Knitting

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Giveaway: You Can Knit That

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you can knit that review
The winner is Karey.

I don’t know why I didn’t give this one away sooner, but You Can Knit That by Amy Herzog is a book I would want if I were starting out with sweater and garment knitting, and there are definitely patterns in it that I would still knit.

But this is designed to be a learning book, with lessons and patterns that build off each other, so it’s perfect for people who haven’t knit sweaters, vests and tops before.

Even better, it includes a whole bunch of sizes for each of the patterns, so it’s very likely you can knit straight from these patterns, no modifications required.

There’s also lots of great information that will help build your confidence before you even pick up your needles and as you knit to ensure that you’re making something you will be proud of, that you’ll be happy to wear and that fits.

If you’d like a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Sunday, March 5. I’d love to know if you have any experience knitting garments, and what your dream sweater that you wish you could knit would be. I’ve made a few of the dream designs in my head, including a circular yoke sweater out of Icelandic wool, a great sweater worked in self-striping Noro and a simple ribbed vest. But there are always more great sweaters to try, right?

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

Comments

  2. I’m completely intimidated by sweaters. Maybe this is the book that would help me get past that! Thanks for the great giveaway.

  3. My first and only sweater was knitted when I was in junior high school. Got it all finished, wore it ten minutes, then I ripped it out to make something else. That yarn sure got a workout!

  8. I’ve never knit a sweater and would love this. I’ll change fingerless gloves at the wrists so they aren’t baggy, but that’s about it.

  9. Sweaters and other items are so expensive to buy. I’m disabled so I have a lot of free time with not much to do except knit & crochet. Christmas & other special days would be wonderful if I could make something with love that I made with my own hands since I don’t have enough money to buy gifts or buy new ones even for myself on a disability income. Thank you for this great giveaway. 🙂

Have you read?

Knit a Pet Bed on a Knitting Machine

I feel like I haven’t shared many knitting machine patterns lately, probably because I haven’t been using my knitting machines much lately. (I finally made space for them to live on the bookshelf in my office, and now that they have a “place” it’s almost like I forgot they existed for a while.)

But I did recently make a little cat bed, that surely would work for a small dog, too. 

This one uses two different sizes of knitting machine: a larger one (it could be any in the 40-48 needle range) and a 22 pin. 

The larger machine is used in flat panel mode to make the bottom pillow like part of the bed, while the smaller machine makes a long tube that is used around the edges as the sort of walls of the cat bed. 

For stuffing I used a bit of leftover quilt batting for the pillow, and some cut up old T-shirts for the tube. 

You can use any worsted weight yarn you like (I used two colors of Big Twist Pound+, which comes in huge skeins that weigh more than a pound). Acrylic or cotton yarn is nice for washablity, but you’ll be cranking for a while so make sure you use a yarn your machine likes so it’s not too much of a struggle. 

You can grab the pattern for this cat bed over at Our Daily Craft. I’m sorry to report the pictured is as close as a cat has gotten to it so far, but maybe your cats like to be cozy more than mine do?

If you’re looking for more options for cute handmade places for your cats and little dogs to rest, check out this roundup of knit pet beds. I still want to knit one by hand but the machine version was definitely a faster option (especially good since my cats are ungrateful).