I tend to throw my projects into my bag with much less care than I should. Luckily, with knitting, I am often working on circulars, which can be tied into a knot, keeping the project safely on the needles.

With crochet, I don’t have that option. So before tossing my crochet project into my bag, I add something to the working loop to keep it from unraveling. The easiest item to use is a locking stitch marker. But, in a pinch, I have also used paper clips, twist ties and bobby pins.

della Q Eden Cotton Pouch and Cascade Yarns Eco+ pictured above

What are your favorite uses for locking stitch markers in your knitting or crochet?

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Valley Yarns Northfield is a customer and staff favorite. Soft enough to wear against the skin, great stitch definition for cable work, and 22 lovely colors to choose from. These nine Northfield projects on Ravelry are excellent examples of why we love Northfield so much.

Erin’s Mittens and Hat by Debbi Stone
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Babette Blanket by Kathy Merrick, crocheted by Carajv’s
(pattern available for purchase from Interweave)

Henna Cardigan by Veridian Design Team, knit by ksporter
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Trailing Vine designed and knit by ksporter
(pattern not available, but it’s so stunning I just had to include it)

Ripple by Kim Hargreaves , knit by helmade
(pattern available in the Nectar pattern book)

Norie by Gudrun Johnston , knit by jerdingr
(pattern available for at yarn.com)

Orkney Pi by Elizabeth Lovick , knit by motherbee
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Chickadee by Ysolda Teague , knit by ravelry name
(pattern available from the book Little Red in the City)

You’ve heard the phrase “gauge swatches don’t lie”. But what happens when you forget what needle size you used for a swatch? You take the time to knit a swatch, trying multiple needle sizes; wash and dry it. Then as you unpin it from your blocking board and admire it, you look down and see a big pile of knitting needles of various sizes piled together. Wait, which size needles did I use again? All that work swatching and now you have to guess at the needle size used.

This has happened to me more than a few times. Sometimes the amount of time from when I swatch to when I’m ready to start knitting a project is too long, and I just can’t remember which needles I used. To deal with this issue, I’ve started knitting a row of eyelets into each section of my knitted swatch. Each set of eyelets represents the needle size I used.

swatch knit with US 6, 5, and 7 knitting needles

If you’ve never knit eyelets before, it’s an easy thing to incorporate into a stockinette swatch.

• On the knit side, knit across a row until you’re ready to add some eyelets.
• [YO, K2tog] repeat until you’ve created the same number of eyelets as your needle size.
• Continue knitting to the end of your row.
• On the purl side of your swatch, purl across as your normally would. You should have the same number of stitches as the previous rows.

Do you swatch before every project? Or are there only certain types of projects you will swatch for? Tell us about your swatching habits in the comments.

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Inspired by the recent “Sh*t People Say” videos, we thought it would be fun to do one for knitters too.

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After putting our Sh*t Knitters Say video up on YouTube this past Friday, we’ve had a lot of questions asking what Emma is wearing or knitting in the video. Below you’ll find a bunch of handy links to all of the sweaters, hats, and mittens making an appearance in the video.

Winged Knits Idlewood sweater by Cecily Glowik MacDonald in Malabrigo Rios, Glazed Carrot
Persephone Cable Fingerless Mitts by SmarieK in Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet (multi) and Reynolds Soft Sea Wool (edges)

Madelinetosh Tea Leaves Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre in Madelinetosh Tosh DK, Tart
Ida’s Kitchen hat by Kirsten Kapur in Madelinetosh Tosh Sport, various colors

Valley Yarns Loire Cardigan by Kirsten Hipsky in Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky, Gold Heather
Scalene shawl by Carina Spencer in Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering (green) and Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino (grey)

Valley Yarns Little Whiskers Hat by Kirsten Hipsky in Valley Yarns Greenwich, 04 Crimson & 15 Silver

Bella’s Mittens by Marielle Henault in Berroco Vintage Chunky, Fennel

Paulie cardigan by Isabell Kraemer in Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering, Bourbon & Headboard

Shetland Trader Vaila pullover by Gudrun Johnston in Madelinetosh 80/10/10 Worsted, Flashdance

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments if there’s anything else you saw in the video that you’ve got to know what it is.

Happy Knitting!

-Dena

This week, the staff at WEBS is buzzing about socks, baby knits, and beautiful new yarn!

During winter, a friend of mine carries around a small pair of slippers in her purse to slip on when hanging out during cozy evenings at the homes of friends, so she can leave her snow boots on the porch but still have warm feet. I love this idea and plan to start doing the same!  I think Ysolda’s “Grown Up Booties”  from Whimsical Little Knits are the pair I’m going to make. I think they’ll make a perfect car ride project. > Tina M

I hate when my socks fall down. I really do. When the new Clover Elastic Yarn Thread came in this week I immediately thought how perfect this would be for socks. On my next sock project, I’ll just knit it along with the yarn for the ribbing at the top. > Dena C.

This week’s tip comes from Barbara Elkins (founder of WEBS) as a result of a call from a customer who is weaving with mohair, but it applies to any sticky yarn.

When weaving with mohair or any fuzzy yarn, it is easier to get a clean shed with a direct tie-up.

Step on the treadle that lifts the first part of the shed, say, shaft 1. Keep that shaft up and then step on the second shaft you want to lift. It is easier to lift one-quarter of the ends in the warp and then join them with the second treadle rather than trying to lift half the ends at one time.

It may also be helpful to reach in back of the shafts from time to time to clear the shed and disconnect any ends that might be too friendly with each other.

Ironstone Yarns Brushed Mohair on Cones available at yarn.com

How do you deal with a sticky shed when you find your shuttle catching the wrong threads?

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I’m wrapping up the Valley Yarns Charlemont series with a collection of great projects, many of them available for free on Ravlery. There are cozy socks, cute fingerless mitts, a lacy shawlette, and two self-designed weaving projects. Really nice work everyone.

Bouton d’or socks by Nicole Masson, knit by klynnknits
(pattern available for free on Ravelry)

Elm by Cookie A, knit by chapala
(pattern from The Knitter’s Book of Socks)

Stepping-Stones by Clara Parkes, knit by tinkrbell
(pattern from The Knitter’s Book of Socks)

Straightforward Mitts by Simone Draeger, knit by MissusVonkysmeed
(pattern available for free on Ravelry)

Gallifrey by Velma Aho, knit by Nileinthesky
(pattern available for free on Ravelry)

Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes, knit by whylion
(pattern available for free on Ravelry)

Waffle Scarves, woven by carpeyarnum
(Leslie Ann combined random skeins of fingering weight yarn for the warp and used a single color of  Charlemont in the weft.)

Defense Against the AC Shawl woven by knit4fun972
(Joanne gives details of her shawl on her Ravelry page.)

All of this love for Valley Yarns Charlemont has got me itching to start another project using this yarn. I’ve knit and crocheted with it. I think it’s time to finally trying weaving with it too. Leslie Ann has created some spectacular woven pillows using Valley Yarns Charlemont Hand Dyed. She’s working on writing up a draft for them now. Maybe that should be my next project.

What would you like to make with Charlemont?

Today I’m highlighting some beautiful shawls and scarves knit and crocheted in Valley Yarns Charlemont and Charlemont Kettle Dye. Charlemont is a great choice for projects like these with its great drape and lovely sheen.

Earth & Sky by Stephen West, knit by denarae
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante, knit by PugMama
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Helix Scarf by Stephenie Gaustad, knit by a freespirit
(pattern available for free on SpinningDaily.com)

Cladonia by Kirsten Kapur, knit by gretchenoh
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Lucy Shawl by Debbi Stone
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Sprout Chains Shawlette by Kristin Omdahl, crocheted by xnedra2
(pattern available in the book Crochet So Fine)

Elise Shawl by Evan Plevinski, crocheted by jtellier
(pattern available for free on Ravelry)

We’ll be shooting a new video for Valley Yarns Charlemont soon so I’ve checked out Ravelry for projects using one of our favorite yarns. I was having such a hard time picking just a few patterns to highlight. I found myself adding so many to my queue. So I’ll be spreading out this post over this weekend.

Today I’m sharing six great sweater patterns to knit, each with unique details.

Grellow Cardigan by Amy Gunderson
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Leadlight by Jessamyn Leib
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Dulce de Leche by Marnie MacLean, knit by BeckyinVT
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Ecuador by Joji Locatelli, knit by KarynKoke
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Moineau by Marjolein Thunnissen, knit by monatraix
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Chambourcin by Ruth Garcia-Alcantud, knit by ohsewcrafty
(pattern available for purchase on Ravelry)

Tomorrow I’ll have some great shawl and scarf patterns in Valley Yarns Charlemont to share.

Happy Knitting!

- Dena

Using a kitchen food scale is the easiest way to split a ball of yarn exactly in half.

1. Weigh the full ball and write that number down so you don’t forget!
2. Wind off your yarn until the scale reads half the original weight.
3. Cut the yarn and you’ll have two equal balls to work from.

Royal Ball Winder available at yarn.com

This is perfect for using a double-strand for a bulky project or for making sure you have enough yarn for two equally-sized socks.

What if you don’t have a kitchen scale? How have you been able to divide a ball of yarn in half?

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