Categotry Archives: knitting

ANOTHER SHOPPING BAG with pattern

18 April 2014 by Julianne

I promise I don’t post every single one of these! I do enjoy making them though. Bags like these are super easy to make, especially while doing something else. Because gauge doesn’t matter, I can switch between whatever needles or yarns strike my fancy. And they are useful gifts!

This bag uses more chunky acrylic yarn for the bottom, and leftover worsted acrylic for the body. I’m slowly making my way through my stash!

Keep reading for instructions to knit your own.

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I wanted to use a concentric garter stitch for the bottom of the bag, and this is basically how I did it:

CO 6 stitches, placing a marker between each stitch, with a special marker for the beginning of round

row 1: *slip marker, increase 1 stitch, repeat from * (I used kfb, but I think this would look neat with a YO)

row 2: purl all stitches

row 3: *slip marker, work 1 increase, knit to marker, repeat from *

And then you work rounds 2 & 3 until the base is as big as you want.

I continued until I had 12 stitches between each marker, then worked a couple rounds alternating between all purls and all knit stitches without increasing. To conserve yarn when I switched to my worsted, I knit 2 rounds in the contrast color, then worked the third round as k1, k2tog. Round 4 and up was all knit.

Next time I make a bag, I will skip the k1, k2tog row, and just knit all the stitches for the body of the bag (or make the base smaller).

During my last bag, I got burned out on YO, k2tog mesh. Though I like the look, I can never get into a rhythm with that pattern. This time, I knit my worsted weight on size 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles to get an open fabric, and this project was finished in a flash!

The light green top is 4 rounds of garter stitch, and the handles are i-cord.

If anyone uses this pattern for their own bag, I’d love to see the results!

SELF STRIPING SOCKS

24 March 2014 by Julianne

Hand-made socks were a major motivator in learning to knit, and I really love making them (which is a relief; I was afraid that it might be too tedious). It’s a simple and compact project that I can carry everywhere I go.

Although my first pair of socks took about 3 months to complete, this second pair was finished in 4 weeks. And they are much longer! I did a basic calculation, and estimate that each sock contains about 12,000 stitches. Sock knitters, does that number seem correct? It makes me dizzy.

I used 47″ #3 Addi Turbo Lace needles, and followed Liat Gatt’s pattern for toe-up socks on magic loop. The self-striping yarn was donated to and from the Boys & Girls Club (I used to volunteer as a sewing teacher, and still pop in when I have the chance. The coordinator of the sewing program is an amazing lady. Thank you to Donna for supporting my growth as a maker, and for fostering that love of craft in so many children.).

As a designer, I usually want control over colors and stripes. This was my first time working with self-striping, and I am definitely a convert. It was exciting to see the colors and stripes emerge, and the pattern helped me track my progress as well as hide any flaws.

I have several balls of donated self-striping to get through, and then I can’t wait to select new yarns for myself! I keep window-shopping (or more accurately, browser-tab shopping), but I think I will refrain from online shopping and instead pick up future pairs of socks on trips. The idea of seeking out a local yarn shop, in foreign localities, and creating my own souvenir is so… romantic! This is not a word I use regularly.

I love the contrast cuff, and will integrate contrast toes and heels in future socks. This aquamarine yarn is a bamboo-nylon blend. It’s definitely thicker than the fingering-weight, and so I did the ribbing on #1 needles. I was concerned about the weight discrepancy, but I think it totally works for the cuff.

I live in LA, but luckily I have icy feet, so handmade wool socks will actually get worn this winter. But future sock yarns may be more of the bamboo persuasion.

FABRIC YARN baby hat

6 March 2014 by Julianne

My husband’s cousin’s baby is such a sweetheart, and I love making little presents for him (and all my friend’s kiddos!). His name is Kekoa, he’s 2 years old, and tons of fun.

The ribbing is p1, k1 through the back loop (which is abbreviated as ktbl, which I pronounce as “k-table”). This twists the knit stitch, making the ribbing super stretchy and very neat. I use this for all my ribbing now!

I made this fabric yarn as a proof of concept. I loved working with it, and the way it turned out. I may use the rest of this white and gray to make yet another shopping bag (don’t worry, I’m giving most of them away. I don’t shop that much!).

I used a couple 1yd remnants of a tissue-weight jersey with high lycra content, and serged the pieces into a tube to cut a continuous strip. I stretched the strip while winding it into a ball, so the fabric curled onto itself into tube. The resulting knit fabric has a lot of body, but is also very stretchy.