Lion Brand Yarn Encourages NYC Knitters to Give

Lion Brand Yarn, as you probably know, has its flagship retail store in New York City, and this year it’s working to give back to the community there by collecting knit and crocheted hats (and other winter warmers) for Hats 4 the Homeless, a New Jersey charity that aims to bring a little warmth to homeless people during the winter.

The yarn company is collecting hats through November 30, and to entice people to help, those who buy yarn for a project they plan to donate will get 10 percent off their yarn when purchased at the store. When finished projects are dropped off — again by the end of November — crafters will receive 20 percent off coupons for a future purchase.

They’ve already got a nice collection of items to donate going, and I hope local NYC-area knitters will consider this project if you’re planning any charity knitting this year.

[Photo by Lion Brand Yarn.]

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Linen stitch is one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns that, every time I use it in a project, I think about how I don’t use it often enough.

It’s an easy stitch to make, with slip stitches done with the yarn held to the front of the work on the right/front side and to the back on the wrong/back side, which makes the strand of yarn a visible part of the pattern.

It also makes a fabric that is thick and looks kind of like a woven fabric.

I recently used linen stitch to make a double-thick pot holder, which I worked in a kind of interesting way. I didn’t want to have to do any sewing on the project, so I started it from a crochet cast on and picked up stitches from the side of the cast on to make the hot pad all in one piece in the round with the edge sealed.

This requires working on two circular needles, which is another technique I don’t use that often and am always reminded how much I like it when I do.

The combination of double thickness and the stitch pattern makes for a hot pad that’s already pretty thick, but I also added a bit of old towel to the inside before I closed up the end to make it super thick and extra protective for your surfaces.

I found the engineering challenge of this construction method to be a lot of fun, but you could also just knit it as a tube (casting on twice as many stitches as I did) and sew up the ends by hand when the knitting is done. Either way you’ve got a useful and pretty addition to your kitchen, whether you work it in a solid color, stripes or as a stash busting project will all your cotton odd balls.

You can grab the pattern over at Our Daily Craft, or check it out on Ravelry.

40+ Hot Pads You Can Sew For The Kitchen [Sewing]

A Cozy Knit to Calm Your Mind

Double Knit an Infinity Scarf

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