LOOM Knitting Primer, Part 2

We have looked at the beginning and the end of the book, but what about the middle. What is there for me in this section of the book? What more in goodies are there for me to explore? Well it is time to look further into the many things in store for you.

Our part two starts with Part 1 Round Loom Knitting in this little big book made just for you. The beginning of this section takes you into the building blocks of loom knitting. Just what are building blocks, well that we are going to talk about.

To each craft there are the beginning steps you need to get started. In this building block section you are taken from the beginning slip knot to wrapping the loom in different directions, and naming the parts of your loom. Each new step is illustrated in beautiful color on drawings of the a loom so that following along is oh so easy.

Your next step is to the basic cast on, the first stitches and finishing on round looms. In the section for the basic cast on you will be shown how to start your project. In first stitches there are four stitches discussed with pictures of each and a little on how to keep your loops from being too loose or too tight. The finishing section includes how to do a gather, basic bind off, and yarn over bind off, plus how to work your brim. All of these are complete with pictures to guide you on your way, and tips to work your project.

In yarn work, be it crochet, needle knitted or loom knitted there is always the talk of gauge. What is gauge, why do we need to worry about it and how do we determine what the gauge is. Isela has included a two page section to get you started learning about gauge. It is not a large section but for the purpose of your learning this is an excellent guide for you to get you started.

After these sections there is a basic hat pattern to get you started using your loom, and a section on more cast ons for you to continue your learning. Here you are introduced to two new ways to do a cast on. Then we are off to another section to teach you to do a couple more stitches. The basic stitch you know by now, the one that needle knitters call the twisted knit stitch, but to continue many of us have gone on to learn the knit and purl stitches. After this section you again have a practice project to help you learn to better use the two new stitches and for the practice you will need to help you flow through doing these stitches.

Now we need to learn more about how to bind off our pieces. In this section you have a choice in the type of bind off that will be used in these projects. Three different bind offs are demonstrated for your use, again with great pictures to guide you in the learning.

Some of the looms we start with are small, therefore, we do piece work. Piece work is making of smaller pieces that must then be linked together to form one large piece. Here in this section you will learn how to do a three needle link or an on the loom linking of pieces. This was a section where I learned something all brand new to me and enjoyed reading about how to do this linking of pieces on the loom or by needle.

Now I am going to quickly lead you through the next few sections otherwise this will become a book of it's own.

We have sections to teach you I-cords, fixing mistakes, creating the flat panel along with turning peg options, shaping, how to increase and decrease, working with color, painting with yarn, and sock knitting on a loom. Each section comes with practice pieces for you to learn on.

When we jump to Part III of the book we have come to the section that gives you some guides into board knitting. Some simple stitches are here for you to start learning how to work the double rake loom and to do finishing on it. As with the round loom section there are practice pieces for you to learn with, and the pictures are so easy to follow.

This board section is not a large section but is a great way to get you started if you haven't thought yet about doing knitting on the double rake loom. As with the other sections there are tips to help you along the way to learning this new loom knitting process.

On to Loom Knitting Primer, Part 3, in the next couple of days.