Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Build Your Knitting Skills with the Rebecca Page Knitting Summit

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There are lots of ways to learn about knitting and build your skills these days. We can watch videos, read books and blogs and learn from people we know. If you want to learn a lot in a short period of time, a summit is a great way to do that.

I’m one of the teachers for the upcoming Knitting Summit from Rebecca Page, and it looks like it will be a great opportunity to boost your knitting skills quickly.

There are 23 different classes, covering all sorts of topics including colorwork (stranded, mosaic, intarsia), lace knitting, sock knitting, natural dyeing and so much more.

My class is all about knitting fingerless gloves.

I have really small hands (and wrists the same size as my 13-year-old’s) so other people’s patterns for mitts don’t usually fit me well. And my hands are cold pretty much all the time so I have knit myself a lot of fingerless gloves through the years.

This course covers three different methods for making fingerless gloves: working them flat and seaming them, leaving a hole for the thumb; working in the round but working a portion flat to make a hole for the thumb; and working in the round and knitting a thumb gusset so the thumb is covered a little bit, too.

We’ll cover how and where to measure your hand, how to knit and measure a gauge swatch and just a tiny bit of math to ensure your mitts fit you (or anyone else you want to knit them for).

The knitting summit takes place Jan. 23-27 and is totally free to attend. You’ll get an email each morning that gives you access to that day’s classes, which you then have 24 hours to watch.

If you need more time you can also grab a VIP pass, which gives you unlimited playback, plus access to courses no one else gets.

 

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Knits with Sheep

It felt like it had been a while since I’d done a roundup of knitting patterns involving sheep, and if search is any indication, that is true. I found a roundup of patterns for knit sheep from a few years ago, but the only one with v I could find is from 2015. So it’s definitely time to revisit this fun genre of knitting patterns.

This all started with a headband. Alyssa Kaat’s Icelandic Sheep Headband (free on Ravelry) to be specific. Ravelry showed it to me as a pattern highlight and I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It’s worked with two colors of worsted weight yarn and alternates sheep with stars around your head.

Another great sheepy headband is this one from Loch Fyne Crafts on Etsy. These sweet little sheep are worked in bulky yarn and you can make the background look like field and sky or work it in a solid color.

Or make a headband (or a hat, cowl, or all three) covered with a flock of sheep with this set of patterns from New Age Knitting CA. These pieces also use the field/sky coloring, but you can use whatever colors of worsted weight yarn you like.

Speaking of hats, there’s also the sheep hat from Lynann Knits Designs. The sample was worked in Icelandic wool to make the sheep and the hat extra fuzzy and warm, but any worsted weight yarn will work.

There’s also the Wandering Sheep hat from Kat Hudon (on Ravelry), which features a fun collection of speckled sheep that can be worked in different yarn weights to make different sizes of hats for kids and adults.

And lest you think sheep need to be knit in traditional stranded colorwork, check out the Rebel Sheep Mob blanket by Deborah Moore. This one is worked in mosaic knitting using fingering weight yarn. In mosaic knitting you’re only working with one color per row so it’s pretty easy. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

I can’t possibly share sheep knitting patterns without mentioning the amazing Black Sheep Shadow Shawl by Mark Jamieson. Shadow knitting is a technique I want to do more of, but it involves working two rows alternating in two different colors and the pattern emerges when you look at the design from an angle. It’s so cool and the sheep on this one are amazing! It’s not a beginner project but well worth the work. You can find it on Ravelry or at the designer’s website.