Tag: knitting

Authentic Knitting Board Projects

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AKBribbedscarf
AKBshawl1
AKBshawl2
Here are the two projects I finished for Christmas presents. The first is a simple ribbed scarf made on the 10" AKB. I used Cascade Vintage yarn, about 1.5 skeins. The entire project went fairly quick since there aren't any tricky patterns to follow, just a ribbed wrapping. I used three washers as spacers on the board to keep the stitches a little snug. After it was finished, I hand washed and blocked it, and the scarf "grew" about half a foot, which was just what I hoped.

The second project was a shawl, made with a worsted weight, hand dyed wool/bamboo blend. I had purchased about 600 yards and used most of it. I followed the pattern for Faith Schmidt's Lacey Scarf pattern, found on the AKB site, and the 28" board. I used 51 pegs and repeated the pattern five times. For this shawl, I put the spacers at the 1" width, and I knitted two sides, then sewed them together. If I had to do this over, I would shrink the width to 41 pegs, make it one piece, and add an additional 6" or so. I did block it with an iron and spritzes of water from a spray bottle. I didn't want to tackle washing and blocking it so close to Christmas in case I had a disaster on my hands. 
It was fun to make projects with these boards. I've already started a third project, this time for me.

Categories: Finished Object

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Testing the knitting board

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Knittingboardscarf1
Knittingboardscarf1

Last night, I knitted a small sample on the 28" Authentic Knitting Board using just 22 pegs (and 22 pegs on the opposite side, too). I used some Berroco merino and followed the beginning of the pattern for the Luxurious Alpaca Scarf. What I learned is that I need to tighten the gauge because the knitting was a little bit too loose and the ribbing, which starts after six rows of stockingette, was not very distinct.

This board can be adjusted. Do you see the bolt on the end? There's another one on the other end, too. You may remove the bolt, take out the spacer in between each side, and then put something smaller in between, such as a washer. I'll have to scrounge around in the toolbox tonight for something appropriate. The closer the two sides of the board, the tighter the gauge. So, if you're working with a chunky or bulky yarn, or if you want a very loose knit, you would actually put more space in between the two sides instead of keeping it snug.

I was brainstorming last night and came up with a way to, possibly, turn this two-sided loom into a round loom by adding my own type of spacer (a piece of wood with two metal pegs). That way, I could knit socks or other small-gauge items in the round. We'll see how it goes.

Categories: Loom Knitting

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Authentic Knitting Board

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I caved and purchased the 28" small gauge (84 pegs!) Authentic Knitting Board today from Hobby Lobby. However, I waited until Hobby Lobby had a 40% off weekly special and so the $37.00 board was purchased for just about $20. Not a bad deal. Why do I need another loom, you may wonder? Especially, when I already own…

  • The Knifty Knitter round loom set (four looms)
  • The Knifty Knitter flower loom and spool knitter (two looms)
  • The purple Knifty Knitter rectangle loom
  • Five 4" Square Looms: Two 4" Weave-its, One 4" Simplex loom, One 4" Hazel Rose Multiloom, One 4" Wonder Weave
  • One Weave-it Rug loom
  • One Regular Gauge hat loom
  • One 24" Homestead Hideaway triangle loom
  • Two potholder looms
  • One extra fine gauge DecorAccents oval sock loom
  • Three small flower looms

Someday, I'll take a picture of them all đŸ™‚ . All 22 of them…

But back to the question–why do I need another loom? In this case, the answer is pretty simple–I don't have a small gauge loom. At all! Plus, I really like double-knit. So, there. That's why I plotted and planned and waited and finally purchased my new knitting board today. I have plans for two Christmas presents to be knitted on this board, so I'd better get knitting.

As far as patterns, there are some free patterns on the Authentic Knitting Board website. I discovered a few more on the Lion Brand pattern site, and there is a fairly new Yahoo group for the knitting board, not to mention the other sites, boards, listservs, and Ravelry groups that include knitting board information along with knitting looms, so I think I'll have more than enough to think about. What I'm most excited about is moving away from super bulky yarn for a few projects.

Categories: Weave-It Loom Weaving

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Dishtowels

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I just spotted these simple and antique-y dishtowels on the Purl Bee's website, and I wonder if a similar towel could be knitted on a loom. Aren't they lovely? I've knitted a few dishcloths in the past, but I've never been pleased with the large-gauge finished product; however, if I use the garter stitch throughout, I bet they would come out fairly nice, especially with the stripes. I also think these would be perfect as a double-knit project with a rake or knitting board, especially something in the small to fine-gauge size. Something to think about!

Categories: Loom Knitting

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