I found out something interesting in a class at The Gourmet Yarn Company last weekend about "lace knitting" and "knitted lace." That is that they are not the same thing. "Knitted lace" differs from "lace knitting" in one significant way and that is that knitted lace is made using pattern stitches on both sides and the simpler "lace knitting" uses pattern stitches on only the front side and the back is usually all purls.
Last year was my very first venture into lace (see above). I took out every single book the library offered on knitting lace, poured over the patterns and instructions and eventually tried a few swatches. I now have new respect for the ladies I see at my LYS cranking out one lovely shawl after another with no pattern in sight. Neither lace knitting nor knitted lace are for the faint-of-heart knitter or the easily distracted one. A dropped stitch or a miscount throws everything awry and there is no simple ripping out a row or two to start afresh because all your yarnovers have just disappeared into space and left no trace of their previous location. I understand why serious lace knitters would take the time to baste in a "lifeline." A lifeline is running a contrast yarn through every st in a row every few inches or so. Then when the cat jumps on your lap mid-row and your stitches unweave themselves into an irretrievable mess you can frog back just to your lifeline and begin anew without having to scrap the whole darn thing. My real love of knitting is probably for the wonderful relaxation it brings me. I wanted my first foray into knitted lace to be fun and therefore it was a "knitted lace" project for me. I looked forward to those very restful purl rows right after every patterned one. I also chose one of the simplest lace patterns there is -- a six-stitch multiple -- easily memorizable and that could be knit without having to stop every few stitches to read the pattern.
My swatching of several patterns showed me that I definitely needed a st marker in between each and every pattern repeat. I suppose a more experienced or skilled knitter might put a stitch marker in between every five or ten repeats but I needed some firm guidance here. I counted up the repeats and needed 70 small markers in one color and 8 markers in another color to mark for decreases. Hmm, that's a lot of markers.
I dug down into the depths of my knitting basket and various other project bags around the house and came up with a varied assortment. Not enough. It was late at night -- too late for a quick trip to the LYS. And I couldn't wait to get this project underway. I decided to go ahead and make the markers from yarn. Not only could I customize the size to my project but I felt sure they would slip more smoothly than their plastic or metal counterparts. I felt so proud when I finished them and actually started my project--not only did I have a full set of neatly matching perfectly-sized markers but I also hadn't spent a penny.
A few suggestions to save time if you want to make your own markers: I precut the yarn but the first time I didn't leave enough length for tying them easily, so I precut more pieces about 4" long -- plenty tying room -- and then trimmed them. I tied the yarn around a needle one size bigger than my project needle. I tied a single knot in mine but a few of them did work their way lose after a while, so I would add an extra knot or two, and I would use a wool or somewhat textured yarn. Smooth yarns might come untied too easily. Anyway, now I have a whole little pink porcelain box filled with markers in all sorts of sizes and colors. And I discovered that yarn markers are my markers of preference. And not just because they're free.
Happy knitting, Josey
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