The Never-Ending Garter Stitch Afghan is a wedding gift for my youngest niece and her Beloved who were married last December 5. I know, I know . . . it’s a little late. And I won’t make excuses, but I will tell you what happened.
I’m using Lion Brand Homespun, my first time knitting with it. I have admired the colors for years but I don’t often knit with acrylic. Except in this case. They have 2 fur babies that cuddle with them. One is a sweet canine who has not yet figured out that he’s 58 pounds over the lap-dog limit, so it had to be machine washable and dryable. Then . . . my niece posted a color-palette photo on Pinterest that exactly matches the colors in this yarn. They call the color “Pesto.” I call it “Sunny Day at a Caribbean Beach” which is far more accurate, but they didn’t consult me. Still, it’s my name and I’m sticking to it, mostly because they were married on a sunny day at a Caribbean Beach.
It’s a bulky weight. I started it in September. Size 10 needles. Garter stitch. Hey, sez I to myself, this is a slam-dunk. Except it hasn’t been. But I’ve learned a bunch along the way and my Public Service for the day is to share it with you.
- IT’S A MUCH SLOWER KNIT THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
Although the yarn is pretty, I find it’s very slow knitting compared to a smooth yarn. Because of the way it’s spun I have to be careful not to split the fibers, and it has a lot of friction as it moves along the needles.
- THE LARGE FABRIC I AM KNITTING BEHAVES DIFFERENTLY FROM THAT LITTLE SWATCH I MADE.
As Queen Nag of Relentless Gauge Measuring, I made a garter stitch gauge swatch about 6″ square, larger than most people recommend. I measured it as if I were a machinist. I got 2.65 sts per inch. I liked the fabric. Not too tight. Not to loose. Enough loft to provide some air pocket insulation and be warm. Plenty of “body.”
The recommended gauge on size 10 needles isĀ 3-5/8 sts per inch, considerably tighter. I can see why. The large fabric is stretchy, springy even. It stretches both widthwise and lengthwise, depending on which way you pull it or lay it out on a blanket.
Garter stitch at a loose gauge does this and I already knew that, but I couldn’t predict how much stretch it would have from my small swatch partly because . . .
- IT’S HEAVY
Physically heavy. I’m almost through the 7th skein and it weighs about 2 and a half pounds. This weight is partly what’s making its shape so “fluid.” The weight pulls on the stitches. You know those lead aprons they put on you when you get X-rays at the dentist’s office? It’s not as heavy as that, but I’m glad I’m giving this to strong young people.
- IT’S TOO BIG
I made it big enough for two . . . newlyweds and all, you know. And although my niece is petite, her Chris is tall, strong, and handsome. But it turns out . . . and I didn’t learn this until I gave their “gift” to them at Thanksgiving (a ball of yarn and a card) . . . that he always runs hot and she runs cold. He sleeps with the window open and she’s freezing. So it didn’t have to be a blanket built for two. When I found this out I was already 16″ into it and this yarn does not rip out well, even at a loose gauge. There was no where to go but forward.
Why I’m still happy with the project:
- I’ve fondled this yarn for years when I go into a Joanne’s to grab something because it’s soft and pretty. Now I know a little bit about how it feels and behaves.
- I could get that recommended gauge that’s 27% (or is it 37%?) tighter but I wouldn’t enjoy it. It would be hard work for my hands. I prefer my knitting to be fun.
- I don’t think it will wear well. It’s starting to “fuzz” already and not in an especially attractive way. At a tighter gauge I’m guessing it would “fuzz” less . . . but I don’t care so much because . . .
- Although it would have been cheaper and certainly less time-consuming to buy them an elegant throw . . .
- I would not have been able to deliver thousands of sts to them, each made with loving intention for their long and happy life together.
- It allowed me to participate in the wedding . . . sort of. While they were getting married in the Caribbean I sat quietly near the wood stove on a dark and stormy December day and knit on it.
- AND MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOU . . . I would not have remembered to give you a copy of Afghan 101 which is one of the most useful things I’ve ever written.
Go HERE to get your copy and please, please pass the link on to at least one knitting friend, one group on Ravelry, on Knitting Paradise, Facebook, on Twitter if you twit (I don’t) . . . your local yarn shop . . . to anyone anywhere who might make a knitted or crocheted blanket one day. Because at the end of the day, when The Never-Ending Garter Stitch Afghan was 24″ long and I momentarily panicked that it was too huge, I pulled out Afghan 101 and was able to reassure myself that it was OK. Only 68″ wide . . . it will fit nicely on the queen-sized bed in the guest room.
I want everyone to know that it will be OK. Almost always.
Hi Cheryl,
I purchased this yarn to make an afghan for a friend and very quickly became frustrated with it. My greatest concern was the way the yarn doesn’t stay together on the cut end. I was afraid that after all of my hard work, the yarn ends would open up and large holes would begin to appear. I would really appreciate hearing from you and/or the other knitters as to how they have handled this issue, or if it was a problem at all.
Thank you for your YouTube videos which have saved me on numerous occasions and for this website, which I have just signed up for. I look forward to your emails and future videos.
I tried a lot of different joins with this yarn and the one I liked best was the Russian Join: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl4cnxfYMxs
Just received my first email from you and can’t say how much I enjoyed the delightful story– can’t wait to get more mail from you and more inspiration! I can feel a love for people and real desire to help others in your writings– God Bless you in your endeavours ~
Thank you Bonny. Thank you for joining my email newsletter group. It has been very sweet for me to be able to connect this way.
It is good to hear that a very experienced knitter goes through similar issues that I have a a newbie! Thank you for your humor and point of view! Also, thank you very much for the Afghan 101—that is my next project after I finish and “architectural” shawl for my sister
You are so welcome Ruth, and thanks for joining us and commenting.
“–(AND) because I laughed and laughed.”
You have a way with words, and I love how you put exactly what we’re feeling in there.
P.S. You would think reading my previous comment that I have never worked as a proofreader.
I have a love/hate relationship with this yarn … the colours are luscious, but they lumpiness causes my eyes struggle to make out the various stitch parts whether I am knitting or crocheting – knitting is easier, but simple objects are always the order of the day when using this splitty yarn. I’ve never made anything out of it for myself, it’s always a gift of softness in a recipients favourite colours, usually a scarf as hats grow to gargantuan size despite gauge swatches that promise otherwise. I’m sure your loving gift will be appreciated.
Here’s me voting that you get 2 jewels in heaven, both for persevering because I laughed and laughed.
This is almost exactly how most of my projects turn out, even though I am not half the “swatch police” aficionado that you are. I am usually second-guessing myself right up until the day I bind off on an item, and again on the day/eternity it takes me to block a lace project.
I really hope I’m getting more mature about this as time goes on.
Hi Carol!
I love the story of the wedding afghan but I do not love Homespun yarn at all. I have used it before and just hate the way if fuzzes up as you mention and the fact that it does not frog well at all. I used to have to teach beginners how to knit and they always had this yarn with them on a project they had problems with. It was the yarn that was the problem. Or I would get beginners who wanted to knit for the very first time with this yarn. I always had to tell them “no, not with this yarn. You will get angry in 5 stitches”.
It is pretty color wise though I do have to say…
bjr
Thanks for this confirmation Barbara. It appears to be a very popular yarn but I won’t buy it again.
Dear Cheryl,
I loved reading your funny and helpful story!!
It made me laugh and also many times a deja vu!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to report your findings and lessons!
A big hug from The Netherlands! So far away and yet so close. Thanks again!
Marijke Vries
Thank you Marijke. I love hugs from The Netherlands . . .
Thank you Cheryl for your lovely stories, very inspiring. You have the gift of giving through teaching and ensuring we keep on crafting with yarn. Regards from a snowy France where knitting keeps me warm today.
Good to hear from you Isis and thank you for your kind words. Spring is starting here . . . with treacherous windstorms and pelting rains and then days of warm sunshine. Did I tell you that I lived 3 km from the French border for 1.5 years? My first husband and I lived in a tiny village, Trulben, in the Alsace region. Our favorite restaurant was in France . . . about 25 km away. I can’t remember the name of the village it was in. We would have to hurry home after a long evening of food and drink to cross the border before midnight, when the fellow who manned the gate went home. I loved living there.
Hi and a big thank you for your Community. I love every time I get a mail from you it brightens my day and i learn something new. So with lots of love to you/ Mona
Thank you for Afghan 101. I’m currently working on Frankie Brown’s 10 stitch blanket, although in a twenty stitch version, and now I will know when I will want to stop. It already looks huge, but it really isn’t, so I’ve got a ways to go. BUT now I really, really want your locally famous blackberry cobbler recipe! With Himalayan berries already in my freezer, I am ready to give it a test run before next berry season! I wasn’t even thinking cobbler with those berries. Maybe syrup? But now it has to be cobbler. All your fault. In a good way. But mostly, this was to say THANK YOU for the great afghan information.
Oh those pesky Himalayas! They want to overtake everything. And I love them. Go here: https://www.cherylbrunette.com/2015/07/island-blackberry-cobbler/
I love reading your posts, Cheryl. They are always informative, entertaining, or both.
I’ve used Homespun for years but only as crocheted prayer shawls. I learned early on that knitting that yarn was more effort than it was worth. But crocheting was much easier and it seemed as though the yarn was made for it. I have rather severe arthritis and using a large crochet hook to make half-double crochet stitches gives the yarn the support it needs and yet does not hurt my hands. I recommend you give it a try sometime.
Oh! I almost forgot! Thanks for Afghan 101…another of your generous gems. š
Thank you so much for this Ruth! I suspected that it would work better if it was crocheted (which, by the way, is my first fiber-language, but that’s another story). I get the arthritis thing. One of the main reasons the afghan isn’t finished is that my fingers don’t work as they did in the olden days.
And you are so welcome for Afghan 101.
Yet another gem. Thank you so much Cheryl for sharing your seemingly inexhaustible “purls” of wisdom. I love reading your articles, and this one has really inspired me. Armed with so much valuable information surely I can produce an Afghan to wrap if not someone, something in!! Watch this space.
I am excited to see what you will create Michelle!
Thank you! This is very helpful.
You are so welcome Jessica-Jean. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
I used that yarn fior a hoodie for my then teen aged daughter. It was completely worn out in less than a year! Sigh. But I doubt an afghan will wear at the elbow and zipper. The color is great and it was made with love.
Yes . . . and I decided that if it becomes a dog’s blanket in a few years, that’s fine. My part was the knitting. Their part is using it as best they can without guilt.
Hi Cheryl,
Great story. I’m sure the Afghan will be beautiful. I have knit with this yarn in the past. I wasn’t a big fan of how it sort of “rode up” on itself as I knit. Thank you so much for Afghan 101, what a great gift. Will definitely be sharing.
Staying brave in Tempe!
Thanks so much for checking in Vince! And you are welcome for Afghan 101. I once went to a Science of Mind Spiritual Center where they had a ministry that gave out a prayer shawl pattern using this yarn. I think that’s a more appropriate use for it. The expanse is smaller and has an easier gauge. I think this yarn is best suited for small projects . . . or tighter gauge and I’m not willing to try the latter. My fingers have grown lumpier than they used to be.