NEW YEAR, SAME PROJECT - MAKING A SCARF PART 2

Sometimes you run out of yarn, it happens. When this occurs, you have to join your old ball of yarn with a new one. When I ran out of yarn I completely freaked out because I had no idea what to do. I almost settled for a 1 1/2 foot long scarf. I deemed this impractical and looked up videos on how to join a new ball of yarn (because my book didn't mention how to do this). To my surprise, it was quite simple.

Joining a new ball of yarn:

• Leave at least six inches from your old ball of yarn to secure it with the new ball. 
• Let the new strand overlap the old strand.
• In your right hand you'll have two strands, use it as if it were one strand.
• Knit 3-5 stitches to secure your new ball of yarn.
• After the initial stitches, drop the old strand and use the new one.
• When you get back to the stitches where you used two strands, knit/purl as if the two loops were one.

Binding off:

• Once you've reached this point, you're almost done! But if you're extra like me, stay tuned for my future posts!!

Binding off is the process of securing your last row. 

"Work the first two stitches on the left-hand needle, then use the point of the left-hand needle to lift the first stitch on the right-hand needle over the second stitch. Knit the next stitch on the left-hand needle, and repeat the procedure" (Ham 16). Continue this process until all the sts are gone on the left needle. You will be left with one stitch on your right needle, cut the yarn a few inches away from the needle to disconnect from the ball. Now, all you have to do is pull the tail through and it'll be secure!

After countless hours of messing up and persevering, I have FINALLY finished. The feeling of accomplishment is a wonderful reward to all the time and effort I've put into this project.

Do you think you're capable of such a time consuming task?

Ham, Catherine. Knitting 20 Simple & Stylish Wearables for Beginners. New York: Lark, 2003. Print.