I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 169 @dreareneeknits

Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!

Sign up for my newsletter here: Sign up for the DRK Newsletter: eepurl.com/diPxsr

In this week’s episode we cover:

1. Hi, Andrea! I enjoy your YouTube episodes, how-to videos, and your patterns! I've been knitting for a little over a year, and what I am wondering is how I can learn to knit more quickly. There are so many patterns and yarns I want to try, but it takes me ages to finish an object. I knit English style which I think is slower, because when I've tried Continental, I can't keep my tension and end up with very loose, uneven stitches. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

2. Hello! I love watching your videos! Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. I am going somewhere (Lapland) much colder than where I live (London) in December and I want some make my boys some cute balaclavas... my question is, is all wool as warm as each other? I want to use something super warm (and not itchy) - what should I use? (The pattern I am thinking of making is the Knitting for Olive baby bear balaclava - they used a stand of their fingering merino held with a stand of their mohair, Ravelry says it's a sport weight pattern!

3. I am new to spinning, thank you for inspiring me! I have made my first 3 ply yarn and started knitting The Traveler shawl in sport weight. The only problem I have is i was only able to get 770 yards. Do you think this will be enough to make size A to pattern or would it be safer to not do the full 18 repeats in the first triangle? Thank you! (777)

The Traveler Shawl Pattern -
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-traveler-shawl-3
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/the-traveler-shawl

4. I’m considering knitting Vellichor for summer. But, the recommended yarns in the pattern are no longer available. I was wondering if there are any other, currently available, yarns that you would recommend for this pattern.

The Vellichor Pattern -
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/vellichor
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/vellichor

Knitting for Olive - Cotton Merino knittingforolive.com/collections/knitting-for-olive-cottonmerino
Pure silk knittingforolive.com/collections/knitting-for-olives-pure-silk
FDF Confluence Cotton - thefarmersdaughterfibers.com/products/confluence-cotton

5. Hi Andrea, thank you for sharing your time with us each week. I was hoping you could explain how to calculate yardage on scrap / “new to us” yarn that may not have a label accompanying it. I have some lovely yarn made in Italy, but can’t read the label! I’ve tried googling the words to no avail - help! 😂

Instagram: #100daysoflongdraw
Ravelry: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4306907

Instagram: #100daysofknitting2024
Ravelry: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4306908

Today I am wearing the Weekender Crew
Weekender Crew Pattern -
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-weekender-crew
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/the-weekender-crew

And the Satellite Shawl
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/satellite-3
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/satellite-shawl

DRK Spin It to Knit It KAL
Ravelry KAL Forum: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4300929
Instagram Hashtags: #DRKspinittoknitKAL2024 #DRKspinsTHETRAVELER

Ask a question for next week’s Q&A: https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7

Knitting Tutorial: Right Lifted Increase (RLI)

Thanks, I Made It! Birch pullover + Jaunty Shawl + Arthur Pants

$I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 227 BIRTHDAY SALE!! Save 30% off of all of my independently published patterns (with the exception of Ooey Gooey and any patterns that were published thru 3rd parties) with the discount code DREA30 thru 8/8/25 at midnight EST! (Please note - don’t forget to enter the code before finishing your purchase, as discounts cannot be applied retroactively!) Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions! Sign up for my newsletter here: Sign up for the DRK Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/diPxsr In this week’s episode we cover: 1. Im making the Tessellated vest and just have the ribbing to go. Have loved knitting the vest so am looking forward to finishing it and wearing it. The challenge I have is picking up the stitches for the armholes. Youve mentioned in the past that you use a ratio of 5 in 7 but do you vary this for armholes? Do you use 5 in 7 when working top half of armholes and over the shoulder, but pick up more stitches on the slanting edge towards bottom of armhole. Any advice would be appreciated. 2. Im just starting out as a designer and have a question about gauge patterns. Does the gauge pattern have to match the stitch pattern used in the item? Or would a stockinette gauge sample, for example, be suitable for a brioche or cable pattern, if both the gauge sample and the item are worked flat (but no stockinette is used in the pattern)? Would your answer change if its a two color brioche pattern? Thanks for all your advice over the years - Ive learned a lot from listening! 3. My question is about spinning. Like so many others, I’ve been inspired by you to pick up spinning. I took a couple drop spindle classes a little over a year ago and fell in love. I don’t currently have the financial or spatial budget for a wheel (though I’m hoping for an e-spinner for my upcoming birthday ), so my question is specific to your experience with spindle spinning. And particularly about plying. Since most spindles can hold less spun fiber than a wheel bobbin, my plied skeins tend to be fairly small. But yours always look much larger. Do you use a felted join on your singles to add more when one spindle runs out? Or perhaps a felted join on the plied yarn to combine smaller lengths into a larger skein? A combination of both? Would either affect the integrity of the finished yarn? Or is there something else I’m missing? Also, when doing a fractal spin with half a braid spun end to end and the other half divided into smaller strips, what considerations do you take into account when deciding which singles to ply together? I imagine you end up with some parts that have two plies of the first half of the braid and one ply with the smaller strips, and vice versa. How do you decide which to combine? Or do you just choose at random? 4. Ive been knitting for years, but am newish to sock knitting. I have two questions - The first sock I ever knit was perfect, then I had a few duds after that. My tension seemed to tighten significantly to the point I have to knit the size up from my frist sock - why would that be? My tension for other types of projects havent been affected in the same way. I also notice on the last couple socks Ive knit there is a slight ridge on the inside of my sock where I grafted the toe. I can feel it on the inside of the foot and I cant determine why the ridge is there. I have watched a lot of tutorials and know I have done the Kitchener stitch correctly. Could that also be a tensioning issue? 5. I know how important swatching is however there is one aspect that has me curious. One of the reasons for swatching is to see if the fabric grows and by how much. My question is, if the swatch does grow, how does the knitter determine what pattern size to follow? It seems like it would be challenging to translate the amount of growth seen in a swatch to a larger garment such a sweater. If I normally knit a size 36 bust should I drop down to a smaller bust size? If the pattern states to knit until piece measures 10 inches, should a lesser amount be knitted? Fortunately I’ve never had any major issues with growth but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time! High Tide Set: https://matchymatchysewingclub.com/products/high-tide-set-pdf-sewing-pattern Today I am wearing Night Lights Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/night-lights-3 My Website: https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/night-lights 2025 Rhinebeck Ooey Gooey KAL Ravelry Forum: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4368040 Facebook Forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1076153613959074 Instagram Hashtag: #RhinebeckOoeyGooeyKAL Ask a question for next week’s Q&A: https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7$

Thanks, I Made It! DRK Everyday Cardi + Barry Pants