Glossary

Every podcast we try hard to explain any technical lingo, acronyms, and short hand that may be commonly used in the fiber industry. This is our working list of definitions.

BOUCLE YARN

A yarn with slubs of fiber all along the length of the yarn creating a fuzzy fabric when knit or crocheted.

BLOCKING

The process of wetting your finished garment and laying it flat while shaping it to dry, often slightly stretching it out to get the shape you intend.

CAST ON

The act of putting the first stitches on the needle for a knitting project.

CIRCULAR NEEDLES

Two shorter needles that have one pointed end and are connected by a cable of varying lengths to one another.

CROCHET

A way to create fabric from yarn using a hook and pulling the yarn through one loop at a time.

DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES (DPN)

A set of 5 or 6 short needles that are pointed on both ends. Used to knit in the round.

FAIR ISLE

A form of stranded knit colorwork used to create different designs originating from Fair Isle, Scotland.

FROG/FROGGING

Ripping out knitting.

GAUGE SWATCH

Knitting a small portion of the pattern usually in a 4”x4” square to make sure your sizing is the same as the pattern. You may find you need to go up or down in needle size to get the same gauge as the pattern.

KNIT

The right side of the fabric that has the classic ‘v’shape.

PICOT BIND OFF

Decorative finishing row of a knit garment yielding a scalloped edge.

PURL

The wrong side of the fabric that has bars.

RIB STITCH

A knit pattern that creates a vertical striping by using *knit 1, purl* repeat.

ROWING OUT

When the knit and purl sides have different tension creating an uneven looking fabric.

STOCKINETTE

A knit pattern that is knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side.

STRANDED KNITTING

Using multiple colors and strands of yarn to create a colored pattern.

YARN CHICKEN

While finishing a knit object the knitter realizes he or she may run out of yarn. The game is to play yarn chicken, to see if the yarn will run out before the project is completed.

YOKE

The top part of a garment, often decorative.