If you knit at all, or would like to know how, you’ll want to get in on Craftsy’s brand new free online knitting workshop, and make yourself a cute and cosy shrug.

Shrug — you know — one of those little sweaters that forgot to grow past the shoulder blades?

Don’t snort!

Honestly, if you don’t own a shrug, you’re missing out on a very useful bit of wardrobe gear. It’s the perfect little cover-up for a dressy outfit (think, cool eveing breeze at a wedding reception) or just to snuggle up in when the cold winter nights roll on, but you aren’t quite ready to bundle up in the full-fledged woolies.

One-Skein Knit Shrug Online Workshop

Knit designer Stefanie Japel leads the workshop, providing both the pattern and easy-to-follow instructions. One little skein of yarn, two circular needles, and a few really basic knitting skills — plus a free Craftsy membership — are all you’ll need to get going.

What better way to learn, if you’re new to knitting?

You get the company of other yarn fanatics, albeit through the magic of the intertubes, and a chance to showcase photos of your finished product when you’re done. Or browse the showcase to see how other knitters have interpreted the same pattern, and get inspired to actually finish your own!

There are online courses at Craftsy, too, in all manner of handicraft skills from crochet to quilting, but I really like the new workshops for their social aspects. “Workshop” means you never have to knit alone — there’s a whole bunch of other knitters, all working on the same pattern, to tap for tips and advice!

After all, sharing your work and talking about the challenges you’ve had to, er, unravel… that’s one of the great joys of making stuff, no?

And if you’re like me — a rank beginner in the yarn department, still, after all these years! — the talented yarn-wranglers at Ravelry can make your needles clatter with nerves. I’m feeling that Craftsy (“Learn It. Make It”) classes and workshops may be a more comfy fit…

Take Craftsy’s one-skein shrug workshop for a test drive and see what you think. It’s a free for a limited time only, I believe, so don’t dilly-dally!

No dogs allowed at your digs? No worries! Thanks to British knitwear designers Sally Muir and Joanne Osborne — the clever chicks who created that famous bright red “black sheep” sweater sported by Princess Diana back in the 80s — you can knit your own faithful companion.

The patterns in Muir & Osborne’s spiffy book, Best in Show: Knit Your Own Dog, put a well-behaved pet well within the reach of every fairly capable knitter. Choose the dog breed that’s closest to your heart, from 25 available patterns.

• Afghan Hound
• Basset Hound
• Border Collie
• Cocker Spaniel
• Corgi
• Dachshund
• Dalmatian
• English Bulldog
• English Bull Terrier
• French Bulldog
• German Shepherd
• Jack Russell
• Labrador
• Miniature Schnauzer
• Old English Sheepdog
• Poodle
• Portuguese Water Dog (isn’t that the official Obama family dog?)
• Pug
• Red Setter
• Rough Collie
• Scottish Terrier
• Siberian Husky
• West Highland Terrier
• Whippet (size it up for a Greyhound, maybe?)
• Wire-haired Fox Terrier

Clear instructions and beautiful photographs, as well as useful tips on selecting yarn and giving a real personality to your knitted dogs, make the book a real pleasure. Be aware though, that although the dogs are toy in size, these do requires a lot of shaping and piecing together of miscellaneous bits, so you probably won’t want to give the finished product to a kid to play with. Think “collector’s item” instead, for admiration and display.

This just in from Crafters News (Crown):

You’ve knitted their colorful blankets, sassy nightgowns, adorable baby bibs, dishtowels, and more, but did you know that Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne of Mason-Dixon Knitting fame are actually country singers in disguise?

Give a listen to Kay and Ann on the Nashville Bandwagon Show, performing their side-splitting-funny country song “Pardon Me (I Didn’t Knit that For You)”.

This musical gem was part of the whoop-up launch of the new (affordable!) paperback edition of Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter’s Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures.

Now, doesn’t that make you want to rush right out and… knit up something cosy for the one you love?

Yes, that’s what I said: it’s a knitted baby hat that’s made to look like your Thanksgiving turkey. After the stuffing and roasting has happened, fortunately.

Here’s the story:

Sara knitted a turkey hat for her little guy, 2 years ago, when he was just a wee newborn. Okay, we can figure that the stress of the holiday season and childbirth and a baby in the NICU and all…

“I may have been slightly unhinged at that point,” she says.
Granted.

So last year, did she knit little Isaac a sleek toque or a jaunty newboy cap?

Mais, non! It was the Thanksgiving turkey all over again, one size larger and in a different brand of yarn for a whiter, brighter tip of the drumstick… And now you can knit one of your very own! Sara’s offering her original Jive Turkey Baby Hat pattern — free — over at Going Crafty.

Guess the tag line of her blog:

Hahahahaha!
I love it.

Going Crafty seems to be taking a nap right now, but the weird turkey craft thing is working its magic on me…

Oh, I’m not going to size up the pattern and knit myself a chapeau avec drumsticks for the holiday season, but doesn’t it make you wonder what other wild and whimsical turkey-inspired crafts are begging to be discovered?

p.s. Are we amazed that baby Isaac, now one of the world’s most interesting toddlers, is “very anti-hat”? Even when dressed up as a porcupine? Go figure.

“One natural product deserves another,” say the folks at Rocky-Brook Fine Woodcrafts, recommending their wooden knitting needles for real wool yarn, although “of course, they work just as well with synthetic fibres.”

My sister (a genius knitter) just sent me the tip on these, and I strongly suspect she was sending a hint for Christmas! Rocky-Brook wooden knitting needles are crafted by a family-owned company that’s located (more or less) in this neck of the woods, too — another reason to like ‘em!

Lightweight yet strong, the smooth wax-rubbed wooden knitting needles are naturally warm to the touch, which is said to make them ideal for knitters who are troubled by arthritis — or, I suggest, for those who just love the feel of smooth wood?

There’s no lacquer finish to wear away and cause rough spots that might snag your yarn. The finish on Rocky-Brook needles can be easily renewed just by rubbing them with a piece of waxed paper!

And did I mention, environmentally friendly?

Our needles are not only a pleasure to use but they are also one of the most environmentally friendly knitting products on the market. We are very proud to say we maintain less than a 4% waste factor during the crafting of our needles.

Oh, and if your compulsion to knit your way through the evening TV fare is driving your roommates to distraction, there’s another reason to consider the wooden needle.

They don’t make that incredibly annoying click-click click-click click-click sound that lots of metal and plastic knitting needles make — that sound that reminds me of the metronome that ticked away on the top of the piano, during those long long hours of childhood torture when I was forced to practice the minor scales…

But I digress.

We’re talking about a clever, original and relatively frugal gift idea here for the keen knitter in your life!

Think about it…

Package up a pair or foursome of lovely birch needles, say, with a skein or two of wool from one of the many fine indie spinners on Etsy, and perhaps a free knitting pattern from Tahki Stacy Charles that you’ve printed out on nice paper — and voila! You’ve got a unique gift on a knitting theme!

Rocky-Brook Needles come in straight or double-pointed styles, in fifteen different sizes, crafted in birch, walnut, cherry and maple woods by nice folks in rural Beechwood, New Brunswick, Canada. The website has a list of places that sell their needles, or you can contact Rocky-Brook directly for more information.

I have to thank Amanda for this find, in a round-about way. She got it all started by spotting a pretty pale blue chain-link scarf at Entre Nous, and that was intriguing enough to send me off to tap the great Google machine like Ponce de León ransacking Florida for a magical water source…

• model: Cory Linsmeyer
• photo: Alison Gates

Et voila!

Marley’s Ghost No Clank Chain is the super-appropriate name (look it up) of this knitted chain-link scarf designed by Alison Gates.

Make your own chain with felted or stretchy links, long and loopy or strictly structured, whatever… Alison has generously made her pattern available to all — free — over at Knitty.com!

But wait, there’s more to this story than simply knitting up soft chains to wrap a handsome man (or yourself) in whimsical style…

Alison tells me that Marley’s Ghost is currently appearing at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon, as part of an exhibit there called Touching Warms the Art. Also in the show is a “little sister” piece called Return to Tiffany’s — “basically a small-gauge bracelet version of the original chain, with a little crochet charm on it,” says the designer.

Many of the concepts inherent in pieces of art jewelry remain vague or abstract until the viewer becomes the wearer. But this transmission, and subsequent transformation, is typically not possible in a museum setting, where it’s sometimes even noted that “touching harms the art.” Juried by Rebecca Scheer, Rachelle Thiewes and Namita Gupta Wiggers, the exhibition navigates new territory regarding how craft –particularly art jewelry – can be engaged in a museum setting.

When the exhibit ends, the museum will own Marley’s Ghost No Clank Chain as a part of its permanent teaching collection.

Technorati Tags: crafts, knitting, chains, Alison Gates

In today’s guest post, Pelf Nyok bring us another stand-out crafter from Malaysia with a look at Mabel’s gossamer-fine knit work… It’s inspiring to know that, less than a year ago, the creator of these delicate shawls was a total novice to knitting!
~ Jen

Mabel’s Pretty Shawls

Two weeks ago, we had a peep into April’s collection of hand-made jewellery, so this time around, we’re going to look into another Malaysian’s collection of knitted shawls.

If you do not know Mabel, you will not believe that she had only started knitting less than a year ago. In fact, she did not knit her first shawl until February 2007 and even then, she was still learning to read charts and knitting in new ways and using new stitches.

An unintentional trip to Lincraft (a craft store) drowned Mabel in the myriad of colours and textures. She picked up a set of knitting needles, a leaflet containing patterns for scarves and some balls of yarn and the rest, they say, is history. And since then, she has moved on from knitting scarves to hats, fingerless gloves, baby jackets, socks and now shawls.

All her raw materials are imported — needles come from a variety of places and the yarns, especially, come from the US, Latin America and UK — because it is very pricey to purchase them locally (in Malaysia). She sometimes ended up paying more than double of what she would pay if she were to buy it online (either via eBay or independent websites).

It takes Mabel about six to seven nights to knit, block out the pattern and then pack the product (despite holding a day job!) but usually, a shawl will take her about three weeks maximum.

Mabel’s favourites

Just like any other craftsperson, Mabel loves ALL her products, because to her, each shawl is unique — every stitch is never the same and different yarns have a different feel and texture. But these are some that she has been itching NOT to sell:

• Violetta

  

• White Flowers

  

• Moonlit Night

  

Shawls 4 Sale

Mabel started her online store, Shawls 4 Sale because she wanted to get rid of her ever-growing stash and kill some time. She doesn’t make a lot of money from this endeavor and in a way, she thinks it’s good. Despite that, all shawls that are showcased on the website are already sold!

I started this because I wanted to get rid of my ever-growing stash and kill some time (I have too much free time). Hence I charge only enough to cover my basic costs (yarn, mostly). Don’t really want to turn this into something that I make my living from!

Shawls will still be her main product but she’s hoping that with time, she will have the chance to explore some pattern designing and churn other items such as socks, scarves and baby clothing.

She manages the site, sales, knitting, packing, etc. on her own so it gets “crazy” sometimes, especially during peak months. Currently, she’s hoping to add in a shopping cart function and play around with the payment options.

How much is that again?

The price is often decided before she starts work via email because she needs to know specific details. But at the moment, prices range from RM60 to RM100* and it depends on the type of yarn (wool, cashmere, silk, etc) that will be used. Domestic shipping within Malaysia is part of the deal and if anyone needs some extra (but simple) bling bling effect, it’s an additional RM10 but she often waives the cost for this.

Mabel is also in the midst of re-adjusting her pricing tier for next year because by then, she’d be based in Switzerland and things will be a little bit more complicated. However, Mabel guarantees that prices will still remain below the RM150 mark.

In case you’re wondering, no, Shawls 4 Sale isn’t open for business at the moment. Mabel will probably have some time to concentrate on the online store next year from March 2008 onwards, after her wedding at the end of February — so do remember to check Shawls 4 Sale then!

Note: The current foreign exchange rate is 3.3 Malaysian Ringgit to 1 US Dollar.

Pelf Nyok, the author of The Giving Hands, is a grad-student who is trying to save the turtles, the environment and humankind. Charity, conservation and volunteerism are things that are very close to her heart.

pelf-ism is contagious!


Technorati Tags: Malaysia, knitting, guest post

How can a crafter turn an image into a custom pattern for a knitted motif — quickly and easily — without spending a fortune? It’s not as difficult as you might think, and it can be done for little or no cost at all.

Suddenly, all sorts of creative possibilities come to mind –

• custom logo knitwear for the cheerleading squad
• a child’s artwork reproduced on a sweater vest for Granny
• Impressionist landscapes rendered on knitted afghans and throws
• a knitted tote with a rock idol’s portrait
• your pet’s portrait on a knitted cushion cover…

Here, for example, is a chart for knitting a Union Jack flag motif in three colours. (Click on the thumbnail image to see a larget version, or feel free to grab the printable PDF knitting chart to stitch up a UK flag as you wish.)

Now, let’s talk about how that knitting chart is made…

Here are three different ways to chart out a pattern onto a grid — without having to invest in some of that delicious but high-priced stitch-mapping pattern-design software — and each method has its strengths and weaknesses.

1. Graph paper (either pre-printed knitting chart paper, or grids that you print out yourself) and coloured pencils or such
2. Free online image-to-knitting pattern conversion tool
3. Free downloadable Knitting Pattern Generator software

A lot of this will apply to a wide range of grid-based needle crafts and art projects, too — crochet, needlepoint, petit-point, cross stitch — possibly even related crafts like fabric-paint embroidery, if you’re into pointillism techniques — as well as beading and mosaics, so don’t go away, even if knitting is not your craft of choice!

1. Knitting Chart or Graph Paper

Grab a selection of coloured pencils (one for each colour of yarn you plan to use), and mark your design — stitch by stitch — on a piece of knitting chart paper. One row of blocks in the pattern grid will be equal to one row of knitting, and each coloured block represents one stitch. You’ll just follow the knitting chart stitch by stitch, colour by colour of yarn, along the rows of the pattern.

It doesn’t get much easier!

But here’s the trick — knitting stitches are longer than they are wide. Regular pre-printed graph paper won’t work very well for this. You want paper that’s marked out in a grid of little rectangles, not squares, to match the height and width of knitting stitches. Using an ordinary piece of graph paper, marked out in squares, will call for a little quality time with your calculator and math-oriented brain cells in order to get the proportions right for the knitted image.

A big time-saver, and much easier to get good results, is the knitting graph paper that’s specially made for Knitting graph paper has rectangles, not squares, and is sized to the ratio of actual knitting stitches — because it does help to see what you’re doing, to scale, as you plan out the design or image to knit.

If you’re handy with the computer, you can print up a custom grid to suit the scale that fits you best.

Tip — print your grid onto a piece of tracing paper, instead of basic office bond paper. That way, you can place the tracing paper over your photograph or motif and use it as a guide when you’re plotting in the colours for each of the rectangles that represent a stitch for your pattern.

And do slip that tracing paper pattern inside a protective plastic sleeve, so it won’t run the risk of getting torn or damaged, as you’ll be referring to it often while working on your project.

2. Image-to-Grid Online Knitting Pattern Generator

The second way to make a knitting pattern from a logo, photo, or other image is a quick-and-easy free online tool from MicroRevolt:

knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. Just upload jpeg, gif or png images of whatever you wish — portraits, landscapes, logos… and it will generate the image pattern on a grid sizable for any fiber project.

Here’s the deal — you go to the knitPro site, select a grid size (48×64, 96×120, or 120 x 160), select a stitch size for needlepoint, cross stitch, crochet, or knit (portrait or landscape), and then browse your computer to select the image you want to convert.

The pattern will be downloaded to your computer as a printable PDF file, like the Union Jack knitting chart shown above.

Like any software solution, this tool works best with pictures that have simple lines and a limited number of colours, so you may need to experiment a bit to get it right. And you pretty much have to take whatever is given to you by knitPro — there’s no easy way to make adjustments to the pattern that is generated from your image.

3. Image-to-Grid Free Knitting Pattern Software

Third, there’s a clever free program that can create knitting patterns out of pictures, that you can download and install on your own computer. The Knitting Pattern Generator is made to work on both Linux and Win32 computer systems.

KPG also offers some features that you don’t get with a simple online utility — like the choice of pretty HTML or plain text output. And here, you do have the ability to edit the generated template, if you want to tweak the design that the software has created to make it better suit your needs.

You can specify a background colour instead of having it default to the first colour given. You can create a database of yarn or thread colours, and KPG will pick the closest colour from that list to match your picture. Or you can use a black-and-white picture to create a pattern that uses only one colour of wool, and different stitches are used to create the picture.

The downside, as far as I’ve seen so far, is mostly that knitPro is not as sophisticated as we’re used to seeing in commercial programs — but what do I expect for free? — and it’s directed specifically to knitting, rather than a variety of needlework. Still, as I mentioned, once you’ve got a grid in place, it’s a short step to adapting it to a change in the materials or technique.

Still, I’ve really only just begun to play with this free software, and I can tell you I’m looking forward to many hours of arty-crafty fun to be had. Did I mention that you can use KPG to create illusion patterns — designs that don’t make sense until they’re viewed from a certain angle — and how cool is that?! Ideas, ideas, ideas…

So, those are the three cheap-and-easy ways that I know of, to create a knitting chart from an image. Do you have a favourite tool or technique to share? Use the comment area to let us know what method works best for you!

If you’re like me, and have a positive talent for letting the end of your scarf trail on the ground or get caught in a car door, a neat little knitted neck-warmer might be the answer. The problem with most neck-warmers, of course, is that they tend to be tight-fitting knitted tubes — guaranteed to destroy any carefully-coiffed hairstyle as soon as you go to yank the garment on or off over your head.

Here’s an alternative design, a much wider tube that wraps like short scarf around the neck and ties in place. Mintyfresh shares her own Bainbridge scarf knitting pattern for the Bainbridge Scarf over at the Pepperknit blog.

Not into knitting? Take note of the measurements and step-by-step instructions, and sew yourself a scarf instead. Chic and cosy, in a fleece-lined silk!

[via Hilde]

How fast can you knit?

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is comin’ up on September 19, so if you want to have the pirate gear ready for when the party sets sail… it’s high time to up anchor!

Knit up a skull-enhanced pair of Arrrgyle socks — grab the free knitting pattern from Moth Heaven — and be the envy of all your mates.

More free patterns for Pirate-theme knitting projects:

• Kid’s Pirate Hat
• ‘We Call Them Pirates’ – knitted cap with skull motif
• Felted Eye Patch – in adult or child size
• Captain Jack Sparrow Knitting Chart
• Tricorn Hat and other Knit Like A Pirate.com goodies to treasure…

DIY Knitting Charts

Want to turn your own images into charts for knitting motifs?

See 3 Easy Ways to Chart a Knitting Pattern for cheap and easy tools to do just that — including a free online knitting pattern generator!

We’ve all seen the beer ads on TV…

Before the days of refrigerators and insulated coolers, the hardy pioneers chilled their brew by submerging the bottles in a wild and ice-cold mountain stream, right?

But did you know there was another way to cool a bottle without electricity?

If you ever get caught in the rain, or go outside with your hair wet on a breezy day, the answer is clear — evaporation!

I bring this up because the Lion Brand Yarn people just issued a free pattern to knit or crochet a bottle cooler that works in just that way:

Evaporation!

These bottle coolers take advantage of this natural property. Simply place the bottle inside, dip in water and hang or place the cooler in the shade where there is a breeze. Dampen again as needed.

Even on hot days, you’ll find your soda stays pleasantly cool without the use of any energy except the natural breeze!

True, there are still warm days to come on the other side of the Labour Day weekend… but it would have been nice to know about these bottle cooler thingies at the beginning of the summer! Ah well, make a note…

No melting glaciers required.
The wet T-shirts are, of course, optional.

Technorati Tags: free, patterns, knit, crochet

My sister was totally traumatized one night, when we were kids playing Hide and Seek, when she came face-to- beady-glass-eyes with Aunt Dalia’s old fox fur neck piece, hanging in a dark closet.

So this Vegan Fox definitely has Sis written all over it — especially as she’s now become the undisputed Queen of Knitting in our family!

This is a non-violent interpretation of a fascinating artifact from the ’30s: the fox stole, complete with beady eyes and dangling paws. Most of the final impression comes from the judicious yarn choices.

The design is by Marie-Christine Mahe, and the free knitting pattern is at Knitty.com.

Hat tip on this to not martha, who did her own variation on the pattern to make a faux-y fox stole for her mother (who is a storyteller; and how cool is that?).