Words of Wisdom

When we are looking for inspiration and new patterns or techniques to try, we often turn to one of our favourite blogs.  There are so many knit and crochet bloggers out there that have so much to offer us – an invaluable resource to every yarn-based crafter.

Here are a few of our favourites which we hope you will enjoy.

Lucy’s blog, Attic 24, is a constant source of joy for us and many others.  Not only is she brilliant at guiding you through her new designs with comprehensive step-by-step photo tutorials but her sense of colour is amazing.  Every project is a winner.

A Playful Day is a very informative podcast and blog all rolled in to one with lots of reviews of yarns and books as well as illuminating interviews with key designers and personalities from the world of craft.  She also looks at a wider range of textile crafts that are really interesting.

We have followed Kate Davies’ blog practically since she started.  Her designs are iconic and she is so good at explaining her inspiration so that you feel really involved in each project.  But more than that, her posts that look at the history of knitting are brilliantly researched and always add to our knowledge.  Oh and don’t forget the fun posts from her dog, Bruce, as he cavorts around the Scottish hills.

Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch is one of the bright young stars of craft blogging.  She writes 

mainly about knitting but the odd bit of sewing does creep in – not surprising really since her mother appeared on the Great British Sewing Bee. The word Cwtch is welsh and means cuddle or cubbyhole.  At the moment she is featuring a top up sock with after-thought heel tutorial so head over there if you want some guidance.

Cherry Heart is a wonderfully cheerful blog written by Sandra, a stay at home mum.  Her adventures in craft are entertaining and we love her crochet designs. Her first loves now are knitting, crochet and thinking up new yarnie ideas – her passion for her craft really comes across in her blog.

Little Cotton Rabbits is a must for anyone who loves to knits toys.  Julie’s cats, dogs, rabbit, elephants and other toy animals are so beautifully made with gorgeous little clothes – we just wish she did jumper patterns for grown ups!  Julie is also a pretty fantastic photographer with captivating images of the world around her.

Do you have any blogs that you would like to share with us?  Leave a comment below and one of you will win a lovely prize.

Taming Your stash

With Christmas fast approaching, if you are anything like us you will be knitting or crocheting up a storm of Christmas gifts. But this can often leave your stash in a bit of a mess, so we have come up with some tips to help you get it back in order.

Organise your yam by weight.

That way you can see at a glance whether you have just the right shade of DK you are looking for or whether your sock yarn stash has reached epic proportions. When you have done this you might also like to group your colours together.  There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a rainbow of lovely colours.

Moths keep out!

Unfortunately, in the UK, we suffer a lot with clothes moths who particularly like to munch on wool and hand knits.  We have found that products with cedar oil help but you might also like to put your yarn in sealable plastic bags.

Keep a record

If you have multiple balls of yarn of the same kind it is a good idea to wind off a little sample to stick in a book and make a note of the meterage and weight of the yarn you have.  When you next find time to browse patterns on Ravelry you will know instantly whether you have enough yarn.

Tidy up your leftovers

Small amounts of yarn left over from a project that are just too large to throw away can create a lot of clutter in your stash. Our new Wool Winder is a great way to bring some order to these remnants so they are ready to use in other projects. How about winding them all together in to a big ball for a colour changing blanket like this Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown.  You could create a really beautiful rainbow effect.

Now your stash is all organised you will know exactly what you need Santa to bring you for Christmas  AND you will now have the room.

Yarn Show Survival Guide

At this time of year we are gearing up for a number of shows that are just around the corner; Bristol Wool Fair and Yarndale in September; The Knitting and Stitching show In October and November. So we thought we would come up with a show survival guide just for you.

De-stash

Before you go to a yarn show, have a good look at your stash. If you are anything like us you can certainly get rid at a few balls to friends or charities to make room for your new purchases.

Make a shopping list

Why not take a look at your pattern books or Ravelry library and choose a few projects you would like to knit or crochet. That way you won't be tempted by random balls at yarn you are unlikely to use.

Make sure you can access your patterns

If you are substituting yams you may want to check the meterage you need. Whether on your Smartphone or printed out it is well worth having them to hand.

Take some big strong bags

This will ensure you get all your purchases home safely and won't lose anything. It's so easy to misplace a little bag when you stop for tea.

Take something to drink or eat

Exhibition halls can get very hot and the queues for tea and cakes get quite long.

Wear comfortable shoes

There's a lot of walking so we always plump for comfort over style!

Check your needles and hooks

Are you missing any sizes or do you need a spare?  There is usually someone selling our range of KnitPro products so you can pick up what you need.

And most of all have fun. There is nothing as exciting as getting home to unpack all your wonderful purchases.

Steek it!

We love Fair Isle knitting - it's one of our favourite techniques. But there is one element of this type of knitting that some of you may have been reluctant or even scared to try and that is steeking.

A steek is a panel that allows you to knit a Fair Isle project in the round- much faster than back and forth. It's great for cardigans or throws and is a very old technique.  You can read more about steeking on Kate Davies' blog here.

Once you have finished knitting you cut along the steek - yes we do mean cut - and pick up stitches to create an edging or button band. Cutting a piece of work you have invested a lot of time in can be daunting so we have created this post to show you some easy techniques for successful steeking.

As with so many things in life the devil is in the detail or in this case the preparation.

In some Scandinavian countries they are confident enough to simply cut the steek but we prefer to anchor our stitches using crochet or a sewing machine.

For the crochet method we recommend you use a finer yarn than the project and a smaller crochet hook than the knitting needles you used.  This is because crochet is a looser technique and you want to be sure your stitches are securely anchored.

We have knitted a mug cosy to demonstrate for you.

You can see the panel of steek stitches that aren’t part of the pattern.

Crochet a line of double crochet (English terminology) through each loop in a vertical line as you see here.

Then crochet another next to it like this.

If you would prefer to use a sewing machine, sew two vertical lines of stitches up each side of the steek as in the crochet example.

Your stitches are anchored so it is safe to cut them.  Take a deep breath and be brave!

Now you can pick up your edge stitches like this.

When your edging is finished it is used to encase the raw edge of the steek to keep everything nice and neat.

You have now completed your steek. Well done!  We’re proud of you.

If you want to practise your steeking you can download this mug cosy pattern for free here. 

We are always looking for new techniques to try so let us know if you have one you would like us to help you with.