Monthly Archives: October 2012

Design A Sweater. Lesson 4: Sleeves!

I raced through the body of my sweater in order to stay ahead of the
class, but even if you haven’t finished that sections, you can always
start on a sleeve!

Knitting sleeeves can be a welcome break from
working the torso of a sweater–they are more portable, and smaller, so
each round goes much faster and the length gows perceptibly, for a real
feeling of accomplishment! In this lesson, we’ll go over the math
behind sleeve shaping, and discuss some potential modifications that
allow you to get custom sleeves!

Click the link below for the handout:

Lesson 4: Sleeves

And
check out our videos, where I (somewhat tiredly–apologies! I should
maybe not shoot these lessons on Monday!) walk you through the math and
show how the formulas in the handout gave me the sleeve I want!

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Design a Sweater, Lesson 3: Shaping the Torso

Hi there! As you’ll see in this week’s video, my sweater is coming
along swimmingly! Now that I am deep in the process of working the waist
shaping, I am remembering why my row counter is my best friend!

This week, we’ll be discussing how to calculate the increases
and decreases that will shape the torso of your sweater to the finished
dimensions you desire. It may be helpful for you to look over and print
out this week’s handout so that you can follow along with the video
lesson, in which I’ll be walking you through all the math required in
this step. I promise, it’s not terribly hard 🙂 Click the link below to
get the handout:

Lesson 3 – Shaping the Torso

And check out the videos below!

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Sock Yarn Studio book review

Before you start to play with any of the designs Carol Sulcoski has gather in Sock Yarn Studio, take some time to read through Carol’s preface for understanding what constitutes a sock yarn. You also begin to appreciate the absolutely stunning photography that you will find throughout the book. The introductory chapter also covers how Carol has categorized sock yarns for purposes of organizing the patterns. There are solid colors, self-patterning and multicolored each with their unique qualities as you knit.

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Design A Sweater, Lesson 1: Swatching and Measuring

Ok, are we all ready to start swatching? Last week we discussed yarn
choices and design dreaming, and this week we are going to solidify our
yarn choices (if you haven’t already!) and find the right needle to get
the fabric that your design requires! I’ve done some extensive
swatching (the results of which I share in the videos below) and have
settled on knitting my Swish Worsted on US 6 Zephyr needles.

Swatching can seem boring when you’re itching to cast on a
project, but it is one of the most essential parts of the design
process, so it deserves a lot of time and attention! In this lesson,
I’ll be giving tips on how to swatch for the fabric your design needs,
and then covering the measuring of gauge from your swatch, and the
measurements needed for a succesful knit. All this information ins
contained in the pdf linked below, which also has diagrams and blanks
for you to fill in with your personal gauge and measurments. Don’t
worry if you’re math-phobic; I’ve done my nest to keep it simple and to
walk you through all the claculations step-by-step!

Lesson 1: Swatching and Measuring

Read on for more info and Videos…

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Design A Sweater, Lesson 7: Finishing!

Hi Knitters! This final edition of the sweater class is all about
finishing. In this week’s video and handout, I’ll discuss weaving in
ends, how to finish your turned hem, closing up the underarms, and
working the neckline trim! Whew! Each step goes pretty fast, but make
sure to take the time to do these steps right, as a well-finished
sweater will look a lot better than one with sloppy finishing.

Check out our tutorials on finishing, too–they’ll give you a
lot of information on how to execute the techniques discussed in this
lesson.

Finshing Tutorials

Another resource I really like and use a lot is Nancie Wiseman’s Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques, which is a wealth of information on every bit of swea=ter finishing you could imagine!

And without further ado, here’s your handout for this week:

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Embroidery: How to do the Duplicate Stitch

To round out our embroidery tutorial series, this week’s technique is all about duplicate stitch! This particular stitch lets you embroider on top of your existing stitches of stockinette fabric in a contrasting color. It also mimics the structure of your stitches, making it a fairly seamless way to add colorful motifs or other designs onto your knitting. And I must say – this is the perfect technique for smaller projects when I don’t feel up to using stranded knitting or intarsia to create the motif or pattern.

So to help you get started with the duplicate stitch, check out Kerin’s video tutorial on this technique.

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Never fear, the Woodsy Association is here!

All of us here have been a fan of Stephanie Dosen AKA tiny owl knits for quite awhile – from her bunny slippers pattern hopsalot to her adorable deer with tiny antlers hat to her super popular & addicting beeskeeper’s quilt, her whimsical patterns have delighted us for years. Now we are so excited to have her newest collection – The Woodsy Association!

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Interview with Rohn Strong

Way back in March, I came across a Kickstarter for a new knitting book inspried by knitting during the World Wars. I thought it sound like a great idea, since I’m a sucker for that time period, and immediately donated to it…and now I’m excited to see the finished project! The Heritage Collection: WWI & WWII, now available on the Knit Picks website, is beautiful collection of patterns by Rohn Strong – and I was delighted to have the opportunity to talk to him about his work!

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Hearts Forever!

A certain little lady has requested a heart scarf in pink or purple for
the holidays. After much hemming and hawing over yarn I finally settled
on Dolly in Stroll Hand Painted and White in Stroll Sport.
I wanted to makes sure it would still be pretty easy to wash
(especially after I imagined it getting dunked in a sloppy puddle or
dragging on the ground behind her as she runs for the school bus) and
both Strolls are machine washable, perfect for what I had in mind.

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