Check out the DFW Fiber Fest

August 8, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

If you live in or near Texas, you’ll probably want to check out and hopefully make plans to attend the DFW Fiber Fest, which takes place Sept. 14-17 at the Irving Convention Center.

In addition to the vendor hall with more than 100 vendors, there will be morning and afternoon on the Thursday and Friday of the festival, as well as morning, afternoon and evening classes on Saturday, and classes on Sunday morning. Some of the classes are all day deep dives into projects or techniques.

Jean over at Bead Biz sent me information about the festival, so I wanted to mention her classes in particular (she’s also a vendor). She’s teaching different ways to add beads to a cast on and bind off (two different classes; that’s her shawl above) as well as wisdom on starting a craft business.

In addition you’ll find a ton of other classes such as how to cross stitch on knitting, different ways to shape the top of a hat, spinning Shetland wool, felted mermaids, punch needle bees, loom knitting, double knitting, ergonomics and more.

As part of the event there’s a makealong for both knitters and crocheters, who can get a special discount on a shawl pattern to make prior to the event.

I know a lot of these vendors and teachers have lost money because of Stitches shutting down, so if you’re in the area it would be great to show them some support. (The beginning of that story, where Stitches reported it was closing, is here, with more details here if you’re not caught up on it.)

Have you ever been to DFW Fiber Fest? It sounds like a great event but I’d love to hear about your experience if you have gone or are planning to attend this year.

[Photo: Jean Elizabeth Glass.]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Knit a Blanket with a Ton of Texture

This blanket knitting pattern is listed as being an easy pattern for beginners, but I’m not sure it’s something I would have taken on as a beginner.

True, all of the patterns in this blanket from Lily Lake Knits are knit and purl patterns, but the great combination of them across the work probably would have given me pause.

If you’re a beginner and this looks like something you want to try, you definitely can handle it with a little time and stitch markers. And you’ll learn a lot of fun stitch patterns and designs along the way.

For those who feel comfortable knitting lots of different stitch patterns, if not lots of different stitches, in the same project, this one would definitely be fun to do. And the pattern includes both written instructions and charts, so you could use it as a way to practice reading charts when there are mostly just knits and purls involved.

The pattern uses medium/worsted weight yarn (specifically Lion Brand Pound of Love, but you can use whatever you like) and it offers and range of six sizes, so with this pattern you can knit anything from a little security blanket to a stroller blanket, a crib blanket, or a small, medium or large throw. You can also just make one of the chosen widths longer if you like.

It’s worked in one piece so you’ll need a long cable needle even though it’s worked flat, which should help make the weight of the project more manageable, too. This is also why I mention stitch markers, because you’re working what looks like about seven different panels of pattern across the width of the project, so it will help you to remember to change patterns if you have markers there to slow you down.

This does look like a fun project that’s sure to keep you or your favorite little one cozy through the cold months.

You can grab a copy of the pattern from Lily Lake Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Lily Lake Knits]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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