Cat Bordhi, Cubics & June Giveaway Winners

Earlier this month, we blogged about the many ways there are to knit and crochet socks (click here to read our last post if you missed it). In today's post, we'd like to spotlight one of our best-loved products by sock knitters: Knitter's Pride Cubics DPNs. Even Cat Bordhi, who is known for disliking double-pointed needles, has praised our Cubics DPNs and given us the ultimate compliment: they are the only DPN she will use!

Cat is a prolific designer (click here to view her designer page on Ravelry), and her sock designs are as revolutionary as they are unique. Her books and e-books (such as New Pathways for Sock Knitters, pictured at right) feature a wide variety of techniques and patterns that will challenge knitters of all persuasions on their sock knitting journey.

Of course, it's always good to start any journey out with the right tools, and Cubics DPNs are a great choice for many reasons: first, their ergonomic shape provides a more comfortable knitting experience; second, there is no roll-away to worry about should you drop one of your DPNs while knitting; finally, the cuboid shape yields uniform stitch definition!

To get a closer look at these needles (which includes a guest appearance from Cat Bordhi herself), you can watch our short YouTube video below!

June Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to this month's blog winners!

Raveler knittybing has won Karbonz DPNs.

Raveler sherryglover1 has won Nova Fixed Circular Needles.

Both of our winners have been contacted to arrange for delivery of their prizes. For more chances to win great prizes this month, click here to enter our Ravelry group giveaway!

Giveaway + Socks Any Way You Like Them!

Socks are a great summer project because they are small and portable, and they can be simple or complex depending on the type of sock project you use. However you like to make socks, we have the right tools for you - below are some tips, techniques and tools to help you explore new ways of sock-making this summer!

Toe-up
Getting started is often the trickiest part to making toe-up socks, but once you master the technique, there's no end to the creative socks you can make! Many knitters prefer this method because they can just keep knitting until they run out of yarn. If you are having trouble getting started, click here to view a video tutorial demonstrating Judy's Magic Cast-On from the talented designer Cat Bordhi's YouTube Channel.

Top Down
A stretchy cast-on is necessary to start your top-down socks off right. There are many, many types of cast-ons that would work well, so you'll want to experiment to find which one works best for your style of knitting. Click here to see a video demonstration of the Channel Island Cast-On from Sockupied on the Knitting Daily blog if you need help getting started!

Cubics Double-Pointed Needles

Socks on DPNs
Many knitters prefer to knit in the round with DPNs; we have several needle styles to suit every DPN enthusiast! For the serious sock knitter, we recommend our Nova Sock Set (for those who prefer metal needles) or our color-coded Dreamz Sock Set (for those who prefer wooden needles). You'll also want to keep your stitches on the needles with our handy DPN tubes, which are especially great for on-the-go sock knitters!

Karbonz Fixed Circular Needles

Magic Loop Socks

If you've ever been knitting while you're out an about and dropped one of your DPNs, only to have it roll away and never be found again, you may want to give magic loop knitting a try! You'll need a circular needle with a nice, long cord (32" or 40" is ideal); Stitch Diva Studios has a great tutorial video here on their website to get you started!

Two-at-a-Time Socks
Once you master the Magic Loop technique, you can use it to knit both pair of socks at the same time! It's a little tricky to get started, but here is an excellent tutorial with step-by-step instructions over on the Knit and Tonic blog.

Two-At-A-Time Socks

Crochet

Socks aren't just for knitters - there are plenty of great crochet patterns out there, too! Our steel crochet hooks come in smaller sizes which are just right for fingering-weight sock yarns. If you're new to crocheting socks, here are eight expert tips from the editor of Crochet Me to make your feet happy!

Steel Crochet Hook With Soft Feel Handle

This Month's Giveaway

This month, we have two chances for you to win Knitter's Pride needles:

First, one lucky blog reader will win Karbonz DPNs!

We'll also randomly select a blog reader to win a pair of US #1 Nova Fixed Circulars!

To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us your favorite way to make socks and which prize you'd like to win from the two choices listed above. You'll also want to give us your email address or Ravelry ID so that we can contact you if you win.

We'll randomly select our winner to announce on our next blog post later this month. Good luck!