As yarn shows start to come back again after their enforced closures, I have been thinking about the questions we are regularly asked at our stand. You are probably no doubt aware of our love for self-striping yarns and Schoppel Wolle Zauberball and Zauberball Crazy always seem to catch the eye of visitors to shows. After a customer has selected their perfect colourway, I’m commonly asked, “What can I make with this?” For a while I used to reply that these yarns are great for anything, but it was politely pointed out to me that I was perhaps not being at all helpful…
Read moreA Trio of Stitches for Standout Embroidered Knits!
When was the last time your tapestry needle got some love? It’s an essential bit of kit, for sure, but a humble one, most often consigned to the drudgery of weaving in ends. Well, now is your tapestry needle’s moment to shine, as it takes on a starring role in this month’s headline Confident Knitting technique, Embroidering on Knitting!
Read morePatina Scarf + Embroidering Your Knitting
Happy June! It’s hard to believe we’re about embark on a new season of Confident Knitting, and we’ve got a real showstopper of a pattern to jump start our summer of learning. I’m ever so pleased to unveil our fourth Confident Knitting pattern, the dazzling Patina Scarf by Jeanette Sloan!
Read moreConfident Knitting: The Yarns
Planning one of our Big Books is always lots of fun, and starts so far in advance, it can be hard not to shout about it as it happens! That’s been especially true this year, as we’ve added something a bit new to the yarn line up for Confident Knitting! I’m excited to finally get to tell you about it today!
Read moreLittle Lessons: The Short Row Heel
One of the things that keep me coming back to sock knitting is the endless possibilities it offers. Socks are, of course, great little canvases for trying out a new technique or stitch pattern. But even if you want to keep your sock knitting relatively simple — your go-to handbag or Zoom project, perhaps — there’s still plenty of scope to try something new! Perhaps you like to endlessly experiment with your knitting to, or you’re still just after your perfectly fitting, winning sock combination. If so, I present for your consideration: the short row heel.
Read moreIntroducing the Stepping Out KAL
We had such a lot of fun with our Spring Into Colour KAL that we’ve decided to keep the momentum going with a brand new knitalong: the Stepping Out KAL (#SteppingOutKAL), a celebration of sock knitting! Read on for details!
Read moreA chat with Wendy D. Johnson
Today, we bring you an interview with Boost Your Knitting designer Wendy D. Johnson. Wendy is a prolific knitter and designer who has a penchant for toe up socks — she’s written two books on the subject, Socks From the Toe Up and Toe-Up Socks for Everybody. Her Boost Your Knitting design, the Alcedo Socks, are a highly wearable and quick to knit pair of toe-up socks that teach this month’s featured technique, toe up sock gussets! Wendy was kind enough to answer some questions a few months ago about her design and what she loves about sock knitting!
Read moreThe Alcedo Socks and Toe-Up Socks with a Gusset
It’s hard to believe, but it’s time to dive into the penultimate Boost Your Knitting project! Here are the Alcedo Socks, designed by sock knitter extraordinaire Wendy D. Johnson. These deliciously textured socks will be teaching us how to work a gusset when knitting a toe-up sock!
Read moreAll Sewn Up!
When Nancy Marchant’s Bramen Cowl was released this month, I was excited to see it made use of a sewn cast off, a personal favourite of mine. Sewn cast offs have a lot to recommend them. They tend to be stretchy, so you won’t end up with a cowl that won’t fit over your head. They’re a fabulous match for a long tail cast on. And I find the sewn action of the cast off pleasing and meditative to work.
Read moreThere's more than one way to two-colour long-tail cast on!
A few weeks ago, we shared a video tutorial detailing the two-colour long-tail cast-on method, which is used in this month’s Boost Your Knitting pattern, the Bramen Cowl. As with many knitting techniques though, there’s more than one way to accomplish this cast on. Today let’s take a look at another approach, which uses both hands and is sometimes known as a “thumb method” long-tail cast on.
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