Episode 10: Fear of Finishing

This week we face our fear of finishing and point you to some web resources so you can do the same. If you just want to avoid the whole gig, we suggest you look no further than Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top.

Episode 10: Fear of finishing (33:50)

Finishing the job
We talk about our finishing woes and successes.

• Salt Peanuts pattern from IK Spring 2004 (scroll down)
• Mattress stitch
• Whip stitch
• Single crochet seaming
• 3 needle bind-off
• The Wire

• Corset Pullover sleeve cap
• Pin & spray blocking
• Noro Prep steeking
• Boogie's steeking tutorial
• Spring 03 Knitty steeking article
• Eunny Jang's steeking tutorial
• Short rows
• Berroco Pleasure
• Go Along
• Best Man's Dress
• Jenny's Dad's Sweater

Help is on the web
There lots of places to get finishing assistance online. We guide you to some of our favorites.

• Vogue Bible (not the web, but in case you were wondering what the heck we were talking about)
• Sock Pron's tutorial on weaving in the ends
• Knitty article about weaving in ends
• Art of Tangle
• Knitted on iCord border
• Chicknit's zipper tute
• So much yarn's photo essay on sewing in a zipper

Look ma, no seams!
Barbara Walker, godmother of knitting, shows us how to take it from the top.

• Knitting from the Top Down
• Almost Felted's top-down set-in sleeve sweater

Thank you Harold, John, John R., Danny, Manda, and ALL OF YOU! Thanks for listening!

Remember to enter our destash tip contest and join our Flickr group.

We will be back on April 24th!

Comments

[Harold]

Hey, I'm happy to help in my own small way. Another great show.

[Amber]

Hi guys! I just wanted to leave you both a comment because I know you LOVE comments! :):) I am a new listener and being the geek that I am, I have to listen to them in order and I am currently in the middle of episode 5. I am looking forward to getting caught up so that I can actually post comments in real time! Thank you so much for putting together such an informative and interesting podcast. I find it scary just HOW much I relate with you guys....daydreaming about knitting, my HUGE stash, etc. etc. Thanks again! ~Amber

[Emily]

Thanks for the finishing episode -- I just recently finished my first two projects that required seaming, so I can very much relate. I'll miss you over the next three weeks, but have a good break :) Nicole -- your steeked cardigan is gorgeous!

[Lauren]

I was one of those who didn't learn how to mattress st for a long time. It seemed weird to seam with the right sides facing me, but now I don't know why it took me so long to understand.

[Sharon]

Hello! This show was so helpful. I can not remember how to start kitchener stitch so have to run the little video stream on knittinghelp.com over and over as I do it at the same time. Weaving in the ends I have been having a hard time not looking like I the novice knitter that I am, thanks for the good info!. Your show is great and very informative. I look forward to it each week and will look forward to your return!

[Diane]

Another great show ladies! I always learn so much. I've been seeking out patterns that are done in one piece so I don't have to do much finishing and have completed the stash vest from Knitty (though weaving all of the ends was a pain!)

[rose dages]

Hi,
I just wanted to say thanks for doing the pod cast. It's really fun to listen to. BTW before I first started listening to your show I did a spread sheet. It is scary isn't it! I have a tip for seaming in shoulders. Instead of starting at the bottom and working two half circles, I start at the top and work down. As I go I keept checking to see if it is lining up ok. This way the part that is seen is the best and if you need to fudge under the arm, no one will see it. This seems to work pretty well.
Rose

[Ali]

Yet another well researched and well presented show. I like the way you have themes because there are too many knitting podcasts that just talk about what they're knitting which can get a bit dull after a time, where as you two do so much research and provide great links. How do you find the time? Thank you so much for ten great shows. Can't wait for the next series. Now time for you both to have a well earned holiday.

[Melissa]

Thanks for another wonderful show! I'll be missing y'all these next couple of weeks!

[Manda]

Another awesome show, girls! A couple of my knitting pals listen to you guys, and she called me before I had a chance to listen and goes "YOU'RE FAMOUS AGAIN!!" because you said my name. ahaha :) You're so welcome.. I'm glad to help in any way possible. :D I'm soo bummed you guys are taking a break, too! *lol* :) I'll see hear you in a couple of weeks! :)

[dj]

awesome show again, ladies. I think it is no surprise that we are all afraid of finishing - I learned how to knit from Debbie Bliss' "How to Knit" which leads off its chapter on finishing by saying that you can totally ruin a garment by finishing it wrong - talk about performance anxiety! I successfully finished an 18 mo. Vestee but need to go home tonight and try again to attach the shawl collar to a 12 mo. Argh! Have a nice break!

[Jen M]

Ladies, another interesting and fun show! I have to share, that some of the best $ I have ever spent, knitting-wise, was on a finishing class at Stitches West last year taught by Chris Blysma. She made it all seem so simple (ha ha, "seam") and my finishing has improved greatly! One of her tips that I thought was crazy, but turned out to be brilliant, was to sew together the sweater side and shoulder seams, then sew the sleeve seams, then sew the sleeve into the sweater. It is more 3-D, which is a little fiddly, but since the ultimate wearer is 3-D, somehow it works better. YMMV.

[jpt]

Finishing doesn't bother me, but I agree the learning curve can seem endless since we get fewer chances to practice these techniques. For example, I like pullovers, so I've made 7 buttonholes in 4 years--predictably, my buttonholes are still pretty sketchy.

I'll miss the show while you're on hiatus. Enjoy your break!

[Andrea]

Love your show. Stitch & Bitch (the first book) gives a good explanation of Kitchner Stitch. I also think that www.knitty.com has a photo tutorial on how to finish off in kitchner stitch with live stitches.

[Janice]

Thanks for another entertaining and informative episode. Here's a great online resource for finishing techniques. My seams have improved because of her tips and suggestions.
http://www.studioknits.com/booktoc.htm

[Deborah]

Thanks for all the finishing tips and links. A very helpful podcast!! Enjoy your well deserved break and we'll all look forward to your return. And, Nicole - I love your Corset Pullover. I remember seeing that in IK. Looks great on you, too.

[Marsha]

Hi! What a great podcast!! Thank you for all the valuable links. The only one I couldn't pull up was the one on short rows. Boo hoo!!!! I'm making my first socks and the part after the heel, I think it's the gussett is a kind of short row, right? Anyway, my sock has tiny little "holes" and I think it's something to do with my short rows!! It's still a beautiful sock......

You two are very entertaining and I thank you for your time and the great information!

Marsha

[Elysbeth]

Fun podcast ladies. Thanks for the information and for the way you keep on track.

An easy finishing tip: use matching thread or a single strand of a plied yarn to do your seaming. It will still be very strong, but very hard to see, with little bulk. You can see this often with commercial sweaters.

[nat]

my destashing tip is to work on projects of different levels of difficulty at once. This way you can get more knitting done as a total than otherwise. And you must use quiet opportunities to concentrate to fix things/ work things out/ get over the little obstacles in a pattern and then you will get more knitting done. And more knitting means getting through more stash! It also means that you end up with lots of st st socks, lol!

[Helen]

Hey guys - really great show to end the series on. I'm fairly new so I've listened to the first two and now the last one. Will work my way through the rest in the break.

Really enjoyed the finishing discussion. I think we all struggle a bit with that!

Keep up the good work.

[aija]

I wish I had speakers on my pc so I could listen to your show :) Thanks for the link!

[Maryjo]

this has been one of the best podcast shows ever with info and links that we ALL need! You've saved us a tremendous amount of time by doing the research for us -- so all we have to do is bookmark the links for future use! Many thanks! Maryjo

[Trish]

I'm a new fan, having downloaded your podcast to listen to on a recent long plane ride.

I have a few questions for you:

1) What if you just want to get rid of your entire stash? I mean everything! All at once. How do you go about it? I'm honestly thinking about putting it all out in bins on the street with a sign saying "I'm DeStashing - Free Yarn"

2) I'm obsessing about Clapotis. I would love to have you talk about those patterns that just catch on fire and everyone knits. I wonder how Kate Gilbert feels that several thousand people have made a Clapotis around the globe.

[Stef]

Hey, another great episode. I want to echo Ali's compliment above-- the themed content has been really informative and fun.

You were talking about incorporating patterned knitting into your top-down sweaters, including any short rows required for the back of a crew collar. I've grappled with this, and you're right-- it's not totally straightforward. This idea really helped me: go ahead and knit the short row part back and forth until you're ready to start knitting in the round. Then, break the yarn. Rejoin and start at one of the back raglan increase locations. As long as you can tell where you are in the pattern stitch, you won't get any weird jogs or broken-up pattern sequences.

Can't wait until your next podcast!

[Lynne Gehling]

Thanks for a great cast on finishing. I too did not know how to sew a decent seam until just recently and I have been knitting off and on since I was in 3rd grade! I recently finished my Sunrise Circle sweater and be forewarned there is a lot of sewing. I did sew the first sleeve/front to the back when that piece was done just so there wouldn't be quite so much at the end. I wouldn't recommend that as I couldn't match the two fronts up to see if they were the same! (seemed like a good idea at the time!) I did have some trouble with the seam in the front as I definitely had more material on the back than the front so I had to "ease" it a fair amount. All the sewing was well worth it as I have a sweater that you don't see in a store bought version and it is very comfortable.