Join Me at the Holiday Crafts Summit

Are you ready for holiday crafting? I’ve been doing a lot for Halloween lately so I haven’t given much thought to the winter holidays, but they will be here quicker than we imagine.

If you’re ready to get started on your holiday crafting list, whether you’re looking for decor for your home or easy gifts to make and give, you’ll want to check out the Rebecca Page holiday crafts summit.

This free summit takes place Oct. 16-20 and offers 44 classes in knitting, crochet, paper crafts, embroidery and sewing. I’m teaching two classes, one of which is for knitters.

My class is about knit headbands and earwarmers. In this class you’ll learn how to make custom headbands and ear warmers using any weight of yarn you like, any stitch pattern you want and whatever size you need.

I demonstrate working projects flat and in the round, sewing them flat or with a twist, or using a cable to make the twist. The hope is that this will give you ideas to make the perfect headband/ear warmer for yourself or to give as a gift.

There’s another knitting class that I’m not teaching, for a knit Santa gift bag that is just so cute!

My other class is a sewing class, which shows you how to make a couple of simple and useful gifts for the reader in your life: a pillow case with a pocket to hold your book (or notebook, pens, highlighters, reading glasses, etc.) and a book weight to help hold the book open so you don’t have to. Because I love to read and knit at the same time, which I can’t do if I’m holding the book open!

Each day through the summit a number of classes are released and available for viewing each day. You can also sign up for a VIP pass to get lifetime access to all courses, plus three classes that are only available through the VIP ticket. I hope you’ll join me to learn all about these quick, easy and fun to make gift ideas!

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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