This morning I was happily enjoying my coffee on the side porch .... do you like my newest cup from Goodwill :*)
.... and working on my Happy Dance Socks - they are coming along very nicely now that I've unknitted back several inches to correct a mistake and begun again.....
..... and I had just decided that I was ready to begin the ribbed cuff, when I noticed a torn strand of yarn coming up!
Now, I don't know about you, but I am prone to say nasty things when this happens in the middle of a ball of yarn!!! I must tell you though, (virtuously shining the chip on my shoulder) the air did not turn blue and I kept my lips tightly sealed - but only because I had a trick up my sleeve :)
Several months ago, I had watched a YouTube video by Lorraine L - you can find it HERE if the video doesn't come through on your device - that showed how to do an invisible braided join. I had tried it out and it worked! So I was pretty hopeful that it should work nicely here too. First, I cut the yarn in two in the middle of the break.....
Then I split one of the ends back about 2 inches and laid the unsplit end up against it, securing it with a clip....
Then I tightly braided all three strands in the conventional way until the ends were too short to hold anymore. Notice that the finished braid is pretty much the same width as the original strand of yarn :) The braiding is pretty obvious, but I think that is because of the type of yarn I am using. My earlier experiment was with a woollier thread and it was barely noticeable.
The ends did not unravel when I turned loose because they were pretty tightly braided, but I must admit I really babied them until they were worked in!
I very gently knitted that section into the sock, making sure the little fuzzy ends ended up on the inside of the sock.
The video says to not cut those until the sock has been washed and blocked, but then you can just snip them off - no weaving ends in - whoohoo!!!! Once I had knitted the repaired strand in, I had to really look to find it - it was only noticeable when closely examined! Can you find it? And I'm pretty sure it will be virtually invisible when I wash them :*)
I also decided to change to try changing to a size larger needles for the ribbing to give me extra stretch there....
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| Like the kitty in the background? That's my pj's! Perfect to wear when drinking from my new-to-me cup, wouldn't you say??? |
.... I didn't have a size 3 circular with a cord longer than 24" - which really wasn't long enough, but I made do by using that trusty clip once again ... you know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention LOL!!!
I couldn't go out and buy a new set of circulars so I made do! These fun socks will be off my needles probably by tomorrow. Then I'll have to decide which pair to start next.... oh, the decisions we much make in life, right?
Check out all the fun Needles projects over at Judy's Patchwork Times today :*)
Hugs & Blessings
Teresa
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