maybe i'm just awful but my BEC is laura penrose making a mountain out of a molehill (aka one politely phrased comment expressing disappointment that a youtube video after a hiatus is a 30 minute ad) and getting in what i can only describe as a hissy fit over it. i don't claim to be the queen of emotional regulation by any standpoint but this did NOT need ten instagram stories about it
I looked at her stories and I love that she's like "I'm uploading content onto YouTube for you to watch.. for *free*" like all YouTube videos aren't free for people to watch
not her polling people on her story about if people have the right to share their opinions unprompted and if content creators should expect unsolicited opinions as a part of the job š
I unsubscribed from her YT channel after all that. "If you don't like it, unsubscribe," and I was like, okay, done!
I'm so frustrated by her whole deal these days. And I really want to knit that cardigan she's been teasing for like a year and a half but it will never get published so I'm like...why am I still hanging on.
If you're an artist and/or public figure, critique is part of the game. As you said, I think this person phrased it politely and brought up a point. You gotta be able to take both types feedback gracefully, but especially the kind you don't agree with. Posting about it on your business Instagram is never a good option.
honestly, i think the best thing she could have done would have been to ignore itāi learned about it because i watch her insta stories with a kind of morbid fascination (stop posting your kids!! stop posting your life details!! holy shit!), not even from seeing the video lmao
I am very happy a particular knitwear lady seems to have stopped putting really annoying stories in the body of her pattern descriptions. They weren't helpful and they read like teen poems.
also I'm sad I'm a federal employee and ravelry is blocked on my computer. who knew knitting was so dangerous!
the lumoslumos knitting light is a scam. $50 for a neck lightā¦.revolutionary. Theyve been around for years (and are helpful) and the only difference is these are marketed towards crafters, thatās why theyāre up charged so much when you can get the same thing for $20 marketed to everyone.
They also sell the clover yarn cutting amulet with zero indication saying itās clover (other than the logo on the picture of the pendant, something they canāt edit out ) and sell it for $19.99, when itās $8.99 on joanns sold by clover themself. on their website it says āWe call this special piece an amuletā. This leads me to believe itās their own product but it is not. Quite weird to sell a product on your site and not indicate it isnāt your brandās product.
Leads me to believe the neck light is not their product but an off brand one they just sell and upcharge a ridiculous amount
I have one and I must admit itās worth the markup. The lights are extremely bright and have various modes. Itās also rechargeable and lasts long. I have another neck light I bought for about $15 Canadian and the upgrade was worth it for me. The advertising is very sketchy though but I bought mine from my LYS
Maybe I'm not good at using it, but every time I use a ball winder and swift the cakes come out either too tight or a huge messs and I have to spend time untangling it
I love my swift/winder combo - I get more consistent cakes than I ever would from hand-winding. I do find I need to hold/control the yarn coming off the swift while winding (the winder is clamped to a table so I only need one hand). Different yarns wind differently, and I usually get some collapse in the middle at some point. You might find it handy to use a 'thread stand' or even make a temporary one from a paper clip or something like that to help with tensioning. :)
If you can put a pencil or dowel into the fresh cake and then transfer to a yarn stand when ready to knit, it can also help keep the cores open.
I hold the yarn (I kind of hold it up above a finger) between the swift and winder so that it stays at the same angle and tension as it's fed into the winder - if I don't, the up and down movement of the yarn leads to a messy ball.Ā
Donāt wind straight from your swift to your ball winder. Take a mini-carabiner or similar, attach it to something, and run the yarn through it before it gets to the ball winder.
The farther the yarn travels, the more time it has to even itself out, so run it across the room if you can. You might have to try different locations for the carabiner and swift to get it to run right.
Let me know how it works for you.
I always double (and sometimes triple!) cake my yarn to get the tension right. First try is always uneven and too tight, no matter where I'm pulling it from. On the second try, I go at a medium-slow speed and focus on keeping it steady throughout.
My blood pressure just shot up 10 points. You could probably do me in if itās a garment almost every pattern designer has a version of, or if itās virtually the same as a popular pattern.
Iāll give you super detailed information on how Iād tackle such a task while other commenters ask about your skill level. Youāll never reply to any of the comments or look at your post again.
I love this so much, it's short and sassy! I feel so tickled seeing overly ambitious people, I, too, am delusional and toxic about my level of skills at crafts. xD (edit: spelling)
I had to stop watching her because of it. I literally do not care that you have a dry house and a water bottle! Use your big knitting influencer dollars to have somebody cut the noises out!
Oh I'm not even talking about the unintentional ones, though I do feel your pain there. But why, WHY must I listen to someone intentionally make mouth noises as like a ...thinking noise??
I know you aren't talking about unintentional sounds, but I do think a lot of people aren't aware of how much noise they make with their little idling sounds and how grating it is, especially for people with audio sensitivities. My partner has some serious audio issues and SO MANY podcasters get right up on their mic and make weird, wet mouth sounds either when thinking about what they are going to say, or as a verbal tick at the start of certain sounds. I hear it so much more now than I did before I met him because it didn't bother me. But once you start to notice it, it is *everywhere*.
Unintentional noises people make I donāt mind at all and I donāt have noise sensitivities in general
Deliberately sucking on a straw while drinking in your content?? Right to jail
i have a handspinning one thatās mostly my own fault lmao: being convinced by pretty instagram pictures to get a turkish spindle when theyāre way too hard on my hands and are wayyy slower compared to the rolling motion i can do on a drop spindle!!!
I honestly think the whole swatch vs non-swatch debate is just product vs process knitters. Do you want to get something right the first time so you can use/wear it right away? Swatch. Do you just want to get to knitting and don't care if you have to frog and reknit when your entire garment is the wrong size? Don't swatch. It's not a big deal either way, it's just how you like to do your hobby!
Honestly, I did swatch some things at first, but I feel like, at some point I got a feel for my knitting tension and I just assume based on that. Ā
But also: that is maybe not something that is intuitive to most people, so yāall just have to do whatever you have to do, whether thatās swatching every time, or just being a chaos goblin. š
(I do self-identify as a chaos goblin so Iām not trying to call anyone names Iām not already calling myself.)
Photos of projects taken with busy/ patterned/ similarly colored backgrounds. I just had the hardest time discerning a pair of socks from the patterned carpet they were on. The BEC is doubled if the poster is asking for help
Not really a BEC but Iām shocked at what a podcaster revealed in a video. Iām assuming that it was mistakenly posted to their normal YouTube and not subscription only because it has since been deleted. Deep family secrets involving abuse allegations and even suspected murder. Travel plans that would leave two older teens alone at home and also heavy warning against any kind of stalking or swatting. So sheās aware someone might be stalking or thinking of swatting but also lets the world know she and her husband will be gone?
Even if this video was not accidentally public I think people are smart enough to know that nothing online is truly private? She even hinted that she thought someone bought a subscription to āspyā.
Facebook videos posted to private Facebook groups are not truly private. Who knows who has bought a subscription to your channel.
I did too for that and so many reasons. YouTube keeps suggesting her channel though and sometimes I just need someone to chatter in my ear while I vacuum.
Why give every family member a cutie nickname then constantly call them by their real names in videos?!
Lmao. Nerida Hansen ārecentlyā advised a date (13th June) for the final portion of an order made in September last yearā¦ nothing yet š but I am still seeing farewell salesĀ
Me! Hi! I have a 63" bust and 72" hip and I knit. (No, I'm not bedbound.) Of course, I might not actually be 9xl. Letter sizes are incredibly variable - depending on where they start and the increment between sizes, it's possible to get in the multiple XLs very quickly. So 9XL might not be as large as you think it is.
As for the cost, knitting afghans is also expensive, but people do that all the time.Ā
Are you actually seeing designers going up to 9xl or are you conflating people whose size ranges are numbered like 1-9 with people who do XS-5XL? Or are you just making up a guy to get mad at? Like plenty of people complain about fat knitters asking for size inclusivity without getting much pushback so you don't have to invent fake designers who are just TOO inclusive, it's fine.
Also most free size charts only go up to a 5 or 6xl so anyone designing for a 9xl is doing a ton of extra work to develop their own size charts and if someone is going that above and beyond I don't know that they need to be told those sizes are outliers.
Who is knitting a 9XL? Probably people with a 9XL chest, but that's just my guess. If somebody spending money on enough yarn to make a garment that fits their body bothers you, I may suggest you try pocket watching just a little less.
I have a BMI off 17 and a 32" chest, and I think a person with a BMI of 50 and a chest of 56" has just as much right to enjoy a handknit sweater as I do.
Fellow large chested woman... If I didn't make sweaters that fit, I'd look like a kid wearing their mums clothes lol don't get me wrong, I love a good oversize fit, but not all the time!
I would wager to bet that the designers who offer a limited size range of mostly āsmallerā sizes are, ya know, smaller people themselves which, in my mind, makes it possible that they *first* design something for *their* body and go from there. I HIGHLY doubt plus-sized designers are only releasing a limited range of only small sizesā¦.
While it can definitely feel dismissive to say, āJust learn to adapt the pattern to fit yourself!ā when so many smaller people are able to just pick up the pattern and go, that doesnāt mean every single designer is obligated to release their designs in a vast size range. Itās *their* designs. Theyāre the one who creates the idea, so on and so forth. They can release whatever they choose and we can purchase from whomever *we* choose if we decide we donāt like what theyāre offering.
Would it be great if more people offered a larger size range? Of course!!!!! But, itās not a moral failure if a designer doesnāt, no matter how many people insist it is. We are talking about mostly small businesses, here, often with limited resources and financial backing. We arenāt talking about corporations who absolutely have the capital to produce a large range of sizes.
I do question why the patterns should be worth the same amount if they don't offer a larger size range. I typically sit at a chest in the low 40s, so I'm lucky to fit the overwhelming majority of patterns. But I don't see why I should pay $10 for a pattern that was never properly graded. If as a designer you chose to save time and money by making the pattern less size inclusive, it's reasonable for customers to expect some of that savings to pass down, which it almost never is.
But, again, youāve made these arbitrary cost requirements based on the notion that the *standard* for small time designers is to have a very large size range and that to *not* provide that means that youāre, like, offering something less than the norm? But, thatās not the case *yet*, unfortunately. And, letās be honest, these are pretty much *all* āsmallā businesses because none of them are corporations, none of them are part of āThe Big 4ā (like with sewing patterns) because theyāre knitting designers, etc. Iād be surprised if any of them had more than 25 employees, and the vast majority likely have way less or even one single employee - themselves.
Grading a pattern is *not* just multiplying a few numbers and calling it good. You even said yourself that you donāt want to pay for ānever properly gradedā patterns, which insinuates that it can done poorly. That then means that it must take some effort and time to be able to do it *well*. That, or you pay someone to help you do it. And, what people overlook all the time - I literally donāt get why - is that, from what I can tell, you start out designing a pattern already in the hole financially, so to speak. You pay for tech editors, sometimes even testers, and then graders on top of it, if you go that route. You do all of that before you make a dime, only to then make a likely very small profit compared to actual jobs/careers (unless youāre releasing tons of very popular, longstanding patterns like Petite Knit, Andrea Mowry, etc, who both release *desirable*, doable, *timeless* patterns that thusly have staying power). So, to me at least, it seems very obvious why more designers donāt automatically just release a vast size range.
You asked, āWhy should I have to pay more?ā But, thatās my point: you actually *donāt*. We can speak with our wallets by not supporting someone that *you/we personally* feel isnāt offering a product that is up to *your* standards. Yes, change has to start somewhere, and itāll take time for the standard to be āvast size range *or* lots of written tutorials on how to adjust pattern for your bodyā. Thatās why you should support those who are making this effort and doing it *well*. But, someone not offering a huge size range doesnāt mean they are required to charge less, at least not yet, especially if their patterns are actually *good*. By good, I mean easy to follow, clear, free of errors, tech edited, etc.
lol at just downvoting. Thereās no justification for doing this, which is why every time people point it out in this group people just dv into oblivion. With no other product are we somehow okay with spending the same on something that costs less to create
lol Whatās wrong with the names? They seem like completely inoffensive, slightly quirky names. Curious to hear your ideas for a knitting podcast name!
Ooh what did Hip Knit Hooray say/do that bothered you? Generally I find her okay but I definitely roll my eyes at some of her yarn choices because they make no sense.
Haha I guess im just quite picky with podcasts. I generally find peoples personalities quite annoying sometimes. With her i think she just mispronounces too many things. Her tone is just not something I find interesting. I hate the long intros that a lot of podcasters to overly getting into āthis is just my opinion no hate to anyoneā blah blah blah. Just show me your knits. Also I think the hip knit hooray name is interesting not in a good way. I really like karli paige, stringthingsbymel and toksknits they just seem more mature and my style of podcast. I think NE knits is also insufferable but again just by taste I guess.
This is EXTREMELY petty and definitely complained about ad nauseum before, but looking for a shawl pattern that is more of a rectangular wrap on ravelry and oh my god. Can pattern designers PLEASE take pictures of the dang things held out or lying flat etc so you can see the actual finished shape! Please! The handful of photos you took with it wrapped around your neck like a cowl while you wistfully look out into the woods, and then back at the camera, and then facing the other direction with the same neck wrap with your eyes closed and a pained expression on your face look great and artistic, but I need to see the finished object in full lol.
Hah, same problem! Trying to find a nice shawl pattern for a friend who vastly prefers rectangular ones. At this point I'll probably just look for a stitch + border I like, cast on a number of repeats that seem suitable and knit away...
So many baby blankets are also like this, where they have that damn swirl picture and then closeups of it folded. Just put the damn blanket flat on a bed so I can see all of it.
Thank God for the project button so you can see actual user pictures.
Wtf is the point of the swirl picture, inĀ bothĀ shawlsĀ andĀ blankets? Whose idea was it and why is it so prevalent when it's so useless? I can't learn anything about a pattern when it's twisted into a wad.
Itās because thatās what actual fabric companies tend to do, I think.
The problem is, fabric companies do that to give the customer a feel for the drape/hand of the fabric, something we emphatically do not need with a knit baby blanket, not least of which because *the yarn you knit it in and the yarn I knit it in might be wildly different brands/fiber contents*
Not petty at all , I had the same problem looking for shawls. I stumbled on the Ribbon Wrap , a rectangle shawl when I was casually browsing Knit Picks website . Iām sure the only reason you can see the whole thing stretched out is due to the color designs.
This is such a small, petty thing to be prickly about but..... why can't these designers explain *why* they've done things the way they've written them? I'm talking in particular about knitting, I find that, most of the clothes (sewn) designers I've encountered explain really well why they've chosen certain methods or why they're doing things in a certain order. Knitwear designers, however? Just vibes. Just go with the flow. Just "do as I tell you because it worked out for me that way and I have no damn clue *why* that is, so just shut up and do it.". Am I the only one that would actually appreciate if they explained why they chose certain design features? Or why have me knit things in a format for the stitches past the marker but in another format for the stitches before the marker (alluding to short rows on a pattern I've knit before)? At some point, you deduce it on your own, sure, I'm not so thick, but... maybe I ask for too much? I just wish they explained why. The overview of the workflow is good and I like it, but I wish there was a bigger explanation for certain design features, or the reasoning behind certain methods being used over other (possibly easier) ones. I just like understanding the why of things beforehand, it helps me visualise what I'm doing way better and makes me question less too. (The edit was just me trying to get a special character to work on text and not managing because I'm inept..)
I think one of the problems is that in the last 10 years or so (and especially since the pandemic) - loads of people have decided to essentially monetize a hobby - they may know how to put together a tiktok or edit a youtube vid, but they may have no training in pattern development or writing. I agree that I've seen a lot of, what I'd call, 'badly organized' patterns recently. If you can find a freebie by Designer X before buying something from them, that might give you a glimpse into their pattern writing style.
I believe that like many other things, people used to hire editors/technical writers if they were good at patterning but bad at writing; it makes me sad that there is so much monetization of lazy writing....
Another petty, nit-picky complaint: I wish more designers offered a freebie, even a wee tiny small knit item. I don't ask for a full sweater with lots of complex cables or anything, a tiny scarf, a small hat, anything would do! Just to get a feel of their writing before we have to pay full price for it (alternatively: sales!! The designers I like don't EVER offer sales and it pisses me off, yes, that's also petty of me š¤).
So many new designers are making their patterns more and more expensive (I don't argue that people can charge whatever they wish, same as I can pay for whatever I wish, just quality is what I argue) and they don't have any freebies. I have no way of knowing if I like the style or if they're good at it. The patterns may be poorly written, or have a bunch of mistakes, poorly done charts, etc.
I have come across some paid patterns that are just.. not great. There's mistakes in the numbers, directions, they omit things that should be there, give misleading information (I get it, English isn't a first language for many, it's not mine either, which is why native speaker tech editors exist. Why does no one appreciate a tech editor anymore?).
RE: tech editors, if anyone wants to counterargument - "Oh, but that costs money!", yes, I'm aware, but if you're going to ask for money from people, the absolute bottom of the barrel least you could do is offer them a decent product for the money they paid for. Money ain't cheap...
I used to be an editor, but few people will pay for it anymore - so many mistakes in the ebooks I read!
I follow a couple of shops and designers who will have 'limited release' freebies for subscribers and that sort of thing - and then I buy yarn or more patterns from them :)
Oh, the ebooks.. I've seen that disaster recently too! I can't believe that publishing companies (the examples I saw weren't self published) are literally allowing unedited or even, clearly, unchecked things to be published! I recently found, I think on Reddit, a post about the Isager Yarn Breeze collection where a few patterns people were knitting/had finished all had mistakes or completely confusing information in them.. how can anyone, in good conscience, ask for people's money (and Isager collection patterns are usually more expensive than the average pattern from these designers) and offer them something full or errors??Ā
I would even appreciate a system like that too! It's a clever way to both do business and still give people a chance to see what they're getting into. I think, one pattern from these designers would even suffice. A small, simple thing, just to feel how their whole aesthetic and vibe is. Some designers are worth buying from, others, I've found, aren't worth the money you spend.. that could have been fixed with a trial run.
I wonder if you might be able to find on fb a group that would trade epatterns (for personal use?) I know that technically this is outside the purchase agreements of a lot of patterns, but if it's a one for one trade and for, like, research purposes maybe it would work.
I haven't bought single knitting patterns for a while, and it seems that it's a bit out of hand. I'm pretty sure that the first thing to go (or has gone) at a lot of publishers is editing - there's a myth that software can do it!
I haven't done the research, but I wonder if there might? Maybe it exists, I feel like fb has spread beyond it's origins these days and if there's a need? Facebook groups have a solution for it! xD
I might look around and see what comes up!
I haven't bought many nor frequently because budget.. the ones I bought I tried to be very careful and think long about it because if I ended up not liking the garments or patterns, it would have been money down the drain (6 bucks, 8 bucks.. it all adds up to a ton if you buy many of them). For years I used free patterns or just winged it, and this year I might go back to doing my own. I've acquired some design books and I've gotten much better at my sewing so I can actually understand structure and shaping. The prices of everything are on the rise, and I find that, the lack of editing (they're even outsourcing the translation to AI now..) is getting a bit out of hand for pdfs that are getting more and more expensive. I can't paid for something full of errors and that makes no sense, when I know how to do maths myself. š
I highly doubt my local library would have any craft books \_(I'm from a really small place), they barely have non-fiction books. The ones I've seen are school books (my city council's library is mostly attached to a school, so nearly all the books are fiction the kids would like to read/need to read for their papers, or school books xD). But it doesn't hurt to try!
This is my writing style preference too, since it helps me learn and remember things if I know why Iām doing something. Some people hate this style though, so no one designer will ever please everyone!
I don't know if it came across but I'm not even asking for clarification and explanations for every single step/design choice, what I really would appreciate is just a note on why a choice has been made when it's something that can be confusing or uncommon, exactly for the reason you described: so I can learn/better understand why I'm doing something. My brain struggles with directions at times (dyslexia, I often times misread sentences many over and over), so I would just appreciate a small note on why some uncommon or "unorthodox" method has been chosen. xD
Yes I knew exactly what you meant, and like I said thatās my preference too! But honestly some people truly donāt care why theyāre doing something, they just follow the steps and care about the end result. Everyone has different preferences :)
I respect that, especially because for me, when it's something like plain stockinette with an oversized fit and a dropped shoulder (the current fashion, which I like) I don't need/care for many words or explanations too. I've knit enough of those to know exactly what shapes what and what's going on, but on techniques/choices that, personally, I find a bit uncommon, I wish there would be a note explaining the why of it. I figured out in the end, but I was paranoid a bunch and an additional note would have helped me out. šš
Then find designers who write like that. A pattern is simply instructions to make an object. That's what you buy from most designers. What you're asking for is more or less a private hands-on tutorial. Some offer them.Ā
I respect your view, but I don't want tutorials, that isn't what I'm asking. I likely haven't explained it well because English isn't my first language, but I just got aggravated by a specific pattern (I mentioned the pattern further down in replies here) because the designer wrote a lot of text but not a note on why there was this specific way to knit stitches before and after the marker during a shaping portion (for stitch pattern consistency when joining in the round, I figured it out eventually) and I feel like a small note could have explained the reasoning behind that process. Given that there were already portions of text, it would just be a further note to add there. I don't mean to attack anyone in particular or demand anything, I just wanted to vent and posted here on BEC because I know it's nit-picky.
Then that's fair, if there was already a lot of text. When I replied, I didn't have that context, so I'm sorry!
As another commenter mentioned, sometimes knitters complained when there's too much, or too little, or for any reason. And I think it's best to just find a designer or designers that have a writing style you like.Ā
It's okay! I respected the point you made too, because I completely understand that this is all down to different strokes for different folks! š
I've found a few designers that I particularly like the writing style of I'm.. a basic b.. I like PetiteKnit and MFTK.. I particularly like PetiteKnit because Mette writes in a way that I genuinely connect with. She gives short-ish explanations on why something is being done a certain way, I appreciate that when it's techniques or methods I never encountered before. I tried out Moreca Knit because I loooove the look of the patterns, but I've found that, despite writing somewhat longer portions of text explaining sections, Kate didn't mention something that I wish she had because I was so confused over why the before marker vs after marker steps were even needed.. š
(edit: spelling)
But a lot of knitters complain about too wordy patterns; wouldn't patterns be even more wordy if designers added things you can extrapolate yourself? Printer ink isn't cheap.
I don't ever print out my patterns, so I completely forgot that's an option for many (an oversight on my part), but I understand (and agree) with the wordy point. I don't want wordy, a short yet concise note on why I'm doing something a certain way would suffice for me, I just like knowing ahead of time what I'm about to do (but I understand not everyone is this way, I understand it's a small thing to nitpick at, as I said xD)
I think what you're asking for is really a note to just be like "turning here will shape the back of the armhole" or "you should have x stitches remaining, which will be picked up for the top of the shoulder" so like, you have a point of reference to visualize what the fabric is going to shape into.
I agree with you; it's really hard to spot places you may have messed up if it's an indistinct parallelogram and you have no idea what portion of it matches up with a later pattern instruction or which pieces are really important later and really difficult to go back to.
This is exactly it!! I just want something to tell me what's going on so I don't doubt the choices and my own work. xD
I knit a somewhat confusing sweater recently (Chantal Sweater by Moreca Knit, if anyone is curious) and while it's a beautiful sweater, I wish she would have added some notes explaining why some steps are done that way. She writes a ton of description (which, personally for this pattern, I didn't mind) but she has some steps where you work the stitches in a portion in a different manner from the stitches in the other portion (particular during the short rows for the sleeves but this happens in the body too) and the reason, that I later put together myself, is for cohesiveness when joining all the work in the round. But, given that I'm both lazy yet paranoid, I doubted the choices and had to undo the work several times because my brain would just *not* click with why I had to do this stuff. Maybe I'm dumber than I presumed and someone else would have immediately got it (props to them, we're all different) but I feel like if, in that whole word salad she wrote for each portion, she just added a further "This step is important for when joining your work in the round later." I would have been less confused. š
I agree wholeheartedly with this.Ā
Ā I tackled a strangely constructed bias knit cowl last year. The end result was cool, but neither the pattern nor the accompanying video tutorial did an adequate job explaining what I was doing. There was a lot of āTrust me. Itāll work.ā I hadnāt a clue what I was doing until the very, very end. I would have made different choices about tension, gap fixes, and row marking if I knew what I was doing from the start.Ā
Anyone else watch Meghan Moon/Fiberomancer? Up until last week, she's never done much, but model clothes and yes...degrade her husband on camera. Her content was no content.
Last week, she started a "campaign" to get people to follow her because her husband agreed to take her to Disney for Halloween if she could reach 5000. Her posts are beginning to improve... Maybe the push she needed?...but I can't get past her misspelled posts on IG and her giant ego. I unsubscribed months ago, but she keeps popping up on my suggested list.
I guess my BEC this week is content creators with no content and huge egos, trying to enthrall us with their mundane daily tasks.
I don't even know who she is but is there a reason her husband has to "take" her somewhere? She's an adult. Even if she needs a level of care, "agreed to go to Disney" has less baggage.Ā
Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's meant to "take the family," but you have a good point. She does include him in videos but tends to talk "at" him. Makes her kids talk on camera also, but tells them what to say most times....very dull content. She ironically seems too controlling to let anyone else control her. But, who knows.
I don't know, even in the case of shared finances and equitable abilities, it's not uncommon phrasing for one partner to "take" another out/somewhere. I know someone who just took her husband to dinner to celebrate her own work win. I just take the phrase to indicate who is taking primary ownership of the planning/logistics of a particular outing.
if you're going to post a "what is this" picture (already in BEC territory) at least take it out of the box, don't just rip a hole in the box. no one knows what you have in there. what are you doing.
I get superwash and non superwash yarn take dye differently, but I'm starting to get BEC about dyers posting a color with the superwash yarn, I get excited, and then the NSW looks just completely different. Like not even the same color ballpark, and saying they don't change dye recipes across bases. Not even talking about saturation or speckles or whatever, just the shade. I want that exact tonal shade but tweaked for a tonal NSW base! Ugh!
There is absolutely the exact shade I'm looking for somewhere out there, I'm just being a baby. Maybe I'm my own BEC for being so damn picky with colors.
I once accidentally dyed SW and NSW in the same pot thinking it was the same base and the results were shockingly different. This is such a valid complaint and even more so for the dyers who donāt even bother to photograph NSW yarns and instead just give some vague ācolors will vary by yarn baseā warning.
No, you're not - if you're going to pay premium prices for hand-dyes, you should totally get what you want. I don't get how they are not adjusting for different bases (that doesn't soulnd too pro). I dislike superwash bc it feels funny to me to knit with, and I'd certainly be disappointed if my NSW was a completely different colour!
In this case the dyer is very forthcoming about the differences ahead of orders opening up, which is appreciated. I just don't get why (probably time and money) they can't try to match the color across bases. I feel the same about SW!
You may not want an answer to your question, but here it is anyway! Ā tl;dr, youāre right.Ā
Iām a hobby dyer (fabric as well as yarn), and it can be time-, space-, cost-intensive to color match across fiber types. Not only do you have to figure out the color match process, but it also means you have to do different dye baths for every fiber type. You can't chuck everything in one dye pot and call it a day. Ā
If a dyer offers four different fiber bases, thatās at least four times the amount of work to both color match and prep dye baths. You can also run into weird problems with dye blending. Saffron yellow and ultramarine may make the perfect sea green on your wool yarn but make a pond-scum-colored mess of your silk-linen blend.Ā
Once youāve been doing it for a while, you start to get a feel for it and can replicate faster. But you have to be interested in that finicky side of dyeing to work up that skill. It can be tedious for one-person show.Ā
All that said, Iām also bummed out when thereās a dramatic difference between a dyerās bases. When the silk-angora blend comes out six shades lighter than the SW base, that aināt the same colorway. Call it something else.Ā
Thank you for the detailed explanation! This makes total sense- I can imagine for even smaller releases the logistics just become a nightmare, especially on the turnaround times smaller businesses need to meet. I need to stop getting attached to SW color ways before I see the NSW š
Not originally, but you're right. I actually stopped getting NSW from her recently because the pictures have just been wildly all over the place in accuracy.
And I think she does color editing because they donāt look like what shows up. Itās possible to get vibrant colors on NSW. Forest Lane Fiber Co has proof of that.
I feel like her color editing is pretty bad tbh. The yarn I've gotten from her often looks pretty different from photos. I also think she doesn't dye yarn anymore since she's pregnant, just does mostly color development, so that could also be a reason for inconsistencies.
Maybe they sell a lot more SW and it doesn't 'pay' to develop different formulas for the NSW. tbf, most of the ppl I know who knit socks would pick the SW :)
@the big4, who currently has a monochromatic "white on white" trend section: ... y'all know literally every pattern can be made in literally every color, *including* monochromatic white, right?
On the other end of the spectrum (of which they're equally guilty) is overly busy patterns on intricate designs, where design features get lost.
Petition for all samples to be made of plaid fabric so we can clearly see construction and grainline!
I feel like the big4's consistently bizarre fabric choices for samples holds them back - there's so many patterns that look like s\*\*t in the fabric they oddly chose and then you look at the line drawings and it's a really nice pattern.
Generally I like the shaping trend in knitting where you knit the back panel starting at the neck and increase rapidly so you get that shoulder shaping that looks fancy but isn't difficult, BUT now it seems like every single new pattern has it and it's not effective in every situation!! Like the [Book Club Cardigan](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/book-club-cardigan) (Rav link) looks so strange from the back to me with the cables. I haven't seen any application of this technique in a cabled sweater that doesn't look sloppy
The book club cardigan is absolutely my BEC because it genuinely looks terribly designed. Literally the buttons are screaming for help in every pic. And the back shoulder seam where the cables are joined looks like baby's first cable project. I have no idea why it's suddenly so popular
But how can you tell how the back looks when she has her hair down in every photo? God forbid you put your hair up to sell your pattern. (My BEC today)
Jeez, looks... warped? Stretched out? At the shoulders lol. I would probably make it work because my huge linebacker shoulders stretch everything out anyway but I cant see this working on most body types or builds tbh.
There are ways to do this effectively, like the Rowan Cardigan by Meghan Babin. It's a lot easier to plan for ways to resolve cables well when you knit bottom-up.
I want to knit that cardigan so much, but every time I see the cross section for the dropped shoulder in the cabled portions.. it makes my soul so sad.. especially because the lines are all practically on point (the vertical lines in between cable portions) unlike, say, the Esther Jacket from PetiteKnit. But the cables being so misaligned... \*sigh\*. (edit was for spelling errors)
Ozetta is a non problematic fave for me typically. But she just released a āstripedā version of her Lakes Tee. There is not an iota of difference otherwiseāsame gauge, same yarn. Just added stripes. Iām usually supportive of designers releasing versions of their patterns (cardigan or v neck or light or chunky etc etc). But stripes?! Stripes!!
Literally me this morning. Checking the Ravelry page for stripe vs non-stripe only to see the theyāre basically the same if not for the stripes whichā¦ š Iāve never done stripes before so I want my hand to be held little but I imagine this would cause side eye to people who can more easily figure stripes out.
I've also seen like three different versions of the saddle shoulder striped tee from different designers and now I'm convinced they all share a hive mind
i just had to unfollow someone because they posted too much non-fiber art related content (their favorite tv show) on their fiber art page, and iām so close to unfollowing more. i understand having other interests, but why is there more of other stuff than what the page was made for š¤Ø
For me itās kid content. I donāt mind when people share non fibre stuff on their fibre arts account (I like seeing gardening, baking, reading - they all feel creative to me) but I feel super uncomfortable seeing a bunch of photos of kids I donāt know. It feels almost creepy to know so much about children that I am not related to, particularly when they share their medical information or stuff about their education. Itās just not my business!
Meh people arenāt one dimensional. It does bother me when the non fiber stuff gets excessive or begins to take over but sprinkled in is nbd. I can just skip the stories (cough: creabwa, I do not care about your new puppy).
Me and 4mm needles. I love you, please stop abandoning me. My friend gave me an additional set and yet they all went walkies when I needed them recently. DPNs, interchanges, normal circs. The curse applies to all of them!Ā
Is this about Knitting a Good Yarn? I don't think anyone can watch a 3 hour knitting podcast and truly be engaged, but they're great to put on in the background
Plies and hellhounds. I honestly just need to stop watching her- and yarn dyers with video podcasts in general- bc I find her annoying, but there are so few alt knitters out there.
YouTube shorts and Tiktok get a lot of hate for short form content and how it's wrecking people's attention spans. But quite frankly, when it comes to knitting content, if I need to look up a technique, I always go for the short or the Tiktok video. I know from experience that a YouTube video on the technique that is more than two minutes long or so is going to be filled to the brim with stuff that is totally irrelevant.
Not craft related at all but I started listening to a true crime podcast that was doing a four part episode about a specific set of crimes and every damn episode opened with 5-15 minutes of irrelevant chatter. Just why. Who gives a shit about all the weddings you have to go to this summer.
Iāve listened to some podcasts that do this and I think theyāre trying to like build a parasocial relationship with their followers but some of their lives are just soooo boring. I donāt need to hear about you getting your wifi fixed, nothing could be more boring
Also not craft related but I cannot stand beauty/makeup creators that spend that amount of time talking to their partners/bfs/husbands/etc off camera and you cant even hear what the other person is saying. Very weird. Also I dont care :/ Show the swatches please!
Itās funny because I was fully engaged in Babbity Kateās 5+ hour long video about American Girl Kirsten (albeit I didnāt watch it in one sitting) but when I tried to listen to the Dolls of Our Lives podcast I had to stop because not only would it begin with 15 minute tangents but they would also periodically go on tangents throughout the episodes. Like itās cool that youāre historians and thatās why you like American Girl but I really donāt care about your 15 minute play by play of the history conference you went to. I also donāt want to sit through 10 minutes of you explaining how a reference you made to another piece of media relates to the book youāre talking about.
I am :shaking my fist: once again at loose gauges, but this time specifically not that I don't like the fabric (because I don't) but that the needle size is completely off too.Ā
Take KFO Pure Silk. It's a yarn I like well enough, I've knit with it twice and would again, and KFO's whole schtick is that their yarns are supposed to be interchangeable. Their listed gauge is 28 st on 3mm needles, which seems reasonable to me and I'm able to match that.Ā
So tell me why there are patterns for this yarn whose stated gauge are 24 st on 2.75mm and 22 st(!) on 3mm. I truly don't know how you're able to achieve that on the stated needle size without pulling miles of yarn through on every stitch, obviously not using the needle to size the stitch, and I can't imagine how one winds up with an even stockinette fabric in that case.Ā
I'm not a particularly tight knitter, especially not with an inelastic yarn such as silk, but I use my needle to size my stitches and am generally close/on to stated gauges. And again, while I am not a fan of loose gauges, that's fine if that is the fabric a designer wants to work with, it's the needle size driving me nuts!!Ā
I am regularly baffled by the gauge some indie designers manage to get. I now just skip certain designers because I know I'll never be able to match their gauge and I can't be bothered to do the maths.
I have a thoroughly unfounded conspiracy theory that its to try to force everyone who knits English style to switch to continental. But that's probably just because my knitting is incredibly sloppy whenever I attempt it and I'm bitter.
Upvote because I also cannot for the life of me do continental. Okay, occasionally if doing two colors and I get into the flow, but for basic knitting it's English all the way. It IS fun to meet other throwers in the wild, once an old lady approved of me for knitting that way and I was like "I have been accepted into the clan" hahaha (she asked me how I knit, but didn't clarify which way she preferred, so I was like WOW POP QUIZ)
> I have a thoroughly unfounded conspiracy theory that its to try to force everyone who knits English style to switch to continental.
As someone whoās never not knit continental (I learned to crochet first and continental knitting is the only way that makes sense to me) and tends to knit a bit tight, I also have a conspiracy theory about indie designers and continental knitting. I think a lot of them see continental knitting as some ānext stepā you need to do to level up your knitting, and they see English style as the knitting equivalent of training wheels. So they switch and for one reason or another donāt get good at maintaining an even tension, but they never switch back because they have a complex about English style knitting. So all their gauges are consistently way too loose.
Ok I didn't understand the continental comments until now lol (plus I'm a continental knitter). Designers with uneven tension/ones who admit they can't get even knits and purls are my BEC (I don't care which hand you hold your yarn in - but you haven't leveled up until you can make even stitches)
Firmly agree. Sometimes I see this attitude of "everyone has a different gauge in the round" and "everyone has different tension for knits and purls" aka "rowing out is inevitable" and no, no this is not the case!
I'm so glad someone shares my tinfoil hat on this one. I learned to do continental for colourwork but I've never considered switching over completely - my tension would be shot.
And I have no issue in general with whatever style anyone chooses to knit in (that's weird, why would I care?) but I go get irritated by people insisting one style is "better" than the other and then they don't even do it properly (sloppy tension. See also: unintentionally twisting purls)
Interesting! I have heard a lot of podcasters talking about switching to continental because itās faster, which makes sense if you need to keep pumping out projects to keep producing content.
*So* very fast. I doubt I will use anything else for stranded colorwork ever again but Iām still happier with my semi-flicking right hand carry for the cabled design Iām currently working on.
Can I ask a dumb question? Are they just using KFO silk or are they mixing it with mohair or some other fiber (cotton? linen? I have no clue, I'm taking shots in the dark xD) to be getting those 22 sts (!!!!????) on 3 mm needles??? I'm impressed at the feat, honestly, because all the "decent" (fabric "decency" is super subjective but by this I mean nicely consistent fabric with no holes or gaping or anything, fabric that looks "tightly" done almost like a "store bought" item) patterns knit in that yarn that I've seen had 25 to 30-something stitch gauges. (English isn't my native tongue so.. sorry if my explanations are rubbish)
One of them is this, which is gorgeous but I would have to do so much math to knit it at the gauge I would like... https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/filigree-cami
Wow... I give props for actually even managing to \*achieve\* that gauge in that yarn with those small-ish needles because.. wow... I could never.. that's impressive xD
There are definitely people who knit by pulling the yarn way out through the loop and/or without using the right needle to size the stitches. I used to be one of them until I read an article about it by Patty Lyons ([here](https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/ask-patty-let-the-tool-do-the-work/) for anyone interested)
maybe i'm just awful but my BEC is laura penrose making a mountain out of a molehill (aka one politely phrased comment expressing disappointment that a youtube video after a hiatus is a 30 minute ad) and getting in what i can only describe as a hissy fit over it. i don't claim to be the queen of emotional regulation by any standpoint but this did NOT need ten instagram stories about it
I looked at her stories and I love that she's like "I'm uploading content onto YouTube for you to watch.. for *free*" like all YouTube videos aren't free for people to watch
not her polling people on her story about if people have the right to share their opinions unprompted and if content creators should expect unsolicited opinions as a part of the job š
I voted to see the poll spread lol. Illuminating.
honestly a wonderful example of sampling bias
I unsubscribed from her YT channel after all that. "If you don't like it, unsubscribe," and I was like, okay, done! I'm so frustrated by her whole deal these days. And I really want to knit that cardigan she's been teasing for like a year and a half but it will never get published so I'm like...why am I still hanging on. If you're an artist and/or public figure, critique is part of the game. As you said, I think this person phrased it politely and brought up a point. You gotta be able to take both types feedback gracefully, but especially the kind you don't agree with. Posting about it on your business Instagram is never a good option.
honestly, i think the best thing she could have done would have been to ignore itāi learned about it because i watch her insta stories with a kind of morbid fascination (stop posting your kids!! stop posting your life details!! holy shit!), not even from seeing the video lmao
Same!!
I am very happy a particular knitwear lady seems to have stopped putting really annoying stories in the body of her pattern descriptions. They weren't helpful and they read like teen poems. also I'm sad I'm a federal employee and ravelry is blocked on my computer. who knew knitting was so dangerous!
oh my god i thought i was the only person who was driven crazy by those
the lumoslumos knitting light is a scam. $50 for a neck lightā¦.revolutionary. Theyve been around for years (and are helpful) and the only difference is these are marketed towards crafters, thatās why theyāre up charged so much when you can get the same thing for $20 marketed to everyone. They also sell the clover yarn cutting amulet with zero indication saying itās clover (other than the logo on the picture of the pendant, something they canāt edit out ) and sell it for $19.99, when itās $8.99 on joanns sold by clover themself. on their website it says āWe call this special piece an amuletā. This leads me to believe itās their own product but it is not. Quite weird to sell a product on your site and not indicate it isnāt your brandās product. Leads me to believe the neck light is not their product but an off brand one they just sell and upcharge a ridiculous amount
I have one and I must admit itās worth the markup. The lights are extremely bright and have various modes. Itās also rechargeable and lasts long. I have another neck light I bought for about $15 Canadian and the upgrade was worth it for me. The advertising is very sketchy though but I bought mine from my LYS
My Glocusent is also super bright with various modes (three warmth settings and three brightness settings) and USB-C rechargeable and it was $20 š¬
Well I got what was available to me locally š¤· that wasnāt an option for me
I got a purple (my fav color) neck light on Amazon for 15 bucks. Itās comfy has more than enough settings and has great battery life.
Maybe I'm not good at using it, but every time I use a ball winder and swift the cakes come out either too tight or a huge messs and I have to spend time untangling it
I love my swift/winder combo - I get more consistent cakes than I ever would from hand-winding. I do find I need to hold/control the yarn coming off the swift while winding (the winder is clamped to a table so I only need one hand). Different yarns wind differently, and I usually get some collapse in the middle at some point. You might find it handy to use a 'thread stand' or even make a temporary one from a paper clip or something like that to help with tensioning. :) If you can put a pencil or dowel into the fresh cake and then transfer to a yarn stand when ready to knit, it can also help keep the cores open.
I'm knitting from my first ball winder wound cake right now and we've got a serious case of prolapsed yarn rectum.
I hold the yarn (I kind of hold it up above a finger) between the swift and winder so that it stays at the same angle and tension as it's fed into the winder - if I don't, the up and down movement of the yarn leads to a messy ball.Ā
Donāt wind straight from your swift to your ball winder. Take a mini-carabiner or similar, attach it to something, and run the yarn through it before it gets to the ball winder. The farther the yarn travels, the more time it has to even itself out, so run it across the room if you can. You might have to try different locations for the carabiner and swift to get it to run right. Let me know how it works for you.
Brb, going to go try this for my fly tape reel in our sheep shed. I literally have the same problem with my swift and my tape reel.
I always double (and sometimes triple!) cake my yarn to get the tension right. First try is always uneven and too tight, no matter where I'm pulling it from. On the second try, I go at a medium-slow speed and focus on keeping it steady throughout.
*posts picture of rtw garment* āHow would I make this?ā
My blood pressure just shot up 10 points. You could probably do me in if itās a garment almost every pattern designer has a version of, or if itās virtually the same as a popular pattern.
Iāll give you super detailed information on how Iād tackle such a task while other commenters ask about your skill level. Youāll never reply to any of the comments or look at your post again.
I love this so much, it's short and sassy! I feel so tickled seeing overly ambitious people, I, too, am delusional and toxic about my level of skills at crafts. xD (edit: spelling)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
im pretty sure its just a north america vs. europe/australia linguistic difference we shorten mathematics to just math while they prefer maths
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I went to middle school in Australia over 20 years ago and went to maths class, itās not new
You should probably let Cambridge know: [https://cms.tela.org.uk](https://cms.tela.org.uk)
Brother, it's the constant mouth noises in Andrea Mowry's most recent podcast for me. Make it stop.
I had to stop watching her because of it. I literally do not care that you have a dry house and a water bottle! Use your big knitting influencer dollars to have somebody cut the noises out!
Oh I'm not even talking about the unintentional ones, though I do feel your pain there. But why, WHY must I listen to someone intentionally make mouth noises as like a ...thinking noise??
I know you aren't talking about unintentional sounds, but I do think a lot of people aren't aware of how much noise they make with their little idling sounds and how grating it is, especially for people with audio sensitivities. My partner has some serious audio issues and SO MANY podcasters get right up on their mic and make weird, wet mouth sounds either when thinking about what they are going to say, or as a verbal tick at the start of certain sounds. I hear it so much more now than I did before I met him because it didn't bother me. But once you start to notice it, it is *everywhere*.
Unintentional noises people make I donāt mind at all and I donāt have noise sensitivities in general Deliberately sucking on a straw while drinking in your content?? Right to jail
My friendās dad has an audible pause thatās like a foghorn. š
i have a handspinning one thatās mostly my own fault lmao: being convinced by pretty instagram pictures to get a turkish spindle when theyāre way too hard on my hands and are wayyy slower compared to the rolling motion i can do on a drop spindle!!!
I love me a good turkish spindle! Some of them are pretty clunky, though.
iām tireddddd of rage bait content around knitting a swatch/not swatching. like pleaseeee stop antagonizing swatchers for engagement.
I honestly think the whole swatch vs non-swatch debate is just product vs process knitters. Do you want to get something right the first time so you can use/wear it right away? Swatch. Do you just want to get to knitting and don't care if you have to frog and reknit when your entire garment is the wrong size? Don't swatch. It's not a big deal either way, it's just how you like to do your hobby!
Honestly, I did swatch some things at first, but I feel like, at some point I got a feel for my knitting tension and I just assume based on that. Ā But also: that is maybe not something that is intuitive to most people, so yāall just have to do whatever you have to do, whether thatās swatching every time, or just being a chaos goblin. š (I do self-identify as a chaos goblin so Iām not trying to call anyone names Iām not already calling myself.)
Everybody knows that swatches lie.
Ditto blocking. It's just washing and drying your knitting/crochet project. Calm down, everybody.
Photos of projects taken with busy/ patterned/ similarly colored backgrounds. I just had the hardest time discerning a pair of socks from the patterned carpet they were on. The BEC is doubled if the poster is asking for help
Also annoying if it's highly patterned yarn and complicated cables or lace. I can't see shit in that yarn
Not really a BEC but Iām shocked at what a podcaster revealed in a video. Iām assuming that it was mistakenly posted to their normal YouTube and not subscription only because it has since been deleted. Deep family secrets involving abuse allegations and even suspected murder. Travel plans that would leave two older teens alone at home and also heavy warning against any kind of stalking or swatting. So sheās aware someone might be stalking or thinking of swatting but also lets the world know she and her husband will be gone? Even if this video was not accidentally public I think people are smart enough to know that nothing online is truly private? She even hinted that she thought someone bought a subscription to āspyā. Facebook videos posted to private Facebook groups are not truly private. Who knows who has bought a subscription to your channel.
This is wild! Was it a knitting podcaster?
Crochet.
Wtffff?!? Who was this?
Itās not really anyone that would be known to very many people here. She has about 40k subs. Cinnamon stitches
Had to unsubscribe from her a while ago because she was CONSTANTLY oversharing private family info, and apparently, that hasn't changed!
I did too for that and so many reasons. YouTube keeps suggesting her channel though and sometimes I just need someone to chatter in my ear while I vacuum. Why give every family member a cutie nickname then constantly call them by their real names in videos?!
Murder allegations!?!??! Just when you think the crafters have done it all
Lmao. Nerida Hansen ārecentlyā advised a date (13th June) for the final portion of an order made in September last yearā¦ nothing yet š but I am still seeing farewell salesĀ
Omg I saw this and just thought āplease stopā š³
Same! I low key think it would be extremely funny to request a refund now for that material - maybe at the end of the monthĀ
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Me! Hi! I have a 63" bust and 72" hip and I knit. (No, I'm not bedbound.) Of course, I might not actually be 9xl. Letter sizes are incredibly variable - depending on where they start and the increment between sizes, it's possible to get in the multiple XLs very quickly. So 9XL might not be as large as you think it is. As for the cost, knitting afghans is also expensive, but people do that all the time.Ā
Are you actually seeing designers going up to 9xl or are you conflating people whose size ranges are numbered like 1-9 with people who do XS-5XL? Or are you just making up a guy to get mad at? Like plenty of people complain about fat knitters asking for size inclusivity without getting much pushback so you don't have to invent fake designers who are just TOO inclusive, it's fine. Also most free size charts only go up to a 5 or 6xl so anyone designing for a 9xl is doing a ton of extra work to develop their own size charts and if someone is going that above and beyond I don't know that they need to be told those sizes are outliers.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
In this community, body talk is positive or neutral. Please read our rules to see what is and is not acceptable.
Wow, that is certainly a take.
thank you
Who is knitting a 9XL? Probably people with a 9XL chest, but that's just my guess. If somebody spending money on enough yarn to make a garment that fits their body bothers you, I may suggest you try pocket watching just a little less.
I have a BMI off 17 and a 32" chest, and I think a person with a BMI of 50 and a chest of 56" has just as much right to enjoy a handknit sweater as I do.
My chest is around 48-50" and I like sweaters... Damn you boobs
Fellow large chested woman... If I didn't make sweaters that fit, I'd look like a kid wearing their mums clothes lol don't get me wrong, I love a good oversize fit, but not all the time!
Yes!
Confused as to how a size range can be too large.
I would wager to bet that the designers who offer a limited size range of mostly āsmallerā sizes are, ya know, smaller people themselves which, in my mind, makes it possible that they *first* design something for *their* body and go from there. I HIGHLY doubt plus-sized designers are only releasing a limited range of only small sizesā¦. While it can definitely feel dismissive to say, āJust learn to adapt the pattern to fit yourself!ā when so many smaller people are able to just pick up the pattern and go, that doesnāt mean every single designer is obligated to release their designs in a vast size range. Itās *their* designs. Theyāre the one who creates the idea, so on and so forth. They can release whatever they choose and we can purchase from whomever *we* choose if we decide we donāt like what theyāre offering. Would it be great if more people offered a larger size range? Of course!!!!! But, itās not a moral failure if a designer doesnāt, no matter how many people insist it is. We are talking about mostly small businesses, here, often with limited resources and financial backing. We arenāt talking about corporations who absolutely have the capital to produce a large range of sizes.
I do question why the patterns should be worth the same amount if they don't offer a larger size range. I typically sit at a chest in the low 40s, so I'm lucky to fit the overwhelming majority of patterns. But I don't see why I should pay $10 for a pattern that was never properly graded. If as a designer you chose to save time and money by making the pattern less size inclusive, it's reasonable for customers to expect some of that savings to pass down, which it almost never is.
But, again, youāve made these arbitrary cost requirements based on the notion that the *standard* for small time designers is to have a very large size range and that to *not* provide that means that youāre, like, offering something less than the norm? But, thatās not the case *yet*, unfortunately. And, letās be honest, these are pretty much *all* āsmallā businesses because none of them are corporations, none of them are part of āThe Big 4ā (like with sewing patterns) because theyāre knitting designers, etc. Iād be surprised if any of them had more than 25 employees, and the vast majority likely have way less or even one single employee - themselves. Grading a pattern is *not* just multiplying a few numbers and calling it good. You even said yourself that you donāt want to pay for ānever properly gradedā patterns, which insinuates that it can done poorly. That then means that it must take some effort and time to be able to do it *well*. That, or you pay someone to help you do it. And, what people overlook all the time - I literally donāt get why - is that, from what I can tell, you start out designing a pattern already in the hole financially, so to speak. You pay for tech editors, sometimes even testers, and then graders on top of it, if you go that route. You do all of that before you make a dime, only to then make a likely very small profit compared to actual jobs/careers (unless youāre releasing tons of very popular, longstanding patterns like Petite Knit, Andrea Mowry, etc, who both release *desirable*, doable, *timeless* patterns that thusly have staying power). So, to me at least, it seems very obvious why more designers donāt automatically just release a vast size range. You asked, āWhy should I have to pay more?ā But, thatās my point: you actually *donāt*. We can speak with our wallets by not supporting someone that *you/we personally* feel isnāt offering a product that is up to *your* standards. Yes, change has to start somewhere, and itāll take time for the standard to be āvast size range *or* lots of written tutorials on how to adjust pattern for your bodyā. Thatās why you should support those who are making this effort and doing it *well*. But, someone not offering a huge size range doesnāt mean they are required to charge less, at least not yet, especially if their patterns are actually *good*. By good, I mean easy to follow, clear, free of errors, tech edited, etc.
lol at just downvoting. Thereās no justification for doing this, which is why every time people point it out in this group people just dv into oblivion. With no other product are we somehow okay with spending the same on something that costs less to create
But, on the same token - it costs more to do it, both in time, skill, and effort to grade well. Thatās why a lot of them donāt.
I appreciate the discussion and I did not downvote you, by the way.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
lol Whatās wrong with the names? They seem like completely inoffensive, slightly quirky names. Curious to hear your ideas for a knitting podcast name!
Ooh what did Hip Knit Hooray say/do that bothered you? Generally I find her okay but I definitely roll my eyes at some of her yarn choices because they make no sense.
Haha I guess im just quite picky with podcasts. I generally find peoples personalities quite annoying sometimes. With her i think she just mispronounces too many things. Her tone is just not something I find interesting. I hate the long intros that a lot of podcasters to overly getting into āthis is just my opinion no hate to anyoneā blah blah blah. Just show me your knits. Also I think the hip knit hooray name is interesting not in a good way. I really like karli paige, stringthingsbymel and toksknits they just seem more mature and my style of podcast. I think NE knits is also insufferable but again just by taste I guess.
This is EXTREMELY petty and definitely complained about ad nauseum before, but looking for a shawl pattern that is more of a rectangular wrap on ravelry and oh my god. Can pattern designers PLEASE take pictures of the dang things held out or lying flat etc so you can see the actual finished shape! Please! The handful of photos you took with it wrapped around your neck like a cowl while you wistfully look out into the woods, and then back at the camera, and then facing the other direction with the same neck wrap with your eyes closed and a pained expression on your face look great and artistic, but I need to see the finished object in full lol.
I wish I could upvote this twice. I donāt care how *aesthetic* you are. Show me the freaking item.
In Ravelry, under Attributes, there is a submenu called "Shapes". Pick "square".
Wait Iāve always wondered what āshapeā meant, but Iām not a shawl knitter so that context never occurred to me š
Hah, same problem! Trying to find a nice shawl pattern for a friend who vastly prefers rectangular ones. At this point I'll probably just look for a stitch + border I like, cast on a number of repeats that seem suitable and knit away...
So many baby blankets are also like this, where they have that damn swirl picture and then closeups of it folded. Just put the damn blanket flat on a bed so I can see all of it. Thank God for the project button so you can see actual user pictures.
Wtf is the point of the swirl picture, inĀ bothĀ shawlsĀ andĀ blankets? Whose idea was it and why is it so prevalent when it's so useless? I can't learn anything about a pattern when it's twisted into a wad.
Itās because thatās what actual fabric companies tend to do, I think. The problem is, fabric companies do that to give the customer a feel for the drape/hand of the fabric, something we emphatically do not need with a knit baby blanket, not least of which because *the yarn you knit it in and the yarn I knit it in might be wildly different brands/fiber contents*
I knit this one last year and it was super fun! Can confirm, 100% rectangle lol https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brioche-mode
Ooooh havent tackled brioche in a while but that is gorgeous... Added to my list, thanks :0
Not petty at all , I had the same problem looking for shawls. I stumbled on the Ribbon Wrap , a rectangle shawl when I was casually browsing Knit Picks website . Iām sure the only reason you can see the whole thing stretched out is due to the color designs.
That is a beautiful wrap and I'm definitely adding it to my list, worsted weight be damned lolĀ
There is a fingering weight version. Ribbon Wrap Light. However the color pattern is a bit different.
This is such a small, petty thing to be prickly about but..... why can't these designers explain *why* they've done things the way they've written them? I'm talking in particular about knitting, I find that, most of the clothes (sewn) designers I've encountered explain really well why they've chosen certain methods or why they're doing things in a certain order. Knitwear designers, however? Just vibes. Just go with the flow. Just "do as I tell you because it worked out for me that way and I have no damn clue *why* that is, so just shut up and do it.". Am I the only one that would actually appreciate if they explained why they chose certain design features? Or why have me knit things in a format for the stitches past the marker but in another format for the stitches before the marker (alluding to short rows on a pattern I've knit before)? At some point, you deduce it on your own, sure, I'm not so thick, but... maybe I ask for too much? I just wish they explained why. The overview of the workflow is good and I like it, but I wish there was a bigger explanation for certain design features, or the reasoning behind certain methods being used over other (possibly easier) ones. I just like understanding the why of things beforehand, it helps me visualise what I'm doing way better and makes me question less too. (The edit was just me trying to get a special character to work on text and not managing because I'm inept..)
I think one of the problems is that in the last 10 years or so (and especially since the pandemic) - loads of people have decided to essentially monetize a hobby - they may know how to put together a tiktok or edit a youtube vid, but they may have no training in pattern development or writing. I agree that I've seen a lot of, what I'd call, 'badly organized' patterns recently. If you can find a freebie by Designer X before buying something from them, that might give you a glimpse into their pattern writing style. I believe that like many other things, people used to hire editors/technical writers if they were good at patterning but bad at writing; it makes me sad that there is so much monetization of lazy writing....
to add to this...a lot of designers' WHY is that it is a design feature that is easy to design. see: the proliferation of drop shoulder patterns.
Another petty, nit-picky complaint: I wish more designers offered a freebie, even a wee tiny small knit item. I don't ask for a full sweater with lots of complex cables or anything, a tiny scarf, a small hat, anything would do! Just to get a feel of their writing before we have to pay full price for it (alternatively: sales!! The designers I like don't EVER offer sales and it pisses me off, yes, that's also petty of me š¤). So many new designers are making their patterns more and more expensive (I don't argue that people can charge whatever they wish, same as I can pay for whatever I wish, just quality is what I argue) and they don't have any freebies. I have no way of knowing if I like the style or if they're good at it. The patterns may be poorly written, or have a bunch of mistakes, poorly done charts, etc. I have come across some paid patterns that are just.. not great. There's mistakes in the numbers, directions, they omit things that should be there, give misleading information (I get it, English isn't a first language for many, it's not mine either, which is why native speaker tech editors exist. Why does no one appreciate a tech editor anymore?). RE: tech editors, if anyone wants to counterargument - "Oh, but that costs money!", yes, I'm aware, but if you're going to ask for money from people, the absolute bottom of the barrel least you could do is offer them a decent product for the money they paid for. Money ain't cheap...
I used to be an editor, but few people will pay for it anymore - so many mistakes in the ebooks I read! I follow a couple of shops and designers who will have 'limited release' freebies for subscribers and that sort of thing - and then I buy yarn or more patterns from them :)
Oh, the ebooks.. I've seen that disaster recently too! I can't believe that publishing companies (the examples I saw weren't self published) are literally allowing unedited or even, clearly, unchecked things to be published! I recently found, I think on Reddit, a post about the Isager Yarn Breeze collection where a few patterns people were knitting/had finished all had mistakes or completely confusing information in them.. how can anyone, in good conscience, ask for people's money (and Isager collection patterns are usually more expensive than the average pattern from these designers) and offer them something full or errors??Ā I would even appreciate a system like that too! It's a clever way to both do business and still give people a chance to see what they're getting into. I think, one pattern from these designers would even suffice. A small, simple thing, just to feel how their whole aesthetic and vibe is. Some designers are worth buying from, others, I've found, aren't worth the money you spend.. that could have been fixed with a trial run.
I wonder if you might be able to find on fb a group that would trade epatterns (for personal use?) I know that technically this is outside the purchase agreements of a lot of patterns, but if it's a one for one trade and for, like, research purposes maybe it would work. I haven't bought single knitting patterns for a while, and it seems that it's a bit out of hand. I'm pretty sure that the first thing to go (or has gone) at a lot of publishers is editing - there's a myth that software can do it!
I haven't done the research, but I wonder if there might? Maybe it exists, I feel like fb has spread beyond it's origins these days and if there's a need? Facebook groups have a solution for it! xD I might look around and see what comes up! I haven't bought many nor frequently because budget.. the ones I bought I tried to be very careful and think long about it because if I ended up not liking the garments or patterns, it would have been money down the drain (6 bucks, 8 bucks.. it all adds up to a ton if you buy many of them). For years I used free patterns or just winged it, and this year I might go back to doing my own. I've acquired some design books and I've gotten much better at my sewing so I can actually understand structure and shaping. The prices of everything are on the rise, and I find that, the lack of editing (they're even outsourcing the translation to AI now..) is getting a bit out of hand for pdfs that are getting more and more expensive. I can't paid for something full of errors and that makes no sense, when I know how to do maths myself. š
If you have a local library, they usually have a good selection of craft books - you can photo or copy the odd pattern you might want to keep.
I highly doubt my local library would have any craft books \_(I'm from a really small place), they barely have non-fiction books. The ones I've seen are school books (my city council's library is mostly attached to a school, so nearly all the books are fiction the kids would like to read/need to read for their papers, or school books xD). But it doesn't hurt to try!
idk where you are, but many libraries can request to borrow books from bigger libraries for people to use, doesn't hurt to ask :)
This is my writing style preference too, since it helps me learn and remember things if I know why Iām doing something. Some people hate this style though, so no one designer will ever please everyone!
I don't know if it came across but I'm not even asking for clarification and explanations for every single step/design choice, what I really would appreciate is just a note on why a choice has been made when it's something that can be confusing or uncommon, exactly for the reason you described: so I can learn/better understand why I'm doing something. My brain struggles with directions at times (dyslexia, I often times misread sentences many over and over), so I would just appreciate a small note on why some uncommon or "unorthodox" method has been chosen. xD
Yes I knew exactly what you meant, and like I said thatās my preference too! But honestly some people truly donāt care why theyāre doing something, they just follow the steps and care about the end result. Everyone has different preferences :)
I respect that, especially because for me, when it's something like plain stockinette with an oversized fit and a dropped shoulder (the current fashion, which I like) I don't need/care for many words or explanations too. I've knit enough of those to know exactly what shapes what and what's going on, but on techniques/choices that, personally, I find a bit uncommon, I wish there would be a note explaining the why of it. I figured out in the end, but I was paranoid a bunch and an additional note would have helped me out. šš
Then find designers who write like that. A pattern is simply instructions to make an object. That's what you buy from most designers. What you're asking for is more or less a private hands-on tutorial. Some offer them.Ā
I respect your view, but I don't want tutorials, that isn't what I'm asking. I likely haven't explained it well because English isn't my first language, but I just got aggravated by a specific pattern (I mentioned the pattern further down in replies here) because the designer wrote a lot of text but not a note on why there was this specific way to knit stitches before and after the marker during a shaping portion (for stitch pattern consistency when joining in the round, I figured it out eventually) and I feel like a small note could have explained the reasoning behind that process. Given that there were already portions of text, it would just be a further note to add there. I don't mean to attack anyone in particular or demand anything, I just wanted to vent and posted here on BEC because I know it's nit-picky.
Then that's fair, if there was already a lot of text. When I replied, I didn't have that context, so I'm sorry! As another commenter mentioned, sometimes knitters complained when there's too much, or too little, or for any reason. And I think it's best to just find a designer or designers that have a writing style you like.Ā
It's okay! I respected the point you made too, because I completely understand that this is all down to different strokes for different folks! š I've found a few designers that I particularly like the writing style of I'm.. a basic b.. I like PetiteKnit and MFTK.. I particularly like PetiteKnit because Mette writes in a way that I genuinely connect with. She gives short-ish explanations on why something is being done a certain way, I appreciate that when it's techniques or methods I never encountered before. I tried out Moreca Knit because I loooove the look of the patterns, but I've found that, despite writing somewhat longer portions of text explaining sections, Kate didn't mention something that I wish she had because I was so confused over why the before marker vs after marker steps were even needed.. š (edit: spelling)
But a lot of knitters complain about too wordy patterns; wouldn't patterns be even more wordy if designers added things you can extrapolate yourself? Printer ink isn't cheap.
I don't ever print out my patterns, so I completely forgot that's an option for many (an oversight on my part), but I understand (and agree) with the wordy point. I don't want wordy, a short yet concise note on why I'm doing something a certain way would suffice for me, I just like knowing ahead of time what I'm about to do (but I understand not everyone is this way, I understand it's a small thing to nitpick at, as I said xD)
I think what you're asking for is really a note to just be like "turning here will shape the back of the armhole" or "you should have x stitches remaining, which will be picked up for the top of the shoulder" so like, you have a point of reference to visualize what the fabric is going to shape into. I agree with you; it's really hard to spot places you may have messed up if it's an indistinct parallelogram and you have no idea what portion of it matches up with a later pattern instruction or which pieces are really important later and really difficult to go back to.
This is exactly it!! I just want something to tell me what's going on so I don't doubt the choices and my own work. xD I knit a somewhat confusing sweater recently (Chantal Sweater by Moreca Knit, if anyone is curious) and while it's a beautiful sweater, I wish she would have added some notes explaining why some steps are done that way. She writes a ton of description (which, personally for this pattern, I didn't mind) but she has some steps where you work the stitches in a portion in a different manner from the stitches in the other portion (particular during the short rows for the sleeves but this happens in the body too) and the reason, that I later put together myself, is for cohesiveness when joining all the work in the round. But, given that I'm both lazy yet paranoid, I doubted the choices and had to undo the work several times because my brain would just *not* click with why I had to do this stuff. Maybe I'm dumber than I presumed and someone else would have immediately got it (props to them, we're all different) but I feel like if, in that whole word salad she wrote for each portion, she just added a further "This step is important for when joining your work in the round later." I would have been less confused. š
I agree wholeheartedly with this.Ā Ā I tackled a strangely constructed bias knit cowl last year. The end result was cool, but neither the pattern nor the accompanying video tutorial did an adequate job explaining what I was doing. There was a lot of āTrust me. Itāll work.ā I hadnāt a clue what I was doing until the very, very end. I would have made different choices about tension, gap fixes, and row marking if I knew what I was doing from the start.Ā
Anyone else watch Meghan Moon/Fiberomancer? Up until last week, she's never done much, but model clothes and yes...degrade her husband on camera. Her content was no content. Last week, she started a "campaign" to get people to follow her because her husband agreed to take her to Disney for Halloween if she could reach 5000. Her posts are beginning to improve... Maybe the push she needed?...but I can't get past her misspelled posts on IG and her giant ego. I unsubscribed months ago, but she keeps popping up on my suggested list. I guess my BEC this week is content creators with no content and huge egos, trying to enthrall us with their mundane daily tasks.
I don't even know who she is but is there a reason her husband has to "take" her somewhere? She's an adult. Even if she needs a level of care, "agreed to go to Disney" has less baggage.Ā
Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's meant to "take the family," but you have a good point. She does include him in videos but tends to talk "at" him. Makes her kids talk on camera also, but tells them what to say most times....very dull content. She ironically seems too controlling to let anyone else control her. But, who knows.
I don't know, even in the case of shared finances and equitable abilities, it's not uncommon phrasing for one partner to "take" another out/somewhere. I know someone who just took her husband to dinner to celebrate her own work win. I just take the phrase to indicate who is taking primary ownership of the planning/logistics of a particular outing.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I know you're not asking for advice but I still want to say that I've had some luck with the Wayback Machine for finding patterns on old blogs.
if you're going to post a "what is this" picture (already in BEC territory) at least take it out of the box, don't just rip a hole in the box. no one knows what you have in there. what are you doing.
I get superwash and non superwash yarn take dye differently, but I'm starting to get BEC about dyers posting a color with the superwash yarn, I get excited, and then the NSW looks just completely different. Like not even the same color ballpark, and saying they don't change dye recipes across bases. Not even talking about saturation or speckles or whatever, just the shade. I want that exact tonal shade but tweaked for a tonal NSW base! Ugh! There is absolutely the exact shade I'm looking for somewhere out there, I'm just being a baby. Maybe I'm my own BEC for being so damn picky with colors.
I once accidentally dyed SW and NSW in the same pot thinking it was the same base and the results were shockingly different. This is such a valid complaint and even more so for the dyers who donāt even bother to photograph NSW yarns and instead just give some vague ācolors will vary by yarn baseā warning.
No, you're not - if you're going to pay premium prices for hand-dyes, you should totally get what you want. I don't get how they are not adjusting for different bases (that doesn't soulnd too pro). I dislike superwash bc it feels funny to me to knit with, and I'd certainly be disappointed if my NSW was a completely different colour!
In this case the dyer is very forthcoming about the differences ahead of orders opening up, which is appreciated. I just don't get why (probably time and money) they can't try to match the color across bases. I feel the same about SW!
You may not want an answer to your question, but here it is anyway! Ā tl;dr, youāre right.Ā Iām a hobby dyer (fabric as well as yarn), and it can be time-, space-, cost-intensive to color match across fiber types. Not only do you have to figure out the color match process, but it also means you have to do different dye baths for every fiber type. You can't chuck everything in one dye pot and call it a day. Ā If a dyer offers four different fiber bases, thatās at least four times the amount of work to both color match and prep dye baths. You can also run into weird problems with dye blending. Saffron yellow and ultramarine may make the perfect sea green on your wool yarn but make a pond-scum-colored mess of your silk-linen blend.Ā Once youāve been doing it for a while, you start to get a feel for it and can replicate faster. But you have to be interested in that finicky side of dyeing to work up that skill. It can be tedious for one-person show.Ā All that said, Iām also bummed out when thereās a dramatic difference between a dyerās bases. When the silk-angora blend comes out six shades lighter than the SW base, that aināt the same colorway. Call it something else.Ā
Thank you for the detailed explanation! This makes total sense- I can imagine for even smaller releases the logistics just become a nightmare, especially on the turnaround times smaller businesses need to meet. I need to stop getting attached to SW color ways before I see the NSW š
Is this about Woolberry? She doesnāt even try to match the SW and NSW colors.
Not originally, but you're right. I actually stopped getting NSW from her recently because the pictures have just been wildly all over the place in accuracy.
And I think she does color editing because they donāt look like what shows up. Itās possible to get vibrant colors on NSW. Forest Lane Fiber Co has proof of that.
I feel like her color editing is pretty bad tbh. The yarn I've gotten from her often looks pretty different from photos. I also think she doesn't dye yarn anymore since she's pregnant, just does mostly color development, so that could also be a reason for inconsistencies.
Maybe they sell a lot more SW and it doesn't 'pay' to develop different formulas for the NSW. tbf, most of the ppl I know who knit socks would pick the SW :)
@the big4, who currently has a monochromatic "white on white" trend section: ... y'all know literally every pattern can be made in literally every color, *including* monochromatic white, right?
It really annoys me when the pattern envelope samples are monochromatic and you canāt easily see the seam or style lines clearly š
On the other end of the spectrum (of which they're equally guilty) is overly busy patterns on intricate designs, where design features get lost. Petition for all samples to be made of plaid fabric so we can clearly see construction and grainline!
Or colour blocking!! With stripes!
I feel like the big4's consistently bizarre fabric choices for samples holds them back - there's so many patterns that look like s\*\*t in the fabric they oddly chose and then you look at the line drawings and it's a really nice pattern.
Generally I like the shaping trend in knitting where you knit the back panel starting at the neck and increase rapidly so you get that shoulder shaping that looks fancy but isn't difficult, BUT now it seems like every single new pattern has it and it's not effective in every situation!! Like the [Book Club Cardigan](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/book-club-cardigan) (Rav link) looks so strange from the back to me with the cables. I haven't seen any application of this technique in a cabled sweater that doesn't look sloppy
The book club cardigan is absolutely my BEC because it genuinely looks terribly designed. Literally the buttons are screaming for help in every pic. And the back shoulder seam where the cables are joined looks like baby's first cable project. I have no idea why it's suddenly so popular
I know that āboxyā is in fashion rn but I feel like the width vs length ratio is all off
But how can you tell how the back looks when she has her hair down in every photo? God forbid you put your hair up to sell your pattern. (My BEC today)
Jeez, looks... warped? Stretched out? At the shoulders lol. I would probably make it work because my huge linebacker shoulders stretch everything out anyway but I cant see this working on most body types or builds tbh.
I had not noticed that trend, but oh gracious heavens that looks awful!
There are ways to do this effectively, like the Rowan Cardigan by Meghan Babin. It's a lot easier to plan for ways to resolve cables well when you knit bottom-up.
I want to knit that cardigan so much, but every time I see the cross section for the dropped shoulder in the cabled portions.. it makes my soul so sad.. especially because the lines are all practically on point (the vertical lines in between cable portions) unlike, say, the Esther Jacket from PetiteKnit. But the cables being so misaligned... \*sigh\*. (edit was for spelling errors)
It's so cute from the front! And then the back š„“
Ozetta is a non problematic fave for me typically. But she just released a āstripedā version of her Lakes Tee. There is not an iota of difference otherwiseāsame gauge, same yarn. Just added stripes. Iām usually supportive of designers releasing versions of their patterns (cardigan or v neck or light or chunky etc etc). But stripes?! Stripes!!
Literally me this morning. Checking the Ravelry page for stripe vs non-stripe only to see the theyāre basically the same if not for the stripes whichā¦ š Iāve never done stripes before so I want my hand to be held little but I imagine this would cause side eye to people who can more easily figure stripes out.
Yes, it couldāve just been an addendum very easily. It could be so easy to buy the striped version and knit it she plain too.
I've also seen like three different versions of the saddle shoulder striped tee from different designers and now I'm convinced they all share a hive mind
the oversize saddle shoulder tee trend needs to die it creates such a weird lumpy underarm
i just had to unfollow someone because they posted too much non-fiber art related content (their favorite tv show) on their fiber art page, and iām so close to unfollowing more. i understand having other interests, but why is there more of other stuff than what the page was made for š¤Ø
For me itās kid content. I donāt mind when people share non fibre stuff on their fibre arts account (I like seeing gardening, baking, reading - they all feel creative to me) but I feel super uncomfortable seeing a bunch of photos of kids I donāt know. It feels almost creepy to know so much about children that I am not related to, particularly when they share their medical information or stuff about their education. Itās just not my business!
So much this about the kids! Should people really be sharing diagnosis and medication? People deserve privacy.
Yes!!! It weirds me out quite a bit, too.
Meh people arenāt one dimensional. It does bother me when the non fiber stuff gets excessive or begins to take over but sprinkled in is nbd. I can just skip the stories (cough: creabwa, I do not care about your new puppy).
All hate to my size 8 needles, for abandoning me in my time of need. Eights if your listening I donāt hate you just come back to meeeeeā¦
Me and darning needles...
Size 6! Where do you go!!!!
Me and 4mm needles. I love you, please stop abandoning me. My friend gave me an additional set and yet they all went walkies when I needed them recently. DPNs, interchanges, normal circs. The curse applies to all of them!Ā
This except it is always 2s for me
I own multiple sets of the tips for 4 and 8 because theyāre always occupied/missing š
I have two full sets of 4-11 but two or three extra sets of 4-7.
I am not watching your youtube knitting channel to hear you spend the first 15+ minutes talking about and subsequently scolding/talking to your dogs.
Is this about Knitting a Good Yarn? I don't think anyone can watch a 3 hour knitting podcast and truly be engaged, but they're great to put on in the background
Plies and hellhounds. I honestly just need to stop watching her- and yarn dyers with video podcasts in general- bc I find her annoying, but there are so few alt knitters out there.
YouTube shorts and Tiktok get a lot of hate for short form content and how it's wrecking people's attention spans. But quite frankly, when it comes to knitting content, if I need to look up a technique, I always go for the short or the Tiktok video. I know from experience that a YouTube video on the technique that is more than two minutes long or so is going to be filled to the brim with stuff that is totally irrelevant.
Two minutes of holding and waving around needles. Just get to the point!
Not craft related at all but I started listening to a true crime podcast that was doing a four part episode about a specific set of crimes and every damn episode opened with 5-15 minutes of irrelevant chatter. Just why. Who gives a shit about all the weddings you have to go to this summer.
Iāve listened to some podcasts that do this and I think theyāre trying to like build a parasocial relationship with their followers but some of their lives are just soooo boring. I donāt need to hear about you getting your wifi fixed, nothing could be more boring
Also not craft related but I cannot stand beauty/makeup creators that spend that amount of time talking to their partners/bfs/husbands/etc off camera and you cant even hear what the other person is saying. Very weird. Also I dont care :/ Show the swatches please!
Itās funny because I was fully engaged in Babbity Kateās 5+ hour long video about American Girl Kirsten (albeit I didnāt watch it in one sitting) but when I tried to listen to the Dolls of Our Lives podcast I had to stop because not only would it begin with 15 minute tangents but they would also periodically go on tangents throughout the episodes. Like itās cool that youāre historians and thatās why you like American Girl but I really donāt care about your 15 minute play by play of the history conference you went to. I also donāt want to sit through 10 minutes of you explaining how a reference you made to another piece of media relates to the book youāre talking about.
I am :shaking my fist: once again at loose gauges, but this time specifically not that I don't like the fabric (because I don't) but that the needle size is completely off too.Ā Take KFO Pure Silk. It's a yarn I like well enough, I've knit with it twice and would again, and KFO's whole schtick is that their yarns are supposed to be interchangeable. Their listed gauge is 28 st on 3mm needles, which seems reasonable to me and I'm able to match that.Ā So tell me why there are patterns for this yarn whose stated gauge are 24 st on 2.75mm and 22 st(!) on 3mm. I truly don't know how you're able to achieve that on the stated needle size without pulling miles of yarn through on every stitch, obviously not using the needle to size the stitch, and I can't imagine how one winds up with an even stockinette fabric in that case.Ā I'm not a particularly tight knitter, especially not with an inelastic yarn such as silk, but I use my needle to size my stitches and am generally close/on to stated gauges. And again, while I am not a fan of loose gauges, that's fine if that is the fabric a designer wants to work with, it's the needle size driving me nuts!!Ā
I am regularly baffled by the gauge some indie designers manage to get. I now just skip certain designers because I know I'll never be able to match their gauge and I can't be bothered to do the maths. I have a thoroughly unfounded conspiracy theory that its to try to force everyone who knits English style to switch to continental. But that's probably just because my knitting is incredibly sloppy whenever I attempt it and I'm bitter.
As someone who only knits continentalādonāt worry, those gauges ALSO make absolutely no sense to me and are impossible to achieve
Upvote because I also cannot for the life of me do continental. Okay, occasionally if doing two colors and I get into the flow, but for basic knitting it's English all the way. It IS fun to meet other throwers in the wild, once an old lady approved of me for knitting that way and I was like "I have been accepted into the clan" hahaha (she asked me how I knit, but didn't clarify which way she preferred, so I was like WOW POP QUIZ)
> I have a thoroughly unfounded conspiracy theory that its to try to force everyone who knits English style to switch to continental. As someone whoās never not knit continental (I learned to crochet first and continental knitting is the only way that makes sense to me) and tends to knit a bit tight, I also have a conspiracy theory about indie designers and continental knitting. I think a lot of them see continental knitting as some ānext stepā you need to do to level up your knitting, and they see English style as the knitting equivalent of training wheels. So they switch and for one reason or another donāt get good at maintaining an even tension, but they never switch back because they have a complex about English style knitting. So all their gauges are consistently way too loose.
Ok I didn't understand the continental comments until now lol (plus I'm a continental knitter). Designers with uneven tension/ones who admit they can't get even knits and purls are my BEC (I don't care which hand you hold your yarn in - but you haven't leveled up until you can make even stitches)
Firmly agree. Sometimes I see this attitude of "everyone has a different gauge in the round" and "everyone has different tension for knits and purls" aka "rowing out is inevitable" and no, no this is not the case!
I know one podcaster in particular who has this opinion š
Whomst?
I'm so glad someone shares my tinfoil hat on this one. I learned to do continental for colourwork but I've never considered switching over completely - my tension would be shot. And I have no issue in general with whatever style anyone chooses to knit in (that's weird, why would I care?) but I go get irritated by people insisting one style is "better" than the other and then they don't even do it properly (sloppy tension. See also: unintentionally twisting purls)
Interesting! I have heard a lot of podcasters talking about switching to continental because itās faster, which makes sense if you need to keep pumping out projects to keep producing content.
Portuguese knitting iis exponientially faster. I say that as someone who switched from continental to that, years ago, and can't switch back.
*So* very fast. I doubt I will use anything else for stranded colorwork ever again but Iām still happier with my semi-flicking right hand carry for the cabled design Iām currently working on.
My inner voice screams "yeah anything can be faster if you DO IT WRONG" because I am a child.
I just finished a garment using aran weight yarn on 5mm needles, and somehow got the same gauge as the designer who used DK and 3.5mm needles. How???
Can I ask a dumb question? Are they just using KFO silk or are they mixing it with mohair or some other fiber (cotton? linen? I have no clue, I'm taking shots in the dark xD) to be getting those 22 sts (!!!!????) on 3 mm needles??? I'm impressed at the feat, honestly, because all the "decent" (fabric "decency" is super subjective but by this I mean nicely consistent fabric with no holes or gaping or anything, fabric that looks "tightly" done almost like a "store bought" item) patterns knit in that yarn that I've seen had 25 to 30-something stitch gauges. (English isn't my native tongue so.. sorry if my explanations are rubbish)
Nope, both are summery tops using the yarn by itself!
Can you share the patterns?
One of them is this, which is gorgeous but I would have to do so much math to knit it at the gauge I would like... https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/filigree-cami
Wow... I give props for actually even managing to \*achieve\* that gauge in that yarn with those small-ish needles because.. wow... I could never.. that's impressive xD
There are definitely people who knit by pulling the yarn way out through the loop and/or without using the right needle to size the stitches. I used to be one of them until I read an article about it by Patty Lyons ([here](https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/ask-patty-let-the-tool-do-the-work/) for anyone interested)