Happy 20th Anniversary to Knitty!

The Internet was a lot different in 2002. There were maybe more knitting blogs, but not a lot of good, reliable places to get good, fun knitting patterns. The knitting industry was still very much focused on print media (KnitPicks also launched in 2002, and WEBS wasn’t selling yarn online until 2003).

Knitty published two issues in 2002 (the archived cover pages suggest viewing them with Internet Explorer and setting your font to 12) and has published four issues most years since. In the beginning it focused pretty exclusively on knitting, and through the years has added instructions and patterns for spinners and crocheters as well.

The cover archive shows a window into how knitting has evolved over the past two decades, from relatively simple sweaters to a burst of feminine details, lots of colorwork and lace. There have been knit thongs, tea cozies, toilet paper cozies and nose warmers in its virtual pages, along with classic sweaters, shawls, baby things and more.

This issue takes on pop culture with a tiny, angry knit uterus, a colorwork hat inspired by The Wizard of Oz, a “Queen’s Gambit” top and the spectacular Please Do Not Adjust Your Skirt, pictured here and designed by Lynne Sosnowski.

Those who weren’t knitters back in the earlier days of the Internet might not understand what it meant to have a curated, professional space online to get patterns. And that it has always been free (but also pays its designers) is a wonderful thing. Here’s to the next 20 years!

[Photo: Lynne Sosnowski via Knitty.]

Next Pattern:

Linen stitch is one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns that, every time I use it in a project, I think about how I don’t use it often enough.

It’s an easy stitch to make, with slip stitches done with the yarn held to the front of the work on the right/front side and to the back on the wrong/back side, which makes the strand of yarn a visible part of the pattern.

It also makes a fabric that is thick and looks kind of like a woven fabric.

I recently used linen stitch to make a double-thick pot holder, which I worked in a kind of interesting way. I didn’t want to have to do any sewing on the project, so I started it from a crochet cast on and picked up stitches from the side of the cast on to make the hot pad all in one piece in the round with the edge sealed.

This requires working on two circular needles, which is another technique I don’t use that often and am always reminded how much I like it when I do.

The combination of double thickness and the stitch pattern makes for a hot pad that’s already pretty thick, but I also added a bit of old towel to the inside before I closed up the end to make it super thick and extra protective for your surfaces.

I found the engineering challenge of this construction method to be a lot of fun, but you could also just knit it as a tube (casting on twice as many stitches as I did) and sew up the ends by hand when the knitting is done. Either way you’ve got a useful and pretty addition to your kitchen, whether you work it in a solid color, stripes or as a stash busting project will all your cotton odd balls.

You can grab the pattern over at Our Daily Craft, or check it out on Ravelry.

40+ Hot Pads You Can Sew For The Kitchen [Sewing]

A Cozy Knit to Calm Your Mind

Double Knit an Infinity Scarf

Next Pattern:

Have you read?