Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Improving Your Knitting Skills (What the Hack)"

Date Released: February 3, 2025 Host: Alison Stewart Guest: Kiana Melexada, Owner of West Village Needle and Knit

Introduction

In the January 2025 premiere of All Of It, WNYC's culture-focused podcast hosted by Alison Stewart, the spotlight is on the enduring art of knitting and crocheting. Titled "Improving Your Knitting Skills (What the Hack)," this episode delves deep into the nuances of fiber arts, offering invaluable insights for both beginners and seasoned crafters. The conversation is led by Kiana Melexada, the proprietor of West Village Needle and Knit, who shares her extensive knowledge and practical advice to help listeners enhance their knitting and crocheting experiences.

Getting Started with Knitting

Choosing Between Knitting and Crocheting Kiana begins by addressing a common dilemma for newcomers: whether to start with knitting or crocheting. She states, “[Knitting] is definitely easier than crochet because crochet is really, really left-hand dominant and most people are right-handed. So it’s very hard to learn” ([03:14]).

Essential Supplies for Beginners For those embarking on their knitting journey, Kiana emphasizes the importance of investing in quality tools. Essential supplies include:

• Knitting Needles: A good set of needles is crucial.
• Darning Needle: “You always need a darning needle to weave in your ends and finish your project” ([08:39]).
• Stitch Markers: Useful for keeping track of your progress.
• Stitch Stoppers: Prevent stitches from unraveling when transporting projects.

Choosing the Right Yarn Kiana recommends starting with natural fibers for their superior hand feel and ease of use. “I always prefer a natural fiber. Right. So meaning alpaca, merino. Natural fibers have bounce, they have memory, they have give” ([13:14]).

Overcoming Common Challenges

Casting On Techniques One of the first hurdles beginners face is casting on. Listener Angela from Brooklyn asks about the best casting on method, noting issues with the long tail cast on being too tight. Kiana advises: “The tail should be the piece around your thumb. That piece uses much less yarn. And if you keep that consistent over time and practice, you kind of get a feeling for how long it needs to be” ([09:56]).

Preventing Scarf Curling Another common problem is the tendency of scarves to curl. Carol from Red Bank inquires about this issue. Kiana explains: “When you knit a row, purl a row, it's called stock net stitch. And no matter how tight, how loose, what kind of needles, what yarn, it will always curl. Any rib stitch or combination of knitting and purling in the same row, not curl. So we do at least four or five stitches of garter borders on each side” ([12:23]).

Valuable Resources for Crafters

Utilizing Ravelry Kiana strongly endorses Ravelry, a free online platform for knitters and crocheters. Sue, a caller, highlights its benefits: “It is Ravelry. It’s like unravel and revelry. So it's R A V L R Y and there are millions of knitters all over the world… Within a couple of hours I had an answer” ([06:03]).

Importance of Taking Classes Kiana advocates for formal classes over self-teaching through books or videos. She shares: “Well, if you’re learning from online, whereas our classes are an hour and a half. You learn how to knit a scarf in an hour and a half and you know you’re doing it correctly. It’s more time-effective” ([07:33]).

Designing Your Own Patterns

For those interested in creating their own knitting patterns, Kiana advises leveraging resources like Ravelry and enlisting the help of test knitters. “Use Ravelry and apps and test knitters for sure” ([10:35]).

Community Stories and Testimonials

Julia’s Baby Sweaters Julia from Cape Cod shares her experience knitting baby sweaters, emphasizing the practice of sizing and the emotional satisfaction of creating something meaningful: “I always advise people is to make a baby sweater first because it teaches you all of the sizing without the daunting immensity of a human sleeve” ([11:09]).

Virgil’s Heartwarming Tale Virgil recounts how his sister taught herself to crochet to create hats and scarves for dialysis patients, illustrating the profound community impact of fiber arts: “She started crocheting little hats and scarves for the folks on a lower floor who dialysis… [and] asked, can you make some clothing for my little dolls” ([22:08]).

Senior Engagement Rhoda, a 92-year-old crocheter, discusses how crafting keeps her engaged and connected: “Crocheting, I can feel my way through it. I make blankets for our healthcare unit. It makes my day go faster, and I still enjoy crocheting” ([31:36]).

Advanced Knitting Tips

Measuring for Sweaters When knitting sweaters, accurate measurements are crucial. Kiana advises using a soft tape measure and aligning your personal measurements with those specified in the pattern: “Taking measurements and then equating those to the measurements in the pattern. So every pattern has measurements, usually from extra small to like 3 or 4 or 5x” ([14:52]).

Handling Mistakes with Tinking For advanced troubleshooting, Kiana introduces the concept of "tinking" (knitting spelled backward), a technique to undo mistakes: “So in the hat class, for example, we teach you how to tank. Even if you don’t know what your mistake is and you tank backwards, it just undoes the mistake. It’s like magic” ([14:02]).

Weaving in Ends Finishing a project involves weaving in loose ends. Kiana explains the importance and method: “We leave a good amount of a tail. We take a darning needle and we weave it in. The way you weave it in depends on the stitch. It’s the closest to in knitting and crochet” ([37:13]).

Transition to Crocheting

After an extensive discussion on knitting, Alison Stewart smoothly transitions to crocheting, continuing the episode’s focus on fiber arts. Kiana addresses specific queries about crocheting techniques and projects, maintaining the episode's informative and engaging tone.

Crocheting Insights

Understanding Granny Squares Granny squares are a fundamental crochet technique. Kiana describes: “A granny square is crocheted, and you generally start in the middle and work your way out. The beauty of granny squares is they can be as small or big. Traditionally, they’re done with a double crochet stitch… you can make anything with granny squares” ([25:46]).

Essential Crocheting Supplies For those new to crocheting, essential supplies include:

• Crochet Hooks: Variety packs for different yarn sizes.
• Detachable Stitch Markers: For tracking progress.
• Darning Needle: For weaving in ends.
• Crochet and Knitting Gauge: To match pattern specifications ([20:17]).

Managing Yarn Tension Kiana emphasizes the importance of yarn tension in achieving the desired gauge: “Crochet is much more free form than knitting. You can crochet pretty tight, or you can crochet pretty loose… the gauge of your yarn and the gauge of your tension has to match the gauge of the pattern” ([34:54]).

Magic Loop Technique The magic loop or magic circle is a common starting method in crochet, allowing crafters to begin projects from the center outward. Kiana explains the technique: “It makes a circle and you build out from there” ([32:43]).

Community and Events

Yarn Crawl NYC Listeners are encouraged to participate in Yarn Crawl NYC, a fall event featuring a scavenger hunt, sales, and community gatherings across various yarn shops in Brooklyn and New York City. Kiana describes it as: “An easy way to support the station and you'll get a tax deduction” ([18:22]).

Library Craft Groups Alison highlights the Queen’s library system’s support for knitters and crocheters by offering meeting rooms for weekly crafting sessions, fostering community and collaboration.

Inspirational Listener Stories

Pam’s Personalized Afghans Pam shares her heartfelt project of crocheting baby blankets with personalized initials and birth dates: “I chain stitched it on the face of the blanket… stitched her name and birthday” ([29:28]).

Veronica’s Philanthropic Projects Veronica from Milford, Pennsylvania, talks about her dedication to crocheting baby afghans for children in stressful situations, donating them to organizations like Project Linus: “Crocheting baby blankets… it feels wonderful after all of these years to start again” ([30:21]).

Expert Tips and Best Practices

Optimal Yarn Weight for Beginners For novices, Kiana recommends worsted weight yarn for its versatility and ease of use: “Worsted for sure. So it’s a nice medium weight. It’s not too bulky, it’s not too thin” ([23:45]).

Color Selection Choosing complementary colors is essential for aesthetically pleasing projects. Kiana suggests: “Hold it up to a mirror… make sure that it’s not turning you green. Color is one of those great things we can all play with and be creative” ([23:56]).

Handling Felted Fabric Cheryl from SoHo inquires about bamboo yarn’s tendency to felt. Kiana reassures that bamboo, when hand-washed, typically does not felt: “If you hand wash it though, you’re not putting it in the machine with warm water. If you hand wash, bamboo is not going to felt” ([38:20]).

Conclusion

The episode concludes with a blend of practical advice, community stories, and expert insights, reinforcing the therapeutic and creative benefits of knitting and crocheting. Kiana's passion for fiber arts and her commitment to fostering a supportive community shine through, inspiring listeners to engage with their crafting projects fully.

Notable Quotes:

• Kiana Melexada: “Knitting is much easier than crochet because crochet is really, really left hand dominant and most people are right handed. So it’s very hard to learn.” ([03:14])
• Alison Stewart: “I decided that when I began that I was going to go analog, get off my screens, make something like do something with my hands and also have it be something like cozy.” ([40:32])

About "All Of It": ALL OF IT is a show about culture and the consumers who engage with it. Hosted by Alison Stewart, the show aims to explore the what and why of creative endeavors, fostering a community of thinkers, doers, makers, and creators. Through insightful discussions and diverse perspectives, ALL OF IT celebrates the rich cultural tapestry of New York City.

For more information and to listen to the episode, visit WNYC's All Of It.