I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 217 @dreareneeknits

Uploaded May 2025 | 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. Brioche and Fisherman’s Rib seem somewhat interchangeable. My problem with brioche is how much it opens when I block it. Would fisherman’s rib hold the shape of my garment better after blocking?

2. Your color combos are always so stunning and feel effortlessly chic. I'm constantly inspired by how flattering and fun they look on you! As a newer knitter, I get overwhelmed when it comes to choosing colors. There are just so many options, and I end up second-guessing everything. Do you have a go-to source for color inspiration or any kind of formula you use when picking a palette? I’d love to feel more confident in my choices. I want my knits to pop, not wash me out after all that hard work!

3. When kitting a sweater top down, for example a raglan, how do you add length to the yoke to make the armhole depth deeper. As a sweaty person I like to have as little fabric around my armpits as possible, but I never know how to go about it. Would you continue to increase in pattern? Or would you get to the specified number of increases and then just knit in stockinette/pattern, until it creates a deep enough armhole? If the answer is to keep increasing, how do you handle stitch count/pickup for sleeves? Love your videos, I always get excited when your videos pop up!

4. Do you have any suggestions for how to get out of a knitting slump? I have several WIPs on the go (an easy shawl, a colourwork sweater, and a basic sweater on sleeve island) but I can't seem to find the motivation to work on any of them. Do you ever get into a knitting slump? Do you have any advice on how to get out of it? Thanks so much! I look forward to your podcast each week.

5. HELP! I have very sensitive skin so all my garments are made from superwash merino. How do I prevent crazy growth whenever i wash/block them. I just reblocked 3 winter knits and they grew so much. I am very careful about not letting them "sag" or "hang" when I squish out the water and move them to the mats.

6. I'm recently dealing with a chronic illness and need to avoid gluten, dairy, and sugar (oh my!). It's not too hard but traveling gets tough. I know you're gluten free. How do you handle finding food you can eat, when you travel?

Today I am wearing the Harlow Flip:
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/harlow-flip
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/harlow-flip

Yarn Bundles:
The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers: thefarmersdaughterfibers.com/products/harlow-flip-hat-kits

Spincycle Yarns: spincycleyarns.com/collections/kits-bundles/products/andreas-harlow-flip-hat-bundle-no-2

Spring KAL Challenge:
Ravelry Forum: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4360812
Instagram: #HarlowFlipKALCHALLENGE

March 2 May KAL 2025
Shawl Forum: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/4351754
Sweater Forum: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/4351752
Instagram: #DRKmarch2maykal25

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

$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

Thanks, I Made It! Ornella + Dance Pants