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Yarn Shop Launches Kickstarter for KnitTV

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Ram Wools KnitTV KickstarterThe Ram Wools Yarn Cooperative in Winnipeg has launched a Kickstarter to raise funding for what it calls KnitTV, which would be an open-source, free collection of knitting and crochet tutorials made with the learner in mind.

The yarn shop owners have talked to their customers about what they like and don’t like about videos that are out there now and plan to make their videos different in that they won’t have introductory materials before diving into the tutorial, they will include tight shots of only hands with lots of repetition and they’ll go slow for ease in learning. They also plan to include written materials on the site so you can print out instructions to take with you.

The company is seeking $4,633 (a strangely specific amount) to help pay for setting up a studio and purchase equipment, as well as for the labor needed to set up and maintain the website. The hope is that it will be able to launch in January.

The Kickstarter runs through Aug. 18, and rewards include hand lotion, tote bags, yarn and other goodies. Check it out if this sounds interesting to you!

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Comments

  1. Kickstarter is converting Canadian dollars to US dollars. RamWools goal is $6000 CAD.

  2. No offense, but why cant they just do it from YouTube like everyone else? I mean, Jenny Doan used her own store and supplies until she had made enough from that to get a studio. And the website is free. Just my thoughts.

  4. Thanks for the mention on your site. We really appreciate it! Kim, our videos will be on YouTube, too. That’s the most popular spot. We also want to have printable materials on the site and other goodies.

Have you read?

Knit a Stunning Bestiary Scarf

I don’t even know what to say about this amazing knitting pattern. The Bestiary Scarf from Monstra & Mirabilia is so full of details it’s a little intimidating to talk about. 

It features, as the designer describes it, an “artistic encyclopaedia of Western mythical creatures.”

The pattern includes a dragon, harpy, Medusa, chimaera, centauress, phoneix, kraken, mermaid, sew serpent, cyclops, wyvern, Pegasus, amphiptere and amphibaena. (It’s a good thing there’s a photo of the proejct with everything labelled because I definitely didn’t know the names for everything.) It’s also designed like a landscape, with water and land creatures toward the bottom ends and sky creatures toward the top. 

The dragon is at the center and is worked sideways so it will show as upright when you wear it. 

The scarf is worked in double knitting, so the colorwork appears in the opposite colors on the other side. 

It’s worked in light fingering weight yarn (on size 0 US or 2mm knitting needles) and the colorwork is shown in charts. The pattern also includes some video tutorials and written instructions to help you along. The designer says the pattern is for intermediate knitters, and “advanced beginners may succeed with patience and the help of the video tutorials.”

When I was an advanced beginner this kind of a pattern would have brought me to tears, but if you love a challenge, and a project that you’ll wear and get tons of astonished reactions every time, this is the project for you. And of course if you have a few double knitting projects under your belt and are comfortable reading charts, this project shouldn’t be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s fast. But lots of great things take time, and that’s never stopped us before, right? 

You can get a copy of this pattern from Monstra & Mirabilia on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Monstra & Mirabilia ]