Rhythmic Knit Along Hints and Tips - Week One

Part 1 - Sound Wave

Welcome to week one of the Rhythmic Knit Along. If you are anything like me then you will be so excited to start. I feel like I have been eyeing up my project bag with the yarn in for ages!
The KAL starts with such a pretty square. Sound Wave uses three shades of Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted in easy fair isle - a great and simple way to start to improve our colourwork skills.

Some of the hints and tips I write about may seem very obvious but I promise  I have made all the mistakes I talk about here, either in this KAL or an earlier one.

  1. Take note of how many squares you need to knit and when you have finished them put them somewhere safe and label them. When we made our BSW KAL ‘A Day Out’ I didn’t do this, lost some, had to re-knit and then found them months later!

  2. Check your tension! This is so important. The blanket will need to be fitted together at the end so the squares must be the right size. The tension for each square is slightly different due to different techniques being used. Before I started I did a standard tension square in stocking stitch to check how my general tension was. You may want to do the same. I then checked the tension on the Sound Wave pattern as I knitted. This square should be 16cm square - mine measures 15.5cm before blocking.

  3. When carrying yarn across the back of your knitting, maintain a consistent tension. Don't pull the yarn too tightly, as this can cause the stitches to bunch up, nor should it be too loose, as this can create unevenness and loops on the back of the blanket.

  4. When working with two colours, always bring in the new colour in the same way, i.e. bring the yarn under the current working one. This means they shouldn’t tangle together. If you do end up twisting the shades together then untangle at the end of every row.

  5. Carry yarns up the side of your work, there is no need to fasten off colours until the end.

  6. Sew in your ends as soon as you finish the square - don’t leave them until the end.

  7. Blocking your square. Yes I know the B word, don’t panic if you haven’t blocked before. Soak your square in wool wash and warm water for 30 mins. Pin out to the right size and leave the dry. You can pin out on a towel on the floor, a toy mat or proper blocking board.