Home Feature

by

Cabled Fingerless Mitts

cabled mitts for vp
Here’s an answer to at least a few of your holiday gifts! These mitts, sized for men and women, are a quick knit in DK/Sport weight yarn. The video tutorial walks you through the tricky parts of the mitts including working double-pointed needles, cables, reading charts, and understanding what a pattern means when it has the dreaded words “at the same time”.

Sizes: Small/Medium, Medium/Large (please see note below on sizes)
Needles: Size US 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles
Yarn: 1 hank Knit Picks Hawthorne Sport (or any DK or Sport weight yarn, also called “8 ply” outside the US, 100 grams, 250 yards)
Additional Materials: 4 ring markers, cable needle, row counter, scrap yarn, tapestry needle
Gauge: 6.5 stitches per inch in stockinette

Note on Sizes: Small/Medium will fit most women, and Medium/Large will fit most men. The mitts are very stretchy, so absolute exact sizing isn’t crucial.

Pattern + links to 4 instructional videos, $5 US via PayPal.addtocart

knittas for vp
Information on things you’ll see in this video:
The yarn I used in my finished mitts is Knit Picks Hawthore Sport; in colorways Rose City, Montavilla, and Irvington.

The cable needles I use can be found here (ignore the photo on Amazon, it is not the correct product).

The needles I used for demonstration are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo DPNs.

The bulky yarn I used for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in color Silver.

The ball chain stitch markers I use can be found here.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Amanda”.

My silver ring is actually a knitting needle gauge, and can be found here.

, , , ,
by

Toe-Up Socks Using German Short Rows

GSR Socks VP and Rav
After an overwhelmingly positive response to a short technique video I released on German Short Rows, I listened to your feedback and created a sock pattern with NO WRAPS AND TURNS! German Short Rows are a simple and exciting technique that allow you to create shaping in socks without the frustration of trying to pick up the tiny wraps around traditional short row stitches.

These socks are knit with either DK or Sport weight yarn (also called 8-ply). This weight of yarn allows you to learn the techniques quickly and complete the socks, and you get a nice weight of socks when you’re finished. Once you follow this tutorial and learn how to apply the German Short Row technique to socks, you can easily take that skill and apply them to other sock patterns you’d like to knit, in any weight of yarn.

This pattern includes bonus content – both in the written pattern, and a bonus video. The bonus content explains how to modify this pattern for both magic loop knitting, and two at-a-time magic loop knitting. The link to the bonus video is in the pattern.

Sizes: Women, Men, and Children; normal foot widths, any shoe size
Needles: Size US 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles (bonus video includes information on magic loop and two at-a-time magic loop knitting)
Yarn: 100 grams DK or Sport weight yarn (also called 8-ply yarn)
Additional Materials: Size G or H crochet hook, a few feet of worsted-weight scrap yarn in a contrasting color, tapestry needle for weaving ends
Gauge: 6.5 stitches per inch in stockinette

The yarn I used in my socks:
– Pink socks: Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino, DK weight, 306 yards. This yarn gave me an 11 inch cuff in the women’s size sock (measuring from the last row of the heel to the bind-off at the cuff)
– Multi-colored gray/pink socks: Knit Picks Hawthorne Sport Multi in color Arbor Lodge, sport weight, 258 yards. This yarn gave me an 8 inch cuff in the women’s sized sock (measuring from the last row of the heel to the bind-off at the cuff)

Pattern, links to four-part video tutorial and bonus video – $8 US via PayPal. addtocart

Information on things you’ll see in this video:
The yarn I used in my pink socks is Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino, in color Peony.
The yarn I used in my multi-color socks is Knit Picks Hawthorne Sport Multi in color Arbor Lodge.
The yarn I used for demonstration is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky.
The needles I used for demonstration are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo.
The little bamboo pins I use can be found here.
The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, and isn’t actually a color, but I like the way it looks. It’s a nail treatment, called Oxygen Nail Treatment. It seems to help my nails grow, and prevents chipping and peeling.

, , ,
by

Bulky Sleep Socks Tutorial

bulky socks SM
Cold feet? These bulky slipper socks, made of wool, are just the ticket to keep your feet warm all winter. They also knit up quickly, and therefore make good holiday gifts. Even if you’ve never knit socks before, the bulky yarn makes these toe-up socks easy, and will teach you the skills necessary to knit other toe-up socks patterns.

3 sm
Sizes: Kids, Women, Men – any shoe size
Needles: Size 9 US double-pointed needles (5.5mm)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky, one hank each in two colors (smallest size won’t use all of the yarn). Wind the main color (MC) into two equally-sized balls.
Additional Materials: size K crochet hook, tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
Gauge: 4 stitches per inch

Yarn Note: Worsted-weight yarn, (also called “4”, “Medium”, or “10-ply”) held double-stranded, can be used instead of bulky yarn. Just be sure to check your gauge.

Pattern + links to four-part video tutorial $8 US via PayPal. addtocart

Information on things you’ll see in this video:
The yarn in my finished socks is the same yarn I use for demonstration, which is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. The colors you see in the video are:
Crush (pink)
Silver (gray)
Yonder (blue)
Avocado (green)

The sweater I’m wearing is a free pattern and tutorial.

The needles I use for demonstration are Knitter’s Pride Bamboo.

The nail polish I’m wearing is by Julep, color “Malala”.

, , , ,
by

Rodeo Drive Poncho

rodeo with scarf sm
mannequin poncho sm
Time for some luxury! This poncho design was inspired by a stroll down Rodeo Drive on a recent trip I had to California. It is knit in a cashmere-blend yarn, for the ultimate in softness and stitch definition. The techniques used are very simple – this pattern is appropriate for anyone with at least advanced beginner skills, meaning you’re comfortable with both knitting and purling. All of the other techniques are demonstrated in the four-part video tutorial.

Sizes: Two sizes, one with a deeper neckline, one with a shallower neckline. (See photos below.) Finished poncho is about 25.5” long from front of neck opening to bottom front, and 23” long at the sides.
Needles: Size US 7 (4.5mm). In a perfect world, you will have both 16” circular needles and 32” circular needles. In the video, I demonstrate how to complete this poncho with only 32” circulars. It is also useful to have a needle one size larger to complete a loose bind-off.
Yarn: Knit Picks Capra (85% Merino Wool, 15% Cashmere), DK weight (also called 8 ply), 123 yards each ball, 10 balls. The color I used is called “Caviar”. (See note below on yarn substitution.)
Additional Materials: 7 ring stitch markers, cable needle, tapestry needle for weaving in ends
Gauge: 5 stitches per inch (20 stitches over 10cm)

This pattern is available in three different formats, each includes links to 4-part video tutorial:

1. PDF Pattern, traditional and printable. $6.00 via PayPal
 addtocart

2. Amazon Kindle digital download (suitable for Kindle devices and devices that use the Kindle app): $6.00 US.
buynow_button

3. eReader (For non-Kindle eReaders, like Sony eReader and Barnes & Noble Nook, or any device using the Google Play Books app) $6.72 US

Note on Size: Pattern has been updated to include two different necklines – see photos below. Bust size isn’t an issue, and you can easily modify the pattern to be longer or shorter. I’m nearly 6’ tall myself, and you can see how it fits me. In contrast, my friend who is just over 5’ tall tried it on – and the amount of fabric was far from overwhelming on her. It looked decadent.

deeperSM
deeper neckline…
shallowerSM
…and shallower neckline.


Note on Substituting Yarn: This pattern will “work” with any yarn you choose, as long as you’re able to get the correct gauge (stitches per inch). The weight of the yarn I used is DK weight, also called “8 ply” outside the US. When choosing a yarn, I encourage you to stick with an animal fiber or animal fiber blend, so that your finished poncho will block out nicely around the cable twist and at the increase points. Other fibers that will look great in this pattern are wool – especially merino wool, alpaca, or a silk/wool blend.

rodeo without scarf sm
Instructions for knitting the swatch I show in the video:
Cast-on 28 stitches
Knit 5 rows.
Row 1 (RS): K all stitches
Row 2: K 4, P 20, K 4
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 nine times (18 rows).
K 4 rows.
Bind-off on right side of work.

back detail sm
cable detail sm
shoulder detail sm
Information on things you’ll see in the video:
The gloves I’m wearing in the photos are my Learn to Knit Gloves, pattern + video tutorial, with one modification. Instead of knitting a ribbed cuff, I knit a plain stockinette (knit every round) cuff for 9 inches before starting the thumb gusset.

The scarf I’m wearing in the video is called Hitchhiker, knit with Hazel Knits DK Lively Yarn.

The 16″ circular interchangeable set I use is by Knitter’s Pride, and is available on Amazon.

The cable needles I prefer can be found here on Amazon.

The bulky yarn I use for demonstration is Malabrigo Chunky.

The ball-chain ring markers I use are by Rycrafty on Etsy.

The green row counter I use can be found here.

, , , ,