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ОглавлениеAll Aboard: Exploring Stitch London
Stitch London can be explored any way you choose. Stroll firmly through from start to finish like an industrious City worker; buzz about alighting on patterns you take a fancy to in the style of a Hyde Park bumble bee, or stumble from section to section in a random order like an after-hours West End night clubber searching for that elusive night bus home.
This section is a friendly helping hand to help you navigate your way along the pavements of Stitch London patterns, so you can knit without any niggles. The rest is up to you and your trusty needles. Happy travels, and mind the gap.
DIFFICULTY RATINGS
To help you find your way through the patterns in Stitch London, we’ve rated the projects with difficulty levels – with a little London twist.
There are similarities between how you get around London and how you get around a knitting pattern. You’re either a new knitter, fresh off the plane, all wide-eyed and a little lost; a clued-up knitter, strutting the streets with the confidence of an Oyster card-carrying, umbrella-wielding local; or a stitch sage, roaring down back roads and nipping up side streets like a home-grown London cabbie.
Tourist – Patterns for newbie knitters who stick to the tube map and don’t wander into unknown territory.
London Local – For knitters who know their way around a stitch, but sometimes need to check their A–Z.
Black Cab Driver – Projects for dyed-in-the-wool knitters with ‘The Knowledge’ of all things knitty in the city.
GUBBINS
‘Gubbins’ means stuff and things. In this book, it means the materials that you’ll need to make each project: yarn, needles and all the other bits.
ALL CHANGE
These sections shove you gently in the direction of making your knit your own. Never feel that you have to stick rigidly to a pattern: the whole point of your knitting is that it’s yours and no one else’s. So make something that has bits of your brain all over it. Not the actual gooey stuff inside your head, but the ideas that grow in that goo. Treat your needles as your paintbrush and the yarn as your paint. Pour the weird workings of your imagination on them and watch what grows.
ABBREVIATIONS
Ahhhh. A little gaggle of knitting abbreviations. So sweet, all tucked into the pattern in neat little rows. Abbreviations are the bits of a knitting pattern that resemble complicated algebraic equations. They’re the bits that make nonknitters peering over your shoulder turn slightly green and need a sit down. They’re also the bit that Dumbledore loves the best in the Harry Potter books. Lucky for you, they’re easy-peasy. Roll your eyeballs over this lot and feel free to come back if you forget any.
approx. – approximately
beg – beginning
cm – centimetre(s)
DK – double knitting
DPN – double-pointed needle
g – gram(s)
in – inch(es)
inc – increase(s)/increasing
inc1 – increase one; knit into front and back of stitch to increase
k – knit
k2tog – knit two stitches together (decrease by one stitch)
k3tog – knit three stitches together (decrease by two stitches)
ktbl – knit through the back loop
m – metre(s)
m1 – make one; increase using stitch lying between two stitches
mm – millimetre(s)
oz – ounces
p – purl
p2tog – purl two together (decrease by one stitch)
psso – pass slipped stitch over
rem – remain/ing
rep – repeat
skp – slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over (decrease by one stitch)
sl – slip
ssk – slip, slip, knit; slip two stitches one at a time, knit two slipped stitches together (one stitch decreased)
st(s) – stitch(es)
st st – stocking stitch (US: stockinette stitch)
tbl – through back of loop
tog – together
yd – yards(s)
* – repeat directions following
* as many times as indicated or to end of row
( ) – repeat instructions in round brackets the number of times indicated
LONDON LINGO
Londoners have their own language, built on the foundation of the Queen’s BBC English and then chewed up and spat out on the gritty city streets by cab drivers, market-stall shouters, and ruddy-faced pub landlords. If you want to Stitch London, you have to learn a little of the lingo or you’ll be lost. Here are a few words to help you find your way:
battenburg – the pink and yellow king of cakes. Wrapped in a marzipan jacket of sugary goodness.
berk – a rather foolish individual.
blinder – an excellent thing or achievement. Woo hoo! ‘This fairisle jumper was a proper blinder.’
bog-standard – plain and ordinary ‘The newbie bought bog-standard metal knitting needles to begin with.’
bovver – aggressive, thuggish behaviour.
faffing – messing around and wasting time. Tut.
gammy – see manky.
gubbins – stuff and things. In this book, it means the materials you’ll need to make each project.
manky – diseased and a bit disgusting. Yuck.
me old mucker – my friend. How nice.
mince pies – ‘eyes’ in cockney rhyming slang.
newbie – brand-new, shiny-eyed knitter. Awwww.
not really cricket – not a very nice thing to do. Shame on you.
Oyster card – ticket for all manner of London transport. Not a card for shellfish.
skint – penniless or poor.
throw a wobbly – have a huge, dramatic tantrum.
toerag – scallywag, scoundrel, imp.
tube – London’s underground transport system. Full of sweaty commuters.
wellies – rubber boots made for jumping in puddles. Splosh.
WIP – Work in Progress. Your knit while it is being knit.
‘You’re nicked!’ – you are under arrest.
STITCH ESSENTIAL GUBBINS
Before you embark on your journey through the streets of Stitch London, you will need to arm yourself with some wool-wrangling weapons. Here’s a list of stuff you won’t survive without.
Knitting needles
Straight needles
These fellows are long, straight and pointy in metal, plastic or wood. You are not going to get far without these, so pick ones you like the feel of. You’re going to be holding them a lot.
Circular needles
These guys are two needles joined together with a cord. Good for knitting tubes, knitting on the tube (they’re shorter so are less intrusive when elbow room is tight) or for the wonder of the magic loop (see The Way of the Knit).
DPNs
They wander in sets or four or five and are used for circular knitting. Also seem to scare or fascinate fellow commuters if you break them out while travelling.
Gubbins case
A case in which you stash all the fiddly bits you need when knitting. Pencil cases work well, as do glasses cases, tins, make-up bags or boa constrictors (it can be hard to get the stuff back out of a snake, though).
Darning/tapestry needle
A big fat needle for weaving in ends and sewing up. Get a few, as you will lose some to the hungry Tapestry Needle-Eating Monster that stalks us all.
Sewing needle
The fiddly cousins of tapestry needles. These bad boys are ultra-pointy. Be careful where you leave them when not using them.
Scissors
Get good, small portable ones that fit in your gubbins case. There will be chopping galore.
Tape measure
In the case of most knits, size does matter. A retractable tape measure is the way to go. If it’s shaped like a sheep or a cake, even better.
Thread
Always useful for a million things; you can have various colours to hand, but black and white are essential.
Stitch markers
These little rings mark places in your knitting so you don’t get lost. So kind. You can buy them or just make them from spare yarn. I use tiny elastic bands for braids.
Crochet hook
This little hook is your 999 emergency aid if you drop a stitch. Use it to pick the stitch back up and fix it. It’s also the queen of making long lines of lovely chain stitch.
Small notebook and pen
Scribble down rows, pattern changes, or hilarious doodles of your boss being eaten by a dragon.
Project bag
Your WIP (Work in Progress) is going to need a home when it’s not in your hands. If you shove it in your bag and get lip balm all over it or find it’s taken a shine to your sunglasses and refuses to be parted from them, well, you’ll be sorry. Get a simple drawstring bag, bung it in a plastic bag, or stuff it in a disused sock you stole from a giant.
Stuffing
Forget fancy craft-shop stuffing. Butcher an old pillow or a bargain-shop cushion. Their outsides may be grotty, but their precious innards can be reused.
Beads, buttons and shiny stuff
We’re all magpies at heart. Start stashing embellishments where you find them. Snip buttons off holey garments bound for the bin, hoard beads from broken bling, and keep your eyes out for bargains.
Eyes
If you only have eyes for the ones you love, you’re going to have lots of unfinished WIPs. Bag yourself some safety eyes and seed beads to bring your knits to starey life.
Felt
You can make anything from felt. Anything at all. Honest. If you can’t be faffed to knit extra bits, felt works almost as well. Not that I’m suggesting you use felt for everything. But, when in doubt, felt.
Wire and/or pipe cleaners
Pipe cleaners and wires give knits their very own skeletons. A bendy knit is a happy knit; just make sure no eyes are poked out by unruly ends. Tuck them in well.
NON-ESSENTIAL GUBBINS
Stitch holder
This doohickey is to put stitches on that you’re not working for a little while, so you can get on with knitting the others. You can also thread them on a spare bit of yarn if you’re a bit skint.
Claw clips
Those little crocodile claw clips you use for holding up long hair are perfect for holding together a seam while you sew it. Get some.
Tweezers
Fiddly crafting, such as stuffing tiny knits or threading beads, is made a thousand times easier with tweezers. Plus you can pluck that unsightly nose hair, too.
Pliers
A pointy pair of craft pliers is good for poking, bending and pulling. Also good for doing crocodile impressions.
Row counter
You click it or roll it each time you complete a row. It remembers it all for you, allowing you to wander off and dream about much more important things such as how much yarn you can fit in the cupboard under the stairs without your family noticing.
Pins
For stretching out and blocking knits. For voodoo. For cleaning under your nails.
KNITTING TRANSLATIONS
English on this side of the pond in Blighty and on the other side of the pond in the US isn’t quite the same. Autumn is fall, pavements are sidewalks, and jam is jelly. We Brits like our words for things to have no connection with their meaning whatsoever. Americans say what they mean.
In knitting there are some differences too. Here’s a bit of help if you are lost in translation.
| UK term | US term |
| 4ply yarn | sport-weight yarn |
| cast off | bind off |
| DK (double knitting) yarn | worsted-weight yarn |
| double moss stitch | moss stitch |
| moss stitch | seed stitch |
| stocking stitch | stockinette stitch |
| tension | gauge |
UK AND US NEEDLE AND HOOK SIZES
Needles, the sticks of your stitching, come in different sizes for different-sized stitches. Just to make things doubly confusing, the UK and Europe label their sizes differently from the US. Brits and Europeans keep things neatly metric; Americans prefer to throw a nice round number in there. Not all sizes have a direct equivalent in the US, either. You can name them yourself if you like. I’ll call that one Horace.
Knitting needle sizes
| Metric | US |
| 2mm | 0 |
| 2.25mm | 1 |
| 2.5mm | – |
| 2.75mm | 2 |
| 3mm | – |
| 3.25mm | 3 |
| 3.5mm | 4 |
| 3.75mm | 5 |
| 4mm | 6 |
| 4.5mm | 7 |
| 5mm | 8 |
| 5.5mm | 9 |
| 6mm | 10 |
| 6.5mm | 10½ |
| 7mm | – |
| 7.5mm | – |
| 8mm | 11 |
| 9mm | 13 |
| 10mm | 15 |
| 12mm | 17 |
Crochet hook sizes
| Metric | US |
| 2.25mm | B1 |
| 2.5mm | – |
| 2.75mm | C2 |
| 3mm | – |
| 3.25mm | D3 |
| 3.5mm | E4 |
| 3.75mm | F5 |
| 4mm | G6 |
| 4.5mm | 7 |
| 5mm | H8 |
| 5.5mm | 19 |
| 6mm | J10 |
| 6.5mm | K10½ |
| 8mm | L11 |
| 9mm | M/N13 |
| 10mm | N/P15 |
| 12mm | O16 |
YARN
There is no such thing as the right yarn. The patterns in this book show colour and size of yarn. This gives you an idea of what kind of yarn you need without loudly insisting you use a particular yarn and nothing else. Your yarn is entirely up to you. For those who must create an exact replica or they’ll implode, there’s a list of some of the yarns used at the back of the book (see Suppliers). However, some projects were made from shocking label-less yarn, which I either found in the depths of my stash pile or bought from a cart pulled by a haughty Indian cow in the muggy streets of the desert city of Jaisalmer. That would be a long way to go to get the right yarn.
| UK yarn weights | US yarn weights |
| 2ply | super fine weight |
| 4ply | sport weight |
| DK | worsted |
| aran | medium weight |
| chunky | bulky weight |
| super chunky | super bulky |
| Godzilla chunky* | Godzilla bulky* |
*Please note: Godzilla-sized yarn is purely fictional. Such a shame.
