Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Pin of the Week: Drop Stitch Primer

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drop stitch knittingI think this may be the first time my pin of the week from my Knitting Pinterest board is actually something I pinned in the last week, but I’ve had lace knitting on the brain lately, and working with drop stitches is an even easier way to get an open, lace-like look, without the effort of keeping track of yarn overs and decreases.

Daria at Diary of a Creative Fanatic has a great roundup of resources and patterns using drop stitches, which you should check out if you’ve never used drop stitches in your knitting before, and even if you have. She covers a few basic ways to make drop stitches (including one of my favorites, seafoam stitch) and links to lots of free patterns using the technique.

I think I may just have to add that drop stitch tunic from Vogue Knitting to my to-knit list really soon. Too cute!

Have you ever used drop stitches? I’d love to hear what you think of them.

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. I think your picture and explanation of the stitches and very clear and concise. Thank you for the information. I may work up the courage to try them now.

  3. Thank you so much for the shoutout to my site “Diary of a Creative Fanatic.com”.
    I appreciate the support and will be posting more knitting stitch primers in the future as well as crochet.

Have you read?

Knit and Felt Some Tabi Style Slippers

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical. 

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique. 

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead. 

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit. 

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern. 

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like. 

[Photo: Maymade Knits]