Another Knitting Record Holder and Men Knitting in Seattle

I came across another post about a knitting world record (hat tip to Vogue Knitting on both of these), this one about Norwegian knitter Helge Johansen, who has knit the world’s longest scarf. It’s almost 5 kilometers long (that’s a little more than 3 miles) and worked in all sorts of colors, with donated yarn and some he bought himself.

He says he always wanted to be a record holder and decided to go for this one. His mother taught him to knit and he’s done so for 30 years, but he says he doesn’t really know anything about knitting (as evidenced by the giant scarf, which looks to be all garter stitch and with no ends woven in). The scarf is kept as a giant ball and weighs about 1,100 pounds. Other than the desire to have a world record, there’s no indication of why he’s knit the same scarf all these years.

I find it interesting that so many knitting records seem to be held by men, as if they have something to prove in a field typically thought of as a woman’s domain.

Which makes a nice segue into this article from the Seattle Times in advance of this weekend’s Vogue Knitting Live event. The article focuses on men, especially those who work at Skacel Collection Inc., a yarn distributor based in Kent. A panel discussion will talk about men in the industry, and several teachers are men as well.

Chuck Wilmesher of Skacel says he wishes more men would take up the craft: “Get over it and try it and who cares what anybody thinks. I wish there was some way to make men know that it is not a woman’s sport.” Here, here.

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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