I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 249

Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!

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In this week’s episode we cover:

1. Since I started watching your videos, I learned how to spin! I got my first e-spinner from Dreaming Robots Christmas of ‘24 and have gotten a lot better, especially with your tips. I have my first sweater quantity of fiber but now I have no idea how to spin it! It’s in batts and my original thinking was to just spin each batt into singles and self ply until the bobbin is full. Is there a better way to do a sweater spin? All the fiber is the same, a lovely sage green. I figured that would be best for my first sweater spin? Your suggestions are appreciated!

Rachel sweater spinning class: https://www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com/...

2. Hi Andrea! I have a couple of questions for you about the Harlow flip I knit myself over the Holidays. I used some hand painted merino that a friend gave me paired with some alpaca/mulberry silk (80/20) that I hand spun to help show case the special gifted yarn. I absolutely love it! I love it so much, that I've been wearing it to bed to keep me cozy and warm while I read in the evenings. I've noticed that the brim is stretching out quite a bit, though. 1.) Is there anything I can do to fix this? 2.) Do you think it's stretching because I'm sleeping in it or because of the fiber content of the yarns I used? I know Harlow is a stretchy hat already, so wondering if there's anything I can do to keep my cute hats fitting well.

3. My question is regarding knit care - specifically washing multiple knits after wear. I’m a relatively new knitter and have been working my way through your videos. You always have Me-Made garments and I’ve watched a few videos where you’ve discussed garment storage. As someone who is trying to expand her wardrobe, how do you wash a large number of knits? So far, I’ve just done the initial blocking and haven’t done any maintenance washes yet. I assume the process is the same as wet blocking? When you have multiple sweaters that need cleaning, do you wash them all at once (all in the same day)? Spread washing out over a period of time (like over a week)? How to do manage drying multiple pieces? I have blocking mats but live in an apartment with a dog so drying space is a bit limited. Thank you so much for your podcast, I’ve learned so much!

Pop up dryer for sweaters: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/c/cl...

4. Alpenglow - provisional cast on. Hi I’m about to knit you gorgeous sweater in some lovely FDF and Spincycle yarn I have in stash . Do you think it would be possible to do a provisional cast on using barber cord for the neck to avoid picking up stitches ?

5. I have a question about circular yoke sweaters. I am currently knitting a circular yoke colourwork top-down sweater and I've realised my gauge is tighter than my swatch and also the yoke isn't deep enough - I don't like sweaters in my armpit. I have knit the DRK everyday before and I think the pattern says keep going in the round without increases until it's the depth you want - can I do this here? Also, this has some raglan increases under the colourwork, maybe I could also keep increasing up to the next size too because I'm worried the arms will be too narrow. Please help as even if I ripped out and reknit at a bigger gauge, I still think the yoke might not be deep enough and the pattern doesn't talk about customising that as it splits for sleeves immediately. Thank you so much for all your tips on this channel.

Today I am wearing the Stria Cardigan:
Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...
My Website: https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/s...

With Jesse Tee: https://truebias.com/collections/all/...
and Just My Luck Jeans: https://forestandthread.com/product/j...

Jaunty SAL with Daedalus: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/drear...

Jaunty-along intro video:    • Jaunty-along!  

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