Uploaded January 2026 | 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
Jaunty SAL with Daedalus: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4386868
Jaunty-along intro video: youtu.be/JU1eu0G4Sl8
In this week’s episode we cover:
1. Hi, Andrea: Thank you for the wonderful weekly podcast; there are always great answers for confident and creative knitting. Over the last couple of months you've had multiple questions about button bands, but what do you advise for attaching the buttons themselves? I'm currently knitting a sweater with Amano Chaski yarn (60% merino/30% cotton/10% linen) on size 3 needles. Per your suggestions, the plan is add a bi-fold button band and use small shell buttons (scavenged from an old shirt; nice shell buttons are hard to find). I think the sweater yarn will be too thick and contrasting for sewing on the buttons, and I'm also afraid regular sewing thread will eventually cut through the yarn. (And when knitting with DK weight woolen-spun yarns, the yarn looks too "wooly" unless the buttons are really big.) I Do you have some better ideas?
Wool Thread: Rustic Wool Moire
2. Hi! Thank you for your podcast and lovely patterns (Ooey Gooey socks are on the needles right now!). I have been knitting for a few years, and I am going to start trying some sweaters and tees. I have confidence because I am the boss of my knitting. 😌 When I see WIPs by others, I see all kinds of light bulb markers all over the sleeves and other parts. Can you explain how these help in building knitted tops? Thank you for letting me ask a dumb question!
3. Hi Andrea! I am knitting your DRK everyday socks for my dad - I've never knit socks for someone else before. He lives far away, but when I had him try them on the first one at Christmas, the toe is just a little too long. Is there a way to re-knit just the toe portion and shorten it? I did use a contrast color for the toe. Thanks!
4. Hi! I’m looking to add a Steeking column to a sweater, I’m curious if Steeking columns have to be 5 stitches wide or if it’s ok to make them 3 stitches wide?
5. For your Jaunty-along, I am planning to spin my yarn using my supported spindle. My question is: Since I only have one spindle, how do I manage "connecting" the smaller quantities of spun yarn for a single ply? The first time my spindle got full, I wound the yarn onto a spare bobbin to free it up for more fiber (something I learned from your previous videos!). But now my spindle is full again, and since this yarn is for the same ply, I wanted to continue filling my spare bobbin with more yarn, and ideally connect the strands to have one continuous ply. How do I connect them? Will split-splicing work? A small magic knot? My fiber is a blend of animal and synthetic that I am spinning long-draw-ish from rolags. Thanks so much for your help, I am a religious watcher of your channel and have learned so much!
Today I am wearing the Comebackigan:
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/comebackigan
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/comebackigan
And the Jessie Tee: truebias.com/search?q=jesse+tee
Ask a question for next week’s Q&A:
https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7
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
Jaunty SAL with Daedalus: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4386868
Jaunty-along intro video: youtu.be/JU1eu0G4Sl8
In this week’s episode we cover:
1. Hi, Andrea: Thank you for the wonderful weekly podcast; there are always great answers for confident and creative knitting. Over the last couple of months you've had multiple questions about button bands, but what do you advise for attaching the buttons themselves? I'm currently knitting a sweater with Amano Chaski yarn (60% merino/30% cotton/10% linen) on size 3 needles. Per your suggestions, the plan is add a bi-fold button band and use small shell buttons (scavenged from an old shirt; nice shell buttons are hard to find). I think the sweater yarn will be too thick and contrasting for sewing on the buttons, and I'm also afraid regular sewing thread will eventually cut through the yarn. (And when knitting with DK weight woolen-spun yarns, the yarn looks too "wooly" unless the buttons are really big.) I Do you have some better ideas?
Wool Thread: Rustic Wool Moire
2. Hi! Thank you for your podcast and lovely patterns (Ooey Gooey socks are on the needles right now!). I have been knitting for a few years, and I am going to start trying some sweaters and tees. I have confidence because I am the boss of my knitting. 😌 When I see WIPs by others, I see all kinds of light bulb markers all over the sleeves and other parts. Can you explain how these help in building knitted tops? Thank you for letting me ask a dumb question!
3. Hi Andrea! I am knitting your DRK everyday socks for my dad - I've never knit socks for someone else before. He lives far away, but when I had him try them on the first one at Christmas, the toe is just a little too long. Is there a way to re-knit just the toe portion and shorten it? I did use a contrast color for the toe. Thanks!
4. Hi! I’m looking to add a Steeking column to a sweater, I’m curious if Steeking columns have to be 5 stitches wide or if it’s ok to make them 3 stitches wide?
5. For your Jaunty-along, I am planning to spin my yarn using my supported spindle. My question is: Since I only have one spindle, how do I manage "connecting" the smaller quantities of spun yarn for a single ply? The first time my spindle got full, I wound the yarn onto a spare bobbin to free it up for more fiber (something I learned from your previous videos!). But now my spindle is full again, and since this yarn is for the same ply, I wanted to continue filling my spare bobbin with more yarn, and ideally connect the strands to have one continuous ply. How do I connect them? Will split-splicing work? A small magic knot? My fiber is a blend of animal and synthetic that I am spinning long-draw-ish from rolags. Thanks so much for your help, I am a religious watcher of your channel and have learned so much!
Today I am wearing the Comebackigan:
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/comebackigan
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/comebackigan
And the Jessie Tee: truebias.com/search?q=jesse+tee
Ask a question for next week’s Q&A:
https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7
