Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook

by

I haven’t finished reading this book, yes it reads like a novel you can’t put down. And, as a bonus, if a stray Yak or Musk Ox walks through your yard, this book will tell you what to do with that awesome fiber.

Got some buffalo fur hanging from the barbed wire of the farm next door? (Actually, yes, I do!). Collect it, turn to page 390 and find out that one hide can yield as much as 3-4 lbs of raw fiber. Find out about different colors, characteristics of the fiber and how you should expect it to act while spinning, knitting or crocheting.

This hardcover “coffee-table style” book is 438 full-colored pages devoted to just about every type of fleece and fiber animal you can think of. Beautiful photography accompanies every story. Maps show you where the critters are found and tabbed pages make it easy to find everything.

Find out why wool can be “prickly” next to your skin. How did the Jacob sheep get it’s name? Why is the Gray Suffolk considered rare? Find out what Badger faced means in an animal. Find out the difference between top and roving. A full glossary will tune you right in to the specifics of the language of “Fiber”.

More than 200 fibers – from animal to spun yarn! Get yours now by clicking HERE, to go to Knit Picks!

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Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.