Not sure if this is a daft question, but..

I’m going to stop you right there. Asking questions – especially about how to do something you don’t know how to do – is almost always a good idea. So less of the Daft. Agreed?

(also the truth is that we love answering those kind of questions)

So what’s the question?..

I’ve come to the end of my ball of yarn and don’t know how to join in the new one (holds out a new ball of cotton DK).

A knitter at the table looks up: Whatever you do, don’t tie any knots. And if it’s flat knitting  make sure you do it at the edge. Is it wool? No? Well if it was, I’d spit splice it. But as it isn’t, you can’t.

Someone browsing the box of mohair colours turns towards us: I quite like a knot actually. Stops things slipping around. As long as I can undo it later and I’ve left long enough ends to weave in.

A student, elbow deep in the Stash Depot drawer smiles shyly and then finds his voice: I’ve just tried a thing where you weave the tails of the old and new balls in behind the next few stitches  as you knit them and it’s really invisible.

Susan, overhearing what’s going on, walks into the shop from the back room with a twinkle in her eye: Let me show you the twist and weave join. It’s a game changer. 

..and so you see it turns out that there was nothing daft about the question at all. In fact it meant that  our newbie knitter hero learned a whole load of new stuff, and 4 experienced knitters added some new tricks to their repertoires. What a result!

Different knitters, different answers – there’s almost never one right way, and each way has its own appeal to different personalities and knitting moods, yarns, projects and fabric requirements. It makes sure that our craft is in a permanent state of flux, constantly evolving as resourceful knitters puzzle out new solutions to stitch and construction problems, and then share them around, ensuring that the knitty body of knowledge carries on growing.

Now a yarn shop’s role in this process is all very well (in fact super if you happen to be the shop keeper who gets to hear all these brilliant suggestions) but what about the unfortunate knitters who are not in easy reach of a friendly wool shop?

Well, I’m happy to say that we have a plan for you too!
Knitters’ Question Time is a panel show that we’re bringing live to the  Make Joy Knitting Show at Woolwich Works in east London on 7 November. So if you’ve been pondering a technical, spiritual, practical or theoretical knitting question, now is your time! Simply send it to us by clicking the button below or replying to this newsletter. If your question is picked, our panel of 4 expert knitters will each have a go at giving you an answer.