My Desert Island Yarns, or, the Five Yarns I’d Use Forever
Earlier this month, Karie Westermann posed an interesting question on Twitter: what are your desert island yarns? What five yarns would you choose if that …
Tips and tricks
What To Do When Your Knitting Cast On Is Too Tight
Some knitters find that their knitting cast on is very tight. The tricky part is that this can actually be two different problems described by …
Rowing Out in Your Knitting? Here’s How to Fix That
Have you ever been working along on a piece of stockinette knit flat, only to discover that your stitches look somewhat uneven and stripy? You …
Five Key Things to Consider When Choosing a Sock Yarn
I am an avid sock knitter, and I love seeing new sock knitters take up the craft. One thing that can be tricky for new …
Experiments with Toe Up Sock Toes
This past weekend, I started my second pair of toe-up knit socks. This time, I am knitting them in fingering-weight yarn, using leftovers from my …
Three Knit Sock Heel Styles for Easily Customized Socks
It’s no secret that I love knit socks. I love their portability, the way they show off special yarn, and the fun of finding just …
A Field Guide to My Favorite Knit Sock Toes
One of the things I love most about handknit socks is the way they are so customizable. Feet come in infinite shapes and sizes, after …
Mohair Yarn Substitute: Suri Alpaca to the Rescue
I’ve been on the hunt for a good mohair yarn substitute. You see, I like to design and knit with a lightweight yarn held double …
Yarn Substitution for the Knit Sweater: A Designer’s Perspective
We’re talking about yarn substitution all month long here on the blog, but I knew when I was planning out these posts that I had …
The Knitter’s Guide to Yarn Substitution
When I first started knitting, I didn’t understand that using yarns other than what was recommended in a pattern could result in a finished object that looked very different from what I had pictured. Here’s what I’ve learned about yarn substitution over the last 12 years, so you don’t make the same mistakes.