Knitting

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Get Organized for the New Year with These Resource Packs

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Every year I decide is the year I’m going to get my knitting stuff more organized. And every year I make a little bit of progress. I’ve decluttered my yarn pretty well over the years, and this year I finally organized my yarn storage by color, which is something I’ve wanted to do since I changed offices in the house (probably five years ago?).

If you need a little help getting your knitting life on track for the new year, I’ve got a couple of good resources for you from The Blue Elephants on Etsy.

First up is the Make it Happen Resource Pack, which is for knitters who need cheat sheets. This guide is for both knitters and crocheters, or those of us who do some of both. It includes:

  • Crochet hook sizes conversion chart with a place to check off what’s in your inventory
  • Common crochet abbreviations and a conversion chart for US and UK terms
  • Knitting needle size conversion chart with space for your inventory of different kinds of needles
  • Knitting abbreviations and symbols
  • Yarn weight guide
  • Laundry care symbols
  • Hat sizing guide
  • Blanket sizing guide
  • Sizing for other projects (scarves, shawls, household items, but not garments as far as I can tell)
  • Additional resources and favorite tools

In all its 23 pages you can print or edit on your computer.

There’s also a pack for people who knit things to sell and knitwear designers. It includes:

  • Project trackers
  • Yarn stash inventory
  • Project ideas list
  • Brand identity plan
  • Product line planner
  • Custom order tracker
  • Handmade pricing guide
  • Monthly income and expenses report
  • Pattern templates
  • Resources for makers
  • Printable tags to use on products

They’re really meant to be used together (there’s also an undated planner you can buy to go with them) but if you aren’t a designer or someone who sells, the first one would be good to have just for the cheat sheets.

If you have organizational or other knitting-related goals for the new year I would love to hear them!

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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.