Yarnit Creator Competes on FUNDERDOME

I had never even heard of the Steve Harvey show FUNDERDOME until I saw that Kate from Yarnit was going to be on it.

It’s an entrepreneur competition show where two different ideas are pitted against each other for funding. The studio audience votes on the best idea, but at some point in each round one of the entrepreneurs is given the opportunity to cash out so they get some money whereas if they go to the end and don’t win the vote they would get no funding.

The Yarnit was pitted against the Dreamcade Replay, a console gaming device to play retro video games. That business won the big prize (though the vote was really close) and the Yarnit cashed out at $25,000, which is still pretty great.

If you don’t know about the Yarnit, it’s a plastic ball (yeah, there were lots of ball jokes on the show) that sits on a base that you put your yarn inside while you’re knitting. The yarn feeds out of a hole at the top and stays clean and protected from animals and children while you work. They’re lightweight, durable, have a clip-on strap for on-the-go knitting, and the ball itself fits in many standard car cup holders.

They come in lots of different colors and styles for personalization and you can even store stitch markers and other little tools in the base. So cool! (And if you happen to want to get your hands on one, they’re running a special for a limited time on the clear Yarnit; use the code Funderdome.)

Congratulations, Kate, and I can’t wait to see the new product in action!

[Photo: ABC]

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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