Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Handpun Yarn From……

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Recycled Newspapers? Why not? We spin anything from anything, but this is truly unique. Apparantly, this person can get about 20 yds of yarn from a sheet of newspaper. You can read the article here:

http://greenupgrader.com/2138/handspun-recycled-newspaper-yarn/

She includes pictures (I’m assuming it’s a she, pretty sexist of me isn’t it?), and a tutorial. It’s cool! While not something I’m likely to try, it’s still worthy of mention.

Even if you choose not to recycle your nepapers in this way, please at least recycle them. You can make little pots to start plants in, or you can take them to the recycling center.

Ok, now I’m going to take you all the way from recycling newspaper into the modern technology age with a free felted “Pear” laptop bag. Don’t miss the irony of the choice of fruit on this bag. It’s from Classic Elite Yarns, and really cute! The designer is Pam Allen. You can see more Pam Allen designs on Ravelry. Since I’ll be getting a new laptop myself after the Christmas holiday, this one’s definitely on my to-do list!

http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/pdf/PearBag.pdf

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Comments

  1. I can’t believe how amazing the paper yarn is and I am impressed by the person that thought this up. The pear bag is awesome too and I may have to still it for the felting area.

Have you read?

Textured Baby Blanket Knitting Patterns

There are so many baby blanket knitting patterns out there I could probably do a post a month full of them and not run out for a very long time. This time I thought I’d look specifically at single color baby blankets that are interesting because of the inclusion of textured stitching. This makes them easy enough for new knitters but engaging for knitters of all skill levels. 

Take the Textured Checks Baby Blanket from Janet Dubbelman for example. This project is mostly stockinette stitch, with some what looks like reverse stockinette and garter stitch thrown in to make the ridges. You can use whatever yarn weight you like to make blankets of different sizes. Find the pattern on Ravelry. 

The Seedling from Modern Made Shop is just about as easy as it comes, combining seed stitch with a garter stitch border. It calls for worsted weight yarn and is perfect for beginners. 

The Julie Baby Blanket by Elisabeth Kristiansen is another one with an easy allover stitch pattern that you can knit up in a flash in whatever size you want. (The pattern notes say any gauge but it also says 28 stitches per 4 inches, which would be a superfine or fine weight yarn. Learn more on Ravelry. 

The Oscar Baby Blanket from Snufflebean is another one with an easy repeating stitch pattern that has a really fun, graphic effect. This is also great worked in a bright color, reminding us that babies don’t have to be in pastels! This one uses DK weight yarn. 

If you want to get a little fancier, check out Sammy Bristow’s Georges Blanket. This one alternates blocks of stockinette stitch with boats and anchors made by purling on the right side of the blanket. It calls for DK weight yarn and has multiple sizes for dolls through toddlers. Check it out on Ravelry.

Another cute texture is this heart blanket with diamonds that are a little reminiscent of argyle. Yarn Sonata Patterns has this one, which is worked in DK weight yarn and comes in four sizes. It includes a chart and row by row instructions. 

Or try the pretty Seton Portage baby blanket from Knitted Wishes, which has a border of trees and textured stitches that look like snow falling. The pattern includes different options for snowflakes and doing a mirror image of the trees on each end of the blanket. It’s worked in worsted weight yarn. This one includes charts, written instructions and video tutorials for special stitches.