Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

View Stick

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When I was given the View Stick a couple of years back to try out, I passed it along to my mom thinking that it would be the perfect aid for her to read the fine print of knitting patterns.  Being (relatively) young and well-visioned myself, it didn’t even occur to me that this gadget was something that would be equaly useful to me.  Well let me tell you, I was wrong.  Sundown Products was nice enough to give me another one last week at TNNA and as luck would have it, I’m currently working on a lace scarf that requires more pattern attention than I normally pay.  I attatched the View Stick to the chart I’m working on and let me tell you, this is the handiest tool I never knew I needed!

It magnifies the text so that your eye is automatically drawn to the correct place, it underlines the row you’re on so you’re not wasting time playing the guessing game, AND it’s adjustable so it’ll clip onto pretty much any page/paper/notecard that a potential pattern could possibly be printed on.

I love efficient little inventions like these!

Pssst…It’s available at your local JoAnn & Hobby Lobby Stores.

Comments

  1. Neat! Thanks for the tip! My middle-aged eyes can use all the help they can get; and yet, I can remember when I was in my early 20’s doing lots of cross-stitch, this would have been helpful for me, too, as I was constantly losing my place on the charts!

Have you read?

Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]