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KnitBits: Inmates Knitting, Expensive Yarn and Fun with Needles

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Prisoners loom knit garments for dogs and other knitting news I loved this story from the Idaho Statesman about inmates in the Acute Mental Health Unit at the Idaho Department of Correction loom knitting dog sweaters for the Inmate Dog Alliance, in which prisoners train shelter dogs to make them more adoptable. there is just so much greatness in this idea all around, and it helps the dogs and the people alike. The sense of accomplishment, connection to something bigger than themselves and ability to focus on something that is calming are all positive aspect of the program beyond just making sweaters. (The group also makes baby hats, blankets and other goods that are donated.)

This is an older piece from Elizabeth Kay Booth, a designer who worked in a yarn shop, but it came up in my news feed recently and I thought it was worth sharing. It explores answers to the question why is yarn so expensive when you buy it at a yarn store rather than a big-box craft retailer? There are a lot of reasons, of course, and I’ll let her tell you, but the higher quality, natural fibers and slower, small-batch processes that are often used on the yarns sold at yarn shops naturally make them more expensive. And probably better, too.

If you want to boost your knitting trivia knowledge before your next party, check out the 46 Interesting Facts about Knitting from Random Facts, and the history of 10 words related to knitting from Merriam-Webster. It’s so interesting to see how meanings have changed through the years.

I haven’t watched it yet, but I did see on PBS there’s an episode of Broad and High called “The Man Who Knits” available online. The guy the story is about sounds amazing — his first knitting project was an Aran sweater, and he gets his yarn by recycling thrift store garments. Definitely one to add to your watch list.

Have you ever used a 9-inch circular needle? These needles definitely have a learning curve, but they do make knitting the straight parts of a sock really quick and easy, and you have no ladders because there are no needles between which to get loose tension. VeryPink Knits has a great overview of the needles, including a review of some of the major brands and which ones turned out to be her favorite. Next week she’s also posting a piece on how to knit socks with the needles, so stay tuned for that.

 

Comments

  1. Hi there, thanks so much for sharing my post! I’m glad you found it helpful. One small correction though – I’m a knitwear designer and I don’t own a shop. I worked in my local shop for 5+ years, and had a wonderful boss, who was the owner. 🙂

Have you read?

Tiny Knits in Team Colors

For years now Berroco has been releasing a tiny set of Christmas ornament knitting patterns, often modeled on human-sized clothes, called Minutia. The ones for this year haven’t come out yet, but somehow I missed last year’s so I wanted to share them, as well as a fun little twist they offered. 

The general 2025 Minutia patterns include a circular yoke sweater, a two-color stocking and a ribbed earflap hat. They’re super cute and perfect for using little (or should I say minute?) amounts of yarn left over from other projects. Make them in Christmas colors or whatever you have on hand. Even if you don’t have exactly the same yarn weight, you can still make these cute additions to your holiday decor. 

But what really caught my eye while I was on the Berocco site was the Team Colors Minutia, which are actually different patterns so I’m not even sure when they were released, but they are definitely worth talking about. 

These patterns include a little raglan sweater with stripes and a stocking cap with contrasting pom pom. 

They call for sport weight yarn, but again you could use sock or DK if that’s what you have in the right colors. And here the right colors are important because you’re stitching your team colors. 

Or anyone else’s team colors.

I immediately thought that this would be an amazing holiday gift for someone who you never know what to get but who also happens to like sports. Or has gone to a university that has colors. 

Another option would be to leave off the stripes and add a number in duplicate stitch if you or the person you’re knitting for has a favorite player. Or stitch a letter or a tiny version of the team logo on the front. There are lots of options!

If you make these, I’d love to hear what you did with them!

[Photo: Berroco]