The BEST way to attach lining fabric to knitting--the OVERCAST STITCH (part 5 of "hand sewing for hand knitters")

We come now to a stitch as useful to hand knitters as any stitch could well be--we come to the OVERCAST STITCH (also called the whip stitch).

This stitch has the fabulous ability to attach a LINING to KNIT FABRIC such that the lining doesn't rip out of the knit garment as soon as the knit garment is stretched.

TECHknitting has already given directions for lining a hat with a Polar fleece headband. which shows the overcast stitch in action, but this post shows the actual details of the stitch itself.

The illustration below shows a green lining being overcast stitched to a blue knitted fabric by a right handed sewer. (Click picture to enlarge.)
The close-up illustration below shows why this stitch works.(Click picture to enlarge.)

Attaching a lining to knitting is a challenge because lining is often made of WOVEN CLOTH, and woven cloth, as we know, does not stretch very much. Knitting, on the other hand, is extremely stretchy. The stitch chosen to attach such dissimilar fabrics has to--

1. hold the woven cloth in place, even when the underlying knitted fabric is stretching
2. not stop the knitted cloth from stretching
3. flexibly connect the woven cloth and the knitted fabric.

The overcast stitch gets a "A+" on all three factors. As stated in a previous post, the overcast stitch "tethers" the fabrics together rather than "nailing" them together. Look closely at the stitch in the close-up above and you'll see that the lining fabric is actually "hanging" from the knitted fabric.  In other words, the overcast stitch is acting as a little string from which the lining is "swinging." This "swing" allows the lining to adjust to the stretch of the fabric.

As the final illustration, below, shows, there is also quite a bit of thread reserve in the overcast stitch--the path of the thread resembles a coiled spring, and this coil of thread has the reserve to stretch when stressed.
And yet...although the overcast stitch works the best of all the hand sewing stitches for attaching a lining, the reserve of thread in this stitch might not be enough to stop the thread from breaking when the knitting is over-stretched.  You can mostly solve this problem by cutting the lining bigger than the garment, then sewing in the excess via little bite-sized bumps. This is called "easing in a lining." An example of easing in a lining is shown in the TECHknitting post mentioned earlier, about lining a hat, headband style, with polar fleece.

Good knitting--TK

This is part 5 of a 5 part series on hand sewing for knitters
Part 1: Starting off 
Part 2: Starting off with a doubled thread
part 3: the running stitch 
part 4: the back stitch
part 5: the overcast stitch (best way to attach lining fabric to knitting) (this post)

(You have been reading TECHknitting on: The over cast stitch--part 5 of "hand sewing for hand knitters.")

Part 4 of hand sewing for hand knitters: THE BACK STITCH

We're at part 4 of the TECHknitting series on handsewing for handknitters. So far, we've gone over two ways to start your thread, and one way (not to) sew it. Now we come to a very useful stitch --the BACK STITCH. The back stitch isn't much use in attaching knitted fabric to itself, but it is very useful for

• sewing up WOVEN cloth, or
• ATTACHING woven cloth firmly TO knitted fabric--sewing in a zipper, for example.

Before machine sewing was invented, the back stitch was widely used for general seaming of all sorts (seaming=sewing cut pieces of cloth together). The back stitch was also widely used for hemming (hemming=sewing folded-over fabric shut so as to conceal a cut edge).

Today, most folks substitute machine-sewing for the long, straight lines of stitches at which back stitch excels. Yet, back stitch remains a very useful stitch to know--even if you have a machine and prefer it, you may find that setting up the machine, threading it, and maybe having to wind a bobbin, takes longer than sewing a simple seam by hand--sewing shut a narrow head-band lining of polar fleece, for example.

For those without access to a machine, or those who prefer to work by hand, the back stitch would be an excellent choice for many types of sewing which hand knitters are likely to do: sewing up a purse lining or a sweater lining, or attaching a zipper.

So, without further ado, here is...

THE BACK STITCH, illustrated

1. (above) After you have anchored your thread on the back of the fabric, stab upwards with your needle, pulling it to the fabric face. Next, re-insert your needle one stitch length behind the point where it emerged. By "behind," I mean that right handed knitters, who are working from right to left, should insert the needle one stitch length to the right of where the needle first emerged, while left-handed sewers would reverse course, and insert the needle one stitch length to the left. This step ends with the needle on the back of the fabric.

2a. (above) At the end of step 1, above, the needle was drawn to the back of the fabric. In this step, the needle will be returned to the fabric face by stabbing upwards, ahead of the previous stitch. The distance between where the needle was stabbed down in step 1, and where it is to be stabbed up in step 2 is called a "stitch length PLUS."

The "PLUS" refers to the fact that you must stab the needle upwards at a distance FROM the last stitch of one stitch length PLUS the "interruption length" between stitches.

2b. (above) The "interruption length" is simply a fancy name for the distance between the stitches. If you skip ahead to illustration 5, you can see a variation on the back stitch called the "continuous back stitch," in which the back stitch is created with no interruption length. With no interruption length, the stitches touch.
3. (above) To complete the second stitch, again re-insert the needle one stitch length behind where it emerged. The path of the thread under the fabric is shown by the dotted line.

4. (above) Repeating steps 2 and 3 yields a line of back stitches. As you can see, the (dotted) line of the thread under the fabric is looped. This means that the back stitch takes quite a bit of thread--like an iceberg showing on the ocean's surface, the thread showing at the surface of the fabric is only a small fraction of the total amount.

5. (above) The variation called the "continuous back stitch" is illustrated here. To make the chain of stitches continuous on the face of the fabric, the "interruption length" has been diminished to zero. In other words, a continuous line of stitches on the fabric face has been made by stabbing the needle up EXACTLY one stitch length AHEAD of the previous stitch (as illustrated) then stabbing it down IN THE SAME HOLE as the previous stitch came up.

There is no particular structural difference between the regular back stitch (WITH an interruption length) and the continuous back stitch (NO interruption length) but the look is different, and some folks prefer one look over another.


6. (above) As with the running stitch illustrated in the last post, the back stitch can also be created by a shortcut method. However, this shortcut method is best reserved for thin fabrics--bulky fabrics would pucker by this method, so bulky fabrics are best sewn by the stabbing method illustrated in steps 1-4.

7. (above) Unlike the running stitch, the back stitch does not look the same on both sides. The back of the fabric shows the loops where the thread was "brought back" before the stitch re-emerges on the fabric face. This loop of thread attending each stitch is one reason why the back stitch is superior to the running stitch: those thread loops form a little reserve of thread which can adjust (somewhat, at least) when the fabric is stressed. Also, the loops distribute the stress on any one stitch over a greater area of fabric, which helps prevent wear holes where the thread emerges from the fabric, and helps protect the thread from snapping when stressed.

And yet...

Regardless of how important the concept of thread reserve is to hand sewers, hand knitters should BEWARE not to be misled. To hand knitters--accustomed to the great stretch of knitted fabrics--the scale of the stretch allowed by the thread reserve of the back stitch is negligible. It is only in the context of the relative inflexibility of woven cloth that the thread reserve in back stitch is worth talking about. For use on stretchy fabric like hand knits, the back stitch should only be used where a firm attachment is wanted between a piece of woven cloth and the knit fabric--inserting a zipper or a grosgrain ribbon backing on a button band.

Bottom line: the back stitch is an excellent stitch--a real workhorse stitch--for

• seaming woven fabric (attaching cut pieces of woven fabric together, permanently)
• hemming woven fabric (attaching a folded-over piece of woven fabric to itself to hide a cut edge and prevent it from unraveling) and
• attaching a woven fabric firmly to knitted fabric (hand-setting a zipper or a grosgrain ribbon, for example)

This is part 2 of a 5 part series on hand sewing for knitters
Part 1: Starting off
Part 2: Starting off with a doubled thread
part 3: the running stitch 
part 4: the back stitch (this post)
part 5: the overcast stitch (best way to attach lining fabric to knitting) 

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: the back stitch: hand sewing for hand knitters, part 4.)

Part 3--hand sewing for hand knitters--the running stitch

This third installment of the TECHknitting series on hand sewing for hand knitters is about the running stitch. The running stitch is iconic--say "hand sewing," and this stitch is what most folks think of first.

We'll get to the advantages and disadvantages of running stitch in a minute, but first, here are 4 illustrations showing the stitch itself.

HOW TO DO THE RUNNING STITCH

1. (above) In thin fabric, the running stitch is often done by the "shortcut method," creating several stitches at once. For right handed sewers, it is easiest to sew FROM right to left, as shown. (Left handed sewers should reverse course.)

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2. (above) In the shortcut method, the needle is drawn through even "bites" on the fabric face, creating stitches of even length.

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3. (above) In bulky fabric, the shortcut method will cause bumps and puckers, and this is particularly true where several layers of fabric are being stitched together. To avoid puckers, "stab down" on each stitch from the face of the fabric to the back, then return the needle by "stabbing up" from the back of the fabric to the face. Accomplished hand sewers, such as hand quilters, keep one hand above the fabric and one below, rapidly stabbing the needle up and down with each hand, alternately. When first learning this two-handed method, it is VERY easy to prick yourself with the needle, so go slow.

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4. (above) Unlike some other hand sewing stitches, the running stitch looks the same on the front and the back.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES of the RUNNING STITCH

Hand knitters generally meet the running stitch in two different situations. First, it is often used to attach lining fabric to hand knitted fabric. Second, the running stitch is often used to sew up the lining fabric itself. Sadly, the running stitch is NOT actually good at either task.

To sew lining fabric to itself (such as to close the end of the Polar fleece headband shown in the TECHknitting post of April 25, 2008) the back stitch is a far better choice, and a future post will be show more about the back stitch. To attach lining fabric to hand knitted fabric, such as attaching the Polar fleece headband to the hat in the headband post, the overcast stitch, is a far better choice, and a future post will show the overcast stitch in detail.

The running stitch is a poor choice for hand knitters because, as shown in illustrations 1-4, above, the running stitch "runs" straight through the fabric. Without any reserve "slack," when running stitch is stretched, it is likely to snap. As you can imagine, once the running thread is snapped, the running stitches would quickly unravel. Every time you put on or take off a knitted garment, these non-slack stitches stress, and will eventually break.

Running stitch is really best for only one thing--BASTING (temporarily tacking fabric together before the "real sewing" takes place). After the real sewing, the basting is removed. When used for basting, the weakness of running stitch (it comes out easily) is actually a strength (you WANT basting to come out easily).

Now, as you know, basting today is uncommon because it is time consuming. The modern trend is to skip basting and use pins instead: to pin fabrics together and then do the "real" sewing on the pinned-together fabrics. When you HAND-SEW fabrics together, pinning is a sensible, time saving substitution for basting--hand sewing goes slowly, so pins in the way can readily be re-positioned. However, for MACHINE SEWING, especially for machine sewing bulky hand knits, pinning is a poor substitute for basting.

An example: suppose that you wanted to machine-sew a grosgrain ribbon backing onto a button band. If you were to PIN the button band (green) to the ribbon (red), each pin would make a lump in the fabric, as shown in illustration 5, above. At each lump, your sewing machine foot must climb up, over, and then down the other side. Unless you are an expert machine-sewer, the result is likely to be a wandering line of stitches, with each stitch likely a different length.

However, if you were to BASTE the ribbon (red) behind the button band (green) before machine sewing, the ribbon and the overlying button band would lie smoothly together, as shown in illustration 6, above. Basting makes it more likely that your precious hand knits will emerge from the maw of your sewing machine without incident.

Another hand-knitting application for a running stitch basting is before you machine-stitch a steek. If you've ever stabilized a steek using a regular machine foot, you may have experienced the heart-stopping realization that the machine stitching is s-p-r-e-a-d-i-n-g the hand-knit fabric substantially. Although the subsequent knit stitches picked up along the steek edge counteract the stretch, a line of running stitch basting with a sturdy doubled thread BEFORE machine stitching will help prevent this scary tendency to stretch in the first place.

Bottom line: running stitch is best reserved for those occasions when hand knitters need to baste. Running stitch is not suitable for permanent sewing, and especially not on stretchy hand knits.

added on May 5, 2008: A BIG THANK YOU to Honnay, who noted that the direction of sewing in the original version of this post was confusing. Thanks to Honnay's comment, the drawings have now been reversed, and a note about sewing directions added.

This is part 3 of a 5 part series on hand sewing for knitters
Part 1: Starting off
Part 2: Starting off with a doubled thread
part 3: the running stitch (this post) 
part 4: the back stitch
part 5: the overcast stitch (best way to attach lining fabric to knitting) 

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: "the running stitch--hand sewing for hand knitters")

Part 2: handsewing for handknitters: starting off with a DOUBLED thread

Yesterday's post (starting a single thread in fabric--first knot) was incomplete, as I realized after it went live. Here is the missing part--starting off with a DOUBLED thread--first knot.

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This is part 2 of a 5 part series on hand sewing for knitters
Part 1: Starting off
Part 2: Starting off with a doubled thread (this post)
part 3: the running stitch 
part 4: the back stitch
part 5: the overcast stitch (best way to attach lining fabric to knitting) 

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: hand sewing for hand knitters: starting a doubled thread)

Hand sewing for hand knitters: Starting off

Before TECHknitting turns to the subject of fully lining hats with Polar fleece, there will be an intermission. After publishing the previous post (lining hats, headband style, with Polar fleece) various communications have revealed that there is a certain hesitance among knitters (you know who you are!) to get involved in projects which require hand sewing. Yet, I know from a previous TECHknitting poll, that there ARE lots of handknitters who would like to learn to line knitwear.

Bottom line: for the next several posts, TECHknitting will focus on BASIC HAND SEWING stitches and techniques useful to hand knitters.

Today, we'll start at the very beginning: how to start your thread. The other posts in this series will include the running stitch, the back stitch, the overcast (whip) stitch and how to end your sewing (how to make the final knot). Once these techniques are illustrated, further posts about lining knitting will make more sense, I think.

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The very beginning: anchoring your thread in the fabric (the first knot)* * *
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This is part 1 of a 5 part series on hand sewing for knitters
Part 1: Starting off (this post)
Part 2: Starting off with a doubled thread
part 3: the running stitch 
part 4: the back stitch
part 5: the overcast stitch (best way to attach lining fabric to knitting) 

--TECHknitter (you have been reading TECHknitting on "basic hand sewing: how to start your thread)

How to line a hat, headband style, with Polar fleece

includes 14 illustrations
click any illustration to enlarge
Lining a hat with Polar fleece is a splendid idea for several reasons. First, if the hat is too large, you get a second chance to make it fit--you can ease the hat smaller by sewing in a correctly-sized Polar fleece lining. Second, Polar fleece completely alleviates "itchy forehead" syndrome. Third, for athletes and active types, Polar fleece "wicks" -- it draws moisture away. A hat lined with Polar fleece will remain comfortable long after a woolen hat is sodden. Finally, Polar fleece has many virtues of its own--it's cuddly, sturdy and comes in lots of pretty colors and prints. Oh--it's also very easy to cut and sew and it never, ever, comes unraveled.   Further information about Polar fleece can be found here 

There are really two methods of lining a hat--the headband method and the fully-lined method. The fully-lined method is warmer, while the headband method is less bulky and suits active folk well--more heat can escape from the crown of a hat lined by the headband method than from a fully lined hat. Today's post shows the headband method, while the full-lining method is described here.

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1. (above) The first step is to cut your headband out of Polar fleece yard goods, as shown. The illustration suggests a 4" deep headband, which is generous. Some folks prefer a narrower headband, so experiment and see what suits you. Polar fleece is pretty cheap, so there's no real reason to be sparing with it.


2. (above) Once you've cut your headband strip, the method illustrated here lets you go forward without taking any further measurements--everything from here out is done intuitively, and the tape measure can be put away. For example, the headband strip for the lining is sized by wrapping it around your forehead and pinning it shut. Experience shows that it's best to wear the pinned headband around the house for a little while before you commit to sewing it shut. What seems comfortably snug at first can seem ear-numbingly tight after a quarter of an hour.


3. (above) When you're pinning the headband, arrange matters so the "good" side (green side) is on the inside and the "not so good" side (blue side in these illustrations) is on the outside. Then, once you have the length correct, sew the headband shut across the short end.


4. (above). Trim away the excess fabric at the seam. If you find a standard 3/8 inch seam allowance too bulky, you can cut it closer--Polar fleece does not unravel or fray, so you can get away with narrower seam allowances if you prefer them.


5. (above) Because you want to see the good side of the fabric when you peer inside your hat, you must put the not so good side against the inside of the hat. Therefore, flip the band inside out so the seam allowance (and the not so good side) are on the inside of the band.


6. (above) Flip the hat inside out, also.


7. (above) Slip the headband over the hat. If the hat has a back--a seam, perhaps, or a little knitting error you don't care to display on your forehead--align the seam of the lining with the hat back.


8. (above) Illustrations can take you just so far. For reality, there is nothing like a photo. As you can see from this photo, it often happens that the headband is far, far wider than the hat itself. This is because the hat is likely to "draw in" more than the band, especially if the hat is in a contoured fabric like ribbing. While this may look worrisome, it really isn't a problem, as you can see by skipping ahead: illustrations 12 and 13 are the "after" photos of this same hat.


9. (above) The next step is to pin the hatband inside the hat. Make sure to tuck the seam allowance flaps inside and smooth them down at this point.


10 (above) Here is the how-to trick for pinning a headband evenly into a hat (or should I say--for pinning the HAT evenly inside the HEADBAND!?)

a: holding the hat (gray shape) inside the lining (blue shape), S-T-R-E-T-C-H the hat and the lining with both forefingers into a long shape which can be stretched no further. This automatically centers the hat inside the band. Pin the band to the hat in these two spots--a 4 inch headband may require two pins at each contact point (as shown in illustration 11), a narrower band may require only 1 pin at each contact point. Do you wonder how you can pin in the headband while your hands are inside the hat and band, stretching everything smooth? You can ask someone to help you, of course, but if you are alone, you can take a shortcut by pinning in one contact point BEFORE you start the stretching-out process, then pinch the hat and lining together where you find the second contact should go. Just be sure not to prick yourself with the pre-set pin, which would go right against one of your stretching fingers.

b. along one side, divide the length between the two pins in half by again stretching the hat and the lining until they can stretch no further. Pin this third contact point.

c. along the other side, repeat step b. Four points are now pinned.

d. again stretching between two contact points, set a fifth contact point at the half-way mark between two already-set pins.

e. repeat the "stretching to find the half-way point" 3 more times until a total of 8 contact points are securely pinned down.

f. the perfectionists among us may want to again halve each side length for a total of 16 contact points. I myself wouldn't bother unless the hat was very large, smooth and light--a large man's cap knitted from sock yarn, perhaps.

If the band was far wider than the hat, as in illustration 8, you will find that the band is puckering where it is pinned onto the hat. This is normal, so don't worry.


11. (above) Now we come to the sewing. The trick here is to smooth the hat to the band by stretching as you sew. Use a sharp-pointed needle and polyester sewing thread. I use a single strand, but some folks prefer a double strand. The fact is, polyester sewing thread is very, very strong. So strong, that it could end up cutting the woolen yarn of your hat if you are not careful about tension. You do NOT want to pull the thread up so tight that there is no slack--this is what causes the thread to want to cut the yarn. On the other hand, you also do not want to to sew so loosely that loops of thread lay inside the finished hat. Practice makes perfect in this, as in so many skills.

The best stitch for sewing linings into stretchy woolens is the overcast stitch (also called the whip stitch).  This overcast stitch is particularly good because it allows a bit of extra thread to remain in the fabric, allowing for stretching without popping the thread or tearing the knit fabric.

The overcast stitch is also an excellent choice because the thread "tethers" the two pieces of fabric (hat and lining) together, rather than fastening them unmovingly to one another. An analogy from woodworking would be a carpenter attaching two pieces of wood together with short lengths of chain rather than nailing them together.  Nailing would be stronger, but the chain more flexible.  In the same way,  "nailing" the lining onto the hat with a firm stitch like the back stitch would be strong but inflexible, so that the thread might tear as soon as one fabric stretched more than the other.

If you click on illustration 11, it will enlarge enormously, and you can see a closeup.

• At the hat edge, you'd want to pierce right through a strand of yarn--use the sharp point of the needle to catch two plies of a 4-ply yarn for example.
• At the Polar fleece edge, you want to catch a little dollop of fabric from the fabric face, as illustrated. Using your needle to catch a little dollop from the fabric face forces the cut edge of the fleece to roll to the inside. This little roll hides the cut edge of the fleece from view, making a very lovely transition line between the fleece and the knitting (click to enlarge illustration 12 for a closer view)

HOWEVER, catching that little dollop of fabric from the face can be frustrating with fleece, because sometimes your needle just catches fuzz, instead of scooping up the little dollop you want. So, although, the rolled-in edge is very beautiful, don't let frustration and this sort of perfectionism stand between you and a lined hat. Sew the headband in by whip stitching right through the cut edge of the Polar fleece and to heck with it! This stitching is inside a hat, after all.


12. (above) Here is the final result from the inside. As you can see, the excess width of the band, as shown in illustration 8, has been eased to the hat. When the hat is put on, all those puckers disappear, and the hat lies smooth against the head.


13. (above) There is something of a line where the edge of the headband lies. If you don't care for that look, here is a post about a method for fully lining hats with Polar fleece.
14. (above) ta da!

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: how to line a hat with Polar fleece, in the headband style)

Polar fleece: an excellent fabric to combine with hand knits

If you're a hand-knitter who's never used Polar Fleece, you have a wonderful surprise waiting for you! Although it is not without drawbacks, Polar fleece is EXCELLENT when used in small amounts for lining hand knits. THIS TECHknitting post shows how to line a hat with a polar fleece, headband style, while THIS TECHknitting post shows how to fully line a hat with Polar fleece without measuring anything, just by using your head and your finished hat as the template. But before all that, here is a free-standing write-up on just what Polar fleece is, its advantages, disadvantages, and characteristics.

WHAT IS POLAR FLEECE?

Polar fleece is the name for a certain type of fuzzy, stretchy KNIT yard goods invented by Malden Mills. (Malden Mills, you might remember, is the corporate feel-good story of the 1990's. When the factory burned down, the owner, Aaron Fuerstein, didn't close down or move overseas: he used millions from his insurance money to keep the workers on full pay and benefits as he rebuilt the mill). The company was eventually sold, and is now called Polartec LLC, with "Polartec" also being the brand name of their very premium fleece. You can buy generic fleece at big-box fabric stores, and that kind is good enough for linings. If you want the really good stuff, Polartec brand fleece is available at high-end stores as well as on-line. Polar fleece is also called "microfleece," although (confusingly) this name is also used to indicate thinner yard goods, like those used for undershirts or pajamas.

Fleece is an entirely synthetic fabric made from PET plastic, often from recycled soda containers. The plastic is heated, then turned into thread by extruding it through shower-head- like nozzles. Giant machines then use this extruded thread to knit enormous tubes of fabric, usually with with loops on both sides like a towel, although single-sided fleece continues to be produced. The loops are "napped" into fuzziness by more giant machines, then trimmed to a uniform length like a velvety shag rug. (Read more here.) Fleece is made in different thicknesses, with the medium thickness (called "200 weight") being the most all-around useful.

WHAT'S WONDERFUL ABOUT POLAR FLEECE:

There are several truly WONDERFUL things about combining Polar fleece with hand knitting. Not least among Polar fleece's marvels is that ANYONE who can sew AT ALL can make a really nice job of using it as a lining. (Really!)

1. STRETCHY: because it is knit, Polar Fleece stretches. This means that if you line a handknit with Polar fleece, the garment will continue to be stretchy. This is very different than using woven material to line a handknit. Woven material does not stretch very much, and what little stretching there is, is on the bias. Translated into regular English, this means that you have to use a lot of little dressmaker's tricks to successfully line a (stretchy) handknit with (not-stretchy) woven fabric. By contrast, very few tricks are needed with Polar fleece because the fabric is so similar, stretch-wise, to handknit fabric. In other words, the stretch-factor means that if you can operate scissors, thread a hand-sewing needle, and do the simplest sewing stitch, you can make a good-looking Polar fleece lining for your handknit hat (Really, really!)

2. CUT-AND-SEW: Although it is a knit fabric, Polar Fleece is heat set, so it will not unravel like handknit fabric does (or like woven cloth does, either). This means (frabulous day!) that you can cut it and sew it without having to worry about hemming it. (Polar fleece is simple to use!)

3. NAP HIDES THE SEWING THREAD: Polar fleece is so fuzzy that your sewing thread will sink right in. This means that if you hand sew with a small stitch and a single strand of polyester thread, and then run your thumbnail firmly several times over the stitches, the nap will rise up and completely hide your sewing. (NOW do you believe that your lining will look great?)

4. NOT ITCHY: Polar fleece is well-tolerated. Most people don't find it itchy at all, not even pressed against ears or neck. Picky little kids who flail and fling themselves to the ground at the approach of a disliked garment don't scream or fuss at the touch of Polar fleece.

5. DRY: Polar fleece "wicks." This means that it draws moisture away from your skin. Even after WAY too many hours of sweating into a Polar-fleece-lined hat on a cross-country ski slog adventure, your forehead will be dry, long after the woolen outer shell is soaked.

6. LIGHT-WEIGHT: if you line a hat with Polar fleece, you won't notice any additional weight.

7. EASY-PEASY TO WASH: washing Polar fleece couldn't be easier: It doesn't shrink, it's tough enough to be endlessly machine washed and dried, yet it sheds dirt so easily that hand-washing with a swish through sudsy water cleans it just as well. Therefore, fleece is suitable to line any sort of hand-knit hat, ranging from the most delicate "hand-wash-dry-flat" mohairs, through hardy superwash wools, and all the way to bombproof wash'n'dry acrylics.

8. CHEAP: a quarter yard won't set you back more than a couple of bucks, and will line a whole bunch of hats in the headband style, and even a couple of hats in the fully-lined style. That's because this stuff is seriously WIDE -- somewhere around FIVE FEET -- the denser stuff measures 58 inches, while the thinner stuff measures up to 68 inches wide.

WHAT'S NOT WONDERFUL ABOUT POLAR FLEECE:

With so many excellent qualities, you just KNOW there are some downsides, and so there are.

1. FLAMMABILITY: This is the very biggest disadvantage. Regular Polar Fleece is horribly flammable. Just like the plastic it is made of, it goes up like a torch. Nowadays, there ARE fire-retardant fleeces (mainly for military and fire-fighter use) but you have to really hunt for these. It is for fear of fire that I, personally, feel best about using Polar fleece in small amounts. Specifically, I use it mostly for lining the inside of nice, safe wool hats, with the wool on the OUTSIDE. Certainly, I would never, EVER sew a non-flame-retardant fleece garment for an infant.

2. NOT GENERALLY WIND RESISTANT: nowadays, it IS possible to find windproof fleece, but, like the fire retardant ones, you really have to hunt for these, and when you find them, they're rather thick and stiff. Ordinary fleece, like that at big-box fabric stores, lets the wind through. As a lining for a close-knit woolen cap or under a windbreaker, no big problem--for a garment on its own, avoid!

3. STICKY: most linings, especially arm linings, are slick, which is why you can pull your ski jacket or dress coat over a woolen sweater. In a small garment like a hat, a Polar fleece lining is no particular problem, especially as hair is fairly slick. However, an outerwear jacket lined all in fleece would be nearly impossible--you'd stick like a bug in a web as any sweater you were wearing tangled with the fleece jacket lining.

4. STATIC-Y: fleece is very static-y, more static-y than any wool, and the electric shock factor in dry winter air can be VERY annoying. This is another factor which usually leads me to restrict the amount of Polar fleece in garments I make.

5. MELTS! Polar fleece will melt under the heat of even ordinary ironing. This means that steam blocking an wool hat lined with fleece is out. Avoid the iron and wet-block, instead.

To be sure, other than the fire issue, the good FAR outweighs the bad. Polar fleece is as close to a miracle fiber as you can get, and WILL look good as a headband lining or a full lining in even the fanciest hand-knit hat. Even if you never thought of using it before, if you should ever find yourself in a fabric store, snag a quarter yard to mess around with, and see for yourself.

CHARACTERISTICS of POLAR FLEECE YARD GOODS

As stated above, Polar fleece is knit in giant tubes. After the tube is knit, it is slit open. When the fabric is finished, it is folded in half and wound onto bolts to become "yard goods," (fabric sold by the yard, rather than the piece or panel). At that point, the slit-open edges are the LONG edges of the fabric. These lengthwise edges--the "selvedges" of the material, are not napped (not fuzzy)--they are naked looking.The BAD thing is that, since the edges were slit open, and because they are all naked-looking, they are a bit raggedy. This means that, unlike woven cloth where the selvedge is a valuable part of the cloth (because it doesn't unravel) you wouldn't want to use a fleece selvedge right at the edge of a lining, where it might show. If a selvedge are still attached to the piece of Polar fleece you plan to use, either cut it off, or fold it under and sew it to the inside--between the lining and the hat. The GOOD thing about the naked, un-fuzzy selvedges is that you can use them as landmarks when you come to sew with Polar fleece.

To explain: The S-T-R-E-T-C-H of Polar fleece is directional--it stretches a great deal from side to side (from selvedge to selvedge) but stretches far less along the length. BE CAREFUL that you cut a headband-lining or a full lining so the direction of stretch is going AROUND your head (the long way of the headband-lining) NOT "up and down" on your head. Having the stretch go AROUND you head will be far kinder to your ears and forehead!

Double-sided polar fleece comes in two flavors:
1. the (expensive and relatively rare) fancy kind that is really two different fleeces fused together--a truly reversible fabric, which may even be a different color on each side.
2. the (far more common) "regular" kind which has a thicker "good side" and thinner not-so-good side.

On "regular" double-sided fleece, the good side pills less and is denser and nicer than the not-so-good side. To tell the truth, this ISN'T VERY IMPORTANT for lining a kid's hat, or a sweater for the dog. But if you're lining a hat for the new boyfriend, or that fancy creation to hand around at your next guild meeting, you probably want to keep track of which side is which. Usually, you can tell by just looking and feeling--the denser fuzz is on the good side. If you're unsure, ask the nice ladies at the fabric store to tell you, then mark the good side with a pin or a piece of tailor's chalk.

Another thing hand-knitters can mostly ignore is "nap." This means that the little velvety cut loops, the "fuzz," runs directionally. If you're sewing two pieces together, it would look more pleasant if the nap caught the light the same way--if it ran the same way on each adjoining piece. For 99% of handknit lining applications, however, you can ignore nap--this info is just here so if you decide to abandon knitting & take up sewing as a hobby, you'll be all set.

Next time: how to line a hat with a fleece headband.

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on: Polar fleece--information for hand knitters.)

QUICKtip: softening itchy wool

Have you a woolen hat* which is itching your (or someone else's) forehead? You could line the hat with polar fleece in a headband style or in a fully lined style. But before you go to the trouble to line your creation, today's post will show an easy solution you might want to try first.

<---Yup! Hair conditioner. Here's how:

1. If the hat needs to be washed, wash it gently in tepid (room temperature) water, then rinse, in the same temperature water, until all the soap suds are gone. If the hat does not need to be washed, then simply soak the hat in tepid water until it is completely wet.

2. Gently press all the water out. Make up a new basin of water of the same temperature, and into that basin, dissolve a tablespoon or two of hair conditioner.

3. Swish the wet hat through the solution, then let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Again gently press out the water. Do not rinse out the conditioner.

4. BE CAREFUL not to agitate the hat or felting will result. Swish, swish, swish--that's all you need to do.

5. Roll the item in a heavy towel, step on the towel/hat jelly-roll to press out all the water,unroll, then lay the hat on another, dry, towel. Pat into shape and let dry.

Some hair conditioner leaves a sticky trace, some does not--if it leaves your hair feeling sticky, it'll probably leave your hat feeling sticky, so use a different kind. Conditioner that leaves your hair soft and smooth will do the same for your woolens. Also, the kind of hair conditioner to use for this trick is the ordinary supermarket kind for "normal hair." Specialty hair conditioners (volumizers, curl releasers, chemical damage-repair conditioners and the like) may have odd interactions with wool. If in doubt, try your conditioner on a swatch, first.

If you try this trick and it does not sufficiently "de-itchify" your hat for you, then click the links at the top of the column for information about lining knitting with polar fleece.

* Of course, this trick works for all woolen garments, not just hats. Scarves and mufflers--in contact with delicate neck skin--generally benefit from conditioner's softening properties, and this works for itchy sweaters, too.  

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: softening itchy wool with hair conditioner.)

Resuming in April

Dear readers:

Due to a loss in the family, TECHknitting will be on hiatus until some time in April.

The next two posts will be about two different alternatives to avoid "itchy forehead" syndrome arising from woolen hats.

--TECHknitter

Why block hand knits? Here's why (and how)!

includes 2 illustrations, click any illustration to enlarge
As to the "why" of blocking: here is a "pocket hat" (made of wool) before it is blocked:

Here's the same hat after it is blocked:
I believe these pictures speak for themselves, and hope that you will consider blocking your newly-finished woolen knitwear to get a similar improvement in looks.

As to the how-to, blocking could make a little book in its own right. There are as many methods to block items as there are knitters--inevitably, there are some strong opinions out there on the "right" way. Here's my own little process to get from unblocked to blocked by the full immersion (a.k.a. "wet-block") method. (For steam blocking, click here.)

1. I swish the newly made item in a sinkful of tepid (barely warm) water, using enough water so that the item floats in the sink loosely. No kneading, scrunching, or manhandling: just swishing.

2. Once the item is completely wet, I drain the sink and press the item against the sides and bottom to gently squeeze out as much water as possible.

3. Supporting the item in my hands and against the sink sides and bottom, so that it NEVER sags under its own weight, I squeeze it snakewise--hand-over-hand.

4. Again supporting the item to prevent sagging, I lay it out in a thick and thirsty bath towel. This first lay-out is rather rough, but at the least, I make sure no parts of the garment overlap one another. I roll the item and the towel together, lay the roll on the bathroom or kitchen floor tile and step all over it, barefoot. Doing it in shoes would really dirty the towel, doing this in socks would get my socks wet, doing this on a carpet will make the carpet wet--a LOT of water gets pressed out in this step.

5. Next step is to unroll. Again supporting the item with my hands, I lay it out on a DIFFERENT, dry towel. What happens next depends on the size of the item.

• For small items like hats, mittens, and kid's sweaters, I pat, tug and smooth the item into shape and let it dry. With the "pocket hat" of the intro photos (which was knitted relatively firmly) I actually grabbed it at the brim and at the top and gave several mighty tugs lengthwise before smoothing.
• Larger garments such as sweaters are sometimes tugged, patted and smoothed, or sometimes they are pinned out. Lace and other openwork with edges which have to be "dressed" into points and scallops are also pinned. For pinning, I lay the garment, on its second towel, over a yielding surface--a bed, sofa, fridge box or thick carpet--if a carpet, maybe with a clean sheet spread out to avoid carpet dust and sheddings in the project.

6. Allow the item to dry. Waiting for it to dry completely is actually the hardest part of all--at least for me. That damp, newly knitted item sings such a siren song that I can hardly stand to leave it alone. If it is really drying absurdly slowly, I speed things along by switching in a new, dry towel, or putting the towel up on a flat-top laundry rack to improve air circulation. The hat of the illustration dried overnight on a towel placed on a laundry rack, cunningly positioned three feet above a hot air register. Knits dry even faster laid flat outdoors on a lawn chair when it is warm and windy, but do this in the SHADE. Knits dried in full sun will bleach and become coarse and odd.

7. Elapsed time? 5-10 minutes (well, except for the drying of course--which takes forEVER). And ... that's it--a beautiful new item, W-A-A-Y more professional looking than the same item in the "before" stage.

I'll end with a couple of FAQs (frequently asked questions).
Q: Do you have to go through all this every single time you wash a woolen hand-knit?
A: Sadly, yes. The good news? It becomes second nature after a few times. Also, if washing a soiled item, you start by swishing through soapy water, then plain water, then all the other steps. For washing (but not for a first blocking) I personally use a drop or two of concentrated hand dish soap (NOT dishwasher machine soap!), then rinse twice.

Q: Blocking or washing makes me nervous. What if I ruin my garment by felting it?
A: Felting requites a combination of wetting AND agitation. You can't avoid wetting wool when you wash it but you CAN avoid agitation. Number one precaution: DO NOT WRING OR KNEAD!! Instead, swish, then squeeze gently but firmly. Also, I attribute a good deal of felting-prevention to step number 4--the barefoot walk all over the jelly-roll of handknit and thick towel. This really removes water effectively and quickly, but does not cause any rubbing or wringing action. Oh--one more thing: temperature shocks encourage felting, so avoid them. Make sure your water is always at a mild, tepid temperature. For this same reason, even if you want to speed along the drying, don't overdo exposure to hot dry air--a dryer, for example would certainly result in felting.

--TECHknitter (You have been reading TECHknitting on "why you should (and how you can) block hand knitting")