Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

I Love Yarn Day to Celebrate Fiber for a Month

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I Love Yarn Day asks crafters to Stitch it ForwardI Love Yarn Day is technically a month out — Oct. 15 — but the people behind it (that’s the Craft Yarn Council, by the way) are starting the celebration early this year with a lot of fun content meant to inspire knitters, crocheters and other yarn crafters to Stitch it Forward, aka to teach a yarn craft to others.

Through the month leading up to I Love Yarn Day, they’ll be releasing conversations about yarn and design with some of our favorite designers and bloggers and they’re hosting a scavenger hunt where you can win some great prizes such as gift cards, interchangeable knitting needles, subscriptions to CreativeBug, subscriptions to magazines and more.

The contest runs from today through Oct. 23. Answer 21 questions for a chance to win.

You can also participate by using the hashtags #stitchitforward and #iloveyarnday on social media, or print out the I Love Yarn Because template (it’s a PDF) and share your answer on social.

Have you ever taken part in I Love Yarn Day? Who can you teach to knit or crochet this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via I Love Yarn Day.]

Comments

  1. Never heard of the I Love Yarn Day before. I may be teaching a lady to crochet in the near future as an exchange for her teaching me more tai chi techniques.

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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.