Novice knitters and those who can help us, over here!

[OracleInaCoracle]

ok, I am a very basic knitter. I cant read patterns and can do a basic row, but want to knit a square of edgar (as Im sure lots of others do) so it was suggested on the other thread here that a thread was started for the less confident where we can collate advice and help without feeling a bit dim and where the more advanced can help us out a bit!

1st set of 4 completed

I have finished my first square, it is a basket weave pattern. Am going to start a second, probably in double moss stitch.

Purple Do you want us to weave in tails or leave them for sewing up? I guess weaving in will be easier for you if you're going to crochet them together.

zis, woven in please. I'll probably be using balls and balls of wool to join, so will just start one end of a ball and keep going til I reach the end and can do without all that faff

My squares are too wee! I did Lady Wellian's textured heart (thanks Lady W) and it's 5 1/2 inches long on 33 stitches, and only 4 flippin' inches high! Even if I block it really well it's not going to grow almost 2 inches is it? Any suggestions on what I can do?

I'm doing a moss stitch square, 33 stitches again and at 44 rows it's still only 4 ins, which is okay but I want to do some letters...

Any advice so I don't have to undo it and start again?

Purple, i'm glad I saw that re woven in seems. I've been leaving long tails for the sake of giving you that extra bit of wool for joining up.
I'll also give you the bits of left over wool from the main balls, HTH.

Well done you, I don't envy you one bit with all that work to do. Knitting a square or two is the easy part.

Try blocking it, womma. It will go to 6" once dry.

blocking

Sorry. I did not read your post properly.

Have you enough of the same wool to pick up and knit another 2"?

Womma, by your own measurements you are doing 11 rows per inch, just do 55/56 rows and calculate your patern from there.

I'm doing flower pattern squares, 4 small squares joined together make a lovely flower design and works out at 6 inch square

Thanks GO, they're looking decidedly rectangular for squares...I'll have a go
(and might knit a few more rows for the letters as well...)

We need extra biscuits for knitting energy right? That's what I told DH anyway..

Crisps here womma I'm just back from the local garage lol

Thanks for that, yes I need to re-adjust the pattern to my peculiar tension...here goes.

Abbey crunch creams here and a cup of steaming builder's tea....hope the steaming builder doesn't mind, boom boom! Happy knitting lovely MNers and thanks for the advice.

I can crochet at work, hopefully things will stay quiet!

Don't forget to add letters or cards if you'd like - I will get a photo album to put them in and include it with the parcel

Womma although I'm knitting too big (I think I might have to go down another needle size, although I'm still finishing narrower than I start - WTF?!) I found the heart pattern finished rectangular too. I added another 3/4 rows of K7-P16-K7/K all (or whatever the exact pattern was, I forget) and then finished with a few rows of just K to fill in the border. Maybe high or low tension (or whatever the correct phrase is) results in the wrong shape for that pattern!

Before I embark on my own made up cable pattern, has anybody else done a cabled square. I can't find one with the right number of stitches - they all seem to have 36 stitches. Maybe they need to be that big to be the right width?

three down (moss st, double moss st, heart pattern) and hope to get 4th done today (basket weave). I have a spare ball of the Rowan 525 Kingfisher so if anybody would like it, can you pm Pixie with your postal address. Heart pattern came up a little short so I added some extra K rows.

Thanks GE for blocking link!

36 stitches will probably be fine for a cable pattern Niecie, I used 35 stitches for a basketweave pattern and it came out the right size.

I am thinking of doing a cable one too after this double moss stitch one, do you have a link to a pattern?

Also, how many squares are people getting out of one ball? I think there will be enough left for a third square, are people managing a 4th or should I just pop the rest of the ball in for crocheting together?

I managed two squares from one ball with lots left over. Began a third square and ran out with only five rows to go.

Oh dear, I might not get a third out of it then.

I suppose I could weigh the ball once I've finished the second square and if there is 15-20g left give it a try.

Finished the textured heart pattern one, it was fine for width, but I had to knit a couple of extra rows of garter stitch to get it to 6" long.

I think I will do one with some moss stitch in it next.

It depends on the pattern of course but I have just weighed the ball I used for one of my square (yes, I know I am sad) and I have used 11g out of 50 so I reckon, if I were to repeat the same simple cross pattern, I could get another 3 squares out of the ball.

However, I reckon I will do a cable next so probably I will only get another 2 with a bit left over which might be better as I might be cutting it a bit fine to get 4 squares out of one ball!

JemimaMop I don't have a link to a pattern but I can copy one out of my book if you like. Let me know and I will post it.

I've got my first 2 squares blocking - will do the other 2 this evening after I've done the boring bit and sewn in the ends. Unless I should block first?

Minnie, thanks for that. I might re-do it and try to elongate the heart a bit so it's not a little dot in the middle!