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I have a variation on one of my earlier patterns on the needles. It’s a semi-circular shawl called Country Chic, and this time I’m knitting it with two strands of lace-weight yarn.

There’s one strand of a semi-solid charcoal grey (merino and silk) and one strand of a variegated blue-to-green colorway (merino). The color’s about to change as I’m moving on to a lighter blue-to-green colorway with a strand of the grey, for the bottom and border of the shawl.

I’ve also introduced a different increase method along the two internal increase points and will explain that in detail when I show you the finished product!

Now,  for the tips of the week!

Did you know…? Stitch tension:

1. Stockinette stitch tension
   Uneven stitches on either the front or reverse of stockinette knitting (or both) is a result of uneven tension.

   Some experts say that this can improved with practice, practice, practice, and that the stitches will likely become more even over the years. This may not be such an appealing remedy if you’d like your work to look better now, however!

   The situation may be improved by addressing the purl side of the stitch pattern. Consider the fact that most knitters purl more loosely than they knit, and that more yarn is required for a purl stitch, leading to an uneven overall pattern.

   You can try to tighten up on the yarn when making purl stitches by holding the yarn a bit more snugly and giving a bit of a tug on the yarn before working the purl stitch.

   If this doesn’t help, another possibility is to change the type of knitting needles you are using, as tension can be uneven if the yarn slips or sticks to the needle material.

2. Seed stitch pattern tension
   Working in seed stitch should produce fabric that is tightly woven, without holes in between the knit and purl stitches.

   If you’re finding that you’re getting spaces or holes between the knit and purl stitches, this can be quite easily corrected by bringing the yarn forward more tightly between a knit and purl stitch.

Happy Knitting!
MikeH

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