Winner + Knitter's Pride in Action

We received a tremendous response to this month's blog giveaway! Thank you to everyone who left their comments on our last blog post; we thoroughly enjoyed reading each one. Congratulations to Julie, who was selected via Random.org as this month's prize winner (we will contact you to arrange for the delivery of your Karbonz DPNs). Julie said, "I would love to try out the size 2s and 3s DPN. Pretty much all my sock needles are bent, would love to use something that wouldn't do that.."

We have another chance for you to win a prize from Knitter's Pride - as soon as we reach 10,000 Fans on Facebook, we'll be giving away a Deluxe Nova Interchangeable Set! Click here to view all the details on Facebook, and don't forget to like our page and recommend it to your friends so that we reach our goal faster!

Finally, we'd like to share the latest Knitter's Pride in Action photos that have been submitted by our wonderful and creative fans. Click here to view & submit photos in our dedicated Ravelry thread; you can also submit via Twitter and Facebook or view our Facebook album here!

L-R: Dreamz Interchangeables (submitted by MrsMommy), Dreamz DPNs (submitted by Kmfox), Karbonz Needles (submitted by @YarnYenta).

As seen on Knitter's Review: Karbonz Needles!

There's been a lot of buzz about our Karbonz needles; most recently, Clara Parkes shared her thoughts on these high-tech needles on the Knitter's Review website. We're quite flattered with her analysis! If you've been curious about carbon fiber needles, click here to get the scoop from one of our industry's finest experts!

Karbonz Single-Point Needles

For more Karbonz reviews, be sure to check out these blog posts: 

• Fresh Stitches Blog
• WEBS Yarn Store Blog 
• Fibre Space Blog

Or watch this quick video courtesy of Jimmy Beans Wool (you can also view our Karbonz product video here on the Knitter's Pride YouTube channel):

Now for the best part: we'd like to give you a chance to try Karbonz out for yourself! Leave a comment on this post sharing why you'd like to knit with these needles for your chance to win a pair of Karbonz DPNs. We'll randomly select one lucky reader to win the prize on Friday, March 22. Be sure to leave your Ravelry ID or e-mail address so that we can contact you if you win! 

Winners + 2013 Preview

Giveaway Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered this month's blog giveaway, we're so excited to see what inspires you on Pinterest! The following readers have won Knitter's Pride Shawl Pins: MaryGildersleeve, Wenchciara and Zandperl! We have contacted each winner via Ravelry PM to arrange for the delivery of their prize. Congratulations!

Sneak Peek!

We're very pleased to share a small preview of our Spring Collection with you today right here on our blog. Since introducing our line of carbon fiber needles last year, we have had many requests from fans and shop owners for an interchangeable line of Karbonz needles. This year, we'll not only introduce Karbonz Interchangeable Circular needles to the line, but we'll also offer expanded size options for single point, double point and fixed circular Karbonz needles as well as DPN and Interchangeable needle sets.



In fact, we'll be introducing many new & exciting additions to the Knitter's Pride family of products at the Handarbeit + Hobby international trade fair in Cologne, Germany next month which will be appearing at a yarn shop near you this Summer - stay tuned for more details!

Knitter’s Pride on Pinterest + Giveaway

Exciting news: Knitter's Pride is now on Pinterest! Many of our fans are already sharing their crafty inspiration via pinboards. We've decided to join in the fun and share our favorite products, crafting tips, tutorials and pattern inspiration for our knitting and crocheting fans!

We hope you'll stop by to see what we've been pinning and follow our boards. To sweeten the deal, we'll be randomly selecting three of our Pinterest followers to win a Knitter's Pride Shawl Pin on Friday, February 22. Leave a comment on this post to say hello and share a link to your own Pinterest board so that fellow Knitter's Pride fans can follow you! Also be sure to leave a way for us to contact you if you win (Ravelry ID or email address).

Let's get pinning - Click here to follow Knitter's Pride on Pinterest! 

Winners + Our Favorite Crafting Resolutions

We're very impressed with everyone's crafting resolutions for 2013, which ran the gamut from learning how to knit or crochet, trying a new kind of project such as socks or sweaters, experimenting with new techniques such as cabling, colorwork or entrelac, and resolving to finish projects that have been hibernating for a long period of time, and going "cold sheep" on a yarn diet in an effort to knit from the stash.....and that is just a very small sampling!

The Random Number Generator has chosen the following winners for this month's blog giveaway - drumroll, please!

Prize #1: Dreamz Single-Ended Crochet Hook: Our lucky winner is Knitschmidt, who said "Knit down some of my stash! Then I can spend more time and money on yarn rather than yarn storage solutions. And I DO want to learn to crochet, but have been saying "this is the year for crochet" for several years now. "

Prize #2: Nova Fixed Circular Needle: Our lucky winner is longbeachgirl71, who said "I want to make more time to finish knitting projects, and I would love to try and knit an entrelac project." 

Prize #3: Karbonz Single Point Needle: Our lucky winner is Quinn, who said "Colorwork! Even if it's a single wonky patterned dishcloth, I am determined to get over this hurdle in 2013."

For our fans that would like to become better organized in 2013, we have a few suggestions of our own!

Knitter's Pride DPN Tubes are essential for knitters who like to knit socks and other small accessories on double pointed needles. The DPN Tubes will ensure that your project stays on the needles and are also great for storing DPN needles when not in use!

Our Fabric Needle Cases are a stylish way to keep your needles and hooks or interchangeable tips and cords organized in one spot. Plus, you can match your case to your knitting bag!

The Needle Size Markers which come with our interchangeable sets are great for remembering what needles you're using for a project that's hibernating, but here is another handy use: slip the corresponding tag into the pocket of your needle case to indicate which needle tip is stored there.




We look forward to seeing you fulfill your crafty resolutions in 2013. Be sure to share your WIPs using Knitter's Pride needles and hooks here in our Ravelry group! 

Tell Us Your Crafting Resolutions!

Dreamz Tunisian Crochet Interchangeable Set

Happy New Year from Knitter's Pride! January is a great time to take stock and set goals, especially when it comes to crafting! Perhaps in 2013, you'd like to learn a new technique such as colorwork, entrelac, or Tunisian crochet; Knitters may decide they'd like to try their hand at crochet and vice versa; or perhaps you've never made yourself a sweater and have decided that this is the year to give it a try!

Whatever your resolution, Knitter's Pride has the tools you need to make it happen. We'd like to help you on your way by offering some great prizes this month on Facebook, Twitter, and Ravelry, as well as on this blog!

Three lucky readers will win one of three great prizes below; to enter, simply leave a comment sharing your crafting resolution for 2013. We'll randomly choose 3 comments (one for each prize) to announce on our next blog post on January 23rd. Be sure to also leave a way for us to contact you if you win such as an email address or Ravelry ID.

Good luck!

Prize #1: Dreamz Single-Ended Crochet Hook

Prize #2: Nova Fixed Circular Needle

Prize #3: Karbonz Single Point Needle

Winner + Guest Post: Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches

Thanks to everyone who entered our Pin It To Win It giveaway this month, we saw some fantastic pins and comments. Random.org has decreed our winning entry to be Raveler Lindaturc, who is wishing for some Dreamz Interchangeable Needles - looks like Santa got her letter! We have sent a private message to Lindaturc to arrange delivery of her Dreamz Starter Set. Congratulations!

Guest Post: Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches

We're pleased to offer you this photo tutorial (featuring our own Dreamz Crochet Hook!) courtesy of Stacey Trock at Fresh Stitches. We are proud sponsors of the Fresh Stitches Crochet Chat Podcast this month and are excited to share this post with our fans! 

"Sc in each ch" is an instruction you'll often see in a written pattern. But exactly how do you crochet into a chain? It's a great question, because there are actually two different options for crocheting into your chain stitches. I'll show you both options and compare the finished look!

Meet your chain

When you crochet your chain (also called a 'foundation chain'), it should look like this:


Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Wool, color #70

Hook: Knitter's Pride Dreamz, size H (5.0mm)
It should look like a bunch of 'V's, laying on their side.
Does your chain not look like this? Let's troubleshoot:

• Look at the back... you might just be looking at the wrong side!
• Is your chain forming a ringlet curl? That's normal! Mine is just flat because I'm pulling on it. The ringlet will come out once you continue crocheting.
• Is your chain zig-zag-y? This typically happens when you pause in between your chains, which allows the chain to twist slightly.

Okay... let's do our first row!

Option 1: Crochet through the back loop only

Remember how we talked about those 'V's? The first option is to crochet only through the top half of the 'V' (also called the 'back loop'):

When you've completed single crocheting, your piece will look like this:

Option 2: Crochet through both loops

The second option is to insert your hook under the entire 'V' (also called crocheting through 'both loops'):

When you've completed single crocheting, your piece will look like this:

Comparing the two methods

Let's look at the two options side by side:

As you can see, crocheting through both loops creates more of a 'bump', while crocheting through both loops is straighter along the bottom edge.
There's no right way! And once you know the two options, you'll be able to pick the one that best suits your project!