Remembering Pearl Chin

Pearl Chin, owner of the legendary New York City knitting store Knitty City, has died. She was 71 years old and had been battling lung cancer.

Knitty City was billed as a yarn studio when it opened in 2006, and it quickly became a community gathering place thanks to Chin’s welcoming spirit and willingness to listen to her customers and order the kinds of yarn they wanted to buy.

An obituary in the West Side Rag says the shop was a hub for making pussy hats after the 2016 election, and comments on the shop’s Facebook and Instagram pages note Chin’s kindness, openness and generosity as well as her support for independent designers, organization of a men’s knitting night and more to support the knitting community and the wider community.

Knitty City will be closed for a week in her honor.

I’ve never been to New York but I know that so many people found a fibery home at Knitty City thanks to Pearl’s presence, and I know she will be missed.

[Photo via Knitty City’s Instagram.]

Double knitting is a lot of fun to do, but if you’re new to the process it can be intimidating to start with a big project. That’s why I have a little set of double knit coasters on my website that takes you through the basics, but these double knit hot pads are also a great option when you’re learning double knitting or just looking for a small project.

My love of quilt themed projects is well documented, so you can imagine how I feel about the Folksy Hot Pads from Shelli Can (Ravelry). These quilt block inspired hot pads use DK weight yarn and there are two pattern options and three size options for you to choose from.

Nifty Knitter Designs has a ton of double knit potholder patterns, but I wanted to highlight this one with a maple leaf since we’re headed into fall where I live as I write this. This would be a great one to use on your Thanksgiving table or all through the season. It calls for worsted weight yarn.

Interestingly, a lot of the potholder knitting patterns I found have animals on them, which is fun. Indian Love by Sonja Neukomm features an elephant decorated with flowers and is available on Ravelry. this one calls for sport weight yarn and the pattern is in English and German. The pattern also includes a lotus flower design so you can knit both.

Cat’s all Folks by Susan U is a free pattern on Ravelry with a checkerboard cat design. This one is so cute and looks like a lot of fun to knit in sport weight yarn.

As knitters we love our sheep, and there’s also a sheep themed double knit potholder from AMHIYU. This design calls for worsted weight yarn and looks great in black and white, but you can use any colors you like.

Finally, there’s this lovely set of five double knit potholder patterns from Knitting Knicely. You’ll find a squirrel, rabbit, deer, bear catching a fish and a fox in this set. These call for super fine yarn which allows them to have more detail.

Ready to take on a bigger project? Check out more double knitting patterns.

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