How To
Big Joy: How-To Videos From Designer Jen Geigley
We have something great to share.
Jen Geigley, designer of all of the quick-to-make, joyful knitwear in MDK Field Guide No. 12: Big Joy, has made super-helpful short videos to guide us through the even slightly tricky bits of these pieces.
Jen’s background in graphic design is on full display in these clean and friendly mini-tutorials. They’re fun to watch.
You’ll feel like you’re sitting at Jen’s sunny table in Iowa, looking over her shoulder as she shares her tips.
To watch them all, here’s a link to Jen’s Field Guide No. 12 video playlist.
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Magic Knot
Jen’s favorite method of changing yarn colors without fuss is called a magic knot. It will help make your Stripey Scrappy Hats as scrappy as you want them to be.
The Main Squeeze Cardigan
Jen guides us through every action moment of constructing this coziest of cardigans. Even if you already know how to do some or all of these things, it’s nice to see exactly how Jen did it on the sample. It’s a snap—you’ve got this.
- Construction
2. Joining the Sleeves to the Body
3. Raglan Decreases
4, Picking Up Collar Stitches
5. Picking Up the Side Stitches
6. Attaching the Pockets
Bobble University
In three short videos, Jen demonstrates the best part of the Bobble Throw: the bobbles.
Option 1: Knitting Bobbles Directly onto the Throw
Option 2: Knitting Bobbles Separately and Attaching Later
Attaching Bobbles
Thank you, Jen, for these tasty tidbits. I love how you speed up your knitting when you need to. Please teach us how to do that in real life.
The “no knots in knitting” crowd will be having apoplexy this morning. Interesting videos.
I have been using magic knot for several years and I have never had one fail or show in a finished project. I would never do it in front of my no knot friends who would be clutching their pearls as I snip off the ends close to the ends.
I am in the no-knots crowd myself, but I enjoy it when somebody gets up in my grill about it!
These are fantastic! I look forward to referring to these videos when I knit these patterns.
Question: what do you do with the ends after the magic knot? Cut them off? Weave them in?
I asked Jen and she says she weaves hers in. Personally I am going to do at least one scrappy hat where I leave the ends on the outside like a shag rug.
This a great! Would LOVE to have these kind of videos for the Field Guide 11. Is that a possibility? I’ve had to search YouTube for tutorials and it would be fantastic to see some based off the Guide.
Many people have had problems with the magic knot in knitting. It relies on tension to work, but the yarn in knitting isn’t under tension. The two ends come loose and the knitting unravels.
This has happened to many people (check out Ravelry for horror stories), including a friend and her lace shawl. I was able to recreate the knitting and “fix” it, but her shawl ended up with four ends woven into it. It was a cautionary tale for everyone in my knitting group!
What I do is splice my ends. My “No End Stripes” video on youtube shows how to knit striped shawls and scarves with only one end to weave in — the bind off.
The idea that the knot relies on tension to work is simply not true. I have used Magic Knots – more accurately, the fisherman’s knot or angler’s knot – for years, on garments that have been washed & dried many times. Case in point, it was used 5+ years ago to join slippery rayon chenille for a project that was then machine washed & dried – not gently – to create a panne fabric. Not. one. knot. failed. Then or since, & a cowl is hardly worn “under tension.” If a Magic Knot fails, it was not tied properly to begin with.
Another explanation for failures such as my friend’s is “user error.” I can’t speak for myself since I only used this joining method once, in a shawl I sent off to charity. After reading about so many magic knot fails on Ravelry I sure hoped that my knot held, but I’ll never know!
Glad it works for you! To each his or her own.
Question for Jen: did you make a how-to video for your Knitted Pie Crust? I can’t picture how to “knit” stk.st.
Stay tuned, we are just getting this rolled out (yes this is a pie pun)! If you are in a hurry to bake your pie, I can say that I did it from the explanation and photo in the Field Guide, and it worked perfectly the first time!
Rolled out, hahahaha
I’ll wait for the video; I’m a visual learner
What do you do with the tails? Do you knit double stranded for a while, cut the tails. Please explain.
I found another magic knot tutorial in which the narrator showed cutting the yarn close to the knot. Now I understand…FYI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pr6n4kEFgY
Thank you for magic knot! I have been making scrappy hats all summer and this will help speed up the process! I donate most of them to schools or women’s shelters. I do agree they turn out to be adorable!