Tips for Changing Seasons & Spring Pattern Round-Up

As the seasons change in the northern hemisphere, it's time to pack away warm winter woolens in favor of lightweight, breathable garments and accessories. But before you store your handmade projects for the season, make sure to wash everything first!

There are many specially-made wool washes on the market that condition fibers while removing dirt and grime which can attract unwanted pests. Your nearest Knitter's Pride retailer should be able to recommend a wool wash, along with any other supplies you may need - we always recommend keeping a set of Blocking Mats and Knit Blockers handy, and if you knit a lot of lace, you may want to add a set of Blocking Wires to your toolbox as well. We have a free tutorial on washing and blocking handmade projects here our blog archive for anyone who needs a refresher on the washing and blocking process.

Moths, in particular, are something that every wool lover dreads; for tips on mothproofing your woolen wear, check out this post on the Martha Stewart website. Should you discover an infestation at any point, don't panic! Click here to tips on managing the situation on the Red Handled Scissors blog.

Warmer weather may also mean changes in the kinds of projects you like to knit and crochet! While many of our fans craft year-round (and some will even keep making sweaters no matter how hot it gets!), some folks set their needles and hooks aside for the season. But with all of the extra time at home this spring, why not keep your hands busy with a project that fits the season?

Smaller projects like socks, fingerless mitts and hats are quick to make and won't make you hot by resting in your lap the way a larger project would. That doesn't mean that shawls and sweaters are out of the question, though! Look for patterns which use lighter weights of yarn (think lace and fingering) and incorporate more breathable fibers such as cotton, bamboo, and flax, into your wool routine (even blending these fibers with wool will help!).

Let us inspire your next project with one of these fabulous free patterns!

Free Knitting Patterns

Brighten up your living space or home office with a Mini Rainbow by Amanda Davies! If you have any loved ones who must wear a face mask for prolonged periods of time,  use up leftover bits of yarn to knit a few of Lady C's Ear Savers to reduce irritation caused by the elastic loops which hold the mask in place. The Fadewalker Fingerless Mitts by Elizabeth Abiate is perfect for gradient or self-striping yarns in your stash, or rounding up several coordinating colors if you prefer. Practice your intarsia skills with The Ombis by Amy Singer, which appears in the Spring + Summer issue of Knitty. The Twilight Cowl by Sara Anthony-Boon has an interesting construction and is inspired by the Aurora Borealis. Sock knitters will enjoy the bold geometric design found on the Mitsuuroko Socks by Raeli Masina. Or, join our current charity craft-along, which has a color work theme and a fabulous free cowl pattern, A Precious Resource by Michael Harrigan!

Free Crochet Patterns

The Easiest Ear Savers by Jessica Underwood is a beginner-friendly pattern that's also great for using up scrap yarn. Scrunchies are making a comeback, and you can quickly whip up an entire rainbow of with the Ruffled Scrunchie by Crochet n' Create. The Crochet Rainbow by Crafting Happiness can be made with scrap yarn in your stash and proudly displayed in your window or used as a wall hanging.  Whip up a pair of lightweight, lacy fingerless mitts with the Evies Eternities Gloves by Heidi Eisner. Vickie Howell's Singles Summer Scarf is a beautiful project designed especially for the fingering weight singles lurking in your stash. Keep cool with the Off The Shoulder Crop Top by Designs by Key, which comes in sizes ranging from XS-5X. For our fans who love both Star Wars and crochet, check out Amilyn by Rebecca Velasquez, which is inspired by a special-occasion dress worn by Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo that is translated into a lacy open-work top.

Wishing you a safe & happy spring - make sure to share what's on your Knitter's Pride needles and hooks by using #knitterspride in your posts!

How to Block Your Knit & Crochet Shawls Like a Pro

Since we’ve declared this the Summer of Shawls, today we'll share some tips to help you master the ultimate step in finishing those shawl projects: blocking. Blocking is the simple step of washing your finished shawl (or any finished project) and then allowing it to dry. The benefit of blocking is that it evens out any tensioning issues in your stitches, opens up lace and other patterning, removes oils from your hands transferred during the knitting process, and makes your finished project look ten times better overall!

Today we'll cover two of the most popular methods, steam blocking and wet blocking.

Steam Blocking

This method sets the stitches just as well as wet blocking, without the worry of stretching out your finished piece due to the weight of a waterlogged item. For hand-dyed yarns, steam blocking increases the longevity of both the color and the fibers. You can use an iron or purchase a dedicated hand-held steamer for this process; simply lay your piece on a prepared surface such as an ironing board or a clean table. Pin in place, then hold your iron or steamer directly above the piece so that the steam can penetrate the fibres. Allow your piece to dry completely before you remove the pins.

IMPORTANT: Do not let the iron touch your fabric - this will damage the fibers!

Wet Blocking

This method is useful for removing anything that may have gotten on your projects as you worked on it, and is particularly ideal for reshaping a finished piece. Note that yarn is not unlike clothing in that the more it gets washed with soap the more it will fade, so please wash sparingly and only when needed.

Materials:

• A shawl you wish to block
• Wool wash (like Eucalan)
• Tape Measure
• Towel(s)
• Knitter’s Pride Blocking Wires
• Knitter’s Pride Blocking Mats
• Knitter's Pride Rainbow Knit Blockers

Step 1: Washing

Some yarns say "machine wash," which you can do if you prefer but please bear in mind that hand washing always increases the longevity of your project!

Fill a clean sink, bucket, or basin with lukewarm water. We like to add just a smidge of heat to the water to loosen any oils or dirt that might be lurking in a finished item, but prefer not to go too much beyond lukewarm. Next, add some of your favorite wool wash.

Gently add your project to the water. We like to press the project into the water softly and make sure it is entirely submerged. Don’t add too much agitation - just enough to get your project good and wet. Let your project soak for 5 minutes or less.

Remove your project from the water and squeeze gently to remove excess water. The key here is being gentle; don’t wring or twist your knit. If you have a clean towel nearby, you can roll your project into the towel and squeeze gently again to remove more excess water.

Lay flat to air dry using the instruction in Step 2: Blocking below.

Step 2: Blocking

Now that your project or garment is clean, let’s talk about blocking it! Essentially, all you are going to do here is determine how best to arrange your knitted or crocheted item so that it will dry in the shape you wish. Different projects will require different methods; we’ll do our best to cover all of them below.

First, find a good place where you can block your project. You will want an open, flat surface that curious pets and/or children are unlikely to discover. We find that the floor in a non-trafficked area is usually a good place to block; if you don’t have a good floor space to block, you can also use counter or table tops, or any flat surface (the bed in the guest bedroom, the dining room table, etc.).

If you are using pins to block your project (and in most cases you will want to use pins to hold the project in place!), you will need a porous surface underneath your project that you don’t mind sticking pins into such as our Blocking Mats.

Once you have decided where you would like to block your project, lay it out gently in the shape you wish to block it into. At this point you’ll need to decide how aggressively you want to block your project: some patterns will provide a schematic with finished dimensions which you can refer back to as you lay out your piece, using a tape measure to ensure correct dimensions have been achieved. You may have some personal preferences that inform your blocking approach as well.

For projects with lots of lace, blocking wires are a good investment. These thin, flexible wires can be threaded through the edges of your knitting and then pinned taut. This will open up your lace and enable you to create straight (or curved) edges in your finished garment. If your project doesn’t have a large amount of lace, or you don’t wish for super defined edges, you can use rust-resistant T-pins or our Rainbow Knit Blockers to secure edges as you arrange your project to dry. Generally, we lay the project out in the shape we want it to be, and then pin every 4-6 inches to achieve the desired shape. If your project has a lace edging, or ends with a picot or crocheted bind off, you may wish to accentuate the edges by pinning them into place. For instance, in the picot edging of this shawl, we might want to pin out each picot to create a pretty, open border.

We hope that these tips and tricks above have helped you navigate blocking your projects. We can’t wait to see what you create, and don't forget to enter our Summer of Shawls Photo contest, happening in our Ravelry group and social media channels! Simply share a photo of how you are styling your knitted and crocheted shawls this summer in this Ravelry thread OR on social media using the #knitterspride and #kpshawlstyle hashtags. You may post as many photos as you like, and while photos do not necessarily have to include Knitter's Pride shawl pins, we would love to see how you are using them to style your shawls!

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How To Knit The Perfect Gauge Swatch for a Sweater (& Why You Should)

Swatches are a vital and crucial part of knitting - anyone who has ever ripped out an entire sweater will tell you that. Swatches are necessary tools to ensure proper gauge, and the way you treat them will inform how well your garment fits—even after several wears and washes. This also holds true for other projects, of course, but extra precision is required for garments to achieve the desired fit!

There are a few things you will need when making your swatch.

Supplies:

• Gauge. A multipurpose gauge like our Knitter’s Pride Needle Gauge covers all your bases—it measures clearly, you can check needle/crochet sizes if you need to adjust, and it includes a yarn cutter. 

• Yarn.

• Needles. For the purposes of swatch-making, it is a good idea to have at least 3 needles on hand. The recommended needle, plus one size larger and one size smaller. 

• A bowl.

• Water.

• Your chosen knitwear detergent (here, we're using a no-rinse wash called Allure).

• Small towel.

• Blocking Mats.

Starting Your Swatch:

1. Check the pattern gauge, then cast on approximately 1.5 times the recommended stitches for 4 inches. For example, if the pattern calls for 20 stitches in 4 inches, cast on at least 30 stitches. This will give you enough surface area to obtain a proper, realistic measurement of your gauge. The first and last stitches of most swatches can be a little wonky, so you won’t include those when you measure. 

We strongly recommend casting on more than 4 inches because it will give you the most accurate measurement (the bigger the swatch, the better - especially when it comes to sweater knitting). Everyone adopts a unique, natural flow when knitting that simply doesn’t develop in a smaller swatch. Also, since no one’s gauge is totally perfect, your stitch count per inch will vary ever so slightly between inches. The more inches you give your swatch, the more accurate your measurement will be. If you can stomach casting on double the recommended stitches, even better.

2. Check your pattern for how the garment is made. It’s important to work your swatch in the same way you will be knitting. Flat knitting in stockinette stitch involves knitting on one side and purling on the other, while round knitting in stockinette simply involves knitting. That alternating purl row helps determine the size of your stitches and will affect your gauge swatch.

Pro Tip: If your sweater is worked in the round, try casting on one of the sleeves first. Your sleeve can act as a gauge measurement. If after 6+ inches your gauge is correct, you can continue with the following steps and pick up the sleeve again when you’re done measuring. If not, it’s much less hassle to rip out a sleeve. Elizabeth Zimmerman famously recommended knitting a hat to match your sweater, but a sleeve is even more useful as it speeds you along on your sweater journey.

3. This might be the most important step. Are you stressed? Watching a thriller/action adventure/horror movie? In a rush? All of these factors will affect your gauge. Try to knit your swatch under similar circumstances in which you’ll be making your project. 

4. Knit for at least 1.5 times the recommended gauge, as in step 1. As with your stitch gauge, your row gauge needs to be large to ensure accuracy. Bind off.

Preparing Your Swatch:

1. Mix a small amount of detergent with cool water in the bowl. Place the swatch in the bowl and wash it the way you would your finished sweater. 

2. Remove the swatch from the bowl and use the towel to roll out any excess water. 

3. Lay your swatch flat on the blocking mats and let it dry. Important: Do not block or pin the swatch.  

Measuring Your Swatch: 

1. Once dry, take your gauge and lay it flat against your swatch. Don’t stretch or manipulate the swatch at all. Measure both the number of stitches and number of rows inside 4 inches. Move the gauge around the middle of the swatch and measure in different places, but try to avoid the cast on and bind off rows. Like edge stitches, they will not provide the most accurate reading. This is why having more than 4 inches is essential—it gives you ample room to take several measurements. Measure to see how many stitches and rows fit within 5 inches as well. Record these different numbers.

2. For the 4-inch measurement, divide the number of stitches and rows by 4. Do the same for the 5-inch measurement, dividing by 5. This will give you the number of stitches and rows per inch. The larger stitch and row measurement will be the most accurate measurement you have. If your gauge matches the pattern gauge, you’re all set!

Troubleshooting Gauge Issues:

1. If your gauge is too small (ie, the pattern calls for 4 stitches to the inch and you are getting more than 4), try going up a needle size. If your gauge is too large (pattern calls for 4 stitches, but you are getting less than 4), try going down a needle size. 

Pro Tip: If changing needle sizes doesn’t work, try changing the kinds of needles you are using. Metal needles tend to be slippery, plastic slightly less so, and wood and bamboo tend to be sticky. Sometimes a large gauge on metal needles will shrink using the same sized bamboo needles. Play around with types of needles to see how your gauge differs between materials. Every knitter is different!

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