It's longies weather!

**~Raven~** · April 30th, 2009, 12:38 PM

Anyone else dusting off the needles and knitting ATM?

I've started on a pair for Rubes

I decided I liked the look of Ladybug Loops so bought the pattern.

**Kitt3n** · April 30th, 2009, 01:20 PM

babe i would love to knit but i dont think i would have a chance!

i bought some from zan's things on made it - they are soooo soft!!

**Nelle** · April 30th, 2009, 01:36 PM

Maybe this will be my winter to actually finish something?

I'm definitely knitting scarves for the boys...perhaps if I finish those, I will be inspired to do some longies...

Can't wait to see your handiwork Sam!!

**tk1999** · April 30th, 2009, 02:23 PM

I have dusted off my crochet hook to start making soakers for bubs (due in September)... I can't knit to save my life and haven't found any corchet patterns like look like I will be able to do them for longies... sent a few knitted longie patterns to my dear mum though

**Muppity** · April 30th, 2009, 05:10 PM

Ohh Sam - Ladybug Loops look pretty - I will be watching this thread with eager anticipation to see how they turn out for you - I love that the one pattern has 8/10/12 ply variations - I have so many bits in my stash that are of the larger plys.

**River** · April 30th, 2009, 05:29 PM

There's a new pattern coming out soon with the yarn weights variations too - Looking Glass Longies by Kelly Brooker. I just knit a test pair for her and it's a fairly good pattern, uses provisional caston to avoid grafting the crotch - I don't mind grafting though (infact I quite like it).

I've done a few pair of longies so far - even though we aren't using them ourselves anymore lol. I really enjoy knitting them, so now I have to just knit them for others.

**Nelle** · April 30th, 2009, 05:46 PM

River we lurve your longies. So, provisional cast-on...does that make things easier than grafting? I'm sure I could get the hang of grafting with some tuition, but it scares me a bit.

**~Raven~** · May 1st, 2009, 10:03 AM

It took me ages and many pulled apart attempts to get the hang of grafting Nelle! I've never heard of provisional cast on. Off to google.

ETA looks easy

**River** · May 1st, 2009, 12:47 PM

Nelle, I was wondering if the longies were fitting the boys this season as planned - now that the nights are starting to get cool again you would be getting them into them?

Grafting is dead easy - best tute is here: knitty.com
Just make sure you don't pull the stitches too tight - I did so on my first graft and it was awful. But that was the only one I've ever stuffed up. I can't seem to graft in rib yet, but I've only tried once and didn't follow the instructions properly (yup, sounds like me LOL).

Provisional Cast on is a total PITB I reakon, but it serves its purpose at times, the 'proper' way of doing it you do it with a crochet hook and crochet around a knitting needle to make the stitches. But a dead easy way of doing it is to just cast on in waste yarn and knit them through with your working yarn. Crochet PCO ends up being easy to undo when you need to rejoin them, because the stitches just pop out with a tug on the yarn, but waste yarn PCO takes you some time to unravel the stitches. I do it with waste yarn even though it takes longer to undo the stitches, I find it easier on the whole.

I'll have to make Miss Ruby a pair of longies for this season won't I? I have a half done pair I am taking short row pics for Cherie on, I might have to Ruby-ize them

.

**Nelle** · May 1st, 2009, 01:40 PM

Si's still fit like a dream Riv, he's still about as big as an 8 month old.

I love that blue/brown wool the best anyway. Riv's are short, but work just fine. He doesn't often wear them, because it's just a murphy's law thing that it's the wool that gets breakfast/lunch/dinner all over them and they need a wash. So it's mostly the child who's still well behaved that gets to wear the wool.

**Muppity** · May 1st, 2009, 02:48 PM

Thanks Riv - I will look out for that one too.

**~Raven~** · May 9th, 2009, 09:35 PM

My first graft was a disaster and I ended up frogging the whole thing because I tried to undo it and made a mess and dropped a stack of stitches, then didn't knit again for months lol. Then I kept doing it in some kind of weird way that made the graft look like pearl stitch so it wasn't invisible

Really bad!

River I'm very excited at your offer

Ruby would love some of your handiwork! Hmmm pictures for short rows a-la-River would be wonderful too! I scratch my head at how you do them so neatly. I tend to mess up on knitting in the first one (the one that ends up getting knitted in last when you come back around to it) though I think I was doing ssk to the stitch after and sould have been doing it with the stitch before. The instructions for ladybug loops has helped me with that little bit I was botching up.

So I'm half way through doing the crotch increases. I'm guessing I'm going to be making shorties or cargos though. Don't think I did enough wool

Don't want to frog again. Oh well we'll see how I go