Weird topic. Yeah, I'm a little reflective at the moment. This past week has been a whirlwind of migraines, period cramps, and obsessive researching...which may have contributed to the migraine. Even now I have not arrived at a solution to how I want to accomplish something. I know what I want to do and what I want to make it with, but I lack the skill and knowledge to know HOW.
So here's a peek behind the veil on how I muddle my way through things.
Starting at Level 10
I just started learning how to knit this past weekend. I am an absolute beginner. And still, somehow my saved patterns on Ravelry have doubled in number. I see creative knitted projects and save it to see if I can do it later. (I was like this when I started crochet as well.) However, the things I want to do are for more experienced knitters. I don't want to do something simple.
This past week I've been binge watching YouTube knitting tutorials, scouring free pattern sites, and even trying to learn how to make my own color work patterns.
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| Not sure if this works. |
But on the practical side of things, I've only knitted a few rows of my furry fox tail, a few rounds of my worsted yarn fox tail, and the toe of a tabi sock. I have not done any color change work. I can barely do an increase stitch. And little experience fixing mistakes.
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| Haven't made much more progress. LOL. |
At the same time, I am making strides and things are coming together.
Early Research
The first project I wanted to do was the fox tail, so my research began there. How do I crochet or knit a faux fur yarn fox tail? I looked on Ravelry and found a few free and for sale patterns for fox tails specifically. Sometimes you're lucky. I also found a few yoga mat bags that are fox tail shaped that could also work. What sold me on knitting over crochet was the Moral Fiber blog that detailed her 55" fox tail project. While I'm not going THAT long, I was convinced that it was the way to go. So I looked at her supplies and the supplies of a few other knitting patterns that I wanted to try and started getting a supply list together.
I got a lot of suggestions for good knitting needles for beginners like wood or bamboo needles over plastic or metal. The slight imperfections in wood help the yarn stick a tinge better. Many knitters suggest larger needles to start with too and to start with bulky yarn so you can see what you're doing.
I ended up getting three sets of double pointed needles in size 9, 6, and 4. I got a kit of circular needles since I mostly want to make socks, sweaters and other tubes of varying difficulty. However, during my shopping research I learned that if I were to get all those supplies at once, it would be very expensive.
Now, I went into needle shopping with a crochet hook mindset. Meaning, it's easier to start with a kit so you can crochet a variety of projects. But with crochet, all you need is the hook and on a rare occasion a tapestry needle. Knitting requires a pair of needles at least. If you're making tubes like me then you need double pointed needles which come in packs of 4 or 5. You need circular needles which come in varying lengths of cord as well as needle size.
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| Circuit Overload!!! |
Basically, you need a matrix to figure out what to start out with. I did manage to find interchangeable circular needles in a kit. Got several loop sizes and needle sizes so I can attempt many project types. And most of the projects I want to do need circular needles. Then I got one of those Teach yourself to Knit booklet and supply kits which are honestly pretty good at setting you up for stuff.
Never Quite Right
I let the knitting idea move to the backburner for many months even though I had my supplies and plans for the fox tail. At first I was just going to follow along with the pattern notes on the blog. But then...I got to thinking. What if I made the tip of the tail more tapered? The final tail the blogger made was long with a rounded end, but Goro's tails were tapered.
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| Tipped and Tapered |
Again, I wrestle with accuracy to the character and the pattern I have on hand. So down I went into the bowels of Ravelry to find more patterns! I started looking at stocking caps, gnome hats, and baby cocoons to figure out how to make a pointed tip. Eventually, I took from a few tapering patterns and blended it with the original notes.
Frankenstein-ing, Piggy-back, or Blending patterns doesn't always work. And at the time did not have the knitting know-how to ask all the right questions. There are so many factors that this method is actually pretty tedious and you'd probably be better off learning the basics of knitting which include measuring a gauge (which I should do for crochet but don't). However, while gauge in crochet means you just adjust a hook size, for knitting it not only affects the needle you use, but how many stitches you need to start, the weight of the yarn.
But somehow I never learn...
I'm Bored, Let's Make a Pattern!
So when I picked up knitting again this past weekend, I also delved into some patterns I had collected for future projects and wondering "how do I do this"? Thankfully, the patterns all mentioned different stitches or techniques to use. So I was able to look up and create a YouTube Playlist of knitting. I learned about Fair Isle and Intarsia knitting for making those kick ass patterns you see in knitting but not so much in crochet. But several of my patterns mentioned DOUBLE knitting, so I had to look that up and was so excited to learn it was yet another way to change colors but in an intricate way....with at least two colors. Mostly for scarves. I also learned about DUPLICATE knitting which is actually sewing with a tapestry needle. But the more terms I learned the more I was boosted in my confidence in being able to use knitting for costumes and cosplay!
That's where I got my naughty idea about the Rengoku Socks. That's just my messy thought process on how I could achieve a particular result with the knowledge I currently have. Usually, coming up with something unrealistically difficult and complicating things for myself. (These socks gave me the migraine.)
So things I was aware of but not fully experienced with were:
- Knitting socks from the toe upwards
- How to use gauge to measure for knitting
- Using a program to make knitted colorwork patterns (or pixel art)
- You have to mirror designs for left and right
My cosplay philosophy lately has been if I can make two pieces into one piece then by golly I will. (Except for jumpsuits. That's always going to be two pieces and covered with a belt! Screw onesies!)
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| I just can't pull it off anymore... |
Anyway, as I bumbled trying to figure out the program Stitch Fiddle and trying to make sure that I had the proper sized grid. I will say, my math skills are corroded, not just rusty. I took my measurements, thought about the final size of the piece I wanted, and I started knitting a gauge as suggested.
I'm still slow at knitting so I wasn't patient enough to finish knitting 10 rows. Got to 5...which isn't really enough to figure out the gauge but I tried to anyway. This is where my ignorance became a stumbling block. I know how to do this for sewing. I know how to do this for crochet! But knitting is very versatile and because I didn't have the experience I kept doubting myself and so I looked to experts to see what their knitting charts looked like. How many rows and columns did they use? What was the final shape...wait it's not always a rectangle or square? What is this knee sock pattern? Is that how I should make a pattern for a knee sock?? Wait...I don't want these to be regular knee socks, they need to be slouchy socks. FUUUUUHHHHHH...I should just make leg warmers.
The Solution was Simple
Truly ignorance complicates things. We don't know what we don't know! Trying to Frankenstein a slouchy sock leg to a tabi toe sock pattern is possible...but the easier thing to do would be to make these separate pieces. I mean, you can find free patterns for slouchy leg warmers much more easily than slouchy knee socks with split toes. (I'm sure it's out there but the time I've wasted on Ravelry this past week is shameful.) So, the plan is to knit some crew length tabi and then attempt to double knit some leg warmers with my Rengoku flame pattern. I'll still probably attempt to make it all one sock but something tells me that if I want the result I want, I should go with the separate pieces.
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| It's sooooo simple! |
So for now, that problem is solved...but I'm never satisfied with one problem. I keep saying I'm not cosplaying this character but I want to knit all these parts of the costume! Or at least figure it out...
I'll talk about it in my next post...but now I am much more knowledgeable about shawls, wraps, scarves, capes and cloaks.
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