Knitting Workshop Intro....

Day One

We started our knitting workshop on Monday where we was introduced to using the knitting machines. We was split up in groups of two as there was not enough machines to work alone and working in groups allowed me and my partner to work and learn together and also help each other when in need rather than waiting or asking for help from our tutor.

First we went through the basic rules everyone should know when using the knitting machine, this include:

• Tie all long hair back away from the face.

This is because hair can get caught in the knitting needles or carriage.

• Roll sleeves back -big/ loose knit clothing

Rolling long sleeves back is important  as sleeves can easily get caught when knitting especially big/loose knitting clothing as its easier for the needle to caught onto due to the big holes.

• No drinks on the table.

This is because if the drinks get knocked over and spill into the knitting beds this will cause problems as the knitting bed is oiled and water and oil don't mix.



We then went through the basics of the knitting machine and leaning how to set up the machine and pack it away.

• The carriage is what I move up and down to knit. 
• The tension knob is on top of the carriage and determines how loose or tight you want the knit to be. The higher the number the looser the knit. When using acrylic yarn 7-8 is the best tension to use which I used for all my knits throughout the week. 
• The carriage stays on the right hand side.
• The bed is lettered A-D, when the needle is on A that means it is out of action and will not knit but when the needle is on B,C, or D the needle is in action.
• The yarn feeder is where you place the yarn after e-wrapping to secure it.
• Each number is in tens and you always start from 0 going outwards from both directions.

When ever you knit no matter what king of knit technique I'm making I have to knit a plain knit. You pull down all the needles you want to use to letter D. Then you start casting on by e-wrapping the yarn, you do this by going inside and out of each needle making sure you don't pull too hard. For the first ten knits after pulling the carriage across I then had to pull the needles back down to D. After doing this ten times, add the craw weights  and now you can knit with ease. This is what you call a plain knit and is the simplest and most basic technique. This was very easy and me and my partner Dasiy completed our samples very quickly. However I made a few mistakes which are very noticeable this could of been due to a range of things such as my yarn may of missed a few needles causing a big hole.

The second knit we learned was called honeycomb, as it looks like a honeycomb with its hexagon like pattern. The first thing to do was to knit a plain knit following the steps but ensuring I count how many rows I knit as I'll need to repeat this to create the perfect shape/pattern. After completing the plain knit I got the transfer tool and used it to pick up two yarn loops from the bottom of the knit and transfer it onto the the needle directly above and repeated across. After this I then knitted the same amount of times as I did previously and repeated. I really enjoyed this technique as I felt it was easy to do but produced something which looked technically difficult. When producing this technique you have to make sure you concentrate as it is key to creating a consistent pattern.

Knit number three is called lace as it produces a pattern with open holes in the work. You start first as always by creating a plain knit. You then need the transfer tool again but the side with one end. you use the transfer tool to pull out a needle, the push in the needle picking up the yarn and then move it over to the next needle. To ensure the hole is only created once per needle you have to line up the needles on D.  If you don't do this you'll create a drop stitch which I learned how to do next. The lace technique was trial and error. I made a lot of little mistakes such as forgetting to line up the needles, moving the yarn to the wrong needle and dropping the yarn when transferring it. I kept going and eventually I got the hang of it and started to enjoy it. The lace gave a girly and feminine look which I really like and tired to create but didn't go so way. This is another technique which takes concentration as if you make one mistake there's no going back or correcting.

The last technique we leaned today was called a drop stitch. The drop stitch is very similar to lace as you follow nearly the same steps.The only difference is when using the transfer tool to transfer the yarn loop after picking it up, you drop it rather than carrying it on to the next needle. To stop the drop stitch you have to pull all the needles inline. When doing this technique I decided to change the yarn I was using a more ragged and shabby yarn as I felt it went well with the technique. The technique gave an old and ruff look to the sample which I liked. I've seen jumpers which have this technique on it especially with mans wear as it has a manly and antic feel.

Working with our tutor today was very enjoyable, I've leaned a lot today and he was always there to give a helping hand. I have never knitted with a knitting machine before but I have by hand however the two are not the same. It was very enjoyable and kind of relaxing so I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the rest of the weeks. I love learning from the mistakes I made and trying to work out what I was doing wrong. For example in some of my samples there are loops that have been created this is likely down to me working the carriage too quickly and pulling it too far way from the needles I was using creating the loops. I also enjoyed working with my partner as she was a great help and we encouraged each other.We completed all our task and work well with each other to ensure both of us had enough time to create our samples.