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KnitBits: Prison Knitting in Brazil, Tighter Ribbing and More Fun with Knitting

March 18, 2016 by Sarah White

Inmates at one prison in Brazil knit for a fashion designer for reduced sentences.I’m fascinated by this story about male prisoners in Brazil who knit and crochet for a fashion designer in order to earn money and a reduction in their sentences. Seventeen inmates at Arisvaldo de Campos Pires are currently working with Brazilian designer Raquel Guimaraes on her Doiselles brand, and more than 100 have gone through the program, which provides a small wage and gives workers one day off their sentences for every three days they knit (the story uses the terms knitting and crocheting interchangeably; though the pictures show knitting the garments show both). Click through to see some of their beautiful work.

By now we probably all know the benefits of knitting and crochet beyond making amazing stuff with our hands and some simple tools, but if you need a reminder, check out this list of six health benefits of yarn crafts from Starting Chain.

Have you watched the PBS show “The Mind of a Chef”? Fringe Association reminds/tells us that there is a lot of great knitting to spy in the second half of season three, which features brilliant Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson, and a lot of great sweaters. He’s also on an episode of the Netflix series “The Chef’s Table,” but I don’t remember there being as much knitwear in that one. “The Mind of a Chef” is available for streaming on Netflix, and probably from PBS as well.

Do you have the common problem of sloppy-looking knit ribbing? It happens because of the different amount of yarn used to make a knit stitch versus a purl. This is an old post that recently popped up somewhere, but the tip for knitting tighter ribbing, from Jessica Joy, is still worth checking out.

Finally, there are a lot of funny knitting memes out there, and Love Knitting has collected a few of its favorites on its blog. Download these to share on social media or use as a background on your computer or phone. I think my favorite is “Can you knit me a … no.” What’s yours?

[Photo via Reuters/Paulo Whitaker.]

Next Pattern:

  • Practice Ribbing with this Hat and Mitt Set
  • Easy Knitting Patterns to Practice Ribbing
  • Learn All About Ribbing (+ a Free Pattern to Try)
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Comments

  1. Heidi Kirsch says

    March 18, 2016 at 11:20 am

    This picture is scarier than the one I saw a few days ago. In that one they were only wearing masks over their mouth & nose. Why is it that they are covering their whole face? Is it something I should be doing if I knit for long periods?

Have you read?

Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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