MENU

5 Quick Routines that make my Knitting and Crochet Easier

This summer has been crazy for Tinking Turtle – I’ve been traveling both domestically and abroad. (I’ll be sharing more about the cruise on my next post!)  Finally, though, I’m home for a while, and I’m beginning to settle into a routine.

It’s got me thinking about the routines I have – specifically, for my knitting and crochet.  These are things I’ve developed over time as a designer and as a stitcher to stay organized – or to make sure I don’t forget something important!  I thought I’d share some of these systems I’ve developed over time, in case they might help someone else!

  1. When I go to knit a pattern out of a book or magazine, I always make a photocopy.  They’re always single-sided (so I can take notes on the back) unless they’re really long.  This way, I can make changes in the margins or loose the pattern (and I don’t loose the original).
  2. If I know I’m going to put a project down for a while, I take the needles out of it, and attach a marker that lets me know what size needle I was using.  I use this set from Knitpicks, but there’s also another variation here.  You could also make them using wire and beads with numbers on them.
  3. I’ve bought a whole bunch of measuring tapes and miniature scissors, and I just keep a pair in each knitting bag – so I don’t have to transfer them out.
  4. I have 4 rare earth magnets (kinda like these), which are super-powerful.  I have them in a set of altoid containers, and I use them to store my sewing needles and darning needles.  That way if I’m in a rush I can just put the needle on the top of the container, and because of the magnet, it sticks.
  5. I always keep a handful of locking stitch markers in each of my knitting bags.  You never know when you, or a friend, might need a stitch marker.  They’re also really great for catching a dropped stitch that you can’t fix right away.
What routines do you have that make your life easier?

Time-Saving Technique When Designing

Since knitting and crochet are both time intensive, anything I can do to save time or make my time count double is worth the time it takes for me to come up with a system.  I watch TV and knit, read and crochet.

When I create swatches for design proposals – specifically for socks, I want to save time.  So I do a provisional cast on and cast off, and work the knitting in between as normal.

What this does is twofold – if the design is accepted for a proposal, great.  Sometime later down the road I can pull out the swatch and be well on the way to creating a pair of my own, that won’t have to go back to the magazine when I’m done.

If the design isn’t accepted, then I can take the work I’ve already done, and work off of it to finish the sock and make it into a design that I’ll self publish.  This way the hours I spend working on a swatch serve double duty – and I’m not left with a swatch that I don’t know what to do with or how to store.

Do you have tricks that save you time?  I’d love to hear them, and they don’t have to be just about knitting or crochet.  After all, any minute I save in other places, I can put towards creating designs!