A newish knitter, bless their heart, wants to try the knit-along and asked what skills were involved, so here you go:
- knitting in the round with two colors, stranded
- purling - there will be two-color purling, but not until the very end of the sweater and you'll be invincible by then (the shoulder straps are worked back and forth on less than 20 stitches)
- steeking - doesn't take skill, just nerve
- provisional cast-on - you can do just about any cast-on and pick it back out again
- grafted hems
- picking up stitches
- button holes (mine are pretty lameass, so don't feel intimidated)
- two color knitting on double-points (or two circulars, or magic loop) for the cuffs; IMHO this is the most difficult part, and it's not that hard
One of the reasons we're doing this knit-along is because people wanted the pattern for the brown-and-red jacket and I couldn't figure out how to do it in less than ten thousand words and sixty photos. There are some interesting techniques involved and I'll lead you by the hand through them - that's why I suggested this in the first place. Personally, I think if you can learn to do stranded color by January, you should go for it. You'll learn a lot and probably never be afraid of a new pattern or new technique again.
If cost is an issue (nobody wants to trash $500 of cashmere on an experiment, I understand completely), scoot on over to Elann.com and buy the Highland wool. I'm knitting a swatch with it right now (for the husbeast's Christmas sweater) and it's yummy. And really low priced. (And with this loooong lead-in, you can order it in three weeks and have it shipped and still have it in time!)
And now I must go murder my child, who has figured out the fastest way to get attention is to mess up Mumum's stuff. Grrrrr.
Thank you for offering to make the jacket steeking open to the blogless, now imagine me on friday night, casting on 120 stitches on the shortest circular I own, in a desperate attempt to teach myself to knit with more than one colour at a time...
ReplyDeleteHey, it doesn't actually have bulges and odd kinks and tucks when you do it with a circular - is this what I've been doing wrong all these years?!
Louiz.
PS, if you want more crochet cotton for your collection I have several balls of black hanging about that I'd be happy to send to anyone!
god I am so tempted to join up - but again I say January in Australia is not the time for working with such wool. I will watch in breathless amazement as you all progress though. I will be cheering from the sidelines and wishing I could play.
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