Submit Your Winter Accessories for a Chance at a Design Contract

Here’s a really fun competition you might be interested in getting in on if you’re a designer. Uncommon Goods, which is a really awesome online/catalog store featuring handmade, sustainable and otherwise really good items, is looking for some new, unique winter accessories to sell this year.

They’re hosting a contest for unique, handmade knit, crocheted, sewn or woven hats, gloves, scarves and mittens, and the winner will receive $500 and a design contract with the company.

Design hopefuls can send up to five different items, or five pictures of one item. You’ll have to provide information about the materials used and the story behind the item, and can include links to sketches, videos and other materials as you like. They want items that are safe and animal-friendly, which means no leather, feathers or pearls (but I did read somewhere that wool is OK).

Entries will be accepted via web form through the end of July, at which time semifinalists will be selected. The Uncommon Goods community will choose the finalists, and the top five projects with the most votes will be considered by a team of judges. The winner will be contacted by Aug. 21, and other finalists may also be offered vendor contracts.

This sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to get thinking about design and the stories behind the things you make and the things you buy. If you want more information check out the official rules (PDF).

I’ve been thinking about entering but I’m not sure I have time right now. If any of you enter I’d love to hear about it!

Next Pattern:

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make with knitting needles. Use yarn to hold you yarn!

In its simplest form, a yarn cozy is just a sleeve or a little basket that holds your yarn when you’re working with a center-pull ball so it doesn’t fall apart when you knit. The easiest ones I could find are from Love in Stitches KN, which has a regular size and a mini size. They’re worked with sock yarn and there are options for making them with ribbing, faux cables and with self-striping yarn.

For bigger cakes there’s a project called We call it the “bail holder” from Nicole LeBlanc. This pattern is available on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and make it any size you like. It features an I-cord edging that has a loop in it so you can thread they yarn through the loop to keep it extra contained as you knit.

Another large one that has a slightly fancier pattern is this one by Mareike Meye. You can use any yarn and any gauge, and slip stitch pattern worked in different colors on the sides makes it a little more fun and uses a bit more stash. A strap buttons across the top to hold the ball in place and you can add a buttonhole to the middle of the strap to thread the yarn through. Check this one out on Ravelry.

Adding lace to a yarn cozy makes it fit a wider variety of balls and expand or shrink a bit as needed. Jennifer Sugarman’s Ball Sack uses sock yarn and is made to hold sock yarn. It has the option of making I-cord or using ribbon or cord you already have to make a drawstring at the top. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Another lacy option is the yarn ball holder from Frugal Knitting Haus. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has an easy mesh lace pattern and an I-cord drawstring that’s sewn together at the ends so you could loop it over your wrist while you knit if you like. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Speaking of wrist yarn holders, I also found this one form Knituition. This one uses sport weight yarn and has a spiral rib pattern on the body. The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings, or you could make it a little longer and just sew it into the bag.

Next Pattern:

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