An In-Depth Look at Designing Intarsia

I’ve done a bit of intarsia designing (it’s one of the genres of knitting covered in Colorwork Knitting) but I always find it fascinating to learn about how other designers go about making their projects.

Hands Occupied has just finished a readalong/knitalong where the project was this bold blanket called Intarsia Mountain.

Heidi talks a little bit about the process of designing this blanket, including some of what inspired it, how she designed it on paper and with the help of a computer program, how the sample was knit and more.

It’s a fun look behind the scenes of a really cool knitting project that might just make you want to knit it if you didn’t already want to.

Did you knit along with Intarsia Mountain? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Hands Occupied.]

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The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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