Win Great Prizes in the Knitter's Pride Fall 2019 Photo Contest!

What are your favorite needles, hooks or accessories from Knitter's Pride? We'd love to see what you're making with the latest items from our 2019-20 Collection, as well as your tried-and-true favorites from our extensive family of products.

Share your best photo with us this fall for you chance to win some great prizes! One lucky winner will be selected at random to win a SmartStix Interchangeable needle set, but we'll also be selecting other entries at random to award prizes from our new collection. Let your creativity shine - we look forward to seeing your photos!

You have until Midnight EST on Friday, November 15 to submit your photo - click here for our official entry form to submit your entry and full contest details.

Winners will be notified via email and we'll share the winning entries on our blog and social media channels prior to November 30.

Pin this post to help spread the word!

Shawl Styling Tips & Photo Contest

Shawls are the perfect summer crafting projects! They usually need only one or two skeins of yarn (making them extremely portable), and can be knitted or crocheted in lightweight yarns that create beautiful drapey garments. Add some lace and cables for texture, or use up those variegated yarns to add some fun summer color!

While fun to make, handmade shawls can sometimes be a challenge to wear. Today, we share some inspiration to style all those gorgeous summer shawls PLUS a chance to win some fabulous prizes in our "Summer of Shawls" photo contest!

Styling Shawls

Centered in Back

Rriangular shawls can easily be worn with the point centered in the back and the sides draped over your shoulders. With a rectangular or a circular (or semicircular) shawl, try centering the shawl over your shoulders with the bulk of the shawl to your back. Worn this way, your beautiful handiwork is on full display, and your shawl will keep your shoulders, upper arms and torso warm. This is perfect for the chill of air-conditioning indoors, or on cool evenings.

Scarf Style

Rectangular stoles, skinny asymmetrical triangles and crescent shawls can be wrapped around your neck once (or multiple times) to be worn like a scarf. This is best done with lace and fingering-weight shawls to keep the bulk around your neck to a minimum. But, if done with a heavier weight yarn, your shawl will add warmth around your neck in the chilly fall and winter days.

Kerchief/Bandana Style

To wear a shawl kerchief or bandana style, you place the center point of your shawl at your front, and wrap the sides/tails around your neck and bring them back to the front. This creates a gorgeous focal point at your front, and allows you to show all that gorgeous work you’ve put into your shawl. Again, lighter weight shawls will wrap more easily in this style, but heavier weight shawls will keep your neck warm!

Off Center

Naturally, our favorite way to style shawls involves using a shawl pin or stick! Many people enjoy styling their shawls off-center, draping a point over one shoulder, or securing the ends over one shoulder with a gorgeous shawl pin or s tick. Not only will a shawl pin keep your work safe and secure, they can also add visual interest and enhance your handmade shawl! We have a variety of shawl pins that we use when styling shawls off center, or in any of the ways we pictured above.

Summer of Shawls Photo Contest

We'd love to see how you are styling your knitted and crocheted shawls this summer! Share your photos with us in our Ravelry group 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!

Winners will get to select from the following prizes:

Deluxe Ginger Interchangeable Set

Ginger Tunisian Crochet Set

Royale Special Interchangeable Set

Rainbow Knit Blockers

We'll randomly select FOUR lucky winners to announce here on the Knitter's Pride blog on Friday, July 26. Good luck!

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Second Annual LYS Love Contest Is Here!

When you drop a stitch or need to find the perfect skein of hand-dyed yarn for your next project, is your local yarn shop (LYS) the first place you visit? Yarn shops aren't just a place to buy yarn or Knitter's Pride needles and hooks - they're the nucleus of the fiber arts community where you can learn, share and make new friends.

We would love to hear about what makes your LYS so special! Tell us about your favorite yarn shop for your chance to win your choice of prizes from our NEW collection: a Ginger Deluxe Interchangeable Set,  a Zing Crochet Set, or a Magnetic Knitters' Necklace Kit!

 Here's how to enter: 

 1. Make sure you are a member of the Knitter's Pride Ravelry group! 

2. Post a comment in this thread telling us the name of your LYS, where it's located, and what you love about it. Feel free to include photos in your post and earburn the shop if they have a Ravelry account! 

3. For a special bonus entry, post a photo of your LYS on social media using #kpLYSlove - and be sure to tag your LYS, too! 

 We'll randomly select three lucky winners to announce on Friday, September 28. Good luck!

Crafty Pets Photo Contest from Knitter's Pride

Do your furry friends like to "help" with your knitting or crochet projects, or photobomb your work in progress (WIP) and finished object (FO) photos? We'd love to see your best photos Knitter's Pride products and your animal friend(s). Don't have a pet? We encourage you to get creative for your submission - only your imagination should limit you!

How to Enter

Take a photo of your favorite Knitter's Pride products (WIP and FO projects are welcome!) with your pet or animal friend. Any craft counts!

Post your photo here on Ravelry to be entered in our grand prize drawing (note: 1 photo entry per person, multiple entries will not count towards grand prize drawing).

Grand Prize Drawing

1 lucky winner will be chosen at random to receive a Large Navy Pattern Holder and their choice of either a Deluxe Zing Interchangeable set or a Waves Crochet Set. 

We'll announce our grand prize winner here on this blog on Friday April 27 - all photos posted between now and April 20 will be eligible for the prize drawing. Hint: we may award other prizes for originality, too! 

We'd love it if you'd also share your entry on Instagram using the #KPpetphotocontest and #knitterspride hashtags to help us spread the word (we may even repost your photo to our Instagram feed with credit to your account), but posting on Instagram is 100% optional!

Also, congratulations to Raveler MemorableOne, the winner for last month's giveaway!

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What Are Your Crafting Resolutions for 2018?

As 2017 winds down, it's a great time to take stock of your accomplishments for the past 12 months while also making plans for the year ahead. Perhaps you made some resolutions at the start of 2017; were you successful in all of them, or did a few escape your to-do list? Sometimes your priorities change as the year progresses, but you may decide to revisit those forgotten resolutions, or perhaps make new ones, as the calendar begins anew. We know that many knitters and crocheters embark on yearly challenges related to the craft - for instance, by pledging to knit a pair of socks each month, or going "cold sheep" and only knitting or crocheting from one's stash for an entire year.

Even if you don't make an official pledge for 2018, that there is always something new to learn about knitting, crocheting and crafting in general! We look forward to sharing lots of inspiration and tutorials with you in 2018, and we'd love to hear your suggestions for tutorials and other features you'd like to see.

Do you have any special challenges, techniques or projects you hope to tackle in 2018? Tell us about them in the comments for your chance to win a Leafy Yarn Holder from our 2017-18 Collection! Be sure to also include your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We will randomly select one lucky blog reader to announce as our winner on our first blog post of 2018.

From all of us a Knitter's Pride, have a safe and happy holiday season. See you in 2018!

What Does Your Knitting or Crochet Project Say About You?

There are many types of crafters out there - what kind are you? We've created a fun quiz for our fans, click START below to see what your crafting preferences say about you!

Share your quiz results in the comments below for your chance to win your choice of these 2 prizes: a Royale IC Starter Set or a Waves Crochet Set- we'd love to know just how accurate our quiz is!

Don't forget to also include your email address or Ravelry ID so that we can contact you if you win. We'll randomly select one lucky winner to announce on our next blog post on Friday, July 14th. Good luck!

Share this quiz with your crafting friends to see their results using this link or the sharing links at the bottom of this post! 

Charity Spotlight: Mother Bear Project

Many of our fans knit or crochet for charity year-round, but the holiday season is an especially great time to remember those less fortunate. There are so many wonderful charities which accept handmade items for donation, and we recently donated Bamboo needles & hooks to the Mother Bear Project, a non-profit dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations.

Mother Bear Project believes that the simple act of providing comfort to a child in the form of a bear can have a very large outcome; they have been knitting together people of all generations, abilities and faiths for nearly 12 years to provide bears to children unconditionally across Africa whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.  Founder Amy Berman of Minneapolis, MN recently returned from personally distributing over 2,500 bears in Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa - including the 100,000th bear! This very special bear was chosen to be the milestone bear because it was knit by an inspiring woman who just turned 100 years old.

This holiday season, they are selling handmade bear ornaments which make excellent gifts - no assembly required. The proceeds from just one bear ornament will help ship 6 regular Mother Bears to Africa! Click here to find out how you can win a bear ornament of your very own by posting your Mother Bear project photos on Instagram!

To get involved in this project, you can order a complete knitting or crochet kit (includes pattern, yarn for a bear, and crochet hook or needles) or you can simply order the knit or crochet pattern (flat or seamless) from their website, www.motherbearproject.org.

Make a bear.  Make a Difference.

GIVEAWAY
The folks at Mother Bear Project have generously donated two knitting kits to give away on our blog; to be eligible, simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us about your favorite yarn-related charity & why you'd like to knit a bear with one of these kits! Be sure to also include your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We'll randomly select two winning comments to announce on this blog on Friday, December 12. Good luck!

WINNER
Last but not least, it's time to announce the winner for our Nova Platina Interchangeable Starter Set Giveaway! Congratulations to Sleekymom; we will contact you via Ravelry to arrange for the delivery of your prize!

KP Photo A Day Challenge & Lots of Winners!

We've really enjoyed seeing everyone's wonderful photos this month for the Knitter's Pride Photo A Day Challenge. There is still time to enter your photos for your chance to win through the end of April through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram - simply use the hashtag #KPpadc when you post your photo! We'd also like to thank the Geeky Girls Knit Podcast for co-hosting this photo challenge with us!

After the end of this month, we'll be selecting 10 finalists, all of whom will win a Knitter's Pride Comby II Sampler Set! From these finalists, we'll have our wonderful fans vote to pick the three grand prize winners!

Our team has been inspired by all the amazing photos we've seen, so we wanted to share a photo of our own:

Lining everything up like this is known as knolling, and if you also happen to enjoy knolling your Knitter's Pride tools, we hope you'll share a photo with us on your social media channel of choice!

Winner's Circle

We have a lot of winners to announce today!

KPPADC Day 10: Just Needles And Hooks Winner
Congratulations to Instagram user cedwards1183! You've won a Shawl Pin & Clicky Row Counter! Please message us on Ravelry or Facebook to arrange delivery of your prize.

Day 10: just needles and hooks My needles that are not in use at the moment. No hooks :( #ggkcraftypad #kppadc #knitterspride #knitting #knit

KPPADC Day 18: Favorite Tool Winner
Congratulations to Twitter user Aleksandra, @aleksgeniusz, you've won Cable Needles & Removable Stitch Markers! Please message us on Ravelry or Facebook to arrange delivery of your prize.

#KPpadc #GGKCRAFTYPAD
Favorite Tool

Karbonz Fixed Circular Needle Winners

Congratulations to Sara, Jill K., and Jeanne! You've all won a Karbonz Fixed Circular needle! We'll be in touch to arrange delivery of your prize.

Holla Knits Prize Winners
Bamboo Interchangeable Needle Set Winner
Congratulations to Darlene! You are the lucky winner of a set of Deluxe Bamboo Interchangeable Knitting Needles! We will be in touch to arrange delivery of your prize!

Holla Knits Pattern Winner

Congratulations to Zabbers, who won the Cafe Au Lait pattern from Holla Knits Spring 2014! We've arranged delivery of your prize, and you should be receiving it soon! 

Thank you to everyone who has participated! We can't wait for the final round of voting for the Knitter's Pride Photo A Day Challenge, and we hope you'll continue to participate in all of our giveaways and photo contests! 

Holla Knits Blog Tour & A Giveaway

Cafe au Lait by Kristen Singer from Holla Knits

The Holla Knits Spring 2014 collection features five great patterns that are perfect for fashion forward knitters. As always, we're impressed with the creativity of the patterns in this issue of Holla Knits, and we're so pleased to be today's blog tour stop! While it's hard to choose a favorite pattern from this season's collection, we'd like to highlight the  Cafe au Lait cardigan by Kristen Singer today!

This beautiful cable and lace cardigan is knit at a loose gauge to give it airiness and beautiful drape. We think it would be perfect to wear with a dress (as shown here), but it would also look great with jeans and a t-shirt!

This is the perfect comfy cardigan that you can wear with just about anything in your wardrobe, no matter what time of year it is.

Be sure to visit all the stops on the Holla Knits Blog Tour!

April 7: Collection Launch

April 8: The Sweatshop of Love Blog: SEG: Baah Yarns

April 9: ModKnits Yarn Blog

April 10: Skeinny Dipping Yarn

April 11: Kirsten Singer: Pattern and Classic Elite Vale giveaway

April 15: Canary Knits: SEG: Skeinny Dipping skein of Cashmerino DK

April 16: Baah Yarns: I skein of Baah Yarns Shasta and a 1 skein cowl pattern

April 17: Knitter’s Pride Blog: Review and pattern giveaway

April 18: DovieJay Knits: SEG: I skein of Artisan Yarns Alpaca Silk

April 22: Mari Knits: Review and pattern giveaway

April 23: Magical Grammar: Review and pattern giveaway

April 24: Knit York City: Review and pattern giveaway

April 25: Under the Red Umbrella: Review and pattern giveaway

Giveaway

Enter our giveaway for a Knitter's Pride Bamboo Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set. Click here to enter! We'll announce the winner on the blog on Friday, April 25, 2014.

Pattern Giveaway

Leave a comment on this blog post and tell us which of the new patterns from Holla Knits Spring 2014 is your favorite for your chance to win your favorite pattern! Please don't forget to leave your Ravelry ID so that we can contact you if you're the winner. We'll announce one winner on the blog on Friday, April 25, 2014.

Free Spring Pattern + A Giveaway

We're excited to share with you a great pattern for showing off your knitting skills all spring and summer long! Today we're sharing another free pattern from designer Mari Chiba from Mari Knits. Mari had these thoughts to share with us about her new design:

These beautiful silver earrings are worked with 32 gauge pure silver wire on Knitter's Pride Bamboo

DPNs. I prefer knitting with bamboo needles when working with silver because it helps grip the metal better. You could use straight or circular needles for this project, but since you're working such a small number of stitches I find that double pointed needles are easier to hold and manage while knitting. I used US 4 (3.5mm) needles for these earrings, but if you'd like a more open weave to your earrings you could use US 5 (3.75mm) or us 6 (4mm) needles. This will also result in a slightly larger earring.

Materials

US 4 (3.5 mm) double pointed knitting needles (see note above)

2 Silver Earring Wires

25 yards 32 gauge silver wire

Abbreviations

CO     cast on

k2tog  knit 2 stitches together 

k         knit

skp     slip 1 knit-wise , k1, pass the slipped stitch over

st(s)    stitch(es)

Leaf Earring (make 2)

CO 3 sts. 

Row 1: K1, yo, k1, yo, k1; 5 sts. 

Row 2, 4, 6: Knit. 

Row 3: K2, yo, k1, yo, k2; 7 sts.  

Row 5: K3, yo, k1, yo, k3; 9 sts. 

Row 7: K4, yo, k1, yo, k4; 11 sts. 

Rows 8-10: Knit. 

Row 11: K1, skp, k5, k2tog, k1; 9 sts. 

Rows 12-13: Knit. 

Row 14: K1, skp, k3, k2tog, k1; 7 sts. 

Rows 15-16: Knit. 

Row 17: K1, skp, k1, k2tog, k1; 5 sts. 

Row 18: Knit. 

Row 19: Skp, k1, k2tog; 3 sts. 

Row 20: Skp, k1; 2 sts. 

Row 21: Skp; 1 st. 

Cut wire and pull through the last stitch. 

Finishing

Using the tail from the cast on attach the earring to the earring wire. Weave in the end through the body of the earring and trim. Weave in the end from the tip of the leave and trim. Shape the earring as desired. 

Giveaway

This month we're giving away three pairs of Knitter's Pride Karbonz Fixed Circular needles to three lucky readers! With smooth nickel tips, a strong lightweight carbon fiber body and flexible cords these needles are great for all types of projects!

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this blog telling us what makes you a strong and flexible knitter or crocheter. Don't forget to mention your Ravelry ID so we can get in touch with you if you're one of our three lucky winners! We'll be announcing the winners on Friday, April 25, 2014. 

Winners + Welcome Spring with our Photo-Sharing Contest

First off, congratulations to this month's blog giveaway winners, we received some really fantastic comments this month! Eloewien and schwip have won their choice of this month's prizes: a Waves Crochet Hook, a Dreamz Fixed Circular, or a Dreamz DPN! We have contacted our winners to arrange for the delivery of their prizes; thanks to everyone who entered this month's contest!

It's been a pretty exciting month for us: our Karbonz needles have been generating all sorts of buzz, with mentions in Vogue magazine, A Homespun House Podcast, and most recently on designer Alexis Winslow's blog, Knit Darling!

Next month, we'll be cohosting a photo-a-day challenge with the Geeky Girls Knit Podcast, and we hope you'll join in the fun. There will be a TON of great prizes ranging from accessories and notions, Comby II Sampler Sets (which include tips in our Karbonz, Bamboo and Nova Cubics lines) and grand prizes which include a Waves Crochet Set, a Karbonz DPN Sock Set, and Deluxe interchangeable sets in our Karbonz, Bamboo and Nova Cubics lines!

To be a part of the fun, simply post your photos each day beginning April 1 using the prompts above and the #KPpadc and #GGKCRAFTYPAD hashtags so that we can find your entries on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We will be randomly selecting photos on days marked with an asterisk to award fun prizes during the month of April, plus we will be selecting 10 semifinalists who will each receive Comby II Sampler sets and be in the running for our grand prize drawings! 3 Grand prizes will be voted on by our fabulous fans, so we'll let you know when the voting is live...for now, get ready to flash your stash, share your WIPS, and share your favorite Knitter's Pride products! 

Giveaway + Indian Cast-On Tutorial

Did you know that Knitter's Pride needles were developed with an international panel of knitters and crocheters - and that these very same needles are sold throughout the globe under the KnitPro brand?

KnitPro International is based in India, where we have some interesting traditions when it comes to knitting - specifically, when it comes to casting on! The traditional Indian cast-on method is a unique way of starting a project, using the big toe to tension the working yarn while holding the short end of the yarn double in the right hand. A slip knot is made, and stitches are cast on in the form of slip knots with the double stranded short end and the working yarn.

If this sounds a little confusing, fear not - here is a tutorial video demonstrating the technique:

Almost all Indian knitters learn this method of casting on, and many continue to use it permanently.

Go to any town in India, and you'll find that nearly every family has a knitter in their midst - even in the remotest of villages! The selection of yarn is limited to mostly cheap acrylic yarns in fingering and DK weights, and believe it or not, circular knitting is not known in most parts of the country.

Typically, India has two types of knitters: the traditional knitter in villages and towns who knits out of need and can copy a pattern just by looking at it, but never knits from written patterns. The other type is the modern knitter: a computer literate Raveller who knits from patterns, looks up YouTube videos for knitting techniques, and buys yarn online.

This month, we're celebrating the global craft world with our "Knitting Around the World" board on Pinterest. If you'd like to find out more about where your Knitter's Pride needles and hooks are made, click here to read this recent feature on the Knitting Daily blog! 

March Giveaway
Two lucky readers will win their choice of prizes: a Waves Crochet Hook, a Dreamz Fixed Circular, or a Dreamz DPN!

To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite designer or technique with an international flair. Be sure to also include your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win!

We'll randomly select 2 winning comments to announce on Friday, March 28. Good luck! 

Giveaway + Everything’s Coming Up Crochet!

Last month, we focused on lace, sharing some of our favorite tips, tricks and tools for successful projects for lace enthusiasts; we even shared a photo tutorial starring our brand-new lace blocking wires! While lace designs can be created with both knitting and crocheting techniques, we'd like to put crochet in the spotlight this month by highlighting both traditional and Tunisian techniques which can be used to make a variety of projects. In today's post, we'll begin with a closer look at traditional crochet techniques; we hope you'll join us later this month when we delve into Tunisian crochet techniques (hint: we'll have a surprise from designer Rohn Strong!).

Most of our fans are familiar with traditional crochet, i.e. techniques which are created using a single-ended hook. There are lots of great tutorials to help you get started, such as these free video lessons over on the FreshStitches website. You can also find more advanced techniques such as this bobble stitch tutorial starring one of our Dreamz crochet hooks!

Stacey Trock, the designer behind FreshStitches, is best known for her adorable and cuddly crochet amigurumi designs. Amigurumi is a Japanese term for knitted or crocheted stuffed dolls which are traditionally smaller in size, although many crocheters have broadened the use of this term to describe any knitted or crocheted stuffed toy. Stacey's newest book, Modern Baby Crochet, features some great examples of amigurumi in addition to crocheted afghans, pillows, and other household decor which would look great in and out of the nursery!

Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock

February Giveaway

This month, we're giving away one Japanese Bamboo single-ended crochet hook set! To enter our giveaway, simply leave a comment telling us what's currently on your hook, or what you'd like to make if you won this set! Be sure to also include your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. 

We will randomly select one lucky winner to announce on our next blog post on Friday, February 21. Good luck! 

Essentials of Lace + Giveaway

Happy New Year! We're looking forward to an exciting year filled with non-stop crafting, learning and sharing. There is no shortage of new knitting and crochet techniques to try, and we hope our products will help you on your journey this year.

This month, we'd like to share some of our favorite tips and tutorials for knitting and crocheting lace projects. First, you'll need to be comfortable reading (and working from) charts. While it's true that several patterns will include both written and charted instructions, many patterns include only charts due to space constraints or designer preference, so it's a good skill to have under your belt!

Luckily, there are plenty of free tutorials available in the knitting blogosphere: Wisehilda Knits, PicnicKnits, and Wendy Knits all have shared very informative posts on this topic. You can find even more via Google, Youtube and Pinterest, too - isn't it nice to have options?

Having the right tools is another important consideration. Many lace knitters prefer sharp needles and metal tips which allow the stitches to glide freely and quickly. We recommend trying our Karbonz or Nova Cubics needles for your next lace-knitting project, or our color-coded Waves hooks if you're planning to crochet your next lace project. Stitch markers can also help you keep track of pattern repeats or where you need to increase or decrease as you work.

The real magic is in the finishing, however! Blocking your project properly will enable the lace pattern to open up, causing a dramatic transformation for many projects. This is where blocking wires come in handy: they can save you time and effort in blocking your project out to a specific shape. Patterns featuring scallops or points can especially benefit from blocking wires, though you can also use them to easily create a straight edge on just about any project. You'll need T-Pins to get the job done, and in general, blocking is much easier to do if you have a soft surface such as our new lace blocking mats.

There is an excellent article about the ins and outs of blocking here in the Knitty archives, but in our next blog post, we'll show you how to block a lace project step-by-step using Knitter's Pride products.

We'll also be giving away a Lace Blocking Wire Kit to one lucky reader! To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this post telling us your craft-related new year's resolution; be sure to also mention your Ravelry ID or email address so that we may contact you if you win.

The Knitter's Pride Lace Blocking Wire Kit contains several stainless steel wires in various lengths (15 total), 20 rust-resistant T-pins and 1 measuring tape!

We will randomly select a winning comment to announce on our next blog post on Friday, January 24, 2014. Good luck!

It's In The Bag + Giveaway

Whether you tend to knit more at home or while on-the-go, it's important to have the right notions at your fingertips! We've added a few new notions to our family of products to ensure that your knitting bag is well-stocked for fall.

First, meet our new Clicky Row Counter! It can be worn around the neck for easy access and keeps you on track with a quick click to increase your row count as you knit or crochet.

It's always a good idea to have a Needle Gauge handy, and our newest gauge is available in your choice of two great colors, Ivy or Envy!

Another handy notion to have on hand is a cable needle or two - you never know when they might come in handy! We have some new Aluminum Cable Needles which are ideal for projects on larger needles to add to our colored Aluminum Cable Needles for smaller-gauge projects.

October Giveaway

Two lucky readers will win a brand-new Thames faux-leather bag, which is a fashionable way to organize your Knitter's Pride needles and notions while on-the-go - and there's even room for your small project!

They're available in 5 great colors: black, red, yellow, blue and purple.

We've got two Thames bags up for grabs this month - one in RED and one in YELLOW.

To be eligible in our prize drawing, simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us what notion is a must-have for YOUR knitting bag! Also be sure to include your Ravelry ID and color preference (red or yellow). We'll randomly select two winners to announce on Friday, October 25. Good luck! 

Rejoice Pom Pom Maker Giveaway + Tutorial

Rejoice, our easy-to-use pom pom maker is here! Pom poms are a great finishing touch and are one of the hot trends we've spotted for fall. Our new set includes four sizes, each in a bright color unique to its size. There's no end to what you can make with your pom poms, and we're sharing some of our favorite ideas here on our pinterest board.

Below is our easy photo tutorial to walk you through the steps from start to finish. We're also giving our readers a chance to win 1 of Knitter's Pride Rejoice Pom Pom Maker Sets this month (see contest details below). Thanks for joining us!

Place the two parts, one over the other as show in the image above; the side with the holes should be matched up to the side with the convex depressions. Begin to wrap yarn evenly from left to right on the first side.  TIP: It is helpful to count your wraps to ensure an even pom pom! 

Wrap other side as before. Cut yarn and bring each side together as pictured. You should be able to lock the pieces together with the latch on each side. 

Begin to cut the yarn from the outer circumference and continue all around(your scissors should fit in the space between the pieces, which acts as a guide).

Take a length of yarn to knot through the middle twice, pulling taut to secure the pom pom. Once it is secure, open the latch and remove the pom pom maker. Trim and shape the pompom by cutting extra bits of yarn with scissors.

Voila! You have successfully made your first pom pom! Shown above are pom poms in each of the four sizes available in the set using Manos del Uruguay Maxima yarn in color #2180 Clementine.

Win 1 of 3 Rejoice Pom Pom Maker Sets

3 lucky readers will be randomly-selected to win one of our new Rejoice Pom Pom Maker Sets this month. To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post sharing your favorite pattern that uses pom poms! Be sure to also leave a way for us to contact you if you win (email address or Ravelry ID). Please, only one entry per person (note: comments are approved daily by our moderator and may not appear immediately upon posting).

We will announce our winners in our next blog post on Friday, September 27. Good luck! 

Winner + Caring for Wooden Needles

Congratulations to our winners for this month's blog giveaway!

Raveler EvilSquirrel said, "My crafting plans are to whip up a few pairs of super bright socks for my hubs (since he will now only wear hand knit socks in bright bold stripes) I love Taat on 2 circs! And there will be a scarf OTK for me when I start school this September to be a Nurse!! Hot pink of course."

Renee said, "I would be happy to have a set of double point needles. I have several projects to work on from socks and fingerless mitts to shawls and shawlettes."

Both of our lucky winners have been contacted to arrange for the delivery of their Karbonz needles. Join us next month for another great giveaway right here on our blog!

Caring for Wooden Needles

Dreamz needles: image courtesy of
WEBS - America's Yarn Store

Wooden and bamboo needles get naturally moisturized by the oils in the wool yarn (lanolin) and your hands, thus becoming smoother with every use. However, it is a good idea to clean and moisturize your Dreamz, Cubics and Basix needles a couple of times in a year. Here are our top recommendations:

Clean your needles with a clean, dry muslin or paper towel, then apply a very thin layer of natural bees wax. Allow it to dry and then buff it with soft muslin or chamois cloth. This can also be done using a small amount of cold cream as most cold creams contain bees wax. Alternatively, rubbing your needles with wax paper is also a good option.

Whatever method you are using for moisturizing the needles, make sure you wait at least 24 hrs before using them again for knitting!