Don’t Be A Square Afghan Knitalong – Page 2 – Universal Yarn Creative Network

Love it! Raising Cane (ha!) builds on the single twists of Block Eleven, bringing in a crossover twisted main stem. But this block adds a couple of new techniques.

First, there’s twisting stitches by working through the back loop. Amy Gunderson demonstrates with this video, showing how to work both knits and purls through the back loop to create a twisted stitch that really stands out from its background. This is a very effective technique when used with a smooth yarn like Uptown Worsted.

Next, there’s the matter of crossing over! You may recall that last time we shared a video on adding right and left traveling twists to your knits. This time, we build on that by adding right and left traveling purls. This lets those twisted stitches that pop so well move to outline the leaves.

I don’t know about you, but I learned something! And I’ll definitely keep twisted stitches and right and left twists in my knitting toolbox as a method for outlining other designs or adding more texture to my projects. Very exciting!

We’d love to see your blocks! You can share with us on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group.

Check back in two weeks for the next block in the series, and a new technique!

August 4, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Eleven

Block Eleven is live!

Nifty! This month we’re exploring relief stitches, using twists that travel across the fabric, starting with Block Eleven, “Every Which Way.”

I’m particularly glad to see this technique come up – I still recall doing a hat pattern with all over right twists and left twists. The right twists, I could figure out, but I never got the hang of left twists and had to use a cable needle every time my stitches travelled in that direction. So tedious!

Amy shows us how to work these twists, which I think of as tiny one-stitch cables.

After doing this block, I may take another crack at that hat pattern. Let’s hear it for learning new things!

As always we love seeing your blocks. You can share with us on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. We’ll see you in two weeks with a new block and a new take on this design element!

Happy knitting!

July 21, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Ten

Block Ten is live!

So colorful! Block Ten “Carousel” builds on the same center-out technique we learned in Block Nine “Best Buds.” I love how Amy picked three colors for her block with high contrast – it’s so vivid!

Amy shares another video with us, this one on knitting in the round using one long circular and the “magic loop” method as opposed to DPNs (double-pointed needles).

This is the method I personally use for most of my socks and projects in the round. For a small square like this, there’s not necessarily an advantage to circular vs. double-pointed needles, it’s all a matter of personal preference. Give them both a try and see which one works best for you!

We have a bonus video as well, on weaving in ends to eliminate those pesky pointy corners, using last week’s block as an example.

Enjoy this second chance to knit from the center out. We’ll be back again in a couple of weeks with our next technique!

July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Nine

Block Nine is live!

How are we doing, gang? I loved cables, but I’m rarin’ to go on a new technique!

This time, Amy introduces knitting in the round! Today’s counterpane block “Best Buds” goes from the center out, using the lace techniques and M1 increases we’ve already learned from previous blocks.

Amy shares this helpful video on starting your square on DPNs (double-pointed needles) and increasing as you work out. It’s not something we’ve done before in this afghan, but it’s a very useful trick! We’ll also be sharing videos this month on weaving in ends, and on other ways to work center-out. I’m grabbing my DPNs and casting on. It’s so exciting to move in a new direction – literally! See you next time!

June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Eight

Block Eight is live!

Links and Posts builds on last week’s cables lesson and neatly folds in the lace we worked on in April. There are both left and right twists, as well as the centered double decrease of Block Four. I love this block!

Did you find it fiddly to work the last block’s cables? Amy has put together a video showing us how to work cables without a cable needle – a very handy technique!

I’m very eager to get started on this block. If it looks intimidating, just remember – there’s nothing here you haven’t done before. It’s just put together in a new and exciting way.

We’d love to see your blocks! You can share with us on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. We’ll see you in two weeks with a new block and a new technique!

Happy knitting!

June 9, 2014June 10, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Seven

Block Seven is live!

Cables! I love ’em. They can give flow and movement to a piece that is hard to achieve any other way. But they’re also one of those things that some knitters never try, just because they seem intimidating. Nothing could be further from the truth!

For Block Seven “Echolate” we’ve got a video to walk you through the process of knitting both right and left-leaning cables using a cable needle. If you don’t have a cable needle, grab a spare double-point and use that instead!

In this block, I’m particularly fond of the little rippling cables at the left. I may incorporate that into more of my knitting!

This block also calls for a few M1 (make one) increases on row 7. As a bonus, Amy Gunderson has put together a short video demonstrating exactly how this kind of increase works. Easy peasy!

We hope you enjoy this foray into the world of cables. We’ll see you in a couple of weeks with another block that builds on this technique.

Happy knitting!

May 26, 2014May 26, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Six

Block Six is live!

Block Six, “Slip Step,” looks more complicated than it is, which I call the best kind of knitting. It uses the same slip stitch technique as in Block Five, just patterned a little differently. You can totally do this!

One of the themes of this knit along is “learning.” The blocks showcase techniques that may be new to some of us. And for us in the office, they’re highlighting some areas that we now know we need to work on.

Which brings us to Chandra.

Chandra in accounting is just learning to knit, and like a trooper she is knitting along with the rest of us. She’s so proud of her squares, and rightly so! So when she asked a co-worker about blocking, she dutifully followed the instructions that would make her block really stand out. Unfortunately, it’s not standing out in quite the way she hoped.

Luckily, Chandra has a GREAT sense of humor, so she is fine with her square being used as a teaching tool here. Somewhere in translation, instructions about exposure to heat and moisture were translated into “boil your square for 30 minutes.” At right: Chandra’s poor, poor, bedraggled Square One. Chandra, good sport that she is, willingly let it be photographed and immediately cast on for a new square. Way to pick yourself up and keep going!

Based on this experience, we realized that maybe a little instruction on blocking would be in order. In the video below, we’re using a garment steamer and have the square laid out on a foam block of the type used in nursery flooring. The foam is handy for pinning things down without damaging the floor, and the blocks interlock into a variety of shapes for larger scarves and shawls.

Whether it’s a triumph or… less of a triumph, we’d love to see what you’ve done. Share it here, on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. We’ll see you in two weeks with a new block and a new technique!

May 12, 2014May 12, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Five

Block Five is called “Check It” (link here).

How’d we do with lace? I have to say, that last square went pretty quickly for us in the office, with no major malfunctions. I feel like we’ve mastered that technique. Good thing, too, since we’re on to something new!

Block Five is called “Check It” for obvious reasons – it uses slipped stitches to create a colorful checkerboard. It’s a clever way to create blocks of color without a lot of picking up and dropping of yarn as you go. As usual, Amy Gunderson has provided us with a video to demonstrate.

Here’s a view of the back side that shows the stitches slipped across the wrong side of the work.

I’m very excited about this block. Slip stitch is such an easy way to create a colorful design!

We’d love to see what you’ve done – share it here, on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. We’ll see you in two weeks with another great block!

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Four

Block Four is called “Tree Family” (link here).

How did your first lace square go? Feel like you have a handle on the basics?

We had a good time with the last square in the office. Once the chart reading “clicks” it really does make knitting lace easier.

Our new block is also lace with a good helping of stockinette, but it introduces one new stitch – the center double decrease. You’ll slip two as if to knit, then knit a stitch, then pass those two slipped stitches over the stitch you just knit. This is a way of reducing three stitches into just one. If you saw yesterday’s Sunday Swatch in Classic Shades Big Time, the mitered square used a centered double decrease to create the line of V-stitches running diagonally up the center of the block.

If this is your first time with this stitch, no worries! Amy has put together a video on the center double decrease, as well as a handy tip on creating some decidedly low-tech stitch markers.

Amy also reveals the technique featured in our next block. It will be… drumroll… slip stitch colorwork!

As always, you’re welcome to share what you’ve done here, on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. We can’t wait to see what you do!

Happy knitting!

April 14, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Three

How’d your intarsia go? Ready for something new? How do you feel about lace?

Block 3 is called “Step Up Your Game” (link here). It’s both written and charted so you can do whatever you prefer – but if you haven’t tried reading a chart before, we hope you’ll give it a go. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a handy skill to have.

Amy shares a video with us in which she talks about charts and walks us through the basic increases and decreases. Try out her modified ssk (slip, slip, knit) – it lays flatter than the traditional version for a neater look.