Lace Blocking Wire Tutorial + Winner

Our new lace blocking supplies are the perfect way to finish your projects (and they can be used for more than just lace!). If you have never used wires before, you will be astonished at how easily they create neat edges and professional-looking results. Just follow these six easy steps to finish off your next project like a pro:

1.  Gather your supplies: a set of Knitter's Pride Blocking Mats and a Lace Blocking Wire Kit which includes 15 stainless steel wires, 15 rust-resistant T-pins, and a measuring tape. You may also wish to have extra T-pins on hand.
   
2. Wet block your piece or use a spray bottle to dampen the piece in preparation for blocking.
3. Beginning with the straight edge of your piece, pick up each stitch along the edge with a wire. The more stitches you pick up, the neater your edge will be.
   
4. When all of the straight edge stitches are picked up, lay flat on your blocking mats. Beginning at the center, insert t-pins between the knit edge and the wires. This is a great time to make sure your piece has the correct dimensions; feel free to make any adjustments necessary before proceeding to the next step. 
   
   
5. Beginning at one top edge, use a blocking wire to pick up one stitch from each point along curved shawl edge til you reach the center. Adjust the fabric until you are satisfied with how it looks, then use a few t-pins to stabilize wire as you did in step 4. Repeat for other side of shawl.
   
   
6. Once your piece is dry, carefully remove the pins, then the wires. Enjoy!

Congratulations are in order for Heidi A, who was randomly selected to win this month's prize, a Knitter's Pride Lace Blocking Set. Heidi commented, "My knitting resolution is to finally publish some patterns. I have several first drafts; I just need to see them through to completion! " We have contacted her via Ravelry to arrange for prize delivery. Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway this month! 

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!

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulation to woodstockcate, our winner for this month's giveaway to win a DVD copy of Knit and Crochet Now Season 4 and a Waves Crochet Set! We have contacted woodstockcate via Ravelry PM to arrange for the delivery of her prize. Thanks to everyone who entered this month's blog giveaway!

As 2013 winds down, we would like to wish our friends and fans a happy and healthy new year. May 2014 be filled with lots of knitting and crocheting! 

Last-Minute Gift Inspiration!

For our friends celebrating the holiday next week, we'd like to share a few of our favorite last-minute gift projects which can be easily completed in just a few days' time or less! 

Bluebird of Happiness by Sara Elizabeth Kellner
This little bird can be knit in just a few hours and is available as a free Ravelry download!

Glühwein by Laura Aylor
This free pattern can be knit with just a small amount of Bulky weight yarn.

Leafy Washcloth by Megan Goodacre
You need just 30 yards of yarn to knit each leaf, and the pattern can be made in various weights of yarn, too!

Scalloped Boot Cuffs by Jenny Dickens
These boot toppers crochet up in a jiffy in worsted weight yarn, and the pattern is available for free on Ravelry!

Nel the Tiny Owl by Stacey Trock
These wee owls can be crocheted with small amounts of worsted weight yarn!

For more great last-minute gift ideas, check out the 2013 Knitter's Pride Holiday Gift Guide for crafty gift ideas such as our limited edition Karbonz gift set, the Box of Joy!

Be sure to join us next Friday (December 27th) when we announce the winner of the December Blog Giveaway - you can click here to enter! 

Special Post + Giveaway: Knit and Crochet Now!

On today's post, we have a special interview with Ellen Gormley, renowned crochet designer and resident expert on the Knit and Crochet Now! show. There is also an opportunity for one of our lucky readers to win Season 4 of the Knit and Crochet Now! series on DVD and a set of Knitter's Pride Waves crochet hooks - read on for more information! 

What inspired you to try crochet? Do you do any other crafts? 

Crafting and crochet in particular was part of the culture of my family. My mom dabbled in many crafts but crochet was perhaps most dominant. My Great-Aunt lived next door and was an avid thread crocheter. I have practiced sewing, knitting, embroidery, quilting, latch-hooking but have found to crochet to be the most portable and compelling. I currently have a few knit projects in progress as well as crochet.

What are your 3 essential tools for your preferred craft? 

My three preferred tools (besides hook and scissors) are my digital camera, for taking process photos and visual note-taking, a blunt tip tapestry needle, and locking stitch markers. I wish locking stitch markers were sold by the hundred and included at least 5 colors. 

Have you ever had a project go horribly wrong? When disaster strikes, do you try to make the best of it, or do you prefer to frog and start over again? 

Yes! I have had many projects go horribly wrong!  I learned a real lesson in gauge early on when I crocheted a sweater that was probably 6 sizes too big...why didn't I try it on as I went?  I try to "harvest" the yarn and frog out projects that didn't work to re-use the yarn. Sometimes when I have a horrible project, I put it in the back of the closet until I can get enough time and space to deal with it later.

What is one tip you learned way too late in your crafting career? 

Something I wish I had learned earlier in my crafting life would be that it is ok to break the rules. Generally there are accepted ways of joining yarn, beginning a row, or joining a round, but just because the pattern describes the traditional methods, the crafter can switch to her preferred method. As a designer, I'm allowed to change it as long as I can adequately describe how it was completed.

What do you see as the next big trend in crochet?

The next big trend in crochet might be simple lace paired with DK weight yarns. I think crocheters yearn to make showstopping wearable accessories that are worthy of quality yarn.

Giveaway

One lucky reader will be randomly selected to win a DVD copy of Knit and Crochet Now Season 4 and a Waves Crochet Set! To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this post telling us what Knitter's Pride products are on your wish list this year. Be sure to also include a Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win! 

We'll randomly select one lucky winner to announce on our next blog post on December 27. Good luck! 

Many thanks to Ellen Gormley and the folks at Annie's Publishing for making this interview and DVD giveaway possible.

Free Pattern + Giveaway Winner

Today we have a guest post from blogger and knitwear designer Mari Chiba from Mari Knits. You may recognize her from our last blog post or from her recent pattern in The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, Ginny's Cardigan.

I’ve been intrigued by giant knitting needles in the past, but never got around to trying some out until recently. A good friend of mine asked me for a hand-knit wedding gift a couple of months ago. I knew that I didn’t have a lot of time, and I also knew that I wanted to give a gift that would be practical. I thought about matching hats, but I’m close friends with the groom and don’t know the bride as well - any sort of clothing item would be a big risk!

I scoured Ravelry and Pinterest for days trying to come up with the perfect hand-knit wedding gift. On Pinterest, I kept seeing beautiful big knit blankets, and then Craftsy had a sale on yarn, and it was meant to be! I made this blanket by holding four strands of bulky weight yarn together while using my giant Knitter’s Pride Basix US 50 needles.

The needles are beautiful! You can see the grain of the wood, they are extremely smooth and shiny, the join to the cable is flawless, and if there’s a vampire attack they could double as stakes! Really, what’s not to love?

This simple blanket is worked completely in garter stitch. I didn’t have a good idea of how big the actual blanket would be, so after knitting the entire blanket I went and picked up stitches along either side and worked a few more rows in garter stitch. I actually really like how this looks, but you could also just cast on more stitches!

I would recommend a machine washable yarn for this project, because I don’t know about you, but my sink isn’t big enough for me to block this!

Free Pattern: Chunky Garter Blanket

4 sts x 4 rows = 4” in garter stitch, though gauge is not essential for this pattern

Materials

20 skeins Schachenmayr Silenzio; 50% Acrylic, 25% superwash wool, 25% Alpaca; 50g/60m. Shown in Color 92.

US 50 40” Knitter's Pride Basix Circular Knitting Needles

Note:
I held four strands of yarn together. I used 16 skeins for the body of the blanket, then used the remaining four skeins for the garter edgings.  

Blanket
Cast on 26 stitches

Knit every row until work measures approximately 52”, or you have used nearly all of the 16 skeins of yarn. Bind off all stitches

Edging

Pick up and knit every other stitch along the side of the blanket, working into the garter bump so that holes don’t appear.

Knit 3 rows.

Bind off all stitches.

Repeat edging for the other side of the blanket

Finishing

Weave in ends and trim. Machine wash and either air dry or tumble dry low depending on your yarn. Enjoy!

Giveaway Winner
Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway this month! Raveler Jenonymous is our lucky winner; we will contact our winner to arrange for the delivery of the prize, a Bamboo DPN Set and a PDF copy of the KaPOM hat by Mari Chiba.

Holla Knits! Accessories Blog Tour

We're so pleased to be a stop on the Holla Knits blog tour this month! Just in time for your holiday gift-knitting, the 2013 Holla Knits! Accessories issue features six fun, fashionable accessories that are perfect to give and get this holiday season.

The KaPOM hat by Mari Chiba is a fresh take on earflap hats, and it's also an easy way to incorporate pom poms, one of this season's hottest trends, into your wardrobe. If you're new to making pom poms, check out our easy-to-follow photo tutorial on the Knitter's Pride blog!

The Pippi Cowl by Emily Greene Blue is a versatile bulky-weight scarf that knits up quick; it would even look great with pom poms instead of tassels!

Keep your hands toasty all winter long with the Hodgepodge Mittens by Annie Watts - they're as fun to knit as they are to wear!

Speaking of colorwork, the Chumash Cowl by Karinknit Designs is simple to knit and completely reversible, too!

Unbroken by Lee Meredith may look like a simple cloche-style hat with textured stitches, but the clever construction allows you to easily customize your project to fit any head - plus, there are no ends to weave in at the end (really!).

No Glove(s) No Love by Claire Sandow are vintage-inspired gloves with a modern twist: a heart cutout created by multidirectional knitting, short rows, and some strategically placed increases and decreases.

Giveaway

Ready to cast on? We're giving away an 8" Knitter's Pride Bamboo DPN Set and a PDF copy of the KaPOM hat to one lucky blog reader! Simply leave a comment on this post telling us which Holla Knits! accessories pattern you'd like to make for your chance to win; be sure to also mention your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We'll randomly select one lucky comment to announce on Friday, November 22.

Be sure to stop by the Holla Knits! blog today for a special Subscriber Giveaway featuring our new Rejoice Pom Pom Maker Set, too!

Good luck and happy knitting!