Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Darn Good Yarn!

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darngoodImagine a company that takes leftover strands from a viable industry and creates YARN!!!

The company is Darn Good Yarn and I recently acquired a sample of this luscious “left over” stuff. What is the original product? Hand spun fibers made into Saris in Nepal. The “waste” is then spun into yarn and in return, helps to support women and their families who may not have another source of income. Also, since it’s a Fair Trade product, it doesn’t exploit child labor.

I knitted up a little purse/yarn bag with this yarn, and the colors were just gorgeous. There was a little bit of bias as I was knitting and while I was concerned at first, it all blocked out and turned out beautifully.

Go here: www.darngoodyarn.com Nicole of Darn Good Yarn has a blog, and an email newsletter, as well as free patterns to use this yarn. It’s a no-brainer!

Comments

  1. I have been knitting with this type of yarn for over three years; It lends itself to making garments, bags flowers etc. The beautiful colours of the recycled saris is luscious

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.