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robinstephanie
Seriously Hooked
USA
906 Posts |
 Posted - 02/27/2013 : 9:10:19 PM
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I'm ripping along on my cotton blankie for a friend's new baby, and found a knot in my cotton yarn. What do I do? I can't spit splice it, cause it's cotton. I've heard that if I just leave it in there it will be a potential weak spot in the finished item and it could possibly unravel. Do I just cut it and start knitting with a new strand right in the middle of the row and weave in the ends? I suppose I could always rip back to the start of the row (naturally I'm, like, ten stitches from the end of the row) and cut it there and join on the side. Should I Russian Join (blech-I'm double stranding and would have to do it twice)?
What's best to do? I've never been in this situation before. I usually knit with wool, and just spit splice.
Thanks!
Robinsteph
Different is good. ~Matthew Hoover |
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Kade1301
Permanent Resident
France
1429 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 03:52:24 AM
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No experience with cotton either, normally I'm knitting with handspun animal fibres. Neither do I understand your remark about double-stranding and Russian joins: If you are knitting with two strands at the same time - you don't have two knots in the same place in both yarns, do you? So only one join to make...
How thick is the yarn? Would it be horribly visible if you knitted with two strands (the end of the old and the beginning of the new) for a while? And then wove in the ends? That would make me feel best (just in case Baby and Mother ever get into a tug-o-war over the blanket). If the yarn is too thick for that, you could cut away some of the plies on both ends...
I wouldn't worry too much - probably there's at least three solution that will give perfectly functional results... Just pick what your gut feeling likes best.
Happy knitting, Klara
http://www.lahottee.info |
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Grand-moogi
Seriously Hooked
Australia
783 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 04:40:20 AM
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I just leave about 3 or 4 inches and start knitting with the new piece of yarn. I make sure that the yarn is at the back of the piece and the tail of the new yarn is also at the back. Then a few rows later I go back and tie a reef knot and weave in the ends.
It is invisible on the front and not even very visible on the back.
I knit a hug into every stitch |
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azblueskies
Permanent Resident
2300 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 07:19:39 AM
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I recently frogged a sweater I made some time ago with cotton yarn. I had joined the ends with the Russian join. It survived ripping out, skeining, washing and rewinding on the ball winder so I guess it holds up well.
azblue
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Reminder to myself: PROVISIONAL cast on for EVERYTHING except toe-up socks. |
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robinstephanie
Seriously Hooked
USA
906 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 09:29:13 AM
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Kade, of course, you are right. One strand to fix; it was late, I was tired. (:
The yarn is dk weight, and you know, maybe it won't be horribly visitble if I knit with two strands (well, three in this case) for a little while. I was thinking I'd rip back to the end of the row and sew the ends in there, where it's less noticeable, but I'll try this first. That's a very interesting idea to cut away some of the plies.
Grand-Moogie and Az, thank you also for your suggestions. I have this aversion to the Russian join, I don't know why. It's a stupid aversion, given that it might be a great solution.
You sound like you've been in this predicament and things have come out all right, so I feel better. I've only been knitting for two years and there's so much I haven't encountered before.
Well, off to try these several ideas! Thanks so much,
Robinsteph
Different is good. ~Matthew Hoover |
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purlthis
Permanent Resident
USA
2719 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 8:26:39 PM
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Russian join is how I roll.
Rachel
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As I get older, I prefer to knit. Tracey Ullman
http://purledthis.blogspot.com/ UPDATED! WITH PICS! |
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ikkivan
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2013 : 9:27:29 PM
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I use the sturdy Russian join on just about anything that will not spit-splice; I don't think I've ever had one of those come apart, even on frequently washed baby blankets. And I've used it on cotton yarns, too, and cotton hand towels that get hard wear. You may want to "plan" where to place it so it will be in the least obvious location (at an edge, at a certain point within a stitch pattern, etc.), even if it means tinking back a bit.
Donna, with intentions always bigger than her available time. (OkieDokieKnitter on Ravelry) |
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kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2013 : 09:06:05 AM
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To make the Russian join thinner you can split and trim the yarn ends before you thread the needle. Knots are a nuisance so good luck.
Kristina |
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robinstephanie
Seriously Hooked
USA
906 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2013 : 09:56:55 AM
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Thanks you guys. This is all really helpful. I'm double-stranding this cotton baby blankie in four colors of fibonacci stripes, so I just may get the opportunity to try more than one of these options along the way. I've abandoned the blankie for the weekend. Matt and I are going to help a friend shear sheep and then spending some time with my sister and I just want to crank on something (sock) that's not broken and not fuss with it. But I'll report back once I get it going again. That baby ain't gettin' any smaller!
Robinsteph
Different is good. ~Matthew Hoover |
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knits_for_preemies
Permanent Resident
USA
1957 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2013 : 06:19:54 AM
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I think the main thing to remember is that this is a baby blanket...one that will most likely get washed and washed and washed!! Babies tend to be messy little darlings, as we all know. That being said, the join, whatever you choose, must be very strong to withstand the frequent laundering.
If it were my project, I would rip back a bit to give myself some length to work with, do a square knot leaving about 4 inches of tails there, and weave in those ends later. With the multi-colors you have and the texture, I don't think the knot will show, especially if you are careful with the weaving-in.
Good luck. I know the new baby will love it.
Barbara
Ravelry Name: KnitsForPreemies
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnitsforPreemies
www.southernfriedknittin.blogspot.com |
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Janettoo
New Pal
49 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2013 : 7:56:50 PM
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I used to double up the old and new strands for about four stitches, leaving enough of each end to weave in later. It did make those stitches thicker, but it was rare that that really showed up.
Now most of the time I separate each strand into plies for about four to six inches, depending on the gauge. Then I hold half of the plies from the old strand together with half of the plies from the new, and knit. I knit for about ten stitches, then drop the plies from the old strand and add in the rest of the new yarn plies. Sometimes I will then weave in the four ends, and sometimes I just trim them, since they are already pretty secure.
Janet in TN |
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Grand-moogi
Seriously Hooked
Australia
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2013 : 04:22:07 AM
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Hey Janet, that is a cool trick. I have never heard of that one. I must remember to try it. Thanks!
I knit a hug into every stitch |
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robinstephanie
Seriously Hooked
USA
906 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2013 : 09:14:45 AM
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Yeah, ok, so I pretty much tried every single joining method here, and the only thing that worked was going back to the start of the row and joining there.
There was one thin, almost thread-like ply wrapped around a second, fat ply of roving. Getting it unwound was hard, because plies tangled, and once seperated from the thread, the roving just came apart--as roving does. So I unknitted to the beginning of the row, and soldiered on from there.
There were no more knots; blanket's finished, just a few more ends to weave in and I can send it off, hurrah!
Thanks for your help on this one guys. This is a cool list of joins.
Robinsteph
Different is good. ~Matthew Hoover |
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Ah, knots!
