I am new to knitting and bought a beginner’s kit to knit three cat toys for my kitties. However, the directions are so confusing. It came with a dvd and I have been using the dvd and the written instructions but it is very unclear as to whether I am to do the English or Continental style. Does it matter? What is the difference?

The English method is also known as "throwing." Basically, you are holding your working yarn in your right hand and to get the yarn onto your working needle, you move your right hand/arm to get the yarn on the needle. That motion looks like you are moving to "throw" the yarn around the needle.

The Continental method is also known as "picking." Although some people knit very fast with the English method, knitting continental is usually faster and more efficient. With continental knitting, you hold your working yarn in your left hand, and the working needle "picks" at the yarn to get it on the needle.

Check out the videos on www.knittinghelp.com There’s free video demos showing knitting both continental and English.

Note: As long as you are inserting your needle through the stitch and wrapping the yarn correctly on the needle, it really does not matter whether you knit English or Continental or hold your yarn a totally different way. When you start, it will be slightly awkward no matter how you hold your yarn, but you get used to it. Some people advocate teaching new knitters the English method, and teaching left-handers Continental. I have taught many people to knit, and I show both ways of holding yarn, but encourage new knitters to first get the stitches correct and then to experiment with different ways of holding yarn to find the one that makes most sense to them. I personally prefer continental because it allows me to work fast and efficiently, especially when I’m doing color work (2-3 colors) with complicated stitch patterns fairly easily.

Not to confuse you, but there is something called "Combination" knitting. Combination knitting is not related to the way you hold yarn, like the English or Continental method. Combination knitting is more to do with how you insert your needle and create a new stitch. I do not recommend combination knitting, for various reasons, but if you are curious, there is also a video on it at www.knittinghelp.com

Since visiting NY last Xmas I have been searching for a good pattern to stitch. I’ve seen some of the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and the ESB but never went to any of them so isn’t really relevant. (Only a 2 night visit lol)
Can anyone point me in the direction of any online co that has a wider selection?
Thanks

Well.. If you are looking for a small cross stitch you can go to http://www.victoriasampler.com/
Thea has designed some small quick ones..

i live in the bay area, around san francisco and i wanted to do some cross stitching. i wanted to know if i can go to a craft store and buy some there? such as michaels, or joanns? also what types of canvas are there? is there only just plastic types are there flexable ones?

Beverly’s or Michael’s

I just started knitting and I’m on my first project (a scarf). I’ve noticed that the past few rows have a lot of tension in them and it is getting harder to knit rows because the stitches are too tight. What can I do to fix it? Or should I just start over?

How do you wrap the yarn on your fingers? Move the yarn one way or another, to the right or left finger and that should loosen the tension. When you do this you can pull on the yarn and see if it slides easier. Different size needles have nothing to do with the tension it has to do with how tightly you are handeling the yarn. Continue knitting on what you have until you find which way works and then DON"T pull it all out just take it down to where it looked good and then start doing it with the new tension you found. Then if the stitches don’t match start over.

M & H Tapestry and Crafts??

M And H Tapestryand Craft
Craft Shop
Michael Hockley
27 Henderson Street Bridge Of Allan
FK9 4HN Stirling

This is for a very nice lady who would like to commemorate her time in the navy and I’m really struggling to find one. Tried the craft stores and they don’t have any. Can someone point me in the right direction or share one they may have =]

I saw one at http://www.francaise1.narod.ru/
I found this link through Love Quilts Homepage, need a pattern link.
It brings up a set of folders. Look in the fourth folder down. Then click on the link next to the 4th picture. The 3rd picture is a white table cloth with blue ships on it. Hope this helps.

I am currently knitting a sweater pattern that I love — except for the gathered sleeves! What is the best way to alter the pattern to remove the gathers?

The best way to remove the gathers depends on how the gathers are made in the first place. Read the sections of the pattern for knitting and sewing in the sleeves.

I’m going to list fixes for the two ways I can think of to make gathers in a sleeve. Just remember that changing the pattern may change the fit of the garment, so be prepared for some trial and error.

If the gathers are made while sewing in the sleeves narrow the sleeve cap while knitting (to remove the excess fabric that would become the gathered bits) by decreasing or removing increases from the pattern and sew the sleeves in normally.

If the gathers are made by a change in the stitch pattern (ribbing or a lot of decreases near the top of the top of the sleeve would do that) continue with the normal stitch pattern for the entire sleeve. Be careful not to end up with sleeve caps that are too large to be set in neatly if you do this.

I need a quality place online to buy cross stitching kits. Preferably one that sells the whole kit, included thread, pattern, and counted fabric to sew it on, and also in the USA. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I can highly recommend 1-2-3 Stitch!!
Even though I live in Australia, they have such a terrific range, service and prices for a US company that it was easy to purchase from them.

They really do sell some gorgeous kits at excellent prices.

http://www.123stitch.com/Cross-Stitch-Kits.html

I am doing a Dimensions cross stitch but I have misplaced two of the colors of thread. I have gone to a craft store but I’m not really sure how to tell if its the correct color. None of the numbers matched.According to the chart that came with the cross stitch the color numbers are 15381 and 18513. None of the numbers at the store went that high, they were either in the 300’s or 900’s. The colors are Dark Brown and Cool Grey, should I just guess and pick out one that I think is close?

Dimensions colors are not sold individually by stores. They have them made up just for their kits. You should be able to contact Dimensions and get more floss from them. Somewhere in the instructions should be that contact information; nowadays you can probably just find their website. They’ll need the kit name, it’s number, and the floss numbers. I don’t know if they’ll charge anything; probably a nominal fee. If the kit is too old, they may not be able to help you. If they can’t, go to your local needlecraft shop and ask for help. If they are any good, they’ll be happy to help you, and should carry more than one brand of floss. You may be able to find something close enough that way.

How do I take a picture from my computer, and turn it into a knitting pattern? I found a software that did it right on the computer a long time ago, and I can’t seem to find it again. Any suggestions, I don’t want to spend money, if I don’t have to on this, but I really want this picture to be a knitting pattern!

Hi, knitpro is such a system, it is available here:

http://www.microrevolt.org/

(go to the bottom of the page and click on the link to knitpro).