Japan Yarn Shops 2018

This is by no means an exhaustive list of places, just the ones I managed to get to.

Walnut Kyoto & Tokyo

I went to both, because, why not? But I have to say that you probably don't have to.

It's a good stop if you are a fan of Amirisu magazine because they have lots of Amirisu samples, and they're a flagship for Brooklyn Tweed and Quince & Co, I believe.

Avril Kichijoji (Tokyo)

I only went to the one in Tokyo. I decided against visiting the one in Kyoto because I did not buy anything in Tokyo. They have a lot of novelty yarn, which is so not the kind of thing I knit with.

Update: yarnoversteffi kindly gifted me the thing I most wanted from Avril in our Singapore knitters Christmas yarn swap, so that was awesome.

Ananda (Tokyo)

This is much more a shop for weavers and spinners.

They have a lot of hemp, lots of animal roving (the wool is from New Zealand though) and quite a selection of natural dyestuffs.

They do carry silk, but they were not able to tell me the yardage per 100g or anything like that, so I didn't get any. It's possible that I was unable to explain to them what I was asking, so maybe you will have better luck.

Moorit (Tokyo)

They have more rustic-type yarns than the other shops in Tokyo that I managed to get to. It was nice, but they did not have much stuff I was likely to use in the next 6-12 months. They stocked some Scottish yarns, but I am planning on attending Edinburgh Yarn Festival again, so I didn't get any of it either.

And-Ito (Tokyo)

I made it here because they have coned yarn, and that's something I keep an eye out for because I do have a knitting machine. They had a good selection of finer, lightweight yarns suitable for tropical weather, including Belgian linen.

And they also had DK weight cotton cashmere, which I am very fond off.

Hobbyra Hobbyre (Kobe)
I stumbled on this one by accident.

The shop is adorable, and I picked up some of their house brand yarn, including a lovely linen blend.

EYLUL (Osaka)

This was my favorite. They carry a good mix of hand-dyed European/American yarns as well a good selection of warm weather friendly ones. They are also a Zealana stockist.

They also carry Saredo recycled yarn, which was something I had been looking for.

A Tidy Stretchy Chain Bind-off, or Create More Loops!

This post started off as a comment to Kwerkii in a Ravelry group, but I decided that I would expand on it here. I would also like to thank Holly Chayes for sharing her favorite bind-off trick, because it was the inspiration for what I share here. 

When binding-off x stitches, you create (x-1) loops across the edge (because the first 2 stitches bound-off only create 1 loop). I propose that for a nice, stretchy bind-off, create more loops!

In this post, I will use the following abbreviations:

• YPCM: Yarn used per extra stitch bound off, in centimetres 
• YPS: Yarn used per extra stitch bound off, in terms of bound-off stitches 

YPCM is the length of yarn required to bind-off an extra stitch. 

YPS is different from the others, because it is a measurement that controls for gauge. 1 YPS basically means 1 wrap around a needle. If you knit a stitch, that is one 1 YPS, and the same if you purl.  

Therefore, the traditional Long-tail Bind-off has a YPS of 1, because to bind-off one more stitch, you knit the stitch, and then pass the previous one over. You only 'add yarn' once. 

To give you an idea what YPS looks like for other Bind-offs: 

• Long-tail bind-off: 1
• 3-stitch I-cord bind-off: 3 
• JSSBO: 2.5 (0.5 extra because of reverse and purl yarnovers eat a bit more yarn) 
• K2togtbl bind-off: 2 
• 1 by 1 tubular bind off with grafting: 4 

A sideways lace edging is super stretchy, but difficult to obtain a YPS measurement. It creates a longer outer edge than the inner edge that is being bound off, which gives the inner edge more room to grow. 

(These numbers are not calculated by measuring yarn used, but instead by counting the stitches made to bind off an extra stitch.) 

When you use a stretchy bind-off, you are using a technique that has a higher YPS, which consequently leads to a higher YPCM. 

When you increase the needle size, you increase the YPCM but not the YPS. It will usually be faster than switching to a stretchier bind-off, because you will not need to make more stitches.

Create More Loops! 

If you increase the number of loops in the bind-off edge to more than (x-1), you will increase the YPS and YPCM. 

With the K2togtbl bind-off, this can be done by knitting an extra loop (or stitch, depending on how you see it) into the stitch on the right needle at regular intervals. Theoretically, to achieve the same YPS as the JSSBO, you will create this extra stitch every second stitch you bind-off. 

I have actually never done that. I usually find that a loop increase of about 10-20%, or an extra 1-2 loops every 10 stitches, is sufficient -- this means a YPS of about 2.1-2.2. On my current mitten WIP, that seems to be enough so that I just slide my mittens on as opposed to feeling the tight edge as I tug it over the widest part of my hand.

Create More Smaller Loops for Cuffs! 

By choosing the correct needle size, you could have a Long-tail bind-off that has the same YPCM as a JSSBO. It does not mean that the former is equivalent to the latter, especially in terms of good finishing. How you add the extra yarn does matter, and in my opinion, that is why some people (myself included), have trouble getting JSSBO to look good. 

There are 2 kinds of stretchy edges that we commonly need in knitting. 

The first is what we need for blocking things like lace, where we want to open the edge up. We want to have the ability to stretch, open up, and stay that way. 

The second is what we need for things like cuffs and hems. We want it to have give, but to shrink back once we pull it over the right body part. 

For the latter, I like to suggest that you need a relatively high YPS while carefully managing the resulting YPCM so that you do not have a flaring edge. 

We can do that increasing the extra loops, to have a YPS of 2.3-2.4, and decreasing the needle size. 

Final Note: 

I will be back with photos at some point. I need to get a lightbox as I have trouble getting the close-up shots required. 

The Edinburgh Yarn Festival Update

I've struggled to keep writing here since I returned to Singapore. I'm hoping that things will get better soon, but in the meantime, here's a bit about my last minute EYF trip.

Am I ever so glad that I made the trip!

Due to moving to the other side of the world, I had kind of given up on going a few months ago, but the fabulous husbear told me I should just go anyway. He's awesome, and he's totally a keeper.

Spending Time with Knitters 

This is absolutely the #1 reason to go, to spend time with people who are also passionate about knitting.

It's such an inspiration for someone like me, who is hoping to get into designing and other knitting-related endeavours. The people watching is amazing because people put extra effort into their knits for the festival.

And I've met so many wonderful people that I cannot even begin to name them all.

Taking a Class

We already know that I'm an Olga Buraya-Kefelian fangirl, so let's leave it at that.

But I'd definitely recommend taking a class, if only because it justifies the travel costs.

The Marketplace 

It's awesome, and it's also the least important of the reasons to go.

Since I now live far away from my beloved Loop, it was great to get to squish all the new yarns and touch all the samples.

I went with a plan, targeted at yarns that would be more suitable for Singapore, and it worked pretty well. I will talk more about the yarns on another day.

How to Pack Travel Knitting

I started writing this post at the beginning of my move from London to Singapore, almost a month ago now. I am already back in Singapore, but the rest of my stash (and stuff) are in transit for another two months or so. 

Packing knitting for a trip takes me much much more time than packing my clothes.

How on earth am I supposed to predict what I will feel like knitting days or even weeks from now? I know what I SHOULD be working on, of course, but I've tended to find that bringing projects I'm not excited about tends to lead to an absence of knitting.

This post is about packing for general travel (up to 3 weeks), but I will write a bit more about my experiences packing for extended travel next week.

#1 Variety, Variety, Variety 

I like to pack at least 3 kinds of projects, which usually means at least one lace shawl and at least one garment, since that's pretty much all I knit. If I knitted socks, I'd definitely have one of those too.

#2 Think About Your Environment 

I was moving straight into an empty apartment, with the intent to buy lights and furniture as needed, so I didn't worry too much about that this time. But normally, when I travel, I make sure not to pack items that require good light to work on.

So pass on the cobweb yarns and bring on the fingering and up yarns. Stay away from dark colors that are difficult to see.

#3 Bring a Needle set! 

Sometimes you cast something on, and you realise your gauge is off. It's just easier to travel with the whole set.

#4 Bring Some Yarn! 

Just in case you feel like casting on something new, you should bring something new. In #1, I said I usually pack 3 kinds of projects, and usually the third is something new. :)

#5 Buy Some Yarn! 

We all deserve souvenir yarn!

May Made: Apex Cardigan II

This is my first lever knitting project, but I will talk about the lever knitting aspects separately. 

The Making 

The beginnings of my second Apex. 

I must be crazy, but this is the second Apex Cardigan I have made this year. I learnt quite a lot from the first one I made.

I exaggerated all the things I loved about the first one.

I made it wider. This emphasized the drop shoulder aspect, and will also allow me to use a shawl pin to hold the fronts closed if it gets particularly cold.

I also chose to knit it as long as I could given the amount of yarn I had, after seeing Ririko's version. It definitely reduces that weird bump I had on the back too.

But I think the best thing I did for my second version is to use a much drapier yarn and fabric. I think it looks more elegant and feminine this way.

I actually did knit the pockets, but the yarn I'm using is somewhat puffy, and it looked oddly bumpy at the hips, so I took them out.

The Materials

I used Illimani Amelie, which the proprietor of Illimani, Alvaro, kindly agreed to sell directly to me, even though he normally only does wholesale.

Amelie is a blown yarn. They make it by knitting a silk tube, and blowing it full of lovely alpaca fiber. You get 150m per 50g and it still knits up at a true worsted-aran gauge. This makes it extraordinarily light compared to most aran yarns.

And it feels absolutely glorious. This yarn deserves to be a next-to-skin garment. I very much would love to keep this cardigan as a house coat, and if I did that, I would only wear shorts and spaghetti strap tops at home to keep as much of the cardigan next to my skin as possible. I am currently working on a cashmere-silk shawl, and I firmly believe that Amelie feels much nicer.

The Wearing 

I have to admit, there is not anything new here. I made it long enough to be a proper Swoat, unlike my first one, and that's about it.

But here are some photos of me posing with it after I did the Three Needle Bind-off for the body, but without side seams or sleeves.

I put the cardigan back in front, and tied the cardigan fronts to wear this as an apron. I'm just going to pretend that Olga found this funny. :D 

I briefly, but seriously, considered keeping it as a cape.

If I hadn't already finished the sleeves, I might actually have left it like this. Linda Marveng's Wa has a similar sort of shape. If you would like to use the Apex pattern to make something like the Wa, I would recommend using the largest size chart, because it is not wide enough to even cover my upper arms like this.

View from the back. 

With the matching scarf I made to keep my front warm. 


The Notes 

I am of the opinion that this design looks better oversized and long, maybe more so than in the modeled pictures. Despite using a bigger gauge this time, I actually still went up a size in width (from 40 to 42). The main thing is, you probably want to make sure that the drop shoulder ends before your elbows begin. It will be less in your way.

If you should attempt to try it on after joining the fronts and back and blocking, it should be longer than you need it to be. The seams will 'pull up' the hem.

Choose your yarn, gauge and fabric wisely. This is a great project for choosing your own gauge, so rely on your preferences rather than worrying about getting gauge. The only thing I dislike about my drapier gauge is that the cables are not popping as much.

Lever Knitting: A Series

While I have been away from the blog recently, my big project has been learning how to lever knit.

I am almost done with my first lever knitting project, so I think it's a good time to start writing about it. I hope that the husbear will also be able to take some video of me lever knitting.

I'll be touching on the following topics, and I'll cheerfully answer any additions to the list that you might like to see:

• Speed 
• Ergonomics 
• Convenience 
• Quality of fabric 
• Pros and cons vs other styles of knitting 
• Choice of needles

I am Mathemaknitter

I have changed the blog title and URL to better reflect what I really like talking about.

Which is math and knitting. And there will be bits of programming thrown in, now that I've sorted out some technical issues.

The thing is, I just have so much more to say about math and fit and knitting than picking out the perfect capsule wardrobe.

I have also changed my username on instagram and Ravelry to mathemaknitter.

I have to say, I'm surprised that nobody has thought of this username before.

In any case, I hope to be back in a few days with something more substantial. I did finish a shawl, two cardigans, the body of a shrug and a Modified Shawl Thing since I last wrote anything substantial.