Celebrate I Love Yarn Day by Teaching Someone to Knit

Did you know there’s a holiday completely devoted to yarn?

It’s I Love Yarn Day, which is celebrated this year (2023) on October 14. It’s a day to celebrate all the things we love about yarn and the fiber arts, to teach someone to knit or crochet, maybe to knit or crochet in public (though there’s a day set aside for knitting in public as well!), and definitely a great excuse to visit your local yarn shop if you have one.

I Love Yarn Day was started by the Craft Yarn Council and this year they’re using the day to launch an audacious goal: for one million knitters and crocheters to teach one million people to knit or crochet.

“The guiding principle of the campaign is encapsulated in the mantra, ‘Make One, Teach One’” said Jenny Bessonette, executive director of the Craft Yarn Council. “Participants are encouraged to create one item for themselves while also taking on the challenge of teaching one new student how to make that very same item. The campaign’s ultimate objective is to spread the warm and gratifying feelings associated with working with yarn and yarn-related crafts.”

As part of the initiative, the CYC has released a collection of simple patterns you can use to teach someone to knit or crochet, or to learn yourself. For knitting that includes a garter stitch square that can be donated to Warm Up America, a bracelet made just by casting on and binding off, a striped dishcloth and a basic hat and scarf.

You can access the patterns by going to the I Love Yarn Day website and scrolling to the Make One, Teach One section.

As for me, this will probably be the year I finally teach my daughter to crochet. We actually tried it the other day but she didn’t get past working chains. (And I did help someone remember how to crochet, which led her to knitting, so that sort of counts, right?)

[Photo: Craft Yarn Council]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

Have you read?