It’s knit along season, and I’m digging it. Since the Hands Occupied knit along launched this week. I’m so busy hosting I don’t have enough time to follow along with other great KALs happening around the web, which is a shame since everyone is doing fun patterns for their fall knit and crochet alongs this year. I’ll have to do a roundup of my favorites for you guys next time I’m not spending all of my time knitting, writing and photographing this blog’s KAL. For now, check out my top picks of the week.
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The Long Tail Tubular Cast On
In this year’s reader survey, you might remember I had a lot of questions about your thoughts on knitting and crochet video tutorials. An overwhelming number of you (77%) said you’d love to see them, so I’m happy to say I’ve got TWO videos to launch the renewed Hands Occupied YouTube channel. The videos show you how to make a long tail tubular cast on for a knitting project. The first video in this post shows how to do it right handed, and the second video shows the leftie version.
Picks of the Week
There were some really fun and inspiring ideas on the knit and crochet blogs this week (I know, I always say that, but it’s true!). In particular some DIY rainbow stitch markers and rainbow shoelaces were big standouts for me! I love the idea of crocheting shoe laces, and the ones I’m sharing today are a DIY designed to help fight homophobia in soccer – how great is that?! And, hello, any stitch marker DIY will have my attention.
DIY Pencil Clutch
A couple years ago, I made a clutch using rulers and felt that I am still pretty excited about and use all the time. Since I can’t get enough of all things bookish, I recently got the notion in my head to take the school supply clutch concept to the next level with pencils and a slightly different structure, and I think I might love this one even more!
Knitting Reimagined
This book isn’t so much on trend as it is beyond trend. Legendary knitwear designer Nicky Epstein’s new book Knitting Reimagined presents 25 innovative patterns that are conceptualized differently than a lot of knitwear you might have encountered on your knitting journeys. Knitting your way through this book would be an amazing way to get inspired to do something new next time you’re feeling bored with knitting yet another cardi or wrap.
Yarn Swatch Wall Art
Since I apparently can’t get yarn off my brain at any given time, today’s DIY wall art idea is inspired by the yarn swatches you’d knit to test the gauge of your yarn before casting on a new project. This would make a great gift for any knitting lover in your life – it’s back to school time, does your kid’s teacher have a yarn addiction? Or maybe their librarian… ;)
Chevron Sunglasses Case Knitting Pattern
What says summer knitting better than a quickie little sunglass case pattern? Grab a nice little ball of yarn leftover from one of your winter cowls, a couple of needles, and you’ve got yourself the perfect single-sitting beach knitting pattern. Or if it’s a rainy day, pop in a movie and you can make this start to finish in an hour or two. AND you can immediately use the finished case since it’s still summer. Like I said – summer knitting perfection. ;)
Why I Learned to Knit Left-Handed
A weird thing happened out of nowhere last fall. Weird, but super exciting! I got three emails in a span of two weeks from magazines wanting to work with Hands Occupied in 2014. Finally last weekend, months after those initial emails, I opened my mailbox to find a surprise. A hard copy of my first magazine feature in “the UK’s bestselling knit mag,” Let’s Knit! Visit the full post for a piece I wrote for them on the time I thought I’d never knit again.
How to Make T-shirt Yarn
Is it just me, or is jersey (t-shirt) yarn all over the place this summer? Don’t worry, I’m totally into it! Jersey yarn is perfect for summer, and can work up into fast, fun, chunky projects. Jersey yarn is also super affordable, especially if you make it yourself. Here’s how!
