love these hacks! My hack is when you have a large amount of cast on stitches (for example100). Divide the stitches by 10 and set aside a stitch marker for that number, in this case 10. Mark every 10 stitches as you cast on. This way you know exactly how many stitches you already casted on. And by the count of the remaining stitch markers, you know how many more you need to cast on. It makes counting stitches so much easier and accurate.
Hmm, good idea! I've been getting my hubby to count until we both consistently get same number, lol! Doesn't always go down well but that and helping to fold sheets is pay back for holding ladders and pumping brake pedals in cold weather. 😅
I've tried it. It's a pain in the ass. Only do it if the sweater us suuuuper cheap & made of suuuper great material. I don't think it's worth it if it's just wool.
It's really helpful to do a bit more research into this before you go out and start buying thrifted sweaters. I did this when I was in college, and it's important to look for sweaters like what is in the video. If you see seams that have thread running all over it, stay clear. Those sweaters were knit in sheets, cut out and then sewn together. If you don't mind the time it takes to hunt down the right type of sweater and the unraveling processes, it's a great and eco-friendly way to get new, cheap yarn. There is even a group on Ravelry called the Unravelers.
I thrifted a sweater made of silver silk ribbon yarn and undid the whole thing. Made about 6 hats out of it and sold them all. It's time-consuming to take the seams apart but well worth it to turn a $2 thrift sweater into several pricy-looking projects. Great tip!
It depends on the sweater. Some are constructed from a large piece of knitted fabric and then machine serged together which trims the fabric edges as they being sewn. If you choose a sweater like that, unravelling just leaves you with a ton of short ends.
Did you break the lid on a cute teapot? TaDa: You now have a really cute yarn ball holder. Place the yarn ball in the body of the teapot and feed the end through the spout! Pretty good size ball fits too!
... and you can bring your tea pot yarn ball to the tea house for knitting with friends while having tea and crumpets :) that would be something that would bring smiles on people faces :)
I use a plastic carrier bag with tiable handles. Not as pretty as a yarn bowl but yarn can't escape, bag is free or very cheap and fits all sizes of ball/skein.
You are my favorite!! I am new and was finishing a hat. I did not have stoppers on the dpns😢 Everything fell off. I pulled everything back pretty far and saw all kinds of errors. I decided to diligently think back until there were none. Then I saw your lifeline video. Thank you so much! After reworking, I put one in and then replaced it later with a new lifeline. Now, when I go dpn it will not be so traumatic. I literally put this thing down for 2 months until I got brave again. Thank you. You are awesome!!!
YOU taught me how to knit!! I'd been trying to learn for a while; I'd read several "how to knit for children" books, hoping they'd be simple enough to follow. It wasn't until I found YOUR tutorials that everything finally clicked! THANK YOU!!!!!
Hi thanks for the video! I am an old lady knitter and hold my needles the way you do, and am amazed, not many people do. I was taught by my mother 64 year ago and am curious to know why you hold your needle like a pen. I would rather hold my needles the continental way and have tried, because I think it is faster, but a habit of 64 years is difficult to change. Just curious and so glad young people are enthusiastic about knitting, very therapeutic in my old age. X
Anita Swart I learned how to knit with the yarn between my thumb and forefinger and I always hated it! A German lady I worked with showed me how to knit Continental. It felt clumsy at first and I was in my fifties. But I’m a crocheter too so that’s how I hold the yarn when I crochet. Anyway you knit is great!
I hold my needles like a pen to and knit English way like in the video... it is way faster and you can knit longer this way... but hey... each their ways... no bad way to knit... or so :)
After teaching myself to knit, I bought every size Clover bamboo straight needles I could. While the size is printed on each needle, it was a pain having to look at each needle until I found a mate. My solution was to put matching stickers on mates, using different stickers for the various sizes. There are probably easier ways, but I have used these so long that I know grabbing blue hearts are my size 7s, pink flowers are my size 4s, etc. 🙃
Nice hacks and nice video. I wanna share my other hacks that I've been doing as well. 1. Instead of cork for securing dpns when not working, i just use plain rubber bands. 2. Use safety pins as stitch markers. Even just a small rubber loom bands work wonders. 3. If you can't find any yarn projects at a thrift store, which usually happens to me, any old old old crochet or knitted projects works. Which you feel you won't be using for the next 5 years. This was a part of a decluterring technique I apply. 4. Old large ice cream tubs works like magic as a yarn winder, specially large balls of yarns. Just snip a hole on the lid and voila, it works wonders. 5. Fabric glue, this works wonders on synthetic fibers on securing them together instead of a knot or even a loose end. Just a dab of it and it seals and binds the end or 2 strands of yarn. I hope this helps all fiber artists worldwide.
I've been thrifting and knitting and didn't even imagine combining the two, I always go after church with my mom and my sister is going to join us tomorrow. Better believe I'm gonna be on the lookout for anything I can steal yarn from lol
These are some great tips, thanks! I use large oatmeal containers (tubes) for holding my yarn. It holds a large skein upright when pulling from the end/inside and they don’t tip over. You can cut a hole in the plastic lid for the yarn to flow through or just leave the lid off. Same with empty ice cream buckets - plastic or paper board.
i LOVE the kinks, reminds me of my grandma who would unravel adult jumpers with holes in the elbows and knit stuff for me. as I said its a personal choice thing, Love your videos keep them coming!
You have a point, but with this particular yarn being 100% wool (maybe not superwash) you run the risk of felting the yarn which would make is hard if not impossible to use.
Another thing that can be used to wind the yarn on as you are unraveling is a homemade pvc pipe holder with a length of pvc (one foot), four six inch pieces, four end caps for the pvc and two three way connectors. No, it’s not something most people have around the house but it’s very cheap. You can also wet it on the pvc and let it dry, getting the kinks out, if that’s what you want. Assemble the connectors on each end of the long piece. Put two short pieces in each end, and cap it off. It will resemble a capital H. Or turn each end opposite of each other and you have a (can’t think of the right word here!)
My favorite line marker is two flat magnets, on on the front of the sheet of paper and one on the back. They hold each other in place, you can slide it along the rows as you work and it does not lose its hold like tape or post-it notes eventually do.
I’m so glad I found an Asian RUclipsr that does knitting videos!!! Seeing someone that looks like me, and that does the things I like to do really means a lot.
I use a wood salad bowl (garage sale find) attach a office binder clip to run the yarn through. Makes a great yarn bowl for large worsted balls and bulky yarns.
In terms of keeping your yarn clean, I've found that putting a ball of yarn inside a ziplock baggie works very well. If you have a multi-color project, a separate baggie for each color works very nicely. If you have more than one project in your knitting bag, then you can separate them by putting the yarn ball/baggies and project into a larger qt. or 1/2 gal. or gallon baggie. This is nice as you may have instructions and just pop them in there too. Yarn bowls are neat to look at but I find they are not for me. I knit in several places or in the car often and a more portable approach when you don't risk breaking a yarn bowl, is for me.
courag1 Excellent advice! I also use baggies. For yarn bowls, I just use a dollar store soft plastic bucket/bowl type at home that is wide enough to hold my projects!
I just leave 1 corner of the baggie unzipped, to run the thread through. I will also pin the baggie to the wrong side of my knitting, a few cm below the knitting needle - mainly for multi colour work. I have had 6 colours in use at a time. No point in getting yarn tangles.
I have been experimenting since I saw this vid, I have successfully used an empty tissue box as a yarn ball holder, paper clips as stitch markers and stitch holders, and pencil erasers instead of corks.
I've been knitting since I was 10yo. But never really learned anything but the basics. Having recently retired, I have more time to dedicate to my knitting! Just came upon your channel and I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE IT !!! Your explanations, demonstrations, techniques, "hacks", and of course, sense of humor are wonderful! I'm so glad I found you! Thank you, I'm such a fan.
Got the biggest kick this morning that you used my tip for stitch markers. The video segment made it look so cool. Thanks for all your great tips and your excellent videos.
Thank you for the thrift store tutorial. Many years ago i saw a documentary on a man who would knit things for donations and his source of yarn was thrift store sweaters but he never showed how he did it.
the image you showed as the yarn ball winder is not a winder. It is a yarn swift, which is for holding your yarn so that you could wind it into a ball from the hank. A yarn ball winder looks more like the reel on a fishing pole. (wink) Also the recycling the yarn from the thrifted sweater there is a very important factor, the seams. There are 2 kinds of seams a serged seam and and rolled seams. the serged looks just like the inside seams of a sweatshirt or t-shirt... this one is bad for recycling. When you unravel this it will give you a bunch of short pieces of yarn because this was cut from a larger piece of knitted fabric. What you want is where you can see two separate "rolls" or it looks like 2 braids laying side by side. This is what you want. this will give you one long strand per a piece unless it gets broken or there are holes in the sweater.
Sometimes the "good" type will also look like there's a crochet chain running alongside the seam. You see that on old vintage handmade sweaters sometimes.
i regularly thrift sweaters for yarn, and i usually just wash the sweater whole, then unravel, right into my next project - I don't even wind it into balls!
You have some great hacks, I love your videos! Instead of using corks, use wide rubber bands, they're just as effective. That toilet roll hack to make a center pull ball would take forever! I use my hands. I learned how to do it from a RUclips video years ago. Goes waaaayyyyy faster. And since you're going to be at the thrift store, get a ball winder! I've seen them there for $3.
if you do a blanket and need to remember to turn a corner i say use twist ties like the ones from the loafs of bread. they are reuseable as many times as you like.
Nice video. I always use page protectors and a dry erase marker works great to mark off lines or rows. When I spit felt yarn and it is not a single-ply I cut off half the strands on each side before spit felting. This way you end up with the same thickness as the rest of the yarn. The popcorn backing that comes in things can be used for the ends of needles.
Love the coffee cup yarn bowl and straw stitch holders! That's awesome! True story, I used some bamboo kitchen skewers as my very first knitting needles. They were super rough so I had to smooth them down, and they were really small, maybe size 1, but they worked!
I need noise in the background at work so I have been playing your videos, absorbing by osmosis and taking a quick note here and there. Just made a note for this one. You're wonderful!
I’ve got lots of sweaters that I’ve taken apart from thrift stores and re-purposed the yarn. Like you I always wash it and I’ve never been dissatisfied with any I’ve gotten. After it’s dried I use my ball winder to wind it into a cake.
Hack #3!! I have so many old sweaters that I haven't worn in years or just... er... um... don't fit anymore. So many beautiful colors and I never thought to re-use them in this way. Thank you!!
January Gem I was thinking this too!! I have a bunch of vintage sweaters that are just collecting dust. Think I’ll just wash it beforehand though, might be easier.
Great hacks, I especially loved the toothpick as a cable needle replacement. Thank you. Here a a couple of mine: 1. As for Yarn-Bowl replacement. My hack is a very simple one, and is suitable for every size of yarn ball, small or huge. I take a zip-lock plastic back in a size that would fit my ball. Using a paper hole punch (or a pointy screwdriver, or a knitting needle) I puncture a hole on the side of the to of the plastic bag under the zip closure. All is left is to place the ball of yarn in the bag, thread the yarn through the hole, and zip close tightly the bag. Now the yarn can roll freely on the floor without tangling, or accumulate dust and dirt, and you have a smooth constant supply of clean untangled yarn. 2. Another great helper is those small row counters. When ever I need to cast on ore that 20 stiches I use one to mark every 10 stiches: 30,40,50,....If I need more than a hundred stiches, I mark 00 for 100, and 10 for 110, 20 for 120 and so on. Looking at the amount of stiches on the needle it is clear that the 20 represents 120. The reason I do it every 10 stiches is to make sure I know where I am even if I am interrupted with a phone call, one of the children, the door, etc. It also saves me the need to count again all the stiches once I am finished casting them on. Hope my hacks will be helpful.
I've used spit splicing more times than I can count. Another type of yarn that a spit splice won't work on: superwash wool. A spit splice works on any animal fiber that will felt. Superwash wool has had that ability removed from it. If a spit splice doesn't work, try making a Russian join.
If you're working with more yarn in different colors the best yarn bowl is a colander. It surprised the heck out of me when I tried it and it worked beautifully. Thought I add this hack also to your list. Ü
i do the spit thing but after I unwind the ends of the yarn I cut out half of the strands on each side so that when the edges are joined - the yarn is all the same thickness - without a fat part...
I use a double ended needle just slightly larger than my working needles to do my cabling. Pass the stitches on one end, slide them to the middle, hold in front/behind, slide them to the off load side, knit the stitches off the other end instead of putting them back on the working needle.
You are just so wonderful. You're easy to follow and have a great sense of humor! You're also the reason I decided to give it a go with knitting! Thanks!
1. Easiest "yarn bowl" is probably just closing the flaps of a cardboard box with the yarn inside. 2. The spitjoin works through the felting process, and therefore only on feltable fibers, and water should work fine.
I so love your enthusiasm. Your voice is pleasing to the ears. Keep up the good work. I also wanted to tell you about my yarn bowl I use a Arby's loaded cheese fries container. Kentucky Fried Chicken also has one. Black container with a raised dome lid with a small hole in the top to let out steam. I use a finger nail file to buff the hole in case of rough edges as so it doesn't tear my yarn. I also use small rubber bands used for teeth braces for stitch markers.
Looooove the tips!!!! I just thought of one... I'm new to knitting and trying to find inexpensive needles to try... a cheap idea is use bamboo chopsticks...I used an Emory board to file down the tips into pointing tips. And using corks on both ends so my yarn doesn't slide off.
This is a great idea! I just recently got into both knitting and crocheting at the same time a couple of weeks ago and before I could get any knitting needles all I had was metal chopsticks lol then I switched to some wooden ones I found hidden in a drawer and whittled the ends down with a kitchen knife to get them pointed LOL they weren't the greatest but they did okay for the time being.
Do some research first. If you see a sweater that has machine serged edges avoid it because the serging process trims the seam and all you will end up with is a bunch of short yarn pieces.
Bulb pins are my new favourite type of marker. I started using them before I watched this (literally bought some advertised as markers) and didn’t realise they had other implied uses.
2:15 MIND BLOWN I thought these were purpose-built as stich markers. These "bulb pins" are the only stitch markers I like to have and I really love them in a variety of colors.
The Russian join gets rid of the bump in the spit join. Cut 1/2 of each end of frayed ends, reducing the bulk and then overlap to make it the regular diameter and go ahead and spit, etc...
It's hard to Russian join into certain yarns, for example very small weights or a ply that is braided. A spit splice will work every time....but I do prefer to use Russian whenever possible~
I think I love you. LOL! Not in a creepy way. I'm a beginning knitter (learned from videos on RUclips) and have run into so many of the things you hacked. Thrift store sweaters - brilliant! Spit join - my heart is singing. These and some of the other hacks will save me SO MUCH time and money. Thank you!
I love your videos not only are they entertaining but also very informative. The" pop a cork in it" is ingenious. My work doesn't fall off but the sharp points can be quite dangerous and this hack helps to keep it safe. Thank you for sharing and making me laugh out loud! ☺️
I just love your energy. I’ve used toilet paper rolls to ball yarn from a rip out, but I didn’t know there was a way to make it into a center pull ball - awesome!
I have always used a large zip lock bag to hold my yarn balls-they roll everywhere and the bag never opens--whick results in clean yarn in case it falls on the floor--
Aquila Clark and they come in a plethora of sizes to fit every project, are waterproof and are flexible enough to stuff into the most crowded tote! My faves are the Jumbo 2+ gallon size (Target’s Up& Up are good) which hold everything up to a bulky ski sweater!
A tip for straightening yarn that my mum uses for about 30 years now and it works wonders. A bit dangerous too, but we had only one accident with it and it was the cat's fault, not any careful human. So basicaly, she washes a sweater as she would normally do, unravells yarn, makes a ball. She puts a ball in a pot, threads the yarn through one handle (just like with the mug hack). She puts a pot of water on the stove on small heat, threads the yarn through both handles. Steam straightens the yarn as she pulls and makes a new ball of yarn. Yarn needs to be wrapped really loosely after that or IT will get stiff. You get perfectly straight and soft yarn this way
Yes, it should simmer so it produces more steam :) I also put the pot lid on top, so it creates a little tension on the thread (sorry if I use inaccurate words, English is my second language and I can't name some objects)
Finally - a hack film that really has hacks - it is brilliant! Ok I knew a couple of them but maybe 7 or 8 of them I was ... why have I never thought of that! So obvious! And the very best one - how to join two balls of wool. Surprised it doesn't work on cotton or linen though.
Linen and cotton won’t felt together the way animal fivers do because animal fibers on a microscopic level have small “scales” that interlock when agitated with moisture and friction.
liked the toilet paper roll to create a center pull yarn ball. I used to have a yarn winder (did machine knitting) that I sold with my knitting machine and soon wished I had kept it. Since I am mostly handknitting again, those yarn remnants would be so much tidier wound into balls. Thanks for the great tip!
I have now watched both your hacking videos and I have to say I LOVE THEM! And I think your energy is great. Please do more. They are very entertaining., Go girl!
I use an clean plastic ice cream container with a binder clip on the edge to hold my ball of yarn and keep the yarn fed through the clip. The best part is the binder clip which you can attach to just about any container to hold ur yarn!
Everyday stitch markers. I just cut my straw, omg...that hack is the best thing ever. I am knitting with a size 4mm needle and the cut straw works better than any stitch markers!
Forgive this post if someone else has already mentioned it. When you are talking about winding a centre pull ball of yarn , you showed a photo of a swift - not a ball winder (mark 12:55-12:03). Please correct the photo, so as not to lead to confusion and the unintentional spread of disinformation.
love these hacks! My hack is when you have a large amount of cast on stitches (for example100). Divide the stitches by 10 and set aside a stitch marker for that number, in this case 10. Mark every 10 stitches as you cast on. This way you know exactly how many stitches you already casted on. And by the count of the remaining stitch markers, you know how many more you need to cast on. It makes counting stitches so much easier and accurate.
I always do this!!! Only, I do every 20.
Genius idea! Thank you for the tip!
Hmm, good idea! I've been getting my hubby to count until we both consistently get same number, lol!
Doesn't always go down well but that and helping to fold sheets is pay back for holding ladders and pumping brake pedals in cold weather. 😅
Omg! Nice idea,hon! Wait a second… I did it!! It really helps!
Ps I did this with my dad account cuz my iPad crashed so the name…
Thrifting a sweater and unraveling the yarn to repurpose is honestly one of the most genius hacks I've ever heard 😭💖
and sustainable!!
I've tried it. It's a pain in the ass. Only do it if the sweater us suuuuper cheap & made of suuuper great material. I don't think it's worth it if it's just wool.
L R exactly. A skein isn’t that expensive
It's really helpful to do a bit more research into this before you go out and start buying thrifted sweaters. I did this when I was in college, and it's important to look for sweaters like what is in the video. If you see seams that have thread running all over it, stay clear. Those sweaters were knit in sheets, cut out and then sewn together.
If you don't mind the time it takes to hunt down the right type of sweater and the unraveling processes, it's a great and eco-friendly way to get new, cheap yarn. There is even a group on Ravelry called the Unravelers.
I love that idea, but I’d only do it if the yarn was really nice and more than I could afford to buy from a shop
I thrifted a sweater made of silver silk ribbon yarn and undid the whole thing. Made about 6 hats out of it and sold them all. It's time-consuming to take the seams apart but well worth it to turn a $2 thrift sweater into several pricy-looking projects. Great tip!
Elaine Liner off
Wow so wise
Balling a used sweater.. my jaw is on the floor!!! BRILLIANT hack. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Seriously.. I will never donate a sweater again!
I laughed and then realized how brilliant YOU are. I have sweaters that I'm happy to unravel. Wow!!!
It depends on the sweater. Some are constructed from a large piece of knitted fabric and then machine serged together which trims the fabric edges as they being sewn. If you choose a sweater like that, unravelling just leaves you with a ton of short ends.
I always do this
I love to knit
Did you break the lid on a cute teapot? TaDa: You now have a really cute yarn ball holder. Place the yarn ball in the body of the teapot and feed the end through the spout! Pretty good size ball fits too!
... and you can bring your tea pot yarn ball to the tea house for knitting with friends while having tea and crumpets :) that would be something that would bring smiles on people faces :)
@@amyahdocq8835 Perfect! xo
Brilliant! Love it!
🙂
Thank You Very Much ❤️
I use a ziplock Bag with a hole in the corner to feed my yarn through and it works beautifully as a yarn bowl on the go!
Great idea!!!
That is smart! Never thought of that. Thanks!
I also use a ziplock baggie too but I don't close the zipper all the way. I close each end and leave a small opening in the middle for the yarn feed.
I use a plastic carrier bag with tiable handles. Not as pretty as a yarn bowl but yarn can't escape, bag is free or very cheap and fits all sizes of ball/skein.
Omg 👍 works so well! Thank you!
I was taught to cast on over *both needles*, then pull one out. That makes the cast-on nicely loose even though I do it super tight... :D
That’s a great tip!
yeah I love this tip because then you don't have to transfer the stitches but just slip out the extra needle!
That’s what I was taught too
Yes!! Me too!!
Samee ❤️
You are my favorite!! I am new and was finishing a hat. I did not have stoppers on the dpns😢 Everything fell off. I pulled everything back pretty far and saw all kinds of errors. I decided to diligently think back until there were none. Then I saw your lifeline video. Thank you so much! After reworking, I put one in and then replaced it later with a new lifeline. Now, when I go dpn it will not be so traumatic. I literally put this thing down for 2 months until I got brave again. Thank you. You are awesome!!!
I use empty cleaning wipe containers to hold skeins of yarn. Many are tall enough I can shove a crochet hook in them, or short needles.
YOU taught me how to knit!! I'd been trying to learn for a while; I'd read several "how to knit for children" books, hoping they'd be simple enough to follow. It wasn't until I found YOUR tutorials that everything finally clicked! THANK YOU!!!!!
Hi thanks for the video! I am an old lady knitter and hold my needles the way you do, and am amazed, not many people do. I was taught by my mother 64 year ago and am curious to know why you hold your needle like a pen.
I would rather hold my needles the continental way and have tried, because I think it is faster, but a habit of 64 years is difficult to change.
Just curious and so glad young people are enthusiastic about knitting, very therapeutic in my old age. X
Anita Swart I learned how to knit with the yarn between my thumb and forefinger and I always hated it! A German lady I worked with showed me how to knit Continental. It felt clumsy at first and I was in my fifties. But I’m a crocheter too so that’s how I hold the yarn when I crochet.
Anyway you knit is great!
I hold my needles like a pen to and knit English way like in the video... it is way faster and you can knit longer this way... but hey... each their ways... no bad way to knit... or so :)
@@amyahdocq8835 💕💕
I agree with you. I am 69 years old and teaching myself to knit the continental way.
I’ve heard it’s easier for a crochet her to do it that way but I’ve net the English way so long I don’t know if I can master it.
After teaching myself to knit, I bought every size Clover bamboo straight needles I could. While the size is printed on each needle, it was a pain having to look at each needle until I found a mate. My solution was to put matching stickers on mates, using different stickers for the various sizes. There are probably easier ways, but I have used these so long that I know grabbing blue hearts are my size 7s, pink flowers are my size 4s, etc. 🙃
Oh this is absolutely brilliant!
The reason I love knitter's pride zing and melody
Nice hacks and nice video. I wanna share my other hacks that I've been doing as well.
1. Instead of cork for securing dpns when not working, i just use plain rubber bands.
2. Use safety pins as stitch markers. Even just a small rubber loom bands work wonders.
3. If you can't find any yarn projects at a thrift store, which usually happens to me, any old old old crochet or knitted projects works. Which you feel you won't be using for the next 5 years. This was a part of a decluterring technique I apply.
4. Old large ice cream tubs works like magic as a yarn winder, specially large balls of yarns. Just snip a hole on the lid and voila, it works wonders.
5. Fabric glue, this works wonders on synthetic fibers on securing them together instead of a knot or even a loose end. Just a dab of it and it seals and binds the end or 2 strands of yarn.
I hope this helps all fiber artists worldwide.
Thanks for these tips! They sound awesome!
So much to read so much to learn😲😳 this actually helped and was so smart thanks 😌😊
I've been thrifting and knitting and didn't even imagine combining the two, I always go after church with my mom and my sister is going to join us tomorrow. Better believe I'm gonna be on the lookout for anything I can steal yarn from lol
These are some great tips, thanks!
I use large oatmeal containers (tubes) for holding my yarn.
It holds a large skein upright when pulling from the end/inside and they don’t tip over.
You can cut a hole in the plastic lid for the yarn to flow through or just leave the lid off.
Same with empty ice cream buckets - plastic or paper board.
Love your energy and enthusiasm!! Learning to knit at 60, me!! And appreciate all these hacks...repurpose and reuse!! Subscribed!!
I love her videos. She's cheerful, funny, and explains everything in great detail.
Wash the sweater AND THEN unravel it. it's much easier! Though, you are right about it being easier to use if it's less kinked. Personal choice here
Yeah, gotta unravel and then wash if you want to get rid of the kinks! A bit more work, but I love a straight yarn!
i LOVE the kinks, reminds me of my grandma who would unravel adult jumpers with holes in the elbows and knit stuff for me. as I said its a personal choice thing, Love your videos keep them coming!
You have a point, but with this particular yarn being 100% wool (maybe not superwash) you run the risk of felting the yarn which would make is hard if not impossible to use.
Another thing that can be used to wind the yarn on as you are unraveling is a homemade pvc pipe holder with a length of pvc (one foot), four six inch pieces, four end caps for the pvc and two three way connectors. No, it’s not something most people have around the house but it’s very cheap. You can also wet it on the pvc and let it dry, getting the kinks out, if that’s what you want. Assemble the connectors on each end of the long piece. Put two short pieces in each end, and cap it off. It will resemble a capital H. Or turn each end opposite of each other and you have a (can’t think of the right word here!)
Hand washing, right?
I always wash with a mashing and it matts it up. Even if it's in a protective mesh bag.
My favorite line marker is two flat magnets, on on the front of the sheet of paper and one on the back. They hold each other in place, you can slide it along the rows as you work and it does not lose its hold like tape or post-it notes eventually do.
I’m so glad I found an Asian RUclipsr that does knitting videos!!! Seeing someone that looks like me, and that does the things I like to do really means a lot.
Awesome! Thanks for watching! 💕
The owners of my yarn store are asian... wonderful ladies...
I use a wood salad bowl (garage sale find) attach a office binder clip to run the yarn through. Makes a great yarn bowl for large worsted balls and bulky yarns.
In terms of keeping your yarn clean, I've found that putting a ball of yarn inside a ziplock baggie works very well. If you have a multi-color project, a separate baggie for each color works very nicely. If you have more than one project in your knitting bag, then you can separate them by putting the yarn ball/baggies and project into a larger qt. or 1/2 gal. or gallon baggie. This is nice as you may have instructions and just pop them in there too.
Yarn bowls are neat to look at but I find they are not for me. I knit in several places or in the car often and a more portable approach when you don't risk breaking a yarn bowl, is for me.
courag1
Excellent advice! I also use baggies. For yarn bowls, I just use a dollar store soft plastic bucket/bowl type at home that is wide enough to hold my projects!
I like it! I like it! Thanks.
The baggies work great! I put a very small slit in the bottom of the baggie so I can thread the yarn through it and zip up the bag.
I just leave 1 corner of the baggie unzipped, to run the thread through.
I will also pin the baggie to the wrong side of my knitting, a few cm below the knitting needle - mainly for multi colour work. I have had 6 colours in use at a time. No point in getting yarn tangles.
@@yliberal6355 Ice cream bucket works well also.
I have been experimenting since I saw this vid, I have successfully used an empty tissue box as a yarn ball holder, paper clips as stitch markers and stitch holders, and pencil erasers instead of corks.
I've been knitting since I was 10yo. But never really learned anything but the basics. Having recently retired, I have more time to dedicate to my knitting! Just came upon your channel and I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE IT !!! Your explanations, demonstrations, techniques, "hacks", and of course, sense of humor are wonderful! I'm so glad I found you! Thank you, I'm such a fan.
Got the biggest kick this morning that you used my tip for stitch markers. The video segment made it look so cool. Thanks for all your great tips and your excellent videos.
I been learning knitting fer two days. I been wanting to learn for years Now I am able to thank you
The amount of effort in these videos does not go unnoticed!! Thanks for the tips :) From a new knitter
Thank you for your kind words 🤗
I absolutely love your quirky personality and your videos. Such a joy to watch your videos
Aww thanks so much! I appreciate that a lot 🥰
Me too!
I crochet but I find some of these hacks super helpful, I love your video! I never watched you before but I like your content.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the thrift store tutorial. Many years ago i saw a documentary on a man who would knit things for donations and his source of yarn was thrift store sweaters but he never showed how he did it.
Saw him too... he was also knitting tons of tuques for homeless and poor people... he was quite a knitter
the image you showed as the yarn ball winder is not a winder. It is a yarn swift, which is for holding your yarn so that you could wind it into a ball from the hank. A yarn ball winder looks more like the reel on a fishing pole. (wink)
Also the recycling the yarn from the thrifted sweater there is a very important factor, the seams. There are 2 kinds of seams a serged seam and and rolled seams. the serged looks just like the inside seams of a sweatshirt or t-shirt... this one is bad for recycling. When you unravel this it will give you a bunch of short pieces of yarn because this was cut from a larger piece of knitted fabric. What you want is where you can see two separate "rolls" or it looks like 2 braids laying side by side. This is what you want. this will give you one long strand per a piece unless it gets broken or there are holes in the sweater.
...it's not a "peace sign." It's a Mercedes Benz symbol.
Sometimes the "good" type will also look like there's a crochet chain running alongside the seam. You see that on old vintage handmade sweaters sometimes.
I was thinking the same thing like um.... that's a swift....
@@chriscode6431 Same, lol
Fully agree.
Glad I'm not the only one who gets excited about those safety pins on the clothing tags. Free stitch markers!
Haha yesss! Love seeing those little bulb pins!
I use small, colored paper clips.
i regularly thrift sweaters for yarn, and i usually just wash the sweater whole, then unravel, right into my next project - I don't even wind it into balls!
You have some great hacks, I love your videos! Instead of using corks, use wide rubber bands, they're just as effective. That toilet roll hack to make a center pull ball would take forever! I use my hands. I learned how to do it from a RUclips video years ago. Goes waaaayyyyy faster. And since you're going to be at the thrift store, get a ball winder! I've seen them there for $3.
if you do a blanket and need to remember to turn a corner i say use twist ties like the ones from the loafs of bread. they are reuseable as many times as you like.
Nice video. I always use page protectors and a dry erase marker works great to mark off lines or rows. When I spit felt yarn and it is not a single-ply I cut off half the strands on each side before spit felting. This way you end up with the same thickness as the rest of the yarn. The popcorn backing that comes in things can be used for the ends of needles.
Love the coffee cup yarn bowl and straw stitch holders! That's awesome!
True story, I used some bamboo kitchen skewers as my very first knitting needles. They were super rough so I had to smooth them down, and they were really small, maybe size 1, but they worked!
I made my first DPNs out of sanded chopsticks 😆
For a yarn bowl I use one of my tea kettles. Pull yarn end through the spout. Taa-daa! Works great.
Old screens make amazing drying racks for faster dryoing.
I need noise in the background at work so I have been playing your videos, absorbing by osmosis and taking a quick note here and there. Just made a note for this one. You're wonderful!
I repurposed an old plastic colander as a yarn bowl! It doubles as a semi-neat container for the work in progress.
That's super creative & pragmatic! 😍
I learned to knit three days ago and am on my first scarf thanks to you! I love your energy and the way you teach!
When you said to unravel an old sweater or a thrift store sweater I looked straight to my hand me down in my closet XD
I’ve got lots of sweaters that I’ve taken apart from thrift stores and re-purposed the yarn. Like you I always wash it and I’ve never been dissatisfied with any I’ve gotten. After it’s dried I use my ball winder to wind it into a cake.
To block my projects I bought the rubber floor mats that connect together. I block larger objects easily and T pins work great on them.
I do that too... so easy ...
Never seen such high-energy video for knitting, it's refreshing 😂 love all the tips, just feel sorry for unraveling a sweater!
Thanks! Great ideas. No more rolling my leftover yarn without the center pull winding hack.. Awesome!😊
Love the hacks. I actually use the yarn ball that I’m working with to stab the needles in instead of the corks. It’s easy and handy haha
Hack #3!! I have so many old sweaters that I haven't worn in years or just... er... um... don't fit anymore. So many beautiful colors and I never thought to re-use them in this way. Thank you!!
January Gem I was thinking this too!! I have a bunch of vintage sweaters that are just collecting dust. Think I’ll just wash it beforehand though, might be easier.
Yes! I’m thinking of repurposing an old sweater too! I can imagine a second life as a scarf!
Yes washing it beforehand is a great idea!
@@phoebedenton123 Great idea. It definitely would be much easier.
Great hacks, I especially loved the toothpick as a cable needle replacement. Thank you.
Here a a couple of mine:
1. As for Yarn-Bowl replacement. My hack is a very simple one, and is suitable for every size of yarn ball, small or huge. I take a zip-lock plastic back in a size that would fit my ball. Using a paper hole punch (or a pointy screwdriver, or a knitting needle) I puncture a hole on the side of the to of the plastic bag under the zip closure. All is left is to place the ball of yarn in the bag, thread the yarn through the hole, and zip close tightly the bag. Now the yarn can roll freely on the floor without tangling, or accumulate dust and dirt, and you have a smooth constant supply of clean untangled yarn.
2. Another great helper is those small row counters. When ever I need to cast on ore that 20 stiches I use one to mark every 10 stiches: 30,40,50,....If I need more than a hundred stiches, I mark 00 for 100, and 10 for 110, 20 for 120 and so on. Looking at the amount of stiches on the needle it is clear that the 20 represents 120. The reason I do it every 10 stiches is to make sure I know where I am even if I am interrupted with a phone call, one of the children, the door, etc. It also saves me the need to count again all the stiches once I am finished casting them on.
Hope my hacks will be helpful.
I've used spit splicing more times than I can count. Another type of yarn that a spit splice won't work on: superwash wool. A spit splice works on any animal fiber that will felt. Superwash wool has had that ability removed from it. If a spit splice doesn't work, try making a Russian join.
That sweater hack is so clever, as a knitter I should’ve thought of that before!
When she took those needles out of that circular work it frightened me on a deep level lol
If you're working with more yarn in different colors the best yarn bowl is a colander. It surprised the heck out of me when I tried it and it worked beautifully. Thought I add this hack also to your list. Ü
Dang, that sweater was cute! :(
It was cute, but it was also way too small for me!
I love that second hand store yarn 🧶 hack 😉🙌🏽 great way to get some bougie ass yarn 🤣🙌🏽🤗
Spitting in your yarn takes to expression : "blood, sweat & tears (& now spit)" to an entire new level
Great tip about using bigger needles for casting on and off. Thank you!
i do the spit thing but after I unwind the ends of the yarn I cut out half of the strands on each side so that when the edges are joined - the yarn is all the same thickness - without a fat part...
I use a salad spinner to get the water out of yarn or knitted projects. It is awesome.
I use a double ended needle just slightly larger than my working needles to do my cabling. Pass the stitches on one end, slide them to the middle, hold in front/behind, slide them to the off load side, knit the stitches off the other end instead of putting them back on the working needle.
Cabling without a needle would blow your mind lol. It's a game changer
@@chriscode6431 I'm not cabling a 10CF without a cable needle, my dude. Lol I use the non-needle method, but only for one to two stitch cables....
@@firegodessreiko you're just not that adventurous 😂. A 10, yeah maybe I'd a cn. But most patterns don't call for tens.
I cant cable to save myself LOL I keep dropping the cable needle and losing my stitches
@@karenm2293 lol you gotta practice, practice, and practice some more.
You are just so wonderful. You're easy to follow and have a great sense of humor! You're also the reason I decided to give it a go with knitting! Thanks!
1. Easiest "yarn bowl" is probably just closing the flaps of a cardboard box with the yarn inside. 2. The spitjoin works through the felting process, and therefore only on feltable fibers, and water should work fine.
I so love your enthusiasm. Your voice is pleasing to the ears. Keep up the good work. I also wanted to tell you about my yarn bowl I use a Arby's loaded cheese fries container. Kentucky Fried Chicken also has one. Black container with a raised dome lid with a small hole in the top to let out steam. I use a finger nail file to buff the hole in case of rough edges as so it doesn't tear my yarn. I also use small rubber bands used for teeth braces for stitch markers.
Oh! I love your hacks! They’re excellent! Bookmarked in case I end up making a third tip video 😂
Looooove the tips!!!! I just thought of one... I'm new to knitting and trying to find inexpensive needles to try... a cheap idea is use bamboo chopsticks...I used an Emory board to file down the tips into pointing tips. And using corks on both ends so my yarn doesn't slide off.
This is a great idea! I just recently got into both knitting and crocheting at the same time a couple of weeks ago and before I could get any knitting needles all I had was metal chopsticks lol then I switched to some wooden ones I found hidden in a drawer and whittled the ends down with a kitchen knife to get them pointed LOL they weren't the greatest but they did okay for the time being.
Bamboo food skewers work as well...already pointed!...
Omg. Unraveling a sweater for yarn is sooooo freaking BRILLIANT
Edit: with the page protectors, you can also use a dry erase marker on it!!
Do some research first. If you see a sweater that has machine serged edges avoid it because the serging process trims the seam and all you will end up with is a bunch of short yarn pieces.
My mother taught me to use a large coffee can for my yarn bowl. Thought I'd share.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tip! I've got a bunch of lidded coffee cans in my daughter's maker station that can now be put to use. :)
@@jennifermoran2873 😆👍
I was thinking about learning how to knit. You sold me on it and made it look fun.
Love the hacks. I do crochet and most will work for me too.
Thanks
Long time since I heard so many usefull hacks! Thank you !!
Bulb pins are my new favourite type of marker. I started using them before I watched this (literally bought some advertised as markers) and didn’t realise they had other implied uses.
2:15 MIND BLOWN I thought these were purpose-built as stich markers. These "bulb pins" are the only stitch markers I like to have and I really love them in a variety of colors.
I absolutely love your videos. Your videos taught me how to knit. I’m still new and would love you to make more videos/projects!
The Russian join gets rid of the bump in the spit join. Cut 1/2 of each end of frayed ends, reducing the bulk and then overlap to make it the regular diameter and go ahead and spit, etc...
It's hard to Russian join into certain yarns, for example very small weights or a ply that is braided. A spit splice will work every time....but I do prefer to use Russian whenever possible~
Doris Cote
I always use the Russian join, it's so nice & neat!!
@@yliberal6355 me too. Split 'em, snip 'em and spit on 'em!
I ❤️ youre personality and teaching style. Energized and engaging!
For straightening out long circular needles, I stretch the cord in the steam from my tea kettle. A couple passes through, and you're good to go.
Dish soap and water with felt the animal fibers together. That’s how wet felting works.
I love your videos, I’ll definitely be using some of these.
These are great hacks. Thanks for posting this.
You’re very welcome! It was a blast making this video!
I think I love you. LOL! Not in a creepy way. I'm a beginning knitter (learned from videos on RUclips) and have run into so many of the things you hacked. Thrift store sweaters - brilliant! Spit join - my heart is singing. These and some of the other hacks will save me SO MUCH time and money. Thank you!
Aw thank you! Haha I’m so happy to save you time and money! 🤗
Excellent hacks!! I would love for you to do a cabling tutorial! Your videos are fantastic😍
The idea of using a yoga mat for drying my knitting project is amazing! Thank youuuu!
Wow, such a great video!!! Thanks!!!
Thanks for watching!
👍,love that you reapplied a Rothko book!
I do the spit trick when I spin yarn, I just lick my palm instead of the yarn
Me too.
I love your videos not only are they entertaining but also very informative. The" pop a cork in it" is ingenious. My work doesn't fall off but the sharp points can be quite dangerous and this hack helps to keep it safe. Thank you for sharing and making me laugh out loud! ☺️
I just love your energy. I’ve used toilet paper rolls to ball yarn from a rip out, but I didn’t know there was a way to make it into a center pull ball - awesome!
Thank you! And yeah, the center pull ball hack is definitely one of my favourites!
omg i never thought of thrifting sweaters. best idea ever. thank you
I have always used a large zip lock bag to hold my yarn balls-they roll everywhere and the bag never opens--whick results in clean yarn in case it falls on the floor--
Aquila Clark and they come in a plethora of sizes to fit every project, are waterproof and are flexible enough to stuff into the most crowded tote! My faves are the Jumbo 2+ gallon size (Target’s Up& Up are good) which hold everything up to a bulky ski sweater!
A tip for straightening yarn that my mum uses for about 30 years now and it works wonders. A bit dangerous too, but we had only one accident with it and it was the cat's fault, not any careful human. So basicaly, she washes a sweater as she would normally do, unravells yarn, makes a ball. She puts a ball in a pot, threads the yarn through one handle (just like with the mug hack). She puts a pot of water on the stove on small heat, threads the yarn through both handles. Steam straightens the yarn as she pulls and makes a new ball of yarn. Yarn needs to be wrapped really loosely after that or IT will get stiff. You get perfectly straight and soft yarn this way
Veeeeery interesting! So the pot of water would need to be simmering during the whole unwinding process? I’m intrigued! Thank you for sharing!
Yes, it should simmer so it produces more steam :) I also put the pot lid on top, so it creates a little tension on the thread (sorry if I use inaccurate words, English is my second language and I can't name some objects)
@@weronikagdaniec7621 Awesome! Thank you for the extra details! :D
Finally - a hack film that really has hacks - it is brilliant! Ok I knew a couple of them but maybe 7 or 8 of them I was ... why have I never thought of that! So obvious!
And the very best one - how to join two balls of wool. Surprised it doesn't work on cotton or linen though.
Linen and cotton won’t felt together the way animal fivers do because animal fibers on a microscopic level have small “scales” that interlock when agitated with moisture and friction.
liked the toilet paper roll to create a center pull yarn ball. I used to have a yarn winder (did machine knitting) that I sold with my knitting machine and soon wished I had kept it. Since I am mostly handknitting again, those yarn remnants would be so much tidier wound into balls. Thanks for the great tip!
Ive also knitted with pencils...just cause
Never thought about this! I've used chopsticks before, but pointy pencils might be easier to use lol
Tyna Stevens Cool! How did you find the experience?
I almost couldnt tell i was using pencils. But i dont recommend using pencils for knitting with very thin yarn.
@@sheepandstitch 9
@@olivialopez8763 I also knit with my fingers, and do arm knitting as well--
I have waited for the centre pull ball winding hack my whole life. That one was indeedife changing! Awesome! Thank you so much! 💗
Awesome! I love making center pull balls! Good luck!
I just learned that you can actually knit with pencils!
I have now watched both your hacking videos and I have to say I LOVE THEM! And I think your energy is great. Please do more. They are very entertaining., Go girl!
Aw thanks so much! I appreciate it! 🤗
Whenever I get a new skein I take a stick like one of those blinds rods and put it in my stepdads drill and use that to wind it all up
Why don't you wash the garment first, then steam the hank to straighten it? Seems much less trouble to me.
Steaming wool can cause the fibres to shorten. Best to soak in tepid water with baby shampoo or wool wash of you can find it.
I use an clean plastic ice cream container with a binder clip on the edge to hold my ball of yarn and keep the yarn fed through the clip. The best part is the binder clip which you can attach to just about any container to hold ur yarn!
I would like to know how to read a pattern for knitting .
Everyday stitch markers. I just cut my straw, omg...that hack is the best thing ever. I am knitting with a size 4mm needle and the cut straw works better than any stitch markers!
Forgive this post if someone else has already mentioned it. When you are talking about winding a centre pull ball of yarn , you showed a photo of a swift - not a ball winder (mark 12:55-12:03). Please correct the photo, so as not to lead to confusion and the unintentional spread of disinformation.
Thank you! This is what I said.
Lynn Poling doesn't matter what the picture is or isn't, 'cos you don't need to get one!