Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Early Bird Pricing Extended for Vogue Knitting Live

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vogue knitting liveBecause of the storm called Hurricane Sandy and the spirit of the season overtaking them, the good people who put on Vogue Knitting Live have decided to extend their early bird pricing structure through Dec. 4.

This event takes place Jan 18-20 (that’s 2013, y’all) at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square in New York City.

As usual, it will bring together lots of industry professionals to teach, talk, share ideas and show off the latest in knit fashions. This time around there will be more than 200 classes (!) with 80 new offerings at this installment. Another cool option at this event is the Gala Dinner and Design Awards, which will feature Karen Allen as the keynote speaker. You may know her better as an actress (most notably in the Indiana Jones movies) but she’s owned a knitwear design studio in Massachusetts since 2004.

Early bird pricing allows registrants to save up to $400, depending on the number of classes and events you choose.

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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.