MEGA KNITTING (HAND KNITTING)

MEGA KNITTING:-

Increasingly popular mega knitting is hand knitting using knitting needles greater than or equal to half an inch in diameter. Mega knitting uses the same stitches and techniques as conventional knitting , except that hooks may be covered into the end of the needles. The hooked needles greatly enhance central of the world, catching the stitches and preventing them from slip off.

Mega knitting produces a chunky , bulky, fabric or open lacing weave, depending on the weight and type of yarn used . 

(Julia Hopson with world record 3.5 meters(11'.6") long knitting needles). 

The holder of the Gunniess world Record for knitting with the largest knitting needles is Julia Hopson of Penzance Car Wall. Julia knitted a square of ten stitches and ten rows in stockinette stitch using knitting needles, that were 6.5 centimetre ( 2.5 inches) in diameter and 3.5 meters,(11'6") long.

KNITTING MATERIAL:-

YARN:-

 (A skein of wool yarn (center) is uncoiled into its basic loop. As it is visible at the left , after untying the hank may be wound into a ball or balls suitable for knitting. Knitting from a normal hank directly is likely to tangle the yarn producing snarls.)

Yarn for hand knitting is usually sold as a balls or skein (hanks) although it may also be wound onto spool or cones . Skeins and balls are generally sold with a yarn-brand , a lable that describes the yarn's weight, length, dye lot, fiber, content , washing, instructions, suggested needles size , likely guage , etc . It is common practice to save the yarn brand for future refrence , especially if additional skeins must be purchased knitters generally ensure that the yarn for a project comes from a single dye lot. The dye lot specifies a group of skein , that were dyed together and thus have precisely the same color , skeins from different dye-lots, even every similar in color, are usually, slightly different and may produce a visible stripe when knitted into the same project . If a knitter buys in sufficient yarn of a single dye-lot to complete a project, additional skeins of the same dye-lot can sometimes be obtained from other yarn store or online.

The thickness of the yarn is significant in determining the guage i e. how many stitches and rows are required to cover a given area for a given stitch pattern. Thicker yarns generally require thicker knitting needles , whereas thinner yarn may be knit with the thick or thin needles. Hence thicker yarns are generally require fewer stitches, and therefore less time , to knit up a given garment. Pattern and motif are coarser with the thicker yarns, thicker yarns produce bold visual effects , whereas thinners yarns are best for refined patterns. Yarns are grouped by thickeness into six categories ; superfine, fine, lights , medium, bulky, quantitatively, thickness is measured by the number of wraps per inch (wpi) . The related weight per unit length is usually measured in tex or denier.

In addition choosing the correct thickness for the gauge, the knitter must also pick the type of yarn fiber. There are currently about fifteen type of yarn fiber, falling into two categories, natural fibers are those that are obtained from a plant or an animal and have different attributes depending on the animal/plant, they are harvested from which must be taken into account when considering the uses of a finished knitting object. Example; wool is well suited to items which will be used to hold in heat, even when damp, such as winter hats and mittens . Linen however, would be well suited to a light summer sweater when breathability is a factor . Synthetic fiber are made by forcing a thick solution of polymerised chemical through spinnerate nozzles and hardening the resulting filments in chemical  bath . Natural fibers are generally softer and more comfortable whereas synthetic are durable and easier to dye same fibers can be harder to knit with the others for a variety of reasons. Cotton i.e. fr example, does not stretch as such requires the knitter to work harder to maintain guage.

(transformation of a hank of lavender silk yarn (top) into a ball in which the KNITTING yarn emerges from the (bottom) . The later is better for knitting since the yarn is much less likely to tangle)

Before knitting , the knitter will typically transform a hank into ball where the yarn emerges from the center of the ball. This making the knitting easier by preventing the yarn from becoming easily tangled. This transformation may be done by hand or with a device known as ball winder. When knitting, some knitter enclose their balls in jars to keep them clean and untangled with other yarn, the free yarn passed through a small hole in the jar lid. 

A yarn's usefulness for a knitting project is judged by several factors , such as its lift ( its ability to trap air) its resilience (elasticity under tension). Its washability and color fastness, its hand (its feel particularly softness vs scratchiness), its durability against abrasion, its resistance to pilling , its hairiness (fuzziness) , its tendency to twist or untwist , its overall weight and drape, its locking and felting qualities, comfort (breathability, moisture absorption, wicking properties) and of course its look , which includes its color , sheen, smoothness and ornamental features. Other factors include allergenicity, speed of dyeing , resistance to chemicals, moths and mildews, melting point, and flammability , retention of static electricity, and the prosperity to become stained and to accept dyes. Different factors may be more significant than others for different knitting projects. So there is n one "best' yarn . The resilience and prosperity to (un) twist are general properties that effect the ease of hand knitting. More resilient yarns are more for giving of irregularities in tension , highly twisted yarn sometimes difficult to knit, whereas untwisting yarn can lead to split stitches, in which not all the yarn is knitted into a stitch. A key factor in knitting is stitch definations, corresponding to how well complicated stitch patterns can be seen when made from given yarn . Smooth, highly spun yarn are best for showing off stitch patterns, at the other extreme very poor stitch defination and any complicated stitch patterns would be invisible.

Sometimes unconventional materials are like, paper, rope, flexible metal wire, and plastic tubing are used in place of yarn.

Ref:-https://en.m.wikipedia.org