16 January 2012

Eek, Steeking!

I recently went to the local library and inevitably found myself looking at knitting books, something I don't really do often.  I don't own a whole lot of knitting books because they are either full of horribly tacky patterns or are "Knitting for Beginners" kinds of resources.  However, our little rural Kansas library did have Color by Kristen by Kristen Nicholas, which I immediately checked out.

After flipping through this book, I was so inspired by her fair isle designs that I almost overcame my ongoing fear of all things colorwork.  The author isn't the best at tutorials, but she has such a fantastic color aesthetic that I really identify with.  She also has some really attractive patterns and gives loads of suggestions for making your own designs, which to me makes this book well worth buying.

She is also a huge advocate for knitting all colorwork in the round and frequently uses steeks, a technique I was not very familiar with.  I quickly decided to knit up a swatch (which she is also fond of) using one of her designs with the intention of steeking.

Because I didn't have a sewing machine handy, I actually somehow remembered how to crochet long enough to secure the steek by single crocheting the edges.  This is actually the first time I have ever used crochet for something useful (hooray!):

Here I am cutting my fancy steek. I was terrified at this point, I swear:

Here is the finished swatch where you can see the pretty pattern (please excuse the colors, they were the only acrylic options I had):

The steek looks great and seems to be holding very well.  This certainly has made me more confident in my colorwork ability and should make it easier for me to meet my Fiber Goal for 2012 of Complete a Colorwork Sweater.  Also, for one of my most recent projects I have been thinking about putting in a zipper, which basically requires a steek.

Learning new techniques can be challenging, but it can really pay off!  Have you learned any new techniques recently?

10 comments:

  1. Wow, it looks fabulous! Steeking is one of the few techniques that still scares the bejeezus out of me... but I know I'll get over it eventually.

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    1. Steeking scares YOU? Miss knitwear designer extraordinaire? I know that if you sat down with it for an hour and worked on it like I did, you would be an expert! It opens up so many new doors too.

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  2. You made steeking seem not terrifying - which is quite an achievement I think! The idea of doing it to a swatch is a good one, maybe I'll try it out one of these days ;)

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    1. I would definitely recommend trying it out on a swatch using yarn you don't care about. That way you have nothing to lose. It was almost, dare I say it, exhilarating to cut the steek too.

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  3. Awesome job! I've made a couple of sweaters that required steeking. Definitely needed someone to hold my hand the whole time, but they turned out well! I don't think I'll be quite so scared next time!

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  4. OOOooooo. You're a much braver knitter than I! I would love to knit a fair isle cardigan, but am quite seriously, terrified to steek!

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  5. I'm going to go google Steeking now, cuz I have never heard of it. Oddly enough, I like those colors you used, kinda tacky yet interesting at the same time.

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  6. Glad to see I'm not alone wondering what the heck steeking is! I really like what you've done though, congrats on learning a new technique.

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  7. Steeking is a technique I desperately want to try but have been too timid. You've inspired me -- your swatch looks amazing!

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  8. Wow, steeking! And with acrylic! When I try steeking I'm going to find the stickiest wool I can. Congrats!

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