Nimble of hand but light of finger

Shoplifting has never been much of a problem for us at shows and exhibitions – we’ve had the odd pattern book walk away without being paid for, and we did have a throw kit stolen from a larger show (we established that  the devious thief first knocked it to the floor and then kicked it around the corner, past our stand, so that they could escape with it unseen by us!). But at the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair this last week, pilfering was in almost epidemic proportions.

Perhaps the most disappointing incident was regarding a scarf that I’d knitted in JitterBug, that I’d only just finished in time for the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, held the previous week. Many of our customers and visitors there made favourable comment on the scarf – I’d actually reworked an existing large basket stitch pattern to make it even more dimensional & textured, and basically knitted the full hank of JitterBug to see what size piece would eventuate. Many had asked me for the pattern, and I gave promise to chart my stitch design and write up the pattern instructions.

But, alas, within the first hour of the first day of the Melbourne Craft & Quilt Fair being open, that same scarf has been stolen from our stand. And the pilfering didn’t cease there.  Many will have seen how we package together sock kits – a hank of JitterBug with sock pattern, an 80cm Knit Picks circular, and a leaflet describing how to work in the round using the Magic Loop. It saves the purchaser about $2.50 on the individual purchases, as we’re able to adjust down the price of the JitterBug when purchased at the same time as the needles – just a basic marketing process.  During the course of one day at the show I found at least 5 kits that had their needles removed. Stolen. We’re talking of an $8.50 item here, not the crown jewels, so why would people who’d already paid an entrance fee to get into the show, find it necessary to steal such relatively low cost items? What’s worse is that these people are clearly KNITTERS themselves. Now that does leave a bad taste. We like to think of our fellow knitters as good people, as honest people, but there is surely an element among us – as, I suppose,  amongst just about any group in society – that does not possess the same scruples and conscience as the majority.

Alas, it is the majority that suffers, because we found we then had to tie down items on display, that we had to seal up the kits with staples (which, incredibly, people then ripped open), and then we ended up finding it necessary to put all but one sample kit out of public reach, and just made up the kits on demand. 

We all suffer in the end: the customer because they aren’t given such free access to our products as they might like; and us because the barriers we create may deter the honest customer from making a purchase.

I don’t know what the best answer is – many other stores simply build in a percentage in their retail prices to cover an expected level of shoplifting, but that is something I prefer not to have to do. Strategically placed mirrors, additional staff, there’s a range of deterrents that might work but my concern is that we might deter the genuine purchasers too.

But to anyone who sees my scarf out on the streets of Melbourne (such audacity to wear things they’ve stolen!), you might like to approach the wearer and ask them how long it took them to knit it? And where can you get the pattern? For yes, it was such a lovely scarf.

The nerve of some people!

Fit & Finish

At the recent Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair, held at Darling Harbour, I ran a short workshop for visiting knitters each day, focussing on the fit & finish of knitted garments. These two areas are typically where most problems with handknit projects are encountered. And what could be worse than investing large amounts of money, time & devotion into knitting something that you ultimately discover to be unwearable ? The good news is that the success, or otherwise, of the outcome is almost 100% within the control of the knitter themself (but how often have you heard a knitter blame the pattern!). The bad news is that many knitters are so eager to get their project on and off the needles that they tend to omit some of the vital preparatory stages that would ensure them success. Basic things like being familiar with your current body measurements sound like common sense, but there’s many a knitter who’s not placed a tape measure anywhere near her own body in years! And then there’s the familiar dread raised in knitters across the globe at the mere mention of the words ‘tension swatch’!

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words – here are a couple that make a very simple point about how critical tension swatching can be towards achieving a perfect fit.

Same number of stitches, same number of rows!

Both these samples in Iona, each worked on different needle sizes, have produced a fabric that at first glance looks and feels perfectly acceptable, neither too stiff or overly  sloppy. Both swatches have exactly the same number of stitches and the same number of rows in the very same yarn. Yet look at the difference in the physical size of the two pieces! The swatches themselves represent only a small percentage of a full garment, so multiply the ‘error’ margin across the circumference of a garment body and what do you have? Either a garment that’s too tiny to get around you, or one that is so oversize that it’ll swamp you.

While this is an extreme example, made to get the point across, it’s clear why so many knitters are dissatisfied with the sizing of their garment: a small variation from the patterns’ required tension can make a significant difference to the finished size. Answer? Swatch, swatch (and swatch again) until you can match the given tension exactly. Unless you match the tension given in the pattern instructions, your resulting garment will not be of the given measurements.

What a difference a stitch makes

Here’s another very graphic example – this time about the importance of measuring your swatch over the same stitch pattern that your pattern instructions require you to. This time, in Jitterbug,  we have even used exactly the same needle size, over exactly the same number of stitches and the same number of rows. The difference this time is only in the stitch pattern: the left hand swatch is worked in k2, p2 rib and the right hand swatch is in moss st (seed stitch). Need I say more?

The last element of the workshop was dedicated to blocking and finishing – while the given time of 20mins is hardly enough to even scratch the surface of such a complex topic, the thing that many of the participants expressed particular gratitude for was my demonstration of how to sew up a seam using mattress stitch. Surprisingly, there were a good number of seasoned knitters who’d never before come across mattress stitch – such a neat and near invisible way of joining pieces. At the completion of one of my sessions, a lady in the audience proclaimed she’d been knitting for 40 years and couldn’t believe that she’s actually just learned something new to her.

Yes, and I’m still learning too! And long may it continue.