UmMusa Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Back when I taught myself knitting in December I ordered several cotton and several acrylic yarn. Well, I thought I'd knit hats from the acrylic, but I"m too intimidated to learn as they all seem too hard for me. I only know how to knit and purl. Patterns marked 'beginner' seem too hard. So, can you recommend easy things for acrylic? I've used up all my cotton yarn knitting little squares that I sew together and make bean bags out of (small ones). I've also knitted 4 washcloths (dish cloth, technically, but we use them for bathing) that are strictly knit and purl. Also , I loved the cotton from knitpicks.com that I ordered, but I'm wondering if the yarn at Joann's would be just as nice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 You can knit hats! Many patterns for simple hats use just knit and purl. Is it the thought of using circular needles that makes you nervous? There are some patterns that you can knit flat and then seam. You could also try cowls. These are often on circular needles but there are also ones that are knit flat and seamed. Other options include scarves and small shawls. Which knitpicks cotton are you using--dishie? I think it's about the same as what you can get at Joann. Otoh if you want to make washcloths for the bath I really like their Cotlin. It's softer than the regular cotton used for dishcloths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Thanks Cinder! I have circular needles but haven't made anything with them. Can you send me the pattern you were talking about? The cotton is Dishie. Since I need more I'll give your suggestion a shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Anything. The acrylic would actually be perfect for kids toys. If you doing squares acrylic makes an excellent put and glass top stove scrubber. As you get better you can knit anything with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/yarn/1334499/1-25 If you're on Ravelry here's a link to a, now epic thread on acrylic projects. I started it over 3 years ago and it refuses to die. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I am a new knitter also - just learned last month. Hats are great to start out with! I actually recommend doing one in the round, because all you have to do is knit round and round. you don't even have to purl except for the ribbing! At some point, you'll need to decrease, but that's easy also. K2TOG (knit 2 together) is a common decrease method, and you just stick the needle into two loops instead of one, then knit as usual. Nothing scary about it. The hard part about knitting in the round is getting started - the first few rows you have to make sure stitches don't get twisted, but it gets easier after that. I use magic loop, and I like the method of joining where you cast on an extra stitch, slide that stitch to the other needle, then knit those two stitches together as your first stitch. I found the videos at knittinghelp.com to be REALLY helpful. She shows a lot of techniques. Sometimes I just Google for specific things and watch videos on YouTube. But yes, try a basic hat with the acrylic. I made my youngest son a minion hat using acrylic (and a bit of cotton for the eye because I couldn't find white or cream acrylic where I was shopping). That was using Red Heart With Love, which is a cheap, but ok acrylic. Good to practice on the cheap stuff, for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 How about a scarf? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 One of my favorite basic hats is Regular Guy Beanie. When I knit mine I cast on 84 sts on US7 to fit an average adult head. Here's one I recently made. I also love Barley; it's slight slouchy. In fact, Barley is part of a collection of simple knits designed especially for beginners, though many experienced knitters enjoy the patterns as well. The very first hat I ever made was knit flat and then seamed--this pattern. I found I much prefer hats in the round, so learning to use circs was well worth it to me. The drawback is that you usually also need double-pointed needles to finish the top part of the hat. As you decrease to round out the top of the hat you'll end up, at some point, with too few stitches to fit/work comfortably around the needle. To keep the whole top from getting wonky you switch to dpn's to allow you to work the decreasing-sized circles. Or you could go with the hat that is essentially a tube that is bound off at the top with the 3-needle bind off technique. Instead of doing decreases and switching to dpn's, when you get the hat to the right height, you bind them off two-at a time using another needle. You would be dividing the stitches in half and sliding them along toward the tips as you bind them off by knitting two together onto a separate needle. Some simple cowls: Mr. Cowl, Ribby Neckwarmer (in the round) and Wham bam neckwarmer (flat and seamed). Hope this helps. Enjoy your knitting adventures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Adding another thought on cowls. You can use a scarf pattern you like and just knit it to the length you like and seam it up to make a cowl. The wham bam cowl I linked above is for a bulky yarn but the same concept can be applied if you're using worsted. You'd need to increase the number of stitches you cast on to get the right height, then just knit every row, bind off when it's long enough to fit your neck, then seam it even or off-center (whichever you prefer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I am a new knitter also - just learned last month. Hats are great to start out with! I actually recommend doing one in the round, because all you have to do is knit round and round. you don't even have to purl except for the ribbing! At some point, you'll need to decrease, but that's easy also. K2TOG (knit 2 together) is a common decrease method, and you just stick the needle into two loops instead of one, then knit as usual. Nothing scary about it. The hard part about knitting in the round is getting started - the first few rows you have to make sure stitches don't get twisted, but it gets easier after that. I use magic loop, and I like the method of joining where you cast on an extra stitch, slide that stitch to the other needle, then knit those two stitches together as your first stitch. I found the videos at knittinghelp.com to be REALLY helpful. She shows a lot of techniques. Sometimes I just Google for specific things and watch videos on YouTube. But yes, try a basic hat with the acrylic. I made my youngest son a minion hat using acrylic (and a bit of cotton for the eye because I couldn't find white or cream acrylic where I was shopping). That was using Red Heart With Love, which is a cheap, but ok acrylic. Good to practice on the cheap stuff, for sure! Is there a specific pattern you can link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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