Learn How to Measure Yourself for Knits

A lot of knitters embark on their first sweater with some fear related to knitting the right size that will actually fit them and look good on their bodies.

Knitting Daily is helping to take some of the guesswork out of choosing a size with its guide to knitting measurements and how to measure yourself.

This web page will show you how to measure yourself and a favorite garment so you’ll know not only your own size but your preferred size of a garment (and the difference between the two, known as ease).

It talks about the “standard” measurements that many knitting patterns use, how to read a schematic and what that diagram tells you, and how to use all that information to determine what size of a garment to knit.

There are also a few great sweater projects shown, all of which are part of free downloads you can access with a free membership to the Knitting Daily community. They have such great resources it’s really worth it for all the emails you’ll get.

Ready to take on your first sweater project? Here are some tips from me on how to knit a sweater.

[Photo via Knitting Daily.]

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.

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