I did a little research recently on working garter stitch in the round while I was considering the design of this super simple cowl. I started to work my project in the traditional way, working alternating knit and purl rounds and ran into that annoying jog at the end/beginning of the round at the transition point between knit and purl. This started me on my quest to see if there was a way to do garter in the round without the jog and in this post I'll share some of what I found. First off, I was able to find three ways of working garter stitch in the round. Here's the roundup: The Traditional Approach: Working alternating knit/purl rounds. It's the way...
I've been playing around with the lucet and some lustrous rayon yarn lately. I'm experimenting with ways of using lucet cording and simple knotting to create jewelry. I'm a total beginner at corded jewelry. I created a 90" lucet cord using Lucci Rayon, my Wool Tree Lucet, and my handy Wool Tree (great for working with cone yarns). If you've never tried lucet cording before, it is super simple - I posted the above YouTube video some time back to demonstrate the basic technique that I've used to create this necklace. I found the You Tube video above and followed the instructions for attaching a pendant with a figure-eight knot, as well as the instructions for the adjustable knot closures. I left a 4" starting and ending tail...
This post is long overdue. My Beyond Basic Broomstick Lace class on Craftsy has been out for a few months now, and one of the most common questions I get in the class is "What are you wearing?" and "Do you have a pattern for that?". Below is a rundown of what I am wearing in each lesson and a link to where you can obtain the pattern and/or kit for the project to make your own version of each project. Up above in Lesson 1 (Introduction) you can see me wearing the Endless Broomstick Lace Cardi Shawl. This totally versatile garment can be worn a ton of different ways. I am wearing it backwards and upside down with a shawl pin...
I've been learning to use the lucet. It's a fiber arts tool from the Medieval / Viking era that makes different kinds of cording and it has just a tiny learning curve. After making about two 6" cords, I felt like I'd reasonably mastered my tension: Just 2 evenings in front of the tv and I've added a new skill to my fiber arts repertoire. If you've never used a lucet before, grab one of our gorgeous Wool Tree Lucets and follow along with the "How To" video below: There are a couple of things that I didn't touch on in the video that I think are worth mentioning: Don't choose a nubby or novelty yarn for your first cords. In...
My newest knitted design: Turtlenect Batwing My favorite place for inspiration is my own closet. So I used my most beloved sweater as the model for my latest knitted sweater design. I figure that if it's a style that has a proven success record in my own wardrobe, chances are that other women will like it too. Here's the story of what inspired my latest knitting design and what I was doing while I designed it. For years, my cheap-acrylic-yarn-Forever-21 sweater has been my absolute favorite. I actually bought it on a whim - I think it might have been on sale. At the time I bought it, I hadn't yet tried one of the voluminous sweater fits, and thought it would...
