KnitBits: Prison Knitting in Brazil, Tighter Ribbing and More Fun with Knitting

March 18, 2016 by Sarah White 1 Comment

I’m fascinated by this story about male prisoners in Brazil who knit and crochet for a fashion designer in order to earn money and a reduction in their sentences. Seventeen inmates at Arisvaldo de Campos Pires are currently working with Brazilian designer Raquel Guimaraes on her Doiselles brand, and more than 100 have gone through the program, which provides a small wage and gives workers one day off their sentences for every three days they knit (the story uses the terms knitting and crocheting interchangeably; though the pictures show knitting the garments show both). Click through to see some of their beautiful work.

By now we probably all know the benefits of knitting and crochet beyond making amazing stuff with our hands and some simple tools, but if you need a reminder, check out this list of six health benefits of yarn crafts from Starting Chain.

Have you watched the PBS show “The Mind of a Chef”? Fringe Association reminds/tells us that there is a lot of great knitting to spy in the second half of season three, which features brilliant Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson, and a lot of great sweaters. He’s also on an episode of the Netflix series “The Chef’s Table,” but I don’t remember there being as much knitwear in that one. “The Mind of a Chef” is available for streaming on Netflix, and probably from PBS as well.

Do you have the common problem of sloppy-looking knit ribbing? It happens because of the different amount of yarn used to make a knit stitch versus a purl. This is an old post that recently popped up somewhere, but the tip for knitting tighter ribbing, from Jessica Joy, is still worth checking out.

Finally, there are a lot of funny knitting memes out there, and Love Knitting has collected a few of its favorites on its blog. Download these to share on social media or use as a background on your computer or phone. I think my favorite is “Can you knit me a … no.” What’s yours?

[Photo via Reuters/Paulo Whitaker.]

Next Pattern:

Comments

Heidi Kirsch says
March 18, 2016 at 11:20 am
This picture is scarier than the one I saw a few days ago. In that one they were only wearing masks over their mouth & nose. Why is it that they are covering their whole face? Is it something I should be doing if I knit for long periods?

Have you read?

Super Cozy Blanket Knitting Patterns

Once you get past the rush of the holidays, it’s time to focus on yourself and your home and what’s going to make you feel good for the rest of winter. For me, that’s having a homemade blanket in every room. I’m currently working on a granny stitch crochet blanket, but I wanted to share some cozy knit blanket patterns with you in case you’re on the lookout for something great to knit yourself or someone you love.

I have really been enjoying log cabin projects lately because they’re a great way to use stash and I love the connections between knitting and quilting. This log cabin scrap blanket pattern is free from Very Pink, and it includes a video tutorial if you haven’t done log cabin knitting before. It’s worked in garter stitch and has blocks that are connected by borders in a single color.

Speaking of scrap busting (since that’s on my mind all the time, but particularly when New Year’s resolution time rolls around), the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence is worked in a huge array of colors in garter stitch mitered squares. The pattern has options for working with sport weight or worsted weight yarn, and the blanket is worked in quarters and then sewn together, but the individual squares in each section are worked off each other for minimal finishing. Get the pattern from Knit Picks.

If you’re looking for an easy pattern that has a lot of texture, this quilted knit throw from Mama in a Stitch is a great choice. It uses chunky yarn in a single color to make a simple knit and purl pattern that looks like diamonds. The designer notes that a lighter colored yarn is helpful for making the stitch pattern stand out, but you can try whatever color you like.

Or go even simpler with the Bella Vita blanket from Christaco Design. This one uses super bulky yarn (or make it a stash buster by holding two strands of worsted weight yarn together). The pattern has a seed stitch border and allover knit and purl pattern, and includes sizes from baby blanket to California king.

If instead you want a project that will challenge you and occupy your mind as well as your needles, try the Aran texture cable afghan knitting pattern from Pattern Professionals. This gorgeous design features panels of cables and other textured stitches, and the pattern is originally form the 1970s. It uses worsted weight yarn and each pattern strip is worked individually and sewn together (though you could combine them into one big panel if you’d rather).

Next Pattern:

Comments

Have you read?

Leave a Reply