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tutorial: making your own yarn display

You probably recognize this: All those beautiful skeins of yarn in a lush variety of materials and colors and no way to enjoy it all because it is all tucked away in the stash. It really is a shame to have to put it all away to protect it against the effects of UV light, odors, dust, pets and vermin. It makes it pretty hard to enjoy the woolly splendor….

Why not make a rotating exhibition of your favorite yarns on your favorite spot in the house? Regular “tossing” of the wool stash also has its advantages. It discourages moths and makes it possible to nip an infestation in the bud. Also, doing this we can enjoy all the yarn, even if we are busy with things other than crochet and knitting.

Therefore, I want to show you in this post how you can make an etagere yourself for superb display of your favorite skeins of yarn.

Materials

3 plates / dishes in varying sizes
2 cups, glasses or ice cream sundaes
A sealant gun with Polymax (DIY store)
Ruler
Bowl with soapsuds
Some paper towels

In this tutorial I use plates and cups I bought at the Hema. However, if you want an etagere with a more vintage or romantic appearance, a thrift store can be a good place to look. Often there is a great variation to get some lovely plates with flowers, gold edges and fine glassware for friendly prices.

I like to use Polymax glue instead of the glue from a regular glue gun. Polymax has the great advantage that you can get the glue loose again if it does not go right the first time. Also, with this kit the glue joints can be smoothed after applying similar to silicone sealant. This makes the result very nice with less effort!

Step by step

1. Start by properly washing your plates and cups. You want to have them really clean and free of dust and greasy spots.

2. Grab the biggest plate and measure accurately where the exact midpoint is. Mark this on the plate with pencil, the markings can be brushed off later easily.

3. Grab a cup and apply your glue on the top edge.

4. Turn the cup and put it upside down on the big plate. Make sure you put it right in the middle. If necessary, use the ruler to measure whether it is indeed in the middle. At this stage you can still push the cup around a little to position it correctly if necessary.

5. Press the cup lightly.

6. Make your wet finger with a little of the soapy water and smooth down the connection between the cup and the plate while continuing to press the cup to the plate. Use paper towels to wipe your fingers.

7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 for the plate in the middle size. Allow the glue to harden at least 2 hours. After 4 hours the Polymax has fully cured, but you can proceed before that time if you’re careful!

8. Now we go on to finish our etagere: Take the smallest plate, turn it over, and measure at the bottom exactly where the middle is.

9. Take the medium-sized plate with attached cup and apply glue to the bottom of the cup.

10. Turn over and position the cup in the center of the smallest plate. Gently press down and smooth the adhesive seam as previously if the shape of your cup permits. In my case that is not possible, but it doesn’t matter much because it will be hard to see anyway.

11. Repeat steps 8 to 10 to join the largest size plate-with-cup on top of the medium sized plate.

12. Let the glue harden now for at least 4 hours. After this you can turn it around: your etagere is ready!

Tip

It is not a disaster if there gets some glue somewhere else on your plate or cup. Polymax dries up as a kind of transparent rubber. Because of this it is possible to simply scratch it off with your nails once dried, if it is in places you do not want it to be.

And here is mine, filled with some colored beauties that would otherwise have been put away in some drawer…

tutorial: making your own yarn display Read More »

tutorial: crochet the bullion stitch

Bullion stitch tutorial by La Visch Designs

One of the many special crochet stitches is called the “bullion stitch”. This is a very decorative stitch, which can also be used to crochet flowers, jewelry or beautiful edges to projects.

In this post, I’ will show you how to crochet the bullion stitch. Please note that American crochet terminology is used.

The bullion stitch step by step

For this tutorial, I started with a small swatch in half double crochet (hdc).

1. Wrap the yarn loosely around your hook. How much time depends on how high you want the bullion stitch to be. Here I am making the bullion stitches in a hdc fabric, therefor I am wrapping the yarn seven times around my hook. When making bullion stitches in a double crochet fabric, wrapping 10 times may be better. It really depends on your individual gauge, though.

2. Insert the hook into the next stitch and pull up a loop.

3. Make a yarn over …

4. … and pull the yarn through all the loops on the hook. You will notice that this can be rather difficult when you have wrapped the yarn too tightly around the hook in step 1. This completes your first bullion stitch.

And this is how it looks when you’ve made multiple bullion stitches in between normal (in this case) half double crochet stitches.

Tips

As you may have noticed, it can be tricky to wrap the yarn loose enough around the hook in step 1. It can help to hold a thin knitting needle, crochet hook or yarn needle next to your hook while wrapping the yarn. Wrapping your yarn around both automatically means a looser wrap!

Also, use the right type of crochet hook! As you can see in the picture below, the tip of the green hook sticks out relative to the shaft of the hook. This makes it more difficult to pull a loop of yarn through multiple loops on the hook. With an in-line shaped hook like the bamboo one pictured below, both tip and shaft have the same thickness. This makes this type of crochet hook much better suited for making bullion stitches.

tutorial: crochet the bullion stitch Read More »

Linea

Linea is an airy lace shawl with a simple and appealing play on lines and differences in lacy texture. Using mainly yarn overs and right- and left-leaning decreases, Linea looks much more complex than it actually is to knit. The perfect choice for a first lace shawl project!

This shawl is knitted from the top-down in one piece, starting at the neck edge with a garter tab. The instructions for the body and the border of the shawl are provided both fully charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: span width of 180 cm (71 inches) and a depth of 73 cm (29 inches), measured after blocking.

Difficulty

This shawl is started with a garter stitch tab. Stitches used include knit, purl, skp, k2tog, yo and a centered double decrease. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth.
Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl measured after blocking: 14 sts / 24 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over body pattern.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages for the English version and 5 pages for the Dutch version (A4 size).

Materials

Yarn: 398 m (436 yds) Regia Silk 4-ply / 4 fädig (Uni / Solid) [55% Merino, 25% Nylon, 20% Silk; 199 m (218 yds) per 50 g skein]. Substitute any fingering weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4.5 mm (US 7) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Yarn needle
1 stitch marker to indicate the center stitch
18 stitch markers (optional)

Linea Read More »

asymmetrical wedge shawl

The asymmetrical wedge shawl has a distinct asymmetrical shape, setting it apart from more traditional crochet shawls. Make a fast, large and cozy shawl in an aran weight yarn as described here, or make it a scarf in a fingering weight yarn. Because this shawl is worked in a single piece from the tip up, it can easily be made in any size you want.

This pattern is written in American English crochet terminology.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

Wingspan of 193 cm (76 inches) measured along the longest edge and a depth of 105 cm (41 inches), measured after blocking.

Difficulty

Techniques used in the Asymmetrical Wedge Shawl consist of fdc, ch, sc and dc stitches. Because of this the pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth.
Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl: 10 sts and 5.3 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches in dc after wet blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 3 pages (A4 size).

Materials

Yarn: 550 m / 600 yds Garnstudio Drops Alaska (100% wool; 69 m (75 yds) / 50 g) in #11 Red. Substitute for any wool aran weight yarn with a plied structure for a similar result.
A size 6 mm (US J/10) crochet hook.
Yarn needle

asymmetrical wedge shawl Read More »

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – gathers

In a previous post I told you about nupps, that special textured stitch that originated in Estonia. Another distinguishing Estonian feature in lace knitting, is called a “gather”. These gathers are clearly visible in the photo pictured below.

This photo is from a very interesting website: New lace – Old traditions. On this website the authors focus on modern lace knitting in the Estonian tradition, building on and inspired by the famous Haapsalu shawls. Definitely a must-read for lovers of lace knitting, also due to the many free stitch patterns that can be found there.

What exactly are “gathers”?

Gathers are made by knitting a certain number of stitches together (“gathering” them), after which they are increased. The resulting number of stitches may be the same as the original number, for example, “2-in-2”, “3-in-3”, “5-in-5”, “7-in-7”, etc. It is however also possible to increase to a different number of stitches, the end up with more (or less) stitches. For example “5-in-7” or “3-in-5”. The result consists of small lacy textured buttons in the knitted fabric.

In this post I want to show you how to knit gathers.

Knitting gathers

In this example, I will be making “3 in 3” gathers on a surface of stockinette stitch. I’m using a relatively thick yarn, because it is easier to photograph than lace yarn.

A 3-in-3 gather is made by knitting 3 stitches together, then slipping the newly knitted stitch back to the left hand needle and knitting [ktbl 1, k1, ktbl 1] in the same stitch.

Gathers step by step
1. Knit 3 stitches together.

2. Slip the last knitted stitch back to the left hand needle.

3. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop, but do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

4. Knit one stitch (insert the needle as usual in the front loop), but again do not slip the original stitch off the needle.

5. Knit 1 stitch through the back loop and slip the original stitch off the needle to complete the stitch.

6. This looks something like this:

7. For this example, I knitted three 3-in-3 gathers in the same row:

8. And this is how it looks after I knitted 2 more rows in stockinette as well as another round with three 3-in-3 gathers:

Of course the gathers look very different on a stockinette base and with this thick wool than in lace weight yarn.

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – gathers Read More »

sedum shawl

The Sedum Shawl is a lovely two-tone shawl with a striped body and delicate contrasting lace edging. Make it in the small size for a sweet kerchief or in one of the three larger sizes for a lovely elegant and warm cover-up.

This shawl is worked from the top-down in one piece, starting at the neck edge. The instructions for the border of the shawl are provided both fully charted and written out.

This pattern is written in American English crochet terminology.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Size and finished measurements

This pattern includes 4 sizes: S (M, L, XL) with a wingspan of 126 (155, 200, 229) cm (50 (61, 79, 90) inches) and a depth of 60 (77, 100, 115) cm (24 (30, 39, 45) inches), measured after blocking. The shawl pictured is in size L.

Difficulty

Techniques used in The Sedum Shawl consist of sl st, sc, hdc, dc and ch st. Because of this the pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner.

Pattern details

Worked flat back and forth.
Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl: 14 sts / 9 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over hdc, measured after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size).

Materials

Yarn: Used in the sample: Ice Yarns Virgin Wool Deluxe (100% wool; 280 m (306 yds) / 100 g) in lilac and blue / petrol. Use yarn in DK weight in the following quantities:
- MC – Lilac: 275 (445, 760, 1025) m or 300 (485, 835, 1120) yds.
- CC – Blue / Petrol: 200 (275, 390, 490) m or 215 (305, 425, 535) yds. Used in the sample: Ice Yarns Virgin Wool Deluxe (100% wool; 280 m (306 yds) / 100 g) in lilac and blue / petrol.
Size 5.5 mm (US I/9) and size 6 mm (US J/10) crochet hooks.
Yarn needle
2 removable stitch markers (optional)

sedum shawl Read More »

tutorial: Russian bind-off on the purl side

In a previous post I have shown you my favorite method of binding off: The Russian bind-off method. This is a very elegant way to bind-off your knitting project to get a very elastic edge on your piece. This is often important to me, because I knit a lot of lace shawls. Knitted lace usually shows its beauty best when it has been gently washed and blocked out. This is only possible if the edge has plenty of stretch.

But what if you need to cast off from the wrong side of the work? Think of a situation that you don’t have enough yarn to knit another row before binding off. In such a case, it is nice to know that you can also bind-off the Russian way on the wrong or purl side of your work!

In short instructions for a Russian bind-off on the purl side may look like this:
Russian bind-off on the WS: *P2tog, slip stitch from right-hand back to the left-hand needle; repeat from * to end.

The Russian bind-off on the purl side step-by-step

For this tutorial I have prepared a little swatch to bind off:

1. Purl the first 2 stitches together.

2. Slip the new stitch on right hand needle back to the left hand needle.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all stitches have been worked. On the wrong side of the work this will look as follows:

And on the right side of the work the Russian bind-off on the purl side will look like this:

Looking good, right?!

tutorial: Russian bind-off on the purl side Read More »

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – nupps

Maybe you are already familiar with them: Those funny little buttons that give beautiful lace shawls texture. Take for example the beautiful Luule shawl pictured below. A nupp (rhymes with “soup”) is a characteristic of lace as traditionally knit in Estonia.

The special thing of Estonian lace knitting is that besides the openwork it also contains a lot of texture. As a result, in lace knitting in the Estonian tradition there are many stitches that you will probably encounter (almost) nowhere else.

History of lace knitting in Estonia

The tradition of knitting lace shawls in Estonia, began about 200 years ago in the city Haapsalu. From the early 18th century until about 1918 Haapsalu was a popular destination for Russian tourists. To benefit from this tourism the women of Haapsula started selling their knitted lace shawls.

The story goes that these shawls were sold by weight. And because nupps consume a lot of yarn, a pattern with many nupps increase the weight of the resulting shawl considerably. This is the reason that the characteristic Estonian lace patterns have been devised in such a way that they combine the so popular delicate appearance as well as many nupps.

In this post I want to show you how to knit nupps.

Knitting nupps step by step

Knitting nupps is actually a 2-step process: first stitches are increased and in the following wrong side row all these stitches are decreased back to 1 stitch by purling them all together.

1 . To start knit 1 stitch, leaving the original stitch on the left hand needle. Make sure to knit loosely.

2. Make a yarn over on the right hand needle.

3. Again knit 1 stitch loosely, leaving the original stitch on the left hand needle.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 once more (for a five-stitch nupp), and then slip the original stitch of the left hand needle. You know have 5 stitches where there originally only was 1. The result will look something like this:

5. For this example, I set up several nupps in the same row:

6. On the following wrong side row the nupps will be completed. The clusters of five stitches look like this from the wrong side of the fabric:

7. Insert your needle in all five stitches at the same time to purl them together. This works best if you have made the new stitches for the nupps loosely and when using sharp knitting needles.

8. Once purled together it looks like this:

And this is how it looks on the right side of the work:

When knit in a thin yarn nupps will of course look very different from the ones in the worsted weight yarn I used for this tutorial. Depending on the effect you want to achieve you can make 5-stitch, 7-stitch or even 9-stitch nupps. Just repeat steps 2 and 3 as desired.

And don’t forget:

Knit loosely.
Use sharp needles.
Use a crochet hook to purl the nupps stitches together if you have to.
Don’t sweat it if they don’t turn out the way you want at first: it is only yarn!

tutorial: Estonian lace knitting – nupps Read More »

tutorial: making t-shirt yarn

You are probably familiar with the cute Zpagetti type yarns that are available in so many colors. Really perfect for making crochet baskets and rugs for example. It is however less known that it is very easy to make this kind of yarn yourself! In this post I am going to show you exactly how you can make T-shirt yarn or “tarn” yourself.

The only things needed are a sharp pair of scissors and a pile of old t-shirts. A good reason to get rid of those piles of old clothing cluttering your closet, that aren’t worn anymore anyway. It is not a problem if your shirts have prints, it gives color and character to your t-shirt yarn.

T-shirts without side seams give the best result, because they can be cut in a continuous smooth yarn. A shirt with seam can of course also be used, it only means that the seams will present themselves as thicker pieces in your tarn. Usually this won’t be a problem.

Making t-shirt yarn step by step

1. Cut any markings and care instructions from the shirt and lay it down flat. Make sure the shirt is relatively wrinkle-free, to make it easier to cut straight.

2. Cut with sharp shears the bottom hem and the top part with the sleeves off the shirt.

3. Turn the shirt sideways and cut it from the side into strips about 1 to 2.5 cm (½ to 1 inch) wide. Do not completely cut of the strips, stop cutting when you are about 5 cm (2 inch) from the end.

4. Continue until the entire shirt has been cut into strips.

5. Lay the shirt down as pictured below, so that the uncut part lies in the middle. Cut this piece diagonally as indicated by the black lines in the picture. This makes sure that the shirt is cut in a large spiral rather than in small loops.

6. This looks like this:

7. The last step is is the magical part: Grab the strip and firmly stretch it out over every centimeter / inch. This stretches out the fabric and makes it roll into the familiar t-shirt yarn.

8. Roll your tarn in a ball and it is ready for use!

I think I will be making a small storage basket with my ball of tarn. A size 12 mm hook is just the right size for my homemade t-shirt yarn!

tutorial: making t-shirt yarn Read More »

tutorial: crochet fringe

Making crochet fringe - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

It can be fun to decorate the edges of a scarf or shawl with fringe. The traditional way to make fringe consists of cutting yarn into equal lengths, bundle these and tie them to the edge of your work. I personally think the result can be very pretty, but rather a hassle to get it that way.

The fact is that I always have trouble to get all the pieces of wool to the same length. And when tying the yarn bundles together, everything shifts, making it very difficult to get an even result. In this post, I will show you an alternative way to attach lovely crochet fringe to a project.

You can directly crochet this fringe onto a scarf or shawl. This can of course also be a store-bought knit or crochet item. Also, you can follow this tutorial to make a fringe attached to a crocheted chain to sew on the item of choice as well. In this example, we will do the latter. These instructions are written in American English crochet terminology.

Crochet fringe step by step

1. As indicated, in this example, I will show you how to make a “loose” fringe attached to a crochet chain. To start, make a chain of the desired length.

2. Insert your hook into that point of the item where you want to make the fringe. If this fringe is based on a loose chain, I think it looks best to insert the hook in the “bump” at the back of the chain stitch. Of course, you can insert the hook in the other parts of the stitch, but it will look slightly different.

3. Next, pull up a loop and pull it through the loop already on your hook. Pull the loop out to the desired length. Here I have used a ruler, to make sure all fringes will be the same length.

4. Then turn the hook around, it does not matter if you do this clockwise or counterclockwise. Just make sure you remain consistent with the direction of your entire project. Continue turning until the loop wants to fold back onto itself. In this example, that happened at about 25 twists. Make sure you make about the same number of twists for every fringe in your project to keep them looking alike.

5. Next, fold back the loop onto itself. I often use my finger to ensure that the loop folds in the right spot.

6. This will look something like this:

7. Finish your first fringe by securing it with a slip stitch in the same stitch you started it in.

8. Repeat steps 2 to 7 until the complete edge or chain is worked. The result will look something like this:

Enjoy embellishing your projects with this lovely crochet fringe!

tutorial: crochet fringe Read More »