First knitting project

Oct 14, 2006 at 6:14 PM
11 comments

So, I'm off and knitting! Feels great. LOVE the how-to videos on the Internet. I had never done the "long tail" cast-on before - really like that a lot - makes knitting that first row much easier than I remember it.

I was going to do a simple garter stitch scarf for my first project, but once I started knitting I realized I wanted something just a tad more involved, so I decided to make a ribbed scarf. But - I didn't want something too bulky. So, I decided to make it kind of skinny and long. I'm not following a pattern - I just cast on 26 stitches and starting knitting. Here is what it looks like thus far - it's about 3 1/2 inches wide:

Nascent scarf

Any comments from you experienced knitters out there on this long-and-skinny idea with ribbing? I'm not so married to this idea that I wouldn't be up for trying something different. (The photo has some color shift - the yarn is actually a pretty rose color not so reddish.)

11 comments

Tags:

knitting

Comments

that's great for a 1st project!

What kind of rib are you doing? 2 knit, 2 purl?

What kind of yarn are you using? And what size needles?

I find the ribbed scarves come out somewhat bulkier, yet somehow thin because the fabric bunches up together from the ribs. For long skinny scarves, I prefer a more flat fabric. Of course, this is merely my opinion in these things. It's all about what YOU want!

What if you did seed stitch instead (k1 p1 and then purl the knits and knit the purls on the other side)? The fabric will come out less bulky than a ribbed scarf.

You could also do a diagonal rib (I don't know the real name of this). that's where you k2 p2 and then the next row, you p1, then k2 p2 and so on. You end up offsetting the rib by one on every row. That also makes a very nice fabric that looks quite complex without being too difficult to knit.

Yep - I'm doing a 2 knit, 2 purl rib, size 8 needles, worsted weight.

Reesie - seed sitch is a great idea and I looked up the diagonal rib - very pretty. Now I'm torn because I actually got quite a bit of work done on my scarf last night so I'm a bit more invested in it now. I think I might just finish this scarf off with the ribbing and see what I think - it's definately thick so maybe I'll make it shorter and it can be something I'll just wrap around my neck and tuck into my coat. I have surgery on Wednesday and I think I'll probably easily finish this off during my recovery. Then, I can do a second scarf in the diagonal rib - which I can work on during our 2-week trip back to IL in November. The week we get back from IL I start my advanced beginner class at the knit shop - so those two projects under my belt should put me in pretty good shape for a pattern-reading project (which is the focus of the class).

haha - I'm fickle. I decided to start over anyway. It's all good practice for me at this point. So, I'll do scarf #1 as seed stitch and scarf #2 in diagonal rib.

OK I am loving the seed stitch. But I am glad I spent the time ribbing first to get my chops back with knit/purl.

Personally, I'm a seed stitch and diagonal rib kinda girl, so I'm glad that you like them. I'm not sure that diagonal rib is exactly what it's called; I think it's also called mistake rib too. I'm not sure. Sounds like you'll be a scarf machine in no time!

That looks great!

Reesie mentioned the mistake rib. I've done that... cast on a multiple of 4 plus 1. You knit two purl two across each row, then knit the last stitch. you do this on every row, and it makes a beautiful ribbing... my favorite! I'm actually making a mistake rib scarf for a Christmas gift!

Hello Margievz! Actually, I think you and Reesie are talking about two different types of ribbing? I did a web search on mistake rib and found this. This looks like a great rib. But, when I do a web search on diagonal rib I found this.

Thanks, all for jumping in with the advice. I feel like I've re-found a passion. Really, there are so many more interesting resources/projects/patterns than 15 years ago - it's exciting! I wonder if sharing ideas over the Internet, in part, makes the difference?

Aha, I was talking about diagonal rib. It's when you offset the rib by one every row. Looking at the diagonal rib fabric, it looks JUST like what I describe though. So to settle this, I did a little internet research.

This is the diagonal rib:
Multiple of 4
Row 1: *k2, p2; rep from *
Row 2: Rep row 1
Row 3: k1, *p2, k2; rep from *, end p2, k1
Row 4: p1, *k2, p2; rep from *, end k2, p1
Row 5: *p2, k2; rep from *
Row 6: Rep row 5
Row 7: Rep row 4
Row 8: Rep row 3

This is the mistake rib:
Multiple of 4 plus 3 sts
Row 1: K2, P2 across row. End with K3.
Row 2: Repeat this row throughout.

Looking at these two, I can clearly say that I really did mean to call it diagonal rib!

This is great! Now I've got two new ribs to try out. Seed stitch scarf is coming along very well. I'll post a picture when I've got it done.

First knitting project

Comments

Post a comment

About Me

My Groups

Tags

Archives