If you’re pressed for time and you need a gift, then these knit gift ideas are for you! I’ll go through these gifts from the easiest and quickest to the “longest” and “hardest”. Keep in mind that “hard” and “easy” are relative, and most advanced and adventurous knitters can crank out these gifts pretty quickly. A pair of slippers, which takes about 6-8 hours to make is the “longest” gift on ... keep reading >>
Techniques
What’s the Difference between Worsted and Aran Yarn?
Worsted weight yarns and aran weight yarns are often thought to be interchangeable, but they’re actually different yarn weights. While they’re both considered medium weight yarns, worsted yarn is finer than aran weight yarn. Worsted yarn is often knit on 4.5mm needles with a gauge of 4.5-5 stitches per inch. Aran weight yarn is thicker and often loftier than worsted yarn. It’s often knit on ... keep reading >>
How to Dye Yarn with Food Coloring (Video and Best Tips!)
In this post I'll show you how to dye yarn with food coloring. Food coloring is great for dyeing yarn. It's inexpensive, accessible and allows you to use existing pots and utensils since it's food-safe. What's more, the whole yarn dyeing process is incredibly easy and fun! Below you'll find a step-by-step photo tutorial, helpful tips and tricks, and a short tutorial video. Let's get ... keep reading >>
How to Use Lifelines in Knitting (and Why You Need Them!)
A lifeline is a way to unravel your knitting safely. It’s an excellent tool for rescuing your knitting when you’ve made a mistake. Lifelines works like this: using a tapestry needle, insert a strand of yarn into a row of stitches. This strand of yarn is your “lifeline.” Then continue knitting as normal. If you make a mistake, unravel your knitting to the lifeline, which is holding ... keep reading >>
How to Knit a Stretchy Bind Off
In this post I’m going to show you how to knit a stretchy bind off step by step for a regular knit bind off and a rib bind off. This knitting technique will help you create a very stretchy edge. This extra stretch is handy when binding off the cuffs of sweaters, socks, mittens and necklines, not to mention the brims of hats. Anytime you need a very stretchy edge, look no further than this ... keep reading >>
How to Join Yarn with the Spit Splice
Balls of yarn aren’t endless. At some point, they run out. When that happens, you’ll need to join a new ball of yarn to keep knitting. Just as there are many roads to Rome, so too are there many ways to join yarn together. The spit splice is one of those handy and slightly weird knitting hacks that seamlessly joins two strands of yarns together. The join is permanent and doesn’t require ... keep reading >>
How to Join Yarn Together the Invisible Way (Russian Join)
Today, I’ll show you my favourite way to join yarn in knitting. This method has served me well over the years. Not a single join has ever come undone (knock wood!) Why Do You Need to Join Yarn? Everything that has a beginning has an end. And so it is with yarn. Balls of yarn inevitably run out, and when that happens you’ll need to join new yarn to your work. There are many ways to join ... keep reading >>