images of each other, so are perfect when you need to make two increases on the same row. If you want to see the details of the swatch below, just scroll to the bottom of the post. Benefits Blend into the knitting more than a lot of other increases Don't create large holes under the stitch, so are neater They are mirrored versions, so look good worked in pairs Downsides Can be a little tricky (tight) to work sometimes but does gets easier with practice As it's a lifted increase, they pull up the stitches from below, which can cause distortion Other increases can be faster to work  Here's the video tutorial b...

When working ribbing, ever had that loose knit stitch before you change to purl? It’s a common problem. The reason it does it this is because the way a purl stitch is worked, it uses a little bit more yarn than a knit stitch and the excess moves into the last knit stitch and makes it loose. It’s the same reason why rowing out can happen for some – when you’re working stocking stitch and your purl rows look bigger than your knit rows. Rowing out doesn’t always happen, it’s often a combination of yarn fibre, tension and knitting technique. There is a way around this and there are quite a few tutorials out there on how to fix this. I’ll show you how in a minute but the basic idea is that if you combination purl that first purl stitch after your knit stitch, it will tighten things up. A normal purl involves wrapping the yarn anti-clockwise around the needle and a combination is wrapping the yarn clockwise. This uses less yarn though it does mean the stitch sits on the needle backwards, so ...

This year I’m doing Debbie Abrahams’ Mystery Blanket . There’s lots of intarsia. I’m taking some advice from a friend and sorting out my materials for each square when I get the patterns. This means I can just grab a bag and start knitting when I’m in the mood. One thing that’s very useful to know is how much yarn to measure off for your intarsia bobbins. You may be of the persuasion to wind a bit off and hope for the best; if you’d rather be more accurate then hopefully the following will be helpful. It would be useful if you are short on yarn, or like me want to prepare in advance, or if you travel about with your knitting and want to take less yarn with you. First, count the number of stitches in each section you’ll be knitting. Here’s a sample chart - You can just count each square and make a note of it. Or here’s a few tips to make the counting quicker. If the chart is numbered or has boxes of 5 or 10 then it makes life easier. For easy square shapes like the blue square then jus...