Vogue Knitting Teams with Debbie Macomber to Knit for Charity

Vogue Knitting LIVE has announced a partnership with Debbie Macomber and World Vision’s Knit for Kids to encourage more knitters to knit for charity, particularly at the upcoming VK LIVE event in Chicago this October.

Macomber — the bestselling author of romance novels and knitting-themed fiction — is now serving as the international spokesperson for Knit for Kids, and she’ll be hosting a Knit for Kids Knitter’s Lounge at the event where knitters can take a break and knit a hat or scarf for charity (she’ll be in the lounge at announced times for knitting fun, too).

The VK Live website has a PDF of basic hat and scarf patterns (courtesy of Knit Simple) that can be used for the donations and they’re encouraging people to start knitting now (and of course you can contribute even if you aren’t going to the event).

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that distributed more than 66,000 handknit and crocheted items last year to children living in poverty in the United States and around the world. Knit for Kids typically focuses on sweaters, and you can find patterns for those on the World Vision site linked above.

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Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]

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