Today, I’m going to teach you how to knit a bookmark with some scrap yarn. I assume no prior knitting or knot-tying knowledge here, but please tell me if you need anything clarified.
It’s called a learn-along for two reasons. Firstly, I make the item as I write it out to better teach (no “how the heck do I make a slip knot again?” moments). Secondly, you can tell me where my writing needs improving and how you worked the pattern. So pretty please comment.
you will need
– Oddments of yarn, approximately 4 inches long minimum, all the same rough thickness. I have seen bookmarks that sit happily in a think paperback at Aran thickness, but suggest no thicker than this.
I use the dk category, which frankly covers everything from Sport to heavy Aran in this country. The example photo above runs the gamut there.
I also highly recommend using yarn of all the same fibre content, as it’ll be easier to wash. If you’ve never spilled coffee on a favourite bookmark, I’m frankly jealous. I use 100% acrylic; don’t even get me started on that!
– Knitting needles, any type, the size suggested for your yarn. For dk, I’m using 4mm double-points. If you’re not sure what’s best for your yarn, feel free to ask.
– A large-eyed needle. If you don’t already have one, ask for a wool or tapestry needle.
– Snippy things. I’m using small scissors, and really must tighten them up.
– Measuring device with inches on it.
Method
If you can already knit, skip sections as needed. The essentials are in bold If not, read through entirely first. I knit Continental style, by the way.
Hold your first scrap in your left hand, and an empty knitting needle in your right. Twist the yarn into a loop, a little way from the end. Insert your knitting needle through that loop, and wrap the yarn over the front of your needle. It should now look like you have a lil lasso and a lil line of yarn there. Grab the top of the lasso with your fingertips, and pull it up and slowly off the tip of your needle. If it then looks like
, you have a slip knot. Apologies for photo quality, it is ridiculously hard to take a photo with a knitting needle in one hand and an iPad in the other.
So, you have 1 stitch on your needle and will need another 9.The next part is easiest for me if I turn the needle vertically, with the stitch facing towards the top. Put your empty needle through the side of the loop facing you, and wrap the yarn. Next, wiggle the needle in your right hand back and out of the loop. Catch the new loop that’s on your right needle, and drop it onto the left needle. The easiest way to do this is to grab it with your fingers. Repeat until there is a total of 10 loops hanging from your left needle.
We just cast on.
Turn the needle, like so,
and repeat the wrapping and sliding action. But wait, there’s a twist! Instead of dropping the new loops back onto the left needle, we’re gonna let them stay on the right. When you’ve got all 10 stitches on the right needle, you’ve knit a row. Keep placing the turned needle back in your left hand and knitting a row, until you’re almost out of your scrap of yarn.
Rewatch the second Christopher Eccleston episode of Doctor Who while knitting. Nope, that’s just me! By the way, it doesn’t matter whether you wrap the yarn over the needle tip from the left, right, or a bit of both at this point. I’ve been knitting successfully for 3 years now, and I still do a combination of the two. My completed bookmark done this way proves that it’s not that important. Technique improves with practise. The important bit is to keep the longer length of yarn, also called the working yarn, at the bak of your work. Apologies to anyone who’s been swearing because they didn’t know this!
So, I’ve just got to the point where I no longer have enough of the first yarn to knit a row. Knowing when that is takes not only a fair bit of practise, but the ability to undo those knit stitches as needed. As you don’t have either of those yet, err on the side of caution, so stop when it looks like you’ll have plenty for one more row.
There are many ways of changing colour, but I’ll tell you the quick-and-dirty way for now. Lay the start of the next yarn against the end of the first, and tie there together loosely. You can undo them later to help make it tidier. Carry on knitting, making sure to change colours on the same side as the first in future.
The point where the row of stitches in the new colour looks neat from one side marks that as the “right side”. It’s not that important, but your work will look neater with this facing out, as in the completed pictures. Carry on until your bookmark is roughly 6 inches long.
This is my work thus far, and a way of using old chipped mugs. I keep as much of my scraps as will fit in there for ease of access, and those are my crochet hooks of cute critter war. Sewing needles and stitch markers can also go in, but tend to float to the bottom.
Steve hon, here are some more resources that should help you some http://forum.avronayende.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=11155 http://s236.photobucket.com/user/rheathewilder/slideshow/Knits
I’m glad it’s making sense so far.
So here’s the right side, after the second colour change. Changes are on the right this time, and were on the left in the example. I suggest making them on the right, as the second row is the right side otherwise; which gets confusing.
I got to 5.5 inches, and just plain got bored. This is perfectly fine, as maximum bookmark dimensions should be 2.5 x 6.4 inches. When you get bored, measure your work. Stop when you want!
To get your work off the needles, knit the first two stitches as usual. Then grab the stitch furthest away from the tip, grab it, and slip it up and over the other until it drops off the needle. That takes a lil while to stop being scary, I swear!
After that, knit a stitch, drop the second, knit again until just one stitch is left. Slide the needle out of that stitch, expand the loop, pop the end of the yarn through, tighten.
So you’ve now got a swell bookmark, with all these ugly loose ends. You could just snip them off, but that’s not very secure. Flip your work over to the wrong side as pictured, and thread your needle with an end. Make a few stitches, as position, then snip the end.
Here is my complete bookmark, flipped to show both sides. I look forward to seeing yours.
Rough Instructions for the Initiated
Cast on 10, knit until almost out of first yarn, change colour keeping changes on the right, knit until shy of 6.4 inches, cast off, weave in ends.
craftyclairy 