Ally W.: Hi everybody, welcome to another live class with the team at Michael's I am Ali from your inspirations. If you haven't been to one of our classes before and today's class is being hosted by Marley. Today we are going to be covering
Ally W.: Today's our one on one class so great for all of you. Beginners out there. We're really excited to host a beginner level class because I think there's a lot of you who
Ally W.: Maybe are switching crafts, maybe just looking forward to doing something trying something new right now. So we're really excited for today's class.
Ally W.: Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the chat here and I will make sure that Marley is able to help you. And, um,
Ally W.: Yeah. So we are really excited for today's class is just a reminder that today's class will be recorded, so you'll be able to come back and watch anytime, which is great for especially for beginner class, we realized that
Ally W.: Some of you definitely might need to you know rewatch after you take the class couple times. So this recording will be available tomorrow.
Ally W.: And Welcome everybody.
Awesome. I'm going to open the chat so I can see everything, too. So thank you. Ali. Hello, everybody. Hello to future knitters out there.
It is a joy to be asked to do the knitting one a one clear class here on Michaels.
Knitting is what am I, number one, passions. I'm an editor and a crochet or I love both of them equally, but nothing brings me more joy than watching a brand new knitter or a brand new crochet or
Really get that aha moments where something just clicks for them and they understand what's happening.
I used to teach beginner knitting at my local yarn store as well as beginner crochet
And so I'm very familiar with the steps that I want to walk you guys through today to take you to where you can actually complete
An item. Okay, so with everything you're learning today, you could go out and search garter stitch items garter stitches, what we're going to be creating that's when you knit every row. It's called garter stitch.
When you turn it back and forth and unit every row. That's called garters day. So if you're taking notes on vocabulary. That's your first one
When you leave this class, you will be able to make just about any garters ditch project out there that is just plain garner stitch. So the good news is if somebody says, Are you an editor, you'll be able to say yes.
We're going to take it. I'm going to take you through four distinct steps. And if we have time, I'm going to show you the fifth one that is very important.
We're going to learn what's called the cast on and that's where you put the stitches on your needles that you can work them off of the needle.
For those of you who are crochet years, this would be equal to a chain. So you can work into a chain. Okay, so we're gonna do the cast on.
And then we're going to learn how to knit. Alright, so that's the whole premise of the whole project is net will spend a lot of time knitting.
Then I'm going to show you how to add a new ball of yarn so that way if you got to the end of your ball of yarn, you're like,
Well, how do I continue, you know how to do that. And coincidentally, that is the same thing you will do when you change colors. So we're going to kill two birds with one stone.
By added a new ball of yarn and change colors. At the same time, because it's the same thing. All right.
Then the last thing we'll do is called binding off or casting off and that's where you finish the stitches. Okay.
So those are the four things. If we can get to how to weave in our tails. I'll show you how to do that as well but we have a lot of
Of stuff here ahead of us. And if you guys are ready to go. I'm ready to get started. I am going to very loosely follow along with a pattern from your inspirations and this is called the deputy do da dish cloth.
Dip it dude on it dishcloth. You can see it's two tones, like those are three different dish class that's two tones.
And it's just done in Gardner stitch. So everything about this dish cloth, you will be able to do after you you complete this class.
We're going to make a little mini little ditty little tiny dish cloth in the class. Today I'm going to call it like a face scrubbing or something.
So that way you have like a sense of instant gratification and you'll see, okay, I can really do this.
The good news is, once you finish that little piece we're going to work on today. You might go to cast on again and forget how
You how you do it because I know the first time I did something I totally forgot how to cast on. When it was time for me to cast on something new.
Because Michaels is recording this video you will be able to go back and reteach yourself again how to cast on. So everything we're learning in here.
Just work along with me. Don't fret. Don't be a perfectionist. I want you to give yourself permission to
To have an ugly little piece in front of you, because we all have to start somewhere. I know that the first time I
I tried to do my hair with the curly hair and it came out like a hot mess. And then I got better and better.
I look pretty. Alright, so it's sort of the same thing you know, you're never really quite as as perfect as you want to be the first time and it's the same thing with knitting.
Alright so I'm pretty sure you guys had a materialist, I told you to grab some needles and you can either have straight needles or circular needles. Both of them will work the same for straight back and forth knitting, and I'll show you how to do it on both
To in the class. So you don't have to worry about that. And then I'm guessing alley, correct me. Did they were they supposed to have two different colors of yarn.
Ally W.: Um, I believe we just said two balls.
Okay, perfect. That's all right, it totally works. Um, alright, so this is what we're going to do. I am going to be using the lily sugar and cream yarn you can you really can use any smooth light colored wars did way yarn you have available to you.
You want to use the lighter color because it's easier to see your stitches and you want to make sure it's smooth because it's easier to work into your stitches.
Those nice nubby nobly sort of fun yarns out there are a lot of fun to work, but they're not good to learn on. So a good nice smooth light colored yarn is great to learn on
I'm going to have Alli switch me over to. Let's see. Continue. I'm gonna have you switch me over to the net view and we'll just head on down here. Okay.
So hello everybody this is the pattern that you can download from your inspirations com i know that the link will be available in the chat room.
And you'll be able to get this pattern. I'm going to start here. Whoo, by looking at the patterns you can understand how this works real quick.
Over here, you'll see that it's the material list, it gives you exactly what we just sort of what we talked about, you get a list of what your yarn is
Supposed to be as as far as the suggested yarn for the actual item.
It tells you how many you need it gives you the size needles. You need or says or size to obtain gauge and we'll talk about gauge later, I'm not going to worry about gauge right now at all.
As we look up here we have a measurement of approximately eight inches square that's because you know what, it's a dish cloth. It doesn't have to be absolutely perfect. We can make it any size we want, hence the reason we're making a little tiny scrubby today.
Gauge where it says 19 stitches and 36 rows that tells you that with the size seven needles and this yarn, the designer.
Had her stitches are his stitches measure this measurement. So if you want to have
Your piece come out eight inches squared, you'd have to get that exact same measurement. Alright. Pretty same thing you wanted to build a house and the designer said you need to cut a piece of two by four.
Four inches long, you'd make sure you cut it four inches long. Just like these. If you want to build a dish cloth and you need your stitches to be 19 stitches equals four inches. You'd make sure your stitches word 19 stitches for four inches, same sort of deal.
Down here where it says instructions. It says with MC. That just means main color. We could have written in their blue, we get a written in their purple. We could have written their peak, whatever it is. So just as main color.
Cast On 38 stitches. Alright, so we're going to learn how to do the cast on.
Then it says knit 54 rows and you'll see it says here garters ditch. So that's letting you know that you are knitting, what is called garter stitch. When we turn our work back and forth. We're creating garter stitch.
We will then cut our yarn and then with our color. A. So with a
We will net at more rows and garter stitch. So we have to know how to change colors right there. Okay. And that's what we're going to learn as the same thing as adding a new ball of yarn.
And then we will learn how to cast off. Pretty simple stuff. Okay, so that is the pattern. Hopefully this makes a little bit more sense to you as you print it off. I'm going to move that aside. I'm going to grab some yarn. And as I mentioned, grab it from here I'm just using some
This is Lily sugar and cream. Can you all see this color purple. Is it too dark or is it good, looks good, Gail. I'm looking at you give me a nod girlfriend. Awesome. Thank you very much. Okay, so
We are going to start with a slipknot and a slipknot is really easy.
We're going to take our tail and put it in the palm of your hand. Take your working yarn. This is the yarn that's still attached to the ball, you're gonna wrap the working yarn around your forefinger in your middle finger and come back up. So it looks like this.
Once you get that I want you to take the yarn that I've been rapping and I want you to cross it over.
Then we turn our hand up so that we're looking at the top. I want you to go underneath this front loop, grab that back loop and pull it off your fingers and then we're just going to pull the two tails and we get a little not
Going to do that again. Okay, we have the work or the tail in the palm of our hand the working yarn wrapped around our forefinger and our middle finger and we come back up.
Then we cross that over
Rotate our hand.
Go underneath the front loop and grab the back loop and let them come off our needle are our needles our fingers and pull it off. Alright, so we have this really big loop right here. You're going to take your needles, whether they're straight needles or circulars and put it on your needle.
And then take the two ends down here and just pull them apart. And it's going to tighten up that Slipknot real nice onto your needle.
Everybody see that
Pretty good. Okay. This Slipknot counts as a stitch ending. So all my Crusaders out there who are like the slipknot never counts as a stitch.
You're correct in knitting it does, right. So that's one stitch. Congratulations, everybody you cast on one stitch.
You're now going to take this needle and place it into your left hand.
And here's the deal. You guys, we don't get a control many things in life, but we're going to control our stitches. Okay, so you to make sure you put your finger on that stage, and do not let it fall off your needles. Okay.
Take your other needle, whether it's circular straight doesn't matter. Just take the other needle and this is what we're going to do. Take your right hand, you know,
Going from left to right. We're going to go into that stitch we're going to go from left to right into the stitch. So it almost looks like your needles are in a T position or their crossed. Can you see that
Now we're going to ignore that tail, we have are going to take our working yarn and we're going to go around our needle just like that. Okay, so I'm gonna do that again.
Start here from the beginning.
Take my right hand needle go from left to right into this ditch that we put on our needle.
Now I'm using my left hand to grasp both needles. Can you guys see that okay
I'm going to take my working yarn.
Wrap it around my right hand needle and now this stitch or this wrap that I have on my right hand needle. I want to pull it through that stitch that's on my left hand needle. So I'm going to very carefully.
Ally W.: reek rip
My right hand needle with my right hand, and at the same time, maintain tension as best you can. This will be very awkward at first you guys give yourself a little bit of wiggle room and patients, you're going to pull that stitch through the one on your left hand needle.
Ally W.: Once you Marley. Yeah.
Ally W.: We have a decent amount of questions about doing this. Look, not just
One more time.
Yeah, I will go back to that for sure. I'm going to get them going on this and I
Ally W.: Was up
Yep. Okay. Alright, so once you've pulled this through. You're going to extend
Swivel your left hand needle and scoop at that stitch and then let go now that stitches on your left hand needle and we repeat. You go from left to right into that new stitch.
yarn around your needle.
Come out that stitch extend swivel and scoop and place it on
Now we're going to get 20 stitches on here but I'm going to take these off. And I'm gonna start again. Okay, do easy come, easy go. All right. Y'all ready. Here we go. Slipknot.
Put the tail in the palm of your hand. Take your working yarn, wrap it around your forefinger and your middle finger and come back up.
Then take this yarn and cross it over.
Rotate your hand.
Go underneath this front loop and grab the back loop and let your fingers come out.
Then you take the tail and and the working yarn and just pull them.
And you get a knot.
How's that everybody do that then once you get the not, you can actually spread apart the tail in the working yarn and if you go all the way it comes on done
Tail on the palm of your hand working yarn rapid read your fourth finger middle finger come back up crossover rotate underneath the front, grab the back and pull it off. Okay. The cast on is called a knitted cast on.
Alright, so once you get that slip dot you place it on your needle.
And this stitch does account as a stitch. Yes. Everybody says yes, good. Alright, and we're going to control that stage. So we're going to make sure we always have our finger on our stitches as they're close to the tip of our needle. We want to make sure they don't fall off too soon.
We take our right hand needle. We go from left to right into that stitch.
Now I have grass by needles with my left hand just to stabilize them you'll find a way that works for you don't dwell on that part too much here at the start.
Take your working yarn, wrap it around your right hand needle just like so you don't want to wrap it like this. Okay, so do not go like this.
go the long way around. Okay, the long way around and then re grip your needle while maintaining tension on your yarn, the best you can.
And pull your needle back through all while pulling that rap. You did. And this will take practice, it feels awkward and funny, you might have dropped your needles. That's okay. It will all work out.
Once you've done this extend your right hand needle so I'm really stretching out that stitch I now will take my left hand needle. I'm going to swivel around that stitch and scoop it up to put it right back on the needle.
And I want to remind everybody, this is getting recorded so you'll be able to go back and watch any part of this video that you need help with
Around extend swivel and scoop. So I'm going to give you guys the words I used to give to my beginner did in class. You guys ready, you go in the front door.
You go around the corner.
You go out the window.
And then I'm going to pause there. Okay. So, remember that's the the part and then I'm going to extend swivel and scoop.
In the front door around the corner.
Out the window extend swivel and scoop. I'm going to keep doing this. Okay. In the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window extend swivel and scoop.
In the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window extend swivel and scoop.
In the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window extend
Swivel and scoop. Now that swivel and scoop is very important. You do not want to take the easy way out and just plop it on your needle. I'm going to show you what I mean here.
You extend swivel and scoop. You don't just extend and then go and like stick it in there and put it on. Okay, it's very important that we swivel and scoop.
Because it makes that stitch twisted right down here and it makes it nice and clean. This is called the knitted cast on, we're doing a knit stitch.
And then we're putting that stitch on our needle to cast on. And this is a really great way for beginners to start
Because it's an easy transition to the actual knit stitch because we're doing almost every step of the knit stitch, with the exception of one. Okay. And you'll see what that one is here in just a few minutes.
But right now I want to make sure I get enough stitches on here. Remember I said I wanted to try and get 20 if you want to do fewer than 20 and that's absolutely fine. You can do as many as you want. I would suggest you get at least seven
But we want to make sure that you do get 20 no more than 21 saying, you know, not at this time I want to make sure everybody is able to work along with me pretty easily.
How are we doing
Ally W.: We're doing good. So we had a couple questions come through about what are the advantages to this.
Ally W.: Versus long tail cast on a couple people.
Ally W.: Were just asking why they would use long kill cast on versus a knitted cast
So I love long tail cast on and it's my preferred cast on all the time. But when I'm teaching beginners, it's much easier to teach them how to do a knitted cast on and then transition them into knitting.
I prefer the long tail cast iron, because it is it actually makes a nitro and it gets a really nice edge at the bottom.
But between. I mean, there are over 40 different cast ons out there in the world. And so you just really have to choose what's the right one for the project you're working on, so it's not really
Um, you can't say, oh, I only use this one I only use that one. I mean, I shouldn't say you can't you can
But if it comes to a point where you're like, you're really concerned about the finishing of a project or the way something works up you'll be more concerned with the cast on and how it works. Okay.
Alright, so I'm going to stop right here. You guys keep going. Do you want me to start over again.
Ally W.: I think it would
Ally W.: Be helpful to do it from the
Ally W.: Start again. Alright.
Ally W.: But this
Ally W.: I think you know just reminding everybody that this is going to be recorded and you can rewatch it again again starting tomorrow. So I think maybe we'll just do the the cast on one more time. And then we'll probably move forward, because I think I'm
It makes sense.
And I get it. Yeah. And I come right away. Guys, I totally understand.
Absolutely. Alright, so I have the tail of the yarn in the palm of my hand and I'm wrapping the yarn.
Around my fourth finger middle finger and I come back up and I crossover I rotate my hand, Glenda need the front loop, grab the back loop and off. This is just the way I do slip knots. If you have a different way to do a slipknot. You absolutely can do that.
Once you get that Slipknot. You want to place it on your needle and just pull those legs apart.
I read earlier. Somebody asked how tight, should these stitches be. You want to make sure they're able to move on your needle. Okay, make sure they're not so tight. You cannot move them. Okay. You want to make sure you can move them.
Place that needle in your left hand and now we're going to do what's called a knitted cast on, we're going to create stitches you guys. Okay. Take your right hand needle.
Going from the left side to the right side.
We're going to go into that stitch and up. Does it help to see it. Like if it's upside down.
Okay.
Once you've done that you take your yarn.
You wrap it around your right hand needle.
And this is going to be the trickiest part for most of you, I know it, you have to pull that wrap. We just did.
Through that stitch you just went into your left hand needle so take your time and you just pull it through. Okay.
It is tricky at first, you will get the hang of it. Once you've done that you extend the loop you take your left hand needle you swivel. See, I'm still holding on to my stitch on my left hand needle.
Swivel and scoop.
Into the stitch.
Around the needle.
Out the stitch.
Extend swivel and scoop.
In the front door around the corner.
Out the window extend swivel and scoop the whole time. Notice my finger. I'm always holding my stitches, making sure they don't fall off or go anywhere before they're supposed to.
Extend swivel and scoop.
Okay, in the front door around the corner out the window. Extend swivel and scoop.
In the front door around the corner.
Out the window extend swivel and scoop guys, I want you to know I i remember how difficult this was the first time I met
I got so frustrated. I threw it across the room. So when I tell you, I understand. I completely understand. But I also know that time and patience.
And practice will be your friend and you will eventually be able to be as fluid with the knitting process as I am. I taught my mom had an it actually
In video. So my mom learned how to knit by me Marley and Marley's mom in a video and you can see like she's like shaking. When she first
Learn to net and because it's it's different. And it's scary and you're scared. But guys, these are just sticks and string, they're not going to be the end all and be all of the world.
You just give yourself.
Some, some patience and you will be the master of these sticks and string and no time. Okay, so I've just put some stitches on here. I'm going to stop there because I'm going to carry on to what would be the actual knit stitch. And this is what we're going to practice a lot of okay
Once you get stitches cast on, depending on the pattern you're going to be following they will always tell you how many stitches to cast on. So you always cast on that number of stitches.
And then you'll go into the pattern for this one, it says to knit. Okay, so I'm going to go into the stitch from left to right. Hey, that looks familiar.
I'm going to wrap my yarn around my needle. Hey, that looks familiar. I'm going to pull that needle through the stitch. Hey, that looks familiar.
But now I'm gonna let this stitch that I've been maintaining control of I'm gonna let it jump off my left hand needle. Oh.
Nope, that's what it's supposed to do. Now, once it jumps off resist the urge to pull your needles apart to tighten it resist the urge to sort of go anything like this. Just let it fall off. Okay.
Now we're going to do it again. So I'm at the next stitch on my left hand needle. I'm going to go in the front door.
I'm going to go around the corner.
I'm going to come out the window. I'm going to jump off the porch. See what I mean. I told you guys we were only just missing one step in the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window.
off the porch.
In the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window.
off the porch.
How we doing in the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window.
off the porch.
In the front door.
Around the corner.
Out the window off the porch, and I'm going to give you guys a little, a little help here that helped me when I first started to knit.
I realized, more and more that my knitting teacher was moving her needle back and forth like this to be able to get through the stitches. Okay, so what I found is, as I knit. I will pull it down. Go in the door and I push it up.
And they go around the corner as I'm coming out the window. I'm using my my fingers down here to pull it down so I can come out the window and then I push it back up because now that I'm out the window. I don't want that to fall off. I don't want it to go anywhere. So I leave it.
And then I want this ditch here to jump off the porch, so I let it fall off.
So I kind of scoot my needle down I go in the front door and push it up.
And then I go around the corner I scoop my needle down come out the window and push it up.
And then I jump off the porch.
In the front door around the corner out the window off the porch. You guys see that
In the front door around the corner out the window off the porch.
In the front door around the corner out the window off the porch for to our last one in the front door around the corner.
Out the window off the porch. Oh, all my stitches are now over here on my right hand needle. I can take a second. I can just pull these down so that they're all into the right place.
Now I have an empty needle so I always want my empty needle and my right hand. So I take the stitches or the needle with the stitches on it, put it in my left hand, whether you're doing circulars or straits. This is exactly what you do.
Put the needle with the stitches on in your left hand.
Take you're working on your now have it in your right hand.
And you start now. I think I saw a question come up. Do you have to hold the yarn your right hand. No you do not. So I'll give you a quick lesson I'm holding the yarn over here and this is called English so English
Means that you're holding your yard in your right hand. Yeah, I'm not stop.
I, I, personally, I typically Nick what's called continental and this is the way a lot of Crusaders will knit the hold the yarn and their left hand.
And all of the movements are the same. So I'm still in the front door. I'm still going around the corner. I'm still going out the window. I'm still jumping off the porch, but my yarn is in a different hand.
Okay, so depending on what works best for you. You do whatever works. It's all the same action. Okay. When you turn your work. It's just like how we began after our cast on row, you would just begin by going into the front door.
grabbing your yarn go around your corner.
Go out the window and jump off the porch resist the urge to tighten those up. Okay.
In the front door around the corner out the window off the porch.
The last thing you want to do here. You notice when I'm jumping off the porch. I'm never taking my rows and spreading them apart or taking my needles and spreading them apart.
I'm always kind of keeping them in this position. That's because I don't want the actual stitches in the row to be spread apart. I want them to just look like they're very
Coordinated very seamless very much like a zipper how a zipper all the teeth of the zipper are all in line. I want my nit stitches to be the same way.
I don't want them to be overstretched between the stitches. Somebody asked a question about rose. We'll talk about rose after we get a couple more in here. I'll be sure to discuss more about the rose
But you'll notice here that I'm just, it's the same motion every time. And I'm just knitting.
This is what we're going to be doing here for like the next how much time we have for the next like 10 minutes, guys. We're just going to keep knitting. I got to the end of my row.
Put my needle and my left hand. I always like to take a second and just pull my stitches down just to make sure messages are always going down for my needle. I never want to pick it up and have messages flowing up
You always want them to be flowing down down from your needle. Okay. How are we doing
I'm going to show those of you out there who are interested in how to hold the yarn to your left hand. I'm going to do it.
I'm going to hold the arm with my left hand, everybody who's holding the arm at the right hand, I want you to remember it is the same motion.
I'm just holding my yarn in a different hand, I will tend to do this in my YouTube videos I'll try and do both. But I want you to understand. It's the same because I'm still going in the front door.
I want to go around the corner.
I want to come out the window.
And then I want to jump off the porch.
I'm going in the front door around the corner out the window off the porch in the front door around the corner out the window off the porch. You'll notice that as I do the
Continental knitting. I don't have to let go of my needles. That's pretty common continental editors don't have to let go of their needles to do a rap.
Most English deters have to unless they are do what's called like a flicking motion, but there are many different ways to knit you guys there's Portuguese there's combination. There's continental there's English
I even know that there is a special like sort of Scottish way where you hold hold the needles on your hip. So the thing here is there is no wrong way to knit.
If you are getting knit fabric and you are happy with what you're creating, then you are a knitter so don't let anybody tell you that what you're doing is not knitting now allow them to help you perfect what you're doing but don't let them.
talk you down and say, Oh, you're not you're not knitting because you're not doing X, Y, Z.
Now, that's not true. Now, they might help to correct you. Maybe you have twisted stitches and you don't understand why. And it's okay for them to help you. But it's not okay for the tilt for them to tell you you're doing something wrong. Okay.
It's my little my little tidbit here guys. You can do this. Notice I'm just, I'm just doing this very easily. I'm not pulling the stitches or the yarn, I should say extra hard after I did it.
You don't want to pull super tough. Um, I made that same mistake when I first started knitting. I was a very tight knit or because I used to think like
I would need a stitch and come off and then I pull real snug and then I noticed it, and I'd come off and I pull real snag and you don't want to do that. Okay, so if your stitches are really tight.
You need to loosen up a little bit with how tight you're pulling your yarn itself as it comes off the needle.
You want the stitches to be the same circumference as your needle. That's the whole point of having specific size needles there to get your stitches to be the exact same size, same thing when it comes to crochet
That's why all of the needle sizes are different. You're trying to create your stitches to be the same size as your needle.
Having said that this is a good point for me to say something else. If you're finding that you're leaving your stitches down here at the tapered edge too long.
Then your stitches, becoming the diameter of that tapered edge not the diameter of your actual needle. So it's very important that after you get that stitch over here to your right hand needle.
Always make sure it gets its way back to the barrel of the needle so that way it becomes that size. Not that size. All right, the tapered edge is there so that you
Can move these digits down there. See how
Moving it down there allows that stitch to have more room in it for me to get into. Can you guys all see that so the tapered edge there is very handy.
But you just want to make sure that you do get the stitches back here. Marilyn. You want to make sure that you just keep practicing the cast on. It is tricky, but once you get on there, it will be easier. Okay. It just takes practice. It just takes practice.
Ally W.: Shouldn't hear from Heather.
Ally W.: She said she bounces
Ally W.: Back and forth between English and continental but notices a difference intention is that typical
That is very common, especially if you're you're are partial to one versus another. So for me, I am a much better continental like this.
Than English. And so my English tends to have a looser tension and my continental so that is very common. It's just something if you want to go back and forth, you're going to have to work on.
How the tension.
Is as you are knitting or if you end up hurling pearling those ditches, like I I deal with the same thing. I thought I would do this row with the yarn and my left hand for those to see his English faster. Um, you know what, it's debatable.
I know a lot of English style knitters who hold the of the needle actually like underneath the armpit and they are they hold it like this and it's very fast. But for me, Continental has been faster.
So I think it all depends.
On the knitter
I want to bring in a sample that I've done that I've already put on some circular needles just that those of you who are looking at circulars
Or are just like those long straight things just look very cumbersome or how am I ever going to take those on an airplane. Yeah, I hear you. So let me show you how the circulars work. Okay, so it's going to be the same thing.
And here we are. I have a swatch worked up
And it's on circular needles, and I want you to see here circular needles mean that instead of having this long straight needle here.
I have a cord that connects one needle to the next and it allows the stitches to rest comfortably on the needle and it's very good to Reese release.
A new sort of stress, you might have in your wrist as you're working on items. It allows you to get extra space as you're working on larger items.
And generally, I, I use circular needles for 95% of my work like this. These are very common in the the world and I want to make sure you know how to use them. It's just like straight needles. They just happen to be joined down here. Okay. So as I pick up my knitting here.
All I'm going to do, make sure these are out of the way.
So I pick up my knitting. I'm still getting it. Just like before, I have a needle in my left hand a needle in my right hand and I just started knitting.
And then when I get to the end, I just switched my needles. Again, just like before, as I mentioned, they just happen to be joined down here, I just treat them as if they're to individual needles. Okay.
All right, so I'm gonna I'm gonna take back real quick and tanking. That's a word. You'll learn eventually it's it's net spelled backwards. It's where you admit items.
But I'm thinking because I want to show you how to add a new ball of yarn at this point. And I also want to take a look at the rose, we have here. Somebody said, How do you keep track of the number of rows.
When you're working with garter stitch, you'll get these ridges. Can you see these ridges here.
Okay, you have all these really great ridges these ridges are created by doing one row of net on both sides. And these are called a garter rich
Each ridge and garter stitch equals two rows. So if I wanted to count how many rows I have here.
I could just count how many ridges. I have so 1-234-567-8910 1112 so I have 12 ridges and if each ridge is two rows. I've done 24 rows. Does that make sense.
If we were working with stopping that it'd be different for right now we're dealing with garter stitch. And that's how you account, your Rosen garter stitch garbage rows are also reversible
So you notice on this side. This first one down here, that wouldn't count as a row, but this one here does. Okay, so you would count euros on this side, too.
And that's how you count your rose. If you're working on a project where you have to know which side is called the right side. And that just means it's the public side of your fabric.
You can always use what are called stitch markers or get some sort of a safety pin of some sort of your own and you can always mark the front side of your fabric, just like this.
And then you'll know. Okay. Every time I pick up my needles my yard is down here and I'm ready to begin knitting. If I'm looking at this
I'm looking at my right side if you pick them up to start knitting, and you're looking at this, you're looking at the wrong side. Okay.
So I'm going to teach you two different things. Right now I'm going to show you how to add a new ball of yarn, which is the same thing as changing colors.
And then I'm also going to talk to you what to do if you have to run after the kids are run after the dog or do something you throw your work down without thinking and you're like,
Oh my gosh. When you come back, how do you know which side of the work is the right side, or was the side, you need to work on. I'm going to show you
So I'm not going to cut this because I'm going to come back. I'm actually going to finish this into a washcloth but if this were the end of my project say this is the end
Of my yarn. First thing first. You want to add a new ball of yarn at the end of a row
Don't think to yourself, oh, but there's a lot of yarn left I can get by. And I'll just end right here. And then I'll add I'll just add it right here. No.
Add your yarn at the end of a row. It just makes it better for the overall project. And then when you see them in your end, you don't have a chance of it coming on done and getting a big hole in your project. Okay, so always change balls at the end of a row
Because it's the same process if you're going to do stripes you change colors at the end of the round. All we're going to do is you would drop your old color.
Pick up your new color and always always leave four to six inches of a tail. Okay, it's always better to have more tail to weave in then not enough.
So you just kind of leave a tail. Now here's something that I do because I hate when my yarn flops around. I like to tie my new yarn around my old yarn.
So I just tie it around. I don't make a nod or anything. I just do a basic like I just do a tie. Okay. And I always make sure I still have that long tail.
I'm just tying it around my old. Okay, so I have my blue tied around my green I just pull it right up next to my needle. You with me so far.
Now I just pick up my work and I started knitting, only this time I'm going to ignore the green and I just start knitting with my blue. So I go in
Here and around
Come out and off. And there you have it, you now know how to add a new ball of yarn.
And how to do stripes. If that's something you want to do.
Ally W.: Hey, Marley. We had a few questions come in. But I want to go ahead and ask, sir.
Ally W.: Um, so there was a question about the last stitch of the road that they feel like their last searches of the row or not looking great and I know we've covered this in a couple of other classes, but I want to go ahead and
Ally W.: Let you give your, your answer there.
Okay, so the last edge of the road is a little wonky.
What I typically do is I will wiggle and tug my stitch. Let me get to the end of this row and I'm going to answer that question.
As I start the next row. I'm going to show you what I do, but really here at the start, as as absolute beginners I don't want you to worry too much about that first ditch of the row. It's something that will gradually become easier as time goes on, and you'll get more used to that.
First ditch, but I'll show you my trick when I get down to the end here so that you can see what I do.
I do want to point out here as I'm changing colors you're going to notice on one side it looks like a very nice seamless change.
On the opposite side, you'll get a nice sort of like, you know, it looks like a checkerboard sort of look and that's that's just the nature of the beast. That's just the way this works up
It's pretty cool stuff.
Okay, so put put a pin in it. The one for starting at the end of the row.
I'm going to say here. Okay, look, I'm I drop this down. I have to go take care of the kids I come back, let's say I'd pick it up and I pick it up like this.
Well, if this was the same color. Obviously it's convenient that it's blue. And we're like, oh, well, that should be in the other hand
But if it was the same color. You could pick it up, be like, Oh, well this doesn't look right. I'll just starting to date.
Well, if you do that, you're going to get a big hole. I'm going to show you what that looks like. So you can recognize it.
So you pay pretty like oh okay well this looks funny but not. That's what I was doing. I'm just going to start knitting across
And then you go and you're like, oh, wait a minute, something, something looks funny it's big there and one side looks goofy like I have a big hole in my work, what's going on.
Well, the thing is you actually started doing what are called short rows where you shorten the row and you turn on yourself. So
Here is a little tip if you drop your needles and you come back and you need to pick them up mid row.
Always remember that you're working on is going to be in the needle, it's on your right hand. So if you pick. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit the the camera if you pick it up.
Make sure you're working on is attached to the needle that's in your right hand and then you'll always be on the correct
Are going in the correct direction. If you happen to have to put your work down mid row.
Best case is to not put your work down and row and never have that problem, but that is one of the number one things. People will do and then they get a hole in their work. They don't understand why.
And there is no way to fix that whole without just undoing that project. Okay. Now there are other ways to get holes. I'm going to show you right now. Say you you have your yarn upfront here.
We go into this next ditch and I do this, what I've done.
Is I've created what's called a yarn over, it's just kind of looks funny there on the needle. We're gonna leave that yarn over there. Okay, I'm gonna let you see what it looks like when we come back to it.
So the rule of or the moral of the story here is when you're knitting. You always want your yard and back here. You don't want your yarn in front and then it because you're going to get what's called the yarn over. It looks really goofy. Okay.
So I'm going to keep going. I'm going to leave those yarn overs. I'm going to show you what they look like.
I'm going to go to the end.
Why did I cast on so many stitches.
Ally W.: Um, I had another question come through about tension and I just kind of wanted to give my beginners.
Opinion.
Ally W.: That it just takes practice. I mean, I would say just keep practicing
Ally W.: Don't be like
Ally W.: I think my first actual finished project was just a scarf and it honestly
Ally W.: It will be fine. You'll be proud of it. Regardless, so I think it just, it really does take a lot of practice. Right.
You're absolutely right. It is tension. It just takes practice I I hold my yarn around my pinky and keep tension, but I have friends who hold it just like this. I mean it, you'll find a way that works best for you.
Okay, here at the start, one of the number one things beginners do is they're like oh my stitches so loose.
I'm going to just pull this up and wow that looks so much better. Look how snug. That is, okay, great. Now I'm going to start knitting.
Does anybody see the problem here. If I just started knitting. It looks like I have two stitches right so if I needed to this one and then it into that one. I've just increased by stitch count.
So that is the first thing most leaders will do do not extend up that is a pearl bump right there that you're looking at.
Do not extend up your yarn so that your problem disappears and you get those to just the two strands of the stitch. We want to make sure that we get this nice line of Pearl bumps. Okay.
The other thing that I will say is after unit, the stitch and let it jump off.
I will wiggle my needle and tug my yarn just on this first stitch because what that does is you're tightening up the stitch below and this stitch here. Like, it just makes it look nice. Alright, so it's a wiggle in a tug. I'm going to show you here again.
I go in, I knit my stitch might come out and then I wiggle my needle.
And I tagged my yarn.
At the same time,
I can't tell you. I had a guy that I was teaching in it. George and I told George he needed to give us needle a wiggle in a tug he he thought that was the funniest thing.
I was like, but it tightens up the stitch it makes it look really good. He was like, all right, with a lot of time. He's like, I'm going to put that on a pillow.
Just like all right, George. Alright, so I'm going to come over here. I'm just kidding away. This is just what we've been doing all along.
And I'm going to be coming up to that yarn over. And so let's say you accidentally made a yarn over, just like I did, and you come up to it, you're like, Oh no, what did I do this looks funny.
Right here it is. All right. Can you see how it looks different than everything else. It looks like a big gaping hole. Okay.
You're like, wow, that's a funny look and stitch. What do I do. All right. I'm just going to knit it well if I need it.
I'm going to continue to have a big gaping hole. Here's, here's your first lesson you guys. That's how you create lace.
You do those yarn overs on purpose to create lace. Okay. But when we don't want to create lays we're trying to get some simple garter stitch.
When you come up against something like this, let it fall off your needle.
It'll make the stitches on either side a little bit loose to start off with. But eventually the slack will be kind of eaten up along all the stitches and it'll disappear. So just let it fall off your needle and continue knitting.
I'm going to come up to another one here. I'm like, Oh, up there it is. I have one right there. I'm just gonna let it fall off my needle.
And then keep going.
All right. How you feeling,
Pretty good. You've learned a lot so far.
How do you jump to the other ones that say
How do you jumped to the other needle. The first row you you really just let it fall off your, your needle.
Okay, so even the first row if this was the first ditch. You go into it. You aren't over come through the window and just let it fall off. It's that simple. And then you just continue on. Okay.
In the front door around the corner out the window and off.
When I get to the end of this row we're gonna pretend that it's the end of our project and we're ready to to
To finish it off. Okay.
Because all of these stitches on our needle are considered live stitches.
We want to make sure that we cast them off or buying them off because we can't just take our needles out or all of our, our stitches will just fall down to the bottom like a run and a pantyhose and it's just it's a hot mess. Okay, so we need to make sure that they bind off.
As I get to the end of the row.
Turn my work.
I'm Sofia. I'm sorry. You feel like this isn't really for beginners, my friend. This is literally a beginner course. This is the way it all works up
In these are beginner stitches. I know you guys can do these just takes practice.
Okay, so we have stitches right here and we want to buy them off. So we're going to still use our knit stitch. So we're still knitting, guys. So I'm going to go into the stitch.
I'm going to yarn around my needle. I'm going to come out the stitch. I'm going to jump off. Okay, so that's one
Go into the stitch around the needle come out the stitch and jump off. There's two. This is where we're going to pause at this point, we want to make sure
That this stitch right here. The first one we did. We're going to have it leap frog up and over that one.
So we're going to do that by taking our left hand needle and I like to pull down on my fabric to kind of stretch out those stitches, a little for me.
I take my left hand needle and I grabbed that back one. And I haven't jumped up and over that front one and off. So see how that backstage now looks like it's sort of like it's strangling that first image.
Okay, but now, that's it, isn't going to go anywhere. It's stuck. So I have one stitch left on my right hand needle.
I go in to the next stitch.
Around the corner.
Out the window off the porch. I have two stitches have the back stitch jump up and over that front stitch.
In the front door around the corner.
Out the window off the porch back stitch jump up and over that friend stitch.
If you find that you're buying off searches are getting to snag, you can always go up to a larger needle to knit, off of. If you want to
But the best thing that I have found is just make sure that as you knit that stitch and you get two stitches over there. Have the backstage.
Jump up in over that front stitch and then make sure that the stitch that's on your needle still is not to snap, make sure it's still the same size as the needle.
And you would do this all the way down the row and this finishes off the project. This makes it so that those stitches. See how when they jump up and over there no longer on my needle.
So I would do this all the way down the row, I'd cut my yarn. I'm going to show you how this would look so we're going to be 10 were at the end of my row, okay, because I want to make sure I have enough time to show you how to weave in ends. Big Rock, Scissors.
You would cut your tail leaving at least four to six inches. Remember, so you have this one loop left okay here's, here's how easy it is, guys. You just pull that tail through and it locks it in
Okay.
So we could pretend this was a little scrappy right there and then we would go back and we weave in all of our tails. And what does that mean, that just means you take what's called a tapestry needle it I like the metal ones that have a bent tip.
And I pinched the yarn around the eye of the needle.
And then you can wiggle it right through that I see how easy that is to just thread the needle.
Go to, what would be the backside of your fabric. Remember we put that marker there so we know what the backside is hey, and I'm just going to
I'm going to copy or mimic or what's called Duplicate stitch these digits and conveniently they're two different colors there. So it'll be easier for you to see, but I am just going to follow essentially the path of my blue stitch.
And we've in my end.
So I just look for the blue stitches and I follow the path of it.
And what this does is it weaves in your tail.
Now there are other ways to weave entails, you can bury in ends. You can just thread your ends through stitches. I mean, there's lots of ways, but this is one of the most common ways is to
Do something similar to what's called the Duplicate stitch and weave in your ends and I like to always make sure my end ends up at the side of my project, not in the center of my project.
So sometimes like this and happened to be already in the center, but say it was down here I would go this direction and then I would go back this direction.
And then come down.
And I am typically not a fan of putting knots in my knitting. But when I'm working with cotton yarn. I do like to keep a little knot in it.
Just to keep it in place. I just feel like it's just a personal preference for me. So for me at the end here.
I usually will come through and do somebody told me once that this was called a surgeon's not it's just you go through the circle twice and then give it a good pole and it knocks it up real nice. So I added that and then I go back
in the reverse direction just slightly
Since things are still attached. It's a little difficult.
But once it's all woven in
You can cut your tail.
And your piece is all nice and neat. It looks good on both sides, and you would do that to all of the ends. Okay, so let's go back to my face, real quick.
How we feel and everybody. How you feeling, so here's, here's the good news. I mean, that was a one hour class typically my beginner classes are three hours. So we took a three hour class I condense it down to one hour.
But you just learned everything you need to know to complete something you could make a hat. Using this stitch you can make a scarf using this ditch.
You can make a sweater using this ditch. You can make a shawl. You can make leg warmers. You can make hand warmers. You can do a variety of things just with everything I just taught you.
This will take practice. And the good news is, those of you out there who are mothers and daughters learning together. I'm going to give you a tip. Alright, alright, moms. Are you ready
Your kids are going to pick up on this faster than you are. Because they're used to learning stuff new there so fresh in their mind is so so new.
That everything is new for them. Whereas, us moms were old and set in our ways, and we're just used to just getting things like this.
So don't be afraid if your kids are getting it faster than you, that's totally okay and kids, you have my permission to be like Marlon told you. It's okay, Mom, it's totally. All right. All right, you guys.
If you need extra help. You can always check out more classes that are here on Michaels I know your inspirations has some wonderful videos that are done.
By me and some other wonderful ambassadors on their YouTube channel. I have a YouTube channel. There is a lot of help out there for you.
When everything opens up, you can go to the Michael store sometimes just walking down the yarn. I'll you'll find people they're looking for yarn, who are willing to give you a helping hand as well.
Mentors anchor shaders tend to be some of the most generous and kind people I've ever met. So don't be afraid to ask for help.
I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you for even stepping in here today to give this a try.
Because there are people out there who are too afraid to even pick up the needles and the yarn and give it a try.
But remember, it's just sticks and string we get to control these stitches and we get to say when they get a follow for a needle and what they get to become so have some fun with it and I cannot wait to see what you make with your new skills, you guys. Alright guys, that's it for me. Ali.
Ally W.: Awesome. Just a reminder to everybody that this recording will be available tomorrow online at Michael's dot com slash online classes so you'll be able to rewatch it
Anytime. Awesome. Cool.
Ally W.: Great, thank you everyone so much for
Joining awesome
Ally W.: Bye everybody. Bye everybody.
