Improving Your Knitting Skills (What the Hack)

Summary

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

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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])

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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.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

All of it is supported by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name youe Price Tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[Kiana Melexada]

Listener supported.

[Listener]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Coming up this week, we are kicking off our Big Picture series which spotlights Oscar nominees who work behind the camera. Tomorrow we'll speak with Laurel Crowley. He's the cinematographer and he joins us to discuss his work on the Brutalist. We've also got the production and and costume designers from Nesferatu. They'll be here on Wednesday. And on Thursday, we'll speak with the director of the beautifully animated film Flo. That is in the future. Now let's get this hour started with knitting and crocheting. On our first show of 2025, we asked you about new hobbies that you wanted to take up. We had all kinds of answers, but fiber arts seemed to be all the rage. It had been a renaissance in the 90s, but like bucket hats and fake fur coats, it's back. But starting a new hobby can be daunting. What kind of supplies do you need? Should you try knitting or crocheting? What do you do when you make a mistake? Joining us now to provide advice on knitting and crocheting for both beginners and more advanced crafters is the owner of West Village Needle and Knit, Kiana Maliksada. Hi, Kiana.

[Kiana Melexada]

Hi, how are you?

[Listener]

I'm doing okay. Listeners, we want to hear from you. We're going to start with knitting. What questions do you have about getting started with knitting? Or maybe you're already a knitter and you have a question about a project or an issue you're having or maybe you to shout out your favorite knitting resource or what you are making. We are talking all things knitting. 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. You can call in and join us on air or you can send us a text to that number. Kiana, when did you first fall in love with knitting and crocheting?

[Kiana Melexada]

Knitting definitely came first. It was when I was very little, so about 7 or 8 years old from my grandmom and mom. Yeah.

[Listener]

Oh. What did your, what was your mom or your grandma making?

[Kiana Melexada]

So I'm Middle Eastern, a Middle Eastern culture, you know, it's just part of life to cook, knit, crochet sew. They both did it all. Needlepoint, you know, they did it all. So it was, you know, you could definitely say it's in my blood.

[Listener]

When did you open West Village Needle and Knit?

[Kiana Melexada]

So we opened January 2nd of 2020. So we just passed our four year anniversary.

[Listener]

It's so funny. There are three of us who all went there and we didn't know we were all going there, really. It's like, I gotta go to my knitting store. I gotta go to my so and so store. And we're like, wait, 10th Street.

[Kiana Melexada]

That's so great. I love that.

[Listener]

If you're an absolute beginner, what is the easiest craft to pick up? Knitting or crocheting, would you say?

[Kiana Melexada]

It's definitely knitting. And easier than that is actually needlepoint.

[Listener]

That's me. Yeah, I'm needlepoint.

[Kiana Melexada]

So. But knitting is much easier than crochet because crochet is really, really left hand dominant and most people are right handed. So it' very hard to learn.

[Listener]

Yeah, that makes complete sense that my sister loves crocheting and she's left handed.

[Kiana Melexada]

That that would make sense. That does it.

[Listener]

She's in knitting too. What are the different kind of projects you can do versus crocheting versus knitting?

[Kiana Melexada]

Very good question. Crochet is just a lot more convenient for home. Things that you might have around the home, such as blankets or pillows. It's larger projects because it just goes faster. Knitting you can make, I mean, absolutely anything. There's no, there's no limits with knitt.

[Listener]

If you're just starting out, do you recommend making something you're super excited to make, even if it's a bit more complicated or should you start as simply as possible?

[Kiana Melexada]

You know, I say whatever you feel comfortable with. I mean, we have a really good system at the store that we have down like a science where we go from my first scarf to my first hat to my first sweater, and we go that quick. I think I probably have 300 customers knitting their first sweater at the moment.

[Listener]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kiana Melexada]

So it's like a true and tried formula that's definitely worked, but do I ever squash ambition? No. You want to go right into knitting a Fair Isle ski hat? By all means, yeah.

[Listener]

Let's take a couple of calls. Angela is calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Angela.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, how are you? The timing for this is perfect because I'm revisiting my knitting and my question for you is, do you have a recommendation for the best casting on method? Because I have a hard time finding one that works for me. The long tail I think is is it ends up too tight. Always. It's always really tight. I don't know what I'm doing wrong there, but I just, I don't know if you have a good suggestion for that.

[Kiana Melexada]

I do, absolutely. So long tail is definitely the most widely used and I think the cleanest. If the pattern doesn't specify which cast on it wants you to use, which is backward loop cable cast on, knitted cast on, Italian cast on. If it doesn't specify, 99% of the time, I am using long tail cast on. The trick to make it a little bit more elastic is when you do it, use one to two needle sizes bigger than what your project calls for. When you're talking about casting, what is that casting on? It's your foundation row. It's how you start any knitting project. So a pattern will say cast on 32 stitches and then row one. It's your foundation.

[Listener]

Let's talk to sue next. Hi, sue, thank you so much for calling. All of it. You're on the air.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you for having me. I've been a knitter for over 60 years and I want to recommend a website that is free and doesn't require you to give any information whatsoever so you can remain very private. Called 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. You're looking, you, you run out of yarn, you're looking for a little yarn, you're looking for advice. It is Unravelry. I couldn't remember the name of a pattern and I took a picture and within a couple of hours I had an answer. The pattern was called Forget me Not. So, yeah, you know, actually we have forgotten the name.

[Listener]

Thank you so much for calling. We actually had Ravelry as one of my questions for people who are listening in Colorado or can't go to your store for lessons. What apps are good? Which ones can help me out if I'm just starting?

[Kiana Melexada]

So Ravelry by far for knitting and crochet is your best tool as far as patterns. You know, questions. It's really a great forum to have. It does have a third party app that is Rabbit R A V V I T instead of Ravelry. You know, I use it every day so it's. It just makes things convenient for me. Yeah, you put it all in a folder. All your patterns are saved, all that stuff. Yeah.

[Listener]

Do you recommend taking classes?

[Kiana Melexada]

You know, I do and I'll tell you why. And I tell all my students this and. And when I say it, they all go right, exactly. So you could teach yourself from a book or YouTube. Absolutely. But it would probably take you three, four, five hours and you don't 100% know if you're doing it right. At least 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, it's more time effective.

[Listener]

Here's a text. Hello. I'm a fiber artist, knitter, crocheter, weaver, and have an exhibit opening in New York this spring. I do my work while listening to your show. Thanks for keeping me company at droppingstitches.

[Kiana Melexada]

Oh, love it.

[Listener]

My guest is Kiana Melexada, owner of West Village Needle and Knit. We are talking to you listeners. Do you want to start knitting? You want to know how? Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. If you have a question about a project or an issue you're having or maybe you want to shout out your favorite knitting resource. 212-433-9692. All right, let's say I'm going to start to knit. What supplies should I invest in?

[Kiana Melexada]

Very good question. A good set of needles, by far. A darning needle. You always need a darning needle to weave in your ends and finish your project. St they let you know where you are in your project, especially if you're knitting in the round stitch stoppers so that when you put your project in your bag, your stitches don't fall off the needle and you have a complete panic attack. I would say for knitting and actually crochet, for the hooks and the stitch markers, those are the best tools to have. Yeah.

[Listener]

What about when I see those giant needles?

[Kiana Melexada]

Yeah.

[Listener]

So are they harder or easier?

[Kiana Melexada]

They're much harder.

[Listener]

They're harder.

[Kiana Melexada]

Yeah. It's a complete misconception. I deal with this every single day. You know, what happened? You know, I think in the world of the pandemic, unfortunately, that, you know, we all wanted something to do right away and, you know, and something to do with our hands. The larger it's more awkward, it hurts your wrists. I mean, it's even awkward and harder for me. But you can knit a hat in an hour. So that was the big why everybody thought it was easier, but it's actually not.

[Listener]

This text says, with long tail cast on, how do you measure how much tail you need?

[Kiana Melexada]

Very, very good question. It is a complete, you know, misnomer. All these things online, they say wrap it around your needle three times. Do it two lengths of, you know, the garment I've tried, I've been knitting for 40 years. I've tried every single one. None of them work. The only trick that I have is 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.

[Listener]

Here's another text question. What advice do you have for someone who's looking to design their own knitting patterns?

[Kiana Melexada]

Oh, great questions. It's definitely daunting. I've written a couple knitting books long time ago, 2013, 2014. It's a very, very difficult process. My greatest advice is use Ravelry. There's resources, there's test knitters. You know, there are apps that help you also design them for the different sizes. So I would say use Ravelry and apps and test knitters for sure.

[Listener]

Let's take a call. This is Julia calling from Cape Cod. Hi, Julia.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, how are you today? I love this topic and one of the things I've been knitting for years, years. 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. And it allows you to understand how you're putting together a thing that someone will have to wear. And you know, there's always a baby somewhere that you can that you can pass it off to.

[Listener]

Thanks for the tip. Let's talk to Carol in Red Bank. Hi, Carol. Thanks so much for calling all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, this is my first time calling in. I also am an experienced knitter. I just learned something about the stitch stoppers because I never had a dog and I started knitting my granddaughter a scarf. And the dog so far has taken the scarf three times off the needle. So that's obviously something I have to get. But my question was, when I'm knitting this scarf, I'm doing alternating rows of knit purl and it rolls into itself. So is there some kind of stitch that I can add to the sides?

[Kiana Melexada]

I don't crochet, but absolutely. So 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. Even if you wash and iron it, it will never lie flat. Any rib stitch or combination of knitting and Purling in the same ro, not curl. So what we do on the scarf is we'll do at least, you know, four or five stitches of garter borders on each side. So garter means just knitting or like a seed stitch doesn't, you know, doesn't curl. So adding a border on the top, bottom, and sides will stop it all from curling.

[Listener]

When you're just starting out knitting, Kiana, what are good yarns to use?

[Kiana Melexada]

So I always prefer a natural fiber. Right. So meaning alpaca, merino. Natural fibers have bounce, they have memory, they have give. Whereas if you use acrylic or plastic or nylon, it has no memory, it has no bounce. You can see mistakes more. It makes your hands sweaty. It's just not pleasant. We call that a hand feel in knitting. So definitely wools that come from merino and alpaca are just the nicest and easiest to knit with in your. In your hands.

[Listener]

All right? You start knitting, you get called away. Can you stop in the middle of a row?

[Kiana Melexada]

Of course you can. You just need stitch stoppers.

[Listener]

All right.

[Kiana Melexada]

That's it. Of course.

[Listener]

What happens when you really mess up something in knitting?

[Kiana Melexada]

Yes. So at our store, we. I mean, I really wanted the store to be a place of community where people can come sit and hang out, and they do every day. We offer free help at any time of any day, of any hour. However, in the hat class, for example, we teach tinking. The word tink is the word tink is the word knit spelled backwards. And I did not make this up, and it's exactly that. So in the hat class, after you take the scarf class, we teach you how to tank. Even if you don't know what your mistake is and you tink backwards, it just undoes the mistake. It's like magic. So that's one thing I really, really recommend learning. And there are very good videos online on how to do that.

[Listener]

Let's say you're pretty good at this. You want to knit a sweater. What are some tips for measuring yourself properly to make sure the sweater fits when they're done?

[Kiana Melexada]

Yes. I would say a soft. Not. Not like a ruler. You know, you need a soft tape measure to measure. Definitely taking measurements and then equating those to the measurements in the pattern. So every pattern has measurements, usually from, you know, extra small to like 3 or 4 or 5x, and following, you know, your measurements according to the size of the pattern. Yeah.

[Listener]

My guest is Kiana Melexada, owner of West Village Needle and Knit. Let's take some more calls. Let's talk to Barbara from Newtown, Connecticut. Hi, Barbara.

[Alison Stewart]

Hello. Can you hear me?

[Listener]

I can. You're on the air.

[Alison Stewart]

Great. I wanted to pop in and just say that I've just discovered I'm a longtime knitter. I also have alpacas, which is another part of this. But I have just discovered a different kind of cast on. And you had a previous caller who is looking for something that's a little bit stretchier and it's called a German twist. It's kind of a variation on a long tail and it gives a just a little bit extra yarn in there with a very nice finish, but it makes it a little stretchier than the usual long tail cast on. And I love it. I'm using it now on a pair of mitts that I'm making for someone out of all things camel. And it's making a very nice cuff end. And I'm just about to finish the finger part of it. So I would suggest looking that one up. And there is a video on YouTube for how to do that German twist.

[Listener]

Thanks for the tip, Barbara. Are you familiar?

[Kiana Melexada]

Obviously you are.

[Listener]

Let's talk to Annette as well. Hi, Annette, thanks so much for calling.

[Alison Stewart]

Hello. So nice to be on the program.

[Listener]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

All right. So my question was this. As I told the caller, I'm 92 years old. I've just had my second great grandchild. She's now her name is Nellope and she's five weeks old. And I would like to knit or crochet something special she will treasure when I'm no longer there to be with her. Can you suggest a project?

[Kiana Melexada]

Absolutely. Do you knit and crochet?

[Alison Stewart]

Yes, I do.

[Kiana Melexada]

So I would recommend then crocheting because it goes faster. That's, you know, the obvious choice. But you know, a little blanket that, you know, I feel like certain kids sometimes they're not gonna necessarily grow out of a blanket. They use it as a woobie. They can take it with them, you know, rather than a sweater or booties where, you know, they'll grow out of in 30 seconds. So something like a little throw or a little blanket is what I would be suggest.

[Listener]

That was a nice seg up. For our next segment, we're gonna switch gears and start talking about crocheting. Next, what questions do you have about getting started with crochet? Maybe you're stuck on a project or you wanna know about a nanny square, how to a granny square, how to nail a granny. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. We'll talk crocheting after the break.

[Kiana Melexada]

Here's a way you can support WNYC in our centennial year. Donate your used car.

[Listener]

We'll turn your old car into the.

[Kiana Melexada]

News and conversation that we've been serving.

[Listener]

To the community for over 100 years.

[Kiana Melexada]

Many listeners have already donated their cars to to wnyc.

[Listener]

It's an easy way to support the station and you'll get a tax deduction.

[Kiana Melexada]

Learn [e-mail] car.

[Alison Stewart]

This week on the New Yorker Radio Hour, Bill Gates on.

[Kiana Melexada]

Dinner at Mar a Lago.

[Alison Stewart]

President Trump, you know, is going to make a lot of policy decisions and I would say the range of possibilities.

[Kiana Melexada]

In many areas has never been as broad. Bill Gates on the politics of technology in 2025.

[Listener]

That's the new Yorker Radio Hour from WNYC studios. Listen.

[Alison Stewart]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Listener]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I am here with Kiana Melekzade of West Virginia Village Needle and Knit. We're now moving on from knitting to crochet. What questions do you have about getting started with crochet? Maybe you're stuck on a project or you want to know how to nail a granny square. We're taking your questions and comments about crochet. Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC Crocheting is having a moment right now. Why do you think it's having a moment?

[Kiana Melexada]

I don't know. It's a very good question. But it really is, especially the granny squares. You know, granny squares are just BR because you can do anything with them. It's a very good question. I don't know why it's having a huge resurgence.

[Listener]

What are the necessary materials I need if I want to get started with crochet?

[Kiana Melexada]

So crochet, there's really good sets of crochet hooks where you can get every millimeter size. So so you should go ahead and get a pack. I would just because like the borders, sometimes you use a little bit smaller, sometimes you use a little bit bigger and that can be all in the same pattern. There are ring markers or detachable stitch markers for crochet. Again, I think very important. Same rule applies darning needle to weave in all your ends. There is also a crochet and knitting gauge that you could tell what size your crochet hook and what size your needles are like because it'll rub off the size on your needle. So you need the little tool so you can figure it out in terms.

[Listener]

Of the size of the needle. What does a big crochet needle get you? What does a small crochet needle get you?

[Kiana Melexada]

So the bigger the yarn, the bigger the hook, smaller the yarn, the smaller. However, is that a definitive rule? No. Let's say you take a medium size yarn and you want it to be super holey and airy. You would use a big giant hook. So the bigger the hook, the bigger the holes.

[Listener]

Let's take a call. Let's talk to Joan. Hi, Joan.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, Nate. Thank you for taking my call. This is right to my heart. I love this topic. So I'm calling to give a shout out to the Queen's library system because they offer some of their meeting rooms for us as knitters and crocheters, crafters to meet about two hours one day each week, different libraries throughout the borough. And we get together, knit, crochet, help each other with projects. It's just a wonderful group of people and I've been doing it for a number of years and I love it. So thank you.

[Listener]

Thanks so much for calling. Let's talk to Bob from Brooklyn. Hi, Bob.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my call. Long time, long time. Nice to be back. The question I have is really more a feel good story about crocheting and I'm glad to bring it to you, mainly because it put me in my place when I thought, oh, a knitting and crocheting segment on npr. Oh, just dial up the SNL comics now. And then I realized I have the story and it put me in my place. Here we go. My sister is in a, is bedridden in a nursing home and she was looking around for something to do. She's bedridden. She couldn't be part of the recreational stuff, so she got on YouTube and she started looking up crocheting and she taught herself how to crochet. And so she was crocheting little hats and scarves for the folks on a lower floor who dialysis because evidently it's very cold in that room and they don't have a heck of a lot of protection. So she's getting up a big old pile of matching hats and scarves and every week they'd send them on down to dialysis and the people would come up, oh, that's great. Do you have any more? And I'd be running around the house, look, looking for yarns and things left over from mom. And then the word started to get around, as it always will in small communities and they said, well, we got a dementia patient here who came here for some reason with a whole bunch of naked dolls. And sure enough, the lady was asking, can you make some clothing for my little dolls?

[Listener]

That is a great story. Thank you for calling in. Best yarn. What size yarn to use if you're just starting out?

[Kiana Melexada]

Worsted for sure. So it's a nice medium weight. It's not too bulky, it's not too thin. You can see it. Definitely worsted to errand weight, I would say. For beginners.

[Listener]

What are some tips for picking colors that work well together so you don't end up with a whole bunch of stuff you don't like?

[Kiana Melexada]

Absolutely. Hold it up to a mirror, you know, in a mirror to your face, you know, and make sure that it's not, you know, turning you green. How to pick colors, you know, color is so subjective. And I see people pick the craziest colors that I would have never picked, like for a sweater, and they just turn out beautiful. So again, you know, color is one of those great things we can all play with and be creative.

[Listener]

This is interesting. Crochet may be having a moment due to British Olympic diver Tom Daly.

[Kiana Melexada]

Oh, I forgot about that. That's right.

[Listener]

This is a text. I learned basic crochet while I while bus and truck touring with the national players in the late 70s, did not keep it up. Will it be hard to pick it up again? I'm left handed.

[Kiana Melexada]

No. Muscle memory is extremely, extremely strong. I used to have a lacrosse coach that say that used to say, don't think, just do. And it still works to this day. Even if you picked up a crochet hook or knitting needles 30 years ago and you think you can't remember, as soon as you put it in your hands and you start playing around with it, it comes back very, very quickly. So my advice is just try it. You'd be surprised how strong muscle memory is.

[Listener]

My guest is Kiana Melexada, owner of Let me get this right this time. West Village Knit and Needle.

[Kiana Melexada]

It could be both. We could go both ways.

[Listener]

She is giving us great advice. We're taught advice. We're talking about crocheting. If you're st our project. You want to know how to nail a granny square? Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. We're taking all your questions and comments or if you just want to shout out what you're making, give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Let's talk about granny squares. Could you describe a granny square for someone who's not familiar with it?

[Kiana Melexada]

Sure. So 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 as big. Traditionally, they're done with a double crochet stitch. But again, rules don't apply. You can have granny squares be in the shape of a circle, a shape of a flower, all different stitches. So it's basically pieces that you can then put together to create something new.

[Listener]

So once you master the granny square, what are some different things you can make with them?

[Kiana Melexada]

I mean, I love granny square blankets. I mean, so classic, right? You can't go wrong with that. But I am actually crocheting granny squares right now with triple mohair that I'm turning into a cardigan. You can make anything with granny squares. That's one of the beauties of them, I should say.

[Listener]

This is a sidebar. You are wearing the most gorgeous sweater.

[Kiana Melexada]

Thank you.

[Listener]

I have seen. Can you describe your sweater and also the. The. The level it takes to get to that sweater?

[Kiana Melexada]

Sure. So it's a single plied, fingering weight yarn from life in the long Grass, a great yarn out of Cork, Ireland, that we have at the store, held with their mohair. So their mohair also has a strand of silk in it. So it's just a. It's a cable, you know, it's beautiful. Thank you very much.

[Listener]

This is a hard question. New Yorkers can be New Yorkers. When they come in your story, they can be New Yorkiness. What has been a tough call that you've had to make in the store?

[Kiana Melexada]

I have to tell you, the New Yorkers are my favorite. It's the Midwest that don't understand the size of the West Village stores. I love every single New Yorker. I love every single one of my quirky, amazing, funny customers. But the Midwest, and we get a lot of tourists. Obviously, it's the West Village. They'll come in and they'll look at one side of the store. They'll look at the other side of the stor. They'll go, is this it? That's my favorite. No, I love. I mean, I've been living in New York since 1998, so nothing's gonna shock me.

[Listener]

All right, well, tell me something that was amazing that you had to help somebody put together.

[Kiana Melexada]

Oh, very good question. I mean, we've done for needlepoint. We've done amazing for their weddings. Wedding pillows for the back of the chairs. Like the bride and groom things. Yeah, they're beautiful. So the wedding stuff, of course, wedding blankets as well, you know, as a, as a present. The most challenging thing I have knit was a blanket that somebody commissioned me to knit that had all little sheep on it. And the sheep were done in the form of knitting we call intarsia. So at one point I had, I don't know, 32 bobbles in this middle of this blank. It almost killed me. So that's probably the craziest thing I've ever knitted and the most complicated. But man, did it look good at the end.

[Listener]

All right, that says please, please, please post a photo of the guest sweater. Hey, Jordan, can you put that on Instagram? All right, go to llofitwnyc for our Instagram in just a minute. Let's talk to Pam. Hi, Pam, thanks for calling, all of it. You're on the air. Hello, is Pam there? Pam's not there anymore. Oh, Pam's not there. There's a question. Here's one. I crocheted a baby afghan blanket using a more dense, less tighter squares than usual in 1977. For my you, I chain stitched it on the face of the blanket. His name and birthday and my initials in the corner. When his first child was born, I stitched her name and birth date. Second child also stitched her name and birthday.

[Kiana Melexada]

So cute.

[Listener]

That's a lovely story. I'm Primarily a knitter, 66 years. I love crocheting. For finishing touches, highlighting seams, neckline, cuffs. Re granny square. Beware of various weight yarns. The sizes will be different. That's Chris, explain what she correct.

[Kiana Melexada]

So I, I'm guessing what she means. So if you take, if you're doing a granny square and you take a worsted weight yarn to start it with, and then you go to a lace weight yarn in the same granny square, it's going to look wonky. It won't always look, look the best. So best practice. And again, I'm a huge believer in you create no definitive rules. But it's for granny squares. If you want them to like be the most uniform looking, it's best to use all the same weight yarn.

[Listener]

Let's talk to Veronica from Milford, Pennsylvania. Hi, Veronica, thanks so much for calling all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, how are you doing today? You sound wonderful. This is my first time calling and I used to crochet a lot, but I hadn't crocheted anything for about 30 years and I started again a Couple of months ago, and it really did come back like riding a bicycle. But I decided that when I began that I was going to crochet baby blankets, baby afghans for children living under stressful situations and donate them to organizations like Project Linus or there's also knots, knots of Love for babies that are premature in NECU units. And they have very specific wool that you can use and also patterns. So I've been doing this all winter, and it just feels wonderful after all of these years to start again.

[Listener]

That's really lovely. Thank you so much. And thank you for all the blankets you're making. Let's talk to Rhoda. Hi, Rhoda. Thanks for calling, all of it. You are on the air.

[Kiana Melexada]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

I've been listening to you for a long time and love it. I am A senior citizen, 92 years old, lives in independent living. I find that I can't see too well, but I find that crocheting, I can feel my way through it. I can feel the next stitch. And so I make blankets for our health care unit here.

[Listener]

That's wonderful. Do you still really enjoy it, Rhoda?

[Alison Stewart]

Yes, yes. It makes my day go faster, and I still enjoy crocheting. Yes.

[Listener]

Thanks so much for calling in. My guest is Kiana Melexada. She's the owner of West Village Knit and a Needle. We are talking crocheting, and you can stick knitting in now. We're running out of time a little bit, but. 212-433-969-2212-4433. A lot of crochet projects begin with something that's called a magic loop or a magic circle. What is that?

[Kiana Melexada]

So when you basically, if you want to start something from the center and go out, you do this loop thing, chain thing. It's kind of hard to explain with that, where you. It makes a circle and you build out from there.

[Listener]

Oh, that's so interesting. It's funny that you just say that because someone on our show page commented, I learned to crochet with the wobbles. So much fun and so useful. And that's the way they start.

[Kiana Melexada]

Absolutely. Yes.

[Listener]

It is very interesting. Let's talk to Lee from Katona. Hi, Lee. Thanks so much for calling, all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

Thanks for taking my call. I just want to suggest that if you would like to make a single project out of a single granny square, start from the center, as it was just discussed, in a circle, and. And just keep crocheting and crocheting and crocheting, and it will take you A good number of hours. You have one gigantic granny square, which will be an entire blanket or throw.

[Listener]

Love that. Thanks for calling. This is Kristin from Brooklyn Online. 7. Kristin, you have the best comment.

[Alison Stewart]

Yes. So I am 41. My grandmother, my mother was written up in the local paper in Maryland. Her and a group of her friends crochets every Friday night. And they were written up because they are called the Friday night hookers. And they have taught myself and my daughter how to crochet.

[Listener]

That's a great story.

[Kiana Melexada]

Super cute.

[Listener]

Okay, so I'm crocheting. Everything's going okay. I've made a mistake. How easy is it to undo a mistake?

[Kiana Melexada]

So much easier than knitting. Crochet is much easier because with knitting, you're gonna take your stitches out or your needle out and stuff is gonna start falling and you don't know how to pick it back up. Crochet, you make a mistake, nothing is falling. You just rip it out until the mistake and do it again. That's it.

[Listener]

I love that. Yep, A big part of crocheting is making sure your tension is right. What are some things to keep in mind about yarn tension?

[Kiana Melexada]

Yeah, it's very interesting. So crochet is much more free form than knitting. So, for example, you and I can take the same crochet hook with the same yarn, the same pattern, and have vastly different looking objects. You can crochet, you know, pretty tight, or you can crochet pretty loose. Again, if you're working from the from a pattern, I would just test a bunch of hooks and make sure that you're getting the gauge that's in the pattern. Otherwise the sizing won't work. So the gauge of your yarn and the gauge of your tension has to match the gauge of the pattern.

[Listener]

This text says, Hey, I love this bit. I learned to crochet when I was around 9 through Girl Scouts. I'm 31 now, and there are so many possibilities. It's a wonderfully creative outlet and very forgiving craft. For anybody worried about starting, just do it. You'll be so glad you did. I've taught a few of my friends and I love seeing what they create. Let's talk to Virgil, who's calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Virgil.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, how are you? First time?

[Kiana Melexada]

One time.

[Listener]

Excellent.

[Alison Stewart]

I was just calling to say that unlike your guest, knitting never came to me. I tried many times over my years, over the years, and crochet was so much easier to learn for me. And I wanted to shout out the brand, the Woobles, where they teach you to make the little amigurumi stuffed animals. And it was such a great way to learn easy stitches. You get to increase and decrease and then you get to have a little trend afterwards. And then I also wanted to shout out this organization called the Loose Ends Project and they will finish unfinished knit and crochet projects from a loved one that might have passed away. So there's somebody I've been speaking to a little bit because my grandma actually did pass away about a year ago and left a crochet blanket. I'm finished and I haven't learned to stitch yet, so just wanted to kind of throw those kind of things out there.

[Listener]

Thanks so much for calling. You do that as well.

[Kiana Melexada]

We do finishing for knitting. We have a service that if you don't want to weave in your ends or you don't want to block the piece, you can drop or put parts of a sweater together. We do that as well. So you can bring the piece to us. Yeah, for finishing.

[Listener]

Oh, let's talk about weaving ends and crocheting first of all. What does that mean?

[Kiana Melexada]

It's, you know, everyone's least favorite job of knitting and crocheting. So when you start a project, end a project, add on a new ball, start a new ball, you're always going to have a five to. Well, you want to leave yourself a five to seven inch tail. And the reason for that tail is if you don't leave it, your stuff is just gonna come undone. So 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.

[Listener]

Okay, I understand. Yes. Let's talk to Cheryl from soho. Hi Cheryl, thanks for calling all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

This is a fabulous show. Love you. Anyway, a fast question. I blend my own yarns. I have a project now for a woman who needs hypoallergenic things. Very often I work with alpaca, silk. Tuck a little nylon in there. Normally I work with alpaca, merino, etc. Anyway, I need to know if bamboo will felt.

[Kiana Melexada]

In my experience, no. If you hand wash it though, you're not putting it in the machine with a, you know, with warm water. If you hand wash, bamboo is not going to felt on you.

[Alison Stewart]

So the only way it might felt is if I agitate in hot water, a washer and then hot water and then air dry.

[Kiana Melexada]

Yeah, I mean it shouldn't felt that way either 90% of the time, but you know, you just can't be sure with machine Washington somebody.

[Listener]

Actually that was one of our questions. If you're. If what you've made has just shrunk.

[Kiana Melexada]

Because nothing you could do, nothing you can do. Donate it to a 12 year old or a 10 year old. That's my advice.

[Listener]

This one says hi Olivet. Hi Kiara. Quick shout out to the NYC Yarn Crawl every fall. It's a free family knit crochet fiber event where you visit all the NYC shops and get discounts and win prizes and see all your yarny friends. You take a part of it. Tell us a little bit about it.

[Kiana Melexada]

Yeah, it's every fall and it's Brooklyn stores and New York City. It's a really great event. There's a scavenger hunt and there's events and there's sales and there's. It's just a really, really fun weekend of events for knitting and crochet and all the yarn shops.

[Listener]

And that's at yarn crawl nyc.com. let's talk to Serena from Manhattan. Hi Serena.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi. I was wondering where are some places I can take introductory knitting classes like how to switch yarns, how to like have clean edges, things like that.

[Kiana Melexada]

So we have all of our classes on our website with the descriptions in the learn to knit class. We do the scarf. We don't necessarily teach you a selvage edge or how to keep your edges clean. And because after experience I just know I would lose people with that. What you're describing, that we just do as private lessons. We offer private lessons in anything you want to learn.

[Listener]

Okay, Claire, you got the message. Let's talk. I'm sorry, this is talk. We're going to have to talk to Claire. I'm sorry, Claire from Midtown. Hi, Claire.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi. Hi. Thanks so much for taking my call. This is such a great conversation. So to the question of why it's become so popular lately, I guess the pandemic might have had a lot to do with it. And you guys have also listed some other reasons, but for me I can say that the day after the election when the results were in, I was just feeling so despondent and I just had this strong urge to go analog, get off my screens, make something like do something with my hands and also have it be something like cozy. And so I went to my yarn store just like almost like a zombie. Just like I just need to go and like surround myself in beautiful yarns and make something beautiful. And the yarn store was packed with everyone having the same idea that I did. And that day I picked a beautiful skein of merino and alpaca, and I made my first sweater. And I think a lot of us were feeling the same sense of sort of despondency, but also wanting to comfort ourselves with something productive and beautiful that day.

[Listener]

Thanks for calling. Do you have any theories why it's.

[Kiana Melexada]

So popular, you know, for us? People come into the store all the time and they say, oh, you know, knitting crocheting is having a huge resurgence. It's very hard for us to gauge that because it's never, not, had not been popular for us and in our community. So it's always been this way for us, you know, for us knitters. No, I mean, things go in waves just like everything else does. But, I mean, we've been busy since day one. But I've worked in knitting and crochet, you know, yarn stores all over the city, and for 20 years, it's. It's always been that busy. To me, it's a sense of community, you know, you're always seeing it. So. But I think, you know, obviously the pandemic. Yeah. Hurdled it, did I?

[Alison Stewart]

What?

[Listener]

Didn't I ask you? That's important.

[Kiana Melexada]

Oh, I don't know. I don't think you left anything out. All right. That it's good for mind, body and soul. How about that? Knitting, crochet, it's good for everything. Your dexterity, your brain, all of that.

[Listener]

Kiana Melexade is the owner of West Village Knit and Needle. Thank you for spending so much time with us. It was great.

[Kiana Melexada]

Thank you for having.

[Listener]

And by the way, the picture's up with her gorgeous sweater at Olive at WNYC.

[Alison Stewart]

Since WNYC's first broadcast in 1924, we've been dedicated to creating the kind of content we know the world needs. In addition to this award winning reporting, your sponsorship also supports inspiring storytelling and extraordinary music that is free and accessible to all. To get in touch and find out more, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.