Book Review - The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin

For all our customers who have found taking the first step to transforming their craft hobby into a viable business a little confusing and daunting - we have the perfect book for you. The new guide by Kari Chapin - The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and Online demystifies the process of getting your craft business up and running.

From determining the right price for your creations to strategies for selling through both bricks and mortar shops and online sites, Kari gives you a comprehensive array of tips, resources and case studies of successful craft businesses which are sure to inspire and motivate.

There are also a great sections on branding, styling, photography and most importantly marketing.

Honey Comb Wristwarmers - New design

For a while now I have been thinking about a knitting project which would incorporate one of my favorite cable stitches - the honey comb stitch. It is a simple stitch which is great for practicing your cabling technique as it uses the two most basic stitches - C4F and C4B.

A few swatches later and the Honeycomb wristwarmer design emerged. Knit seamless in the round using the cable pattern and some carefully placed ribbing, these little warmers are a cosy fit. The original pair took just over one ball of a DK weight yarn (Sublime Extra Fine Merino in Salty Grey) to complete - however the knitting pattern includes instructions for a slightly shorter version which only takes one ball. I have put together a knitting kit which includes the yarn, knitting pattern and Addi Bamboo DPNs (15cm long) - available online for $49. Enjoy!

The Thread Room Newsletter 12 December 2010

The Thread Room Newsletter 12 December 2010

Ergonomic Crochet Hooks from Addi

These fabulous new crochet hooks from Addi - Addi-Swing - have been ergonmically designed to reduce the writst wear so common with crochet. They fit comfortably whether you are working overhand crochet or pen style. I have just started using the 6mm size fo super fast crochetted flowers.

Addi Click Bamboo Set - Just arrived!

Our lovely new Addi Click Bamboo sets have just arrived today. The bright green soft pouch and silk print lining on the cases give this interchangeable knitting needle set that extra touch of luxury. The smooth bamboo needle tips come in 8 sizes from 3.5mm to 8mm and connect perfectly with the gold Addi cords (60/80/100cm lengths).

The perfect Christmas present for a knitter!

Back to knitting basics

I have been getting back to the basics of knitting lately and thought I would share the story behind our latest knitting kit - the Beginners Knit Scarf Kit.

It all started when I was sorting through some of the yarn in my studio and wondering what to do with all the lovely extra Retro yarn balls we end up with after winding the 100gm balls. The colours looked so vibrant, that I decided to pick 6 of the most cheerful balls and design a beginners knitting project with them.

After years of teaching beginners knitting classes I have discovered that the ideal project for someone starting out includes both repetition - this gets your tension even - and some colour changes along the way - motivation to finish the project!

Using a 12ply (aran weight) yarn with 6mm knitting needles means you progress a little faster than you would with the standard 8ply (DK weight) yarn on a 4mm knitting needle. And, any bigger than about an 8mm knitting needle starts to get a little clunky for a beginner.

The width of the scarf is also an important consideration. Too wide and the rows seem endless, too narrow and you end up with a tie. I tried a few different widths and 30 stitches was just right.

The order of the colours involved a bit of colour theory and years of customer feedback. Pink and green placed together are always a winning combination - nature's colours. Placing high value colours (light colours) between low value colours (dark colours) also gives the scarf added variety eg. the yellow was placed between the blue and purple; the red between the purple and green.

Happy knitting!

Knitting Tutorial: Chunky i-cord knitting

Ever since Addi brought out their range of super-sized double pointed needles - up to 20mm - I have been having lots of fun knitting chunky i-cords. The i-cords can be used as a lariet scraf, felted for bag handles and felted and plaited too. The possibilities are endless. The Flower's lariet scarf kit is an example of this technique in use.

So, here is my step-by-step tutorial on how to make a cool chunky i-cord.

Materials: 2 thick double pointed needles (9 - 20mm) , chunky weight yarn. We used Slubby - Fluro Orange in the photos.

Step 1

Cast on 4 stitches with the double pointed needles (9mm used in the photos). Use whichever cast-on technique you usually use. I have used long-tail cast-on for the tutorial example.

Step 2

Knit the 4 stitches. The stitches will now be located at the left tip of the double pointed needle.

Step 3 - this is the most important step!

DO NOT turn the needles for the next row. Rather, push the four stitches you have knitted from the left tip of the needle all the way along the needle to the right tip - keeping the right side of the work facing you at all times.


Step 4

Knit the first stitch of row by inserting tip of needle in through front of the stitch and bringing the yarn around the back of the work and working the stitch (see photo below). When working the first stitch of each row ensure that you tighten it as you take it off the needle to avoid a long stretched thread at the back of your i-cord. Knit the rest of the stitches on the needle.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have the required length, giving the work a good pull every couple of rows to ensure the back thread feeds into the knitting evenly.


NB: The maximum number of stitches you can comfortably work an i-cord with is about 5 depending on the yarn you are using.

More ideas for the i-cord technique

1. Try a purl stitch i-cord. It gives you a great ridged look.
   
2. Try lots of different yarns together using the 20mm needles.
   
3. Try a fine yarn with the 20mm needles to get a fine gosamer tube look.