Craftzine.com blog: Knitting Archives

Archive: Knitting

November 20, 2009

CRAFT Pattern Podcast: Katalin Möbius Wrap & Wristlet Set

This week's CRAFT Pattern Podcast is the Katalin Möbius Wrap & Wristlet Set by Shannon Okey of knitgrrl, featured in CRAFT: 10. This cozy pair knits up fast and looks best in any multicolored yarn you like.

Catch up with Shannon on the Knitgrrl blog and check out some of her beautiful fiber, spinning tools, and patterns in the Knitgrrl shop.

Download the Pattern PDF | Subscribe in iTunes

November 17, 2009

Knifty Knitter Loom-Along with Vickie Howell: Alice Wrist Warmers

Knifty Knitter Loom-Along

Shh! I have a secret. I'm completely obsessed with the Twilight series. I first heard about the books from Kim Werker. Then, it was around this time last year when I got a hold of the first Twilight book from a fellow crafter Nancy Flynn of Belle Epoque. I was weeks from giving birth and on maternity leave so I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try. A week later, I was on the third novel in the series. The movie premiered on the day I gave birth to Chloe so I never got to see it until it came out months later on DVD. Yes, I admit have a crush on vampire Edward Cullen (not Robert Pattinson the actor, mind you) and the fog laden, damp locale of Forks, Washington is a perfect backdrop for showcasing knits. Because dear crafters, I know we have a lot in common. I see Twilight pop up in your Facebook feeds, in your Good Reads lists, and yes, it's a topic of conversation among us on Twitter, no?

Alicenewmoon Movieshot
(Photo: Summit Entertainment)

Enter in my one of my many email conversations with Vickie Howell, a knitting/crochet queen and fellow movie buff. In September for our "Cozy Up to Yarn" month, she had a brilliant idea to tie in her Movie Monday post with a knitting pattern for Alice Wrist Warmers. (Alice Cullen is also a teen vampire and Edward's sister.) With the movie premiere happening this Friday, we thought it would be fun to do an "Along" tying in our favorite thing -- knitting and a movie.

Pc Flowerloom-1
To celebrate the premiere of New Moon we are presenting the Knifty Knitter Loom-Along (LAL) with Vickie Howell! Vickie will be showing you how to create her Alice Wrist Warmers inspired by the movie using a Knifty Knitter Flower Loom Kit. You'll probably be able to find this at your local Jo-Ann's or craft store. It's an easy way to knit if you don't know how or a fun thing to try out even if you do know how. I'll be joining in on the fun as a new loom knitter.

Read full story

November 16, 2009

Machine Knitting Inspiration

I've been working with my kitting machine lately, setting up the ribbing attachment and prototyping for winter gifts, when Erica Magrey sent me this lovely inspiration by machine knitter Swank Dollar. I love the geometric patterns in that scarf!

November 15, 2009

How-To: Knit Snaky Keyhole Scarf

Carson Ellis shares her pattern for knitting this adorable snaky kehole scarf.

November 14, 2009

This Winter's Hot Accessory: The Snood, Moebius or Infinity Scarf

Knitting Daily covers this winter's hottest accessory, the snood, moebius, and infinity scarf. Learn how to knit a moebius and infinity scarf with Adina Klein on Knitting Daily TV and download the free pattern for the Dove Moebius Scarf and Hat pictured above. [via Twitter InterweaveNews]

Here's more photos and projects for inspiration:

Pictured clockwise: Hoodie Devoted by Laura Irwin from Boutique Knits, Pfeiiffer Falls Hooded Scarf designed by Anne Kuo Lukito from Interweave Knits Winter 2008, Free Pattern: Mossy Cowl designed by Katie Himmelbeg from Interweave Crochet Spring 2007, Never Wimpy Wimple by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts from Lace Style edited by Pam Allen and Ann Budd, and Nomad Hat and Scarf designed by Kat Coyle Interweave Knits Fall 2007

November 2, 2009

How-To: Knit Socks

Just last night, I was visiting with a friend who casually whipped out a work-in-progress knit sock from her purse. I marveled at the tiny, double-pointed needles poking out every which way, and was a bit intimidated by the whole thing. The latest videos from Lion Brand Yarn might help ease my fear a bit. They've just released a collection of six how-to videos for knitting a sock from the cuff down.

October 28, 2009

Mervin the Molar Knitting Pattern

For your little ones, knit up Mervin the Molar - The Tooth Fairy's Friend a pattern by Kat's Scratch Pad that comes with a tiny pocket to place a fallen tooth.

Big Microbe Knit in the UK

Join fellow crafters at the Touchstones Art Gallery in Rochdale, UK, for microbe knitting! This event is part of the Manchester Science Festival.

Join us for a day of creativity as we 'knit' micro-organisms such as Swine Flu, Salmonella and the common cold! Find out more about the microbes we encounter in our everyday lives and some of the more uncommon ones. Learn how to knit and add to our growing colonies! This is a drop-in event for all abilities - bring your own knitting kit, but some supplies will be available on the day.

If you can't make it out to the event, you can download free patterns for knitting models of Tuberculosis, Cholera, Salmonella, Common Cold, Swine Flu, and Penicillium. [via Art Yarn]

October 23, 2009

Threadbanger's Roundup of Knit and Crochet Halloween Costumes

If you have nimble fingers, you should be able to whip up one of these knit or crochet masks in time for Halloween. Lee Meredith at Threadbanger has gathered up the coolest and weirdest knit and crochet costumes for the season.

October 12, 2009

Knit Watermelon Hat Pattern

Watermel2
Susan B. Anderson shares her knit watermelon hat pattern which is just so adorable to knit up for kids. Click the link and take a peek at the adorable photo of two little girls wearing their watermelon hat and eating watermelon!

October 7, 2009

Prince Hat Pattern

Prince Hat01
I don't know why Prince decided to change his name to this symbol but I love this Prince hat pattern by Holly at Unfurled. Wear it at the next Prince concert or when you are thinking back nostalgically like I am to Junior High and singing "Raspberry Beret" to yourself.

October 5, 2009

Lion Brand Yarn Studio Window

Andrea of the Lion Brand Yarn Studio (34 W. 15th Street, NY) is busy knitting a scarf for The Partnership for the Homless. If you are in NY, stop by and check out the staffers who will be knitting or crocheting in the window display each day through November 22nd. Then stop inside and get your supplies to knit a hat or scarf to benefit the great cause.

From our previous CRAFT post:

From now until December 1st, let the staff know you are working on a hat or scarf for the charity and you'll get 10% off all yarn, hooks, needles, and supplies. Once you finish making all your hats and scarves, drop them off at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. As a thank you, you'll receive a 20% off coupon for your next purchase.

October 3, 2009

Game Knitting eBook by Lee Meredith

3973655926 6E0549C7Fc
Congrats to Lee Meredith who just launched her Game Knitting eBook. You can preview the table of contents and see some of the project images.

Lee writes:

Game knitting is a concept as opposed to a pattern, which means it can be used to make anything you can knit, as long as it’s a simple enough shape. The book features mostly hats, but there are also examples of scarves, mitts, headbands, and cuffs; knit whatever you love most, as it works out best to game knit an object you are familiar with knitting in the first place. As you can knit any shape, you can also game knit with any yarn/needles/gauge. You could even take it further and use the concept in non-knitting projects!

October 2, 2009

Knitting Pattern: Stash Socks

Too often we are left with mountains of little balls of sock yarn. here is a nice and easy way to use up those leftovers bits.

You can use one of two methods:
1. If you have two colors you want to use up, use one color for the cuff, heel flap, and toe.
2. If you have 3 or more colors to use up, use one for the heel and toe and alternate the other
colors every few rows. Just makes sure you use the same striping pattern for both socks.

Read full story

September 30, 2009

Knit Aviator Baby Hat

CRAFT: Cozy Up to Yarn

When my son Huck was born this spring, the Craftzine team bought him this adorable hat from the Ikeasaurus benefit auction, which was raising money for a sick baby named Ike in Austin. It made me happy to think of one baby helping another. And now Huck's finally big enough to wear it! The hat was knit by the very talented Beth Reyburn and is perfect for cool San Francisco autumn days.

I also got a photo and an update on Ike's health from his mom, Kari:

Ike-a-saurus is now a rockin' 13 months old. The trach isn't slowing him down at all, even as he crawls upstairs and tries to throw himself in the laundry hamper. He enjoys watching So You Think You Can Dance while he learns to walk, silly boy.

He is still at very high risk for dangerous respiratory infections, so we have to be vigilant with our hand sanitizer, and Ike isn't allowed out of the house, except for doctor's appointments and walks around the block. We're very busy teaching him how to chow down on things like high cal/high fat Greek yogurt so that he can pack on some pounds before the spring. If we can get his weight up, he'll be able to travel to the specialists in Cincinnati for airway reconstruction surgery. Then he'll finally, finally be trach free.

It's not easy around here at Chez Ike-a-saurus, but with the support from our friends, family and community, we're weathering everything surrounded by more love than we could ever comprehend.

Ike is not daunted by any of this, and despite everything, he's even trying to talk. (Something the doctors told us he would never do with the trach.) Here's a link to Ike jabbering, and here are some pictures. He's our sweet boy, and we are stunned every day by how he touches the lives of everyone around him.

Three cheers for charming, brave Ike and his wonderful family and friends! And three cheers for my amazing, thoughtful, big-hearted, crafty coworkers!

Knit Your Own Team Logo Scarf

CRAFT: Cozy Up to Yarn

Knit Your Own Team Logo Scarf
By Michelle Kempner

Fall is an exciting time. The leaves are changing, the kids are back to school, and football season is starting up. Since you are starting to pull your knitting needles and yarn back out of the closet, why not use them to knit a scarf to support your favorite sports team? The scarf could have an image of the school mascot or a professional sports team logo. You can design the pattern yourself using photo software and the existing sports team logo and have a very unique scarf to wear to games.

Read full story

Mixing Fibers: Free Knit Pin Cushion Pattern

A common problem when working from the stash, is having only a small amount of each type of fiber left. How can you successfully combine cotton and wool in the same project? How can you combine acrylic with silk? Should you? Would you? Could you dare? (Yes, I totally stole that line from the Spooky Old Tree). Yes to all three! Of course your should.

By combining fibers in the same project you can start playing with texture, color, and drape in ways never possible. I love taking advantage of a fiber's inherent property and pairing it with another to create various affects and looks.

A few guidelines to get started
1. If using a combination of wool and anything else remember that the wool will felt and the other fibers will not. This can be used to your advantage, or end up in the reject bin. I combine wool and cotton in the Perfect Dishcloth so it will intentionally felt the wool as you use it as a dish rag. In this case it make a semi harsh scouring pad perfect for use of teflon and the like. The un-felted cotton gives it a nice texture that a just wool felted rag would not have.

2. If you don't want your project to gather, use the same gauge throughout your project. Like the felting, this is not a rule, just keep it in mind. This can mean using all the same weight, or changing needles/hooks for each section of yarn. It can be used to your advantage to have a thinner stretching yarn combined with a thicker yarn that has less give. Like an alpaca with cotton.

3. Winding yarns together is a great way to get a new yarn from three old ones. I used a cotton, wool, silk, and acrylic all together to make the great bulky yarn in this crocheted scarflet.

Knit Pin Cushion Pattern

Read full story

September 29, 2009

From Russia, with Love: Cabled Balaclava

CRAFT: Cozy Up to Yarn

From Russia, with Love: Cabled Balaclava
By Nikol Lohr

The balaclava, named after the town of Balaclava in Crimea (now Ukraine), was originally worn by Russian soldiers in the Crimean war. While the balaclava retains a military association, it's also well loved by skiers and climbers for its flexibility and warmth. A sort of sock for your head, the balaclava is wonderfully warm and efficient — doing double duty as both hat and scarf in a single garment, without the added bulk and fuss of a separate scarf. It has an opening in the front, which can be stretched to reveal just your eyes, your eyes and nose, or your whole face. The extra length can be folded over to make an extra-warm hat, or you can pop your whole head through the front opening and wear it as a cowl.

The balaclava is a marvelously practical garment that everyone in a cold climate should own. It eliminates the trouble of finding hat and scarf and bundling up like Ralphie if you're just running to the mailbox or walking the dog on a bitter cold day. Of course, the classic black or olive drab balaclava might give you a S.W.A.T./bank robber vibe that you're not really going for — and it might not be the wisest look when you're popping into the corner store for some beer. To shake off the alarm factor, I've made this one in a totally plush sugary pink cashmere blend, with lots of cushy cables for added warmth.

Read full story

Picking the Right Hook and Needles

One of the things that many experienced yarnies take for granted is how to know what hook or needles to use for the yarn you have. This is especially important if you are making up your own project as you go along or if you are altering a pattern you already have. Being able to take a pattern and look at your stash, grab the right yarn, and then grab the right hook or needles is so handy to getting your yarn leftover pattern off to the right start.

First, take a good look at the ball band. It has a ton of great information to get you started in the right direction. You can see what all the symbols mean by going to Skein Lane Studio and Yarn Standards.

Look at the yarn's weight (lace, fingering, sport, dk, worsted, aran, bulky, chunky - each yarn brand is different though) and the suggested hook and needle size. You can see general yarn standards for weights and suggested hook and needle sizes on Yarn Standards as well as suggested gauge.

Now here is the tricky thing - we all knit and crochet differently and with different tensions (how tight our stitches are) so for me I like to knit worsted yarns with size 6 needles tops. And I often crochet it with a size D hook. And it also depends on the type of fabric we want to create. Do we want a tight thick fabric or an open fabric? Not to mention all yarns are not created equal so some yarns are spun tight and others loose. You have 1 ply, 2 ply, 3 ply, etc ply yarns all wound up different ways. And then there are fiber types. Some fibers look a lot better knit loose while others tight. Alpaca will drape heavily and straight wool will have a bit more bounce.

I make sure to look at the weight they say the yarn is, what the suggested needle size is and then what the gauge is. Those are the big indicators of what the yarn will knit up like. All the same it's always best to get it wrapped around your needles/hook and work a few short rows to see what it's like. The yarn shop I used to work at had a huge basket of yarn just for this purpose, so crafters could see what the yarn worked up like and if it would be right for their pattern.

The easiest thing to do is to knit with the recommended yarn and needles/hook recommended by your pattern - but who does that? In an ideal world sure, but we work with what's available, what's on hand, what's in our stash or our local yarn shop. Yarns get discontinued too, so sometimes it's just impossible to find.

I found this great "Thinking Beyond the Pattern... A field guide to yarn substitutions" on Knitty.com about doing yarn substitutions. And this is wonderful to know. I think that was the number one question I was asked while working at the Yarn Exchange "what yarn can I use for this pattern?"

So to recap - swatches are your best bet, experience will help you get a feel for it, there are standards but they don't always apply, once you figure out how to do yarn substitutions you are golden for any project.

I hope this helps and that you will be well on your way to grabbing the right hook the first time around!

September 28, 2009

Alice Wrist Warmers

CRAFT: Cozy Up to Yarn

Alice Wrist Warmers
By Vickie Howell

When a professional knitter and a movie critic live in the same household, there's bound to be some crossover. In our house, that convergence takes form as "Movie Mondays" on my blog. Every week I post screenshots of the knitwear I spot in one of the many flicks we're watching — we've become veritable eagle eyes of Silver Screen yarn; my sons even commenting when a beanie or blanket flashes across the television. Recently, while researching Twilight for his movie news website, smellslikescreenspirit.com, my husband came across this photo still of Alice wearing fingerless mitts in the upcoming sequel, New Moon. Enter this project: simple wrist warmers for a complicated girl!

Alicenewmoon Movieshot
(Photo: Summit Entertainment)

Read full story

Knitting Home | Next >

Craft:

CRAFT Pattern Podcast: Katalin Möbius Wrap & Wristlet Set

Knifty Knitter Loom-Along with Vickie Howell: Alice Wrist Warmers

Machine Knitting Inspiration

How-To: Knit Snaky Keyhole Scarf

This Winter's Hot Accessory: The Snood, Moebius or Infinity Scarf

How-To: Knit Socks

Mervin the Molar Knitting Pattern

Big Microbe Knit in the UK

Threadbanger's Roundup of Knit and Crochet Halloween Costumes

Knit Watermelon Hat Pattern

Prince Hat Pattern

Lion Brand Yarn Studio Window

Game Knitting eBook by Lee Meredith

Knitting Pattern: Stash Socks

Knit Aviator Baby Hat

Knit Your Own Team Logo Scarf

Mixing Fibers: Free Knit Pin Cushion Pattern

From Russia, with Love: Cabled Balaclava

Picking the Right Hook and Needles

Alice Wrist Warmers

Social CRAFT

November's Theme & Contests

Daily Tweet a Tip

Sign up for the CRAFT Newsletter

Get the CRAFT Daily Email

Craftzine Authors

Current Podcast

Craft Categories

Craft Archives

Recent Comments

Recent Posts in the MAKE Blog

	CRAFT on Facebook Visit our Facebook page and become a fan of CRAFT!
	CRAFT on Twitter Follow our CRAFT tweets!
	CRAFT on Flickr Join our CRAFT Flickr Pool and your photo could be featured in Becky's Sunday CRAFT Flickr Roundup!