Chrystal's Designs

6 things I wished I knew when I started

1:12th Scale Miniature Knitting 

I can distinctly remember saying ....

I'll never use smaller than a 1mm knitting needle, 

in fact I would be nuts if I did

Never say Never

Now I wish I had started on that size, in the beginning.

I wonder how much further down my knitting path I would have been today! 

20/20 vision is such a bonus, so we need to get the younger knitters started in our miniature world.   

Having had my cataracts removed this year has opened up a whole new miniature world for me. Thank goodness I did my eyes now and did not wait until I was "do dally tap" or 95 in the shade.

I know there are risks in every type of surgery but what a pleasure my new eyes are and how colours have changed they are simply delicious again....when not seen as though through a mist.

 OK BACK TO MINIATURE KNITTING

               Some needles do rust or should I say tarnish with use, then they definitely begin to rust over time.

               You will find your stitches "stick" on the section of the knitting needle that usually rests between your thumb and index finger. It is to do with the acid content of the skin.

No amount of rubbing the needles in your hair one remedy I was told of or buffing up the needle, once the coating is gone it is gone and will begin to rust.

               A couple of years ago I took a human size shawl and knitted it in Venne 70 /2, just to see what would happen.

Firstly I should have used a larger size needle...so the result would never have pleased me.

               After having nearly finished the first side, I stopped working on it, leaving it on the knitting needle I was working with at the time.....

Well I came across the piece last week and found that where the needle had been resting on my skin it had totally rusted. 

The finish coating had worn away from me using the needle.....

the stitches cannot move at all in that section. it will need a lot of twisting to remove the work from the needle.

I'm happy that I did so, as now I have a perfect example of what happens to knitting needles that are not stainless steel and only have a coating.

You can see the rust that has formed on the needle and how it has damaged the fabric

For years I had used a pair of 1mm stainless steel  knitting needles that I had bought in Holland. 

Then horror of horrors one of the needles snapped. I felt as though I had lost the extensions to my hands.

I tried to find out who had manufactured the needles so as to replace them but to no avail. 

I bought and tried every miniature knitting needle available  on the market...homemade ones, lace knitting needles from Lacis, 

I felt a little like Goldilocks, these were too sharp, those rusted, others were too floppy, some were just too long,  some were too short, it turned out the ones most suitable at that stage were the Heidi Ott brand.

UNTIL

I discovered the HIYA HIYA brand

These knitting needles are stainless steel and they work PERFECTLY for me.

I have been using them for more than a year now with no sign of tarnish or rust on the needles.

NB      For the moment,  

I am not affiliated to the "Hiya Hiya" Brand in any way....

I'm just thrilled to have found these perfectly wonderful tools for knitting my miniature lace design and garments.

I happen to use the 0.7mm 24" circular needles, as straight needles for my layettes.

The length of the needle section is 5 inches, so they sit in my hands exactly as they should.

Not too long that the points stick into my clothing, making my knitting go every which way causing me to drop stitches. One needs to be careful that the cord between the needles does not get caught.

That has happened to me a few times much to my horror as I see stitches drop from the needle.

I have asked  

www.brownberryyarns.co.uk

stockets of the Hiya Hiyas needles in the UK to please approach Hiya Hiya and ask them to make other sizes required for the miniature knitters of the world...namely 0.8mm and 0.5mm

1.     Don't be afraid of these tiny knitting needles they 

        don't bite.

        Saying that.....remember they will if the needles you 

        are using, have too sharp a point on them.

                                                            

not so with HIYA HIYA needles the points ARE PERFECT

2.      Don't use knitting needles that are so sharp that they 

         cut through your skin, this is totally unnecessary.

3.      Always have a pair of finer gauge knitting needles than 

         the size you are working with,  in your knitting basket.          Perfect.....should you need to unpick a row. 

         I use the 0.5mm for unpicking            

4.      You need a range of knitting needles in various sizes

                    0.5mm for unpicking a row

        Unfortunately the smallest size Hiya Hiya make are 0.7mm

        I cannot remember where I bought my very fine needles 

        from...sorry

                    0.7mm for knitting in a Madeira Catona 80 thread

                    0.8mm for knitting stocking stitch garments in         Venne 70/2 Cotton Thread.

        I use my Heidi Ott needles, which are the ones with the 

        gold bead on the ends, for the Bomber Jacket

        Hiya Hiya do not manufacture this 0.8mm either.

                   1mm for knitting lace patterns in Venne70/2 

         Cotton thread.

                    1.2mm for casting off when a garment has been   

         knitted using 1mm knitting needles

                    1.2mm when knitting shawls in the Venne 70/2 

        The finished fabric needs to be far more of an open      

         weave for shawls and the drape is marvelous.

5.      You need a range of crochet hooks in various sizes as well

               0.4mm when working with Madeira Catona Thread

               0.5mm when with working with Venne 70/2 Thread

6.      When sewing up your garments use a very fine No 12

         sewing needle.This gives a far neater finish.

Enjoy your miniature knitting experience 

hoping this post helps in some way

Sharon