‘Tips & Techniques’ Archives
Possum yarn!
What color is a possum? If you said white, chances are that you live in the Western Hemisphere, and the thought of possum yarn grosses you out. Today, I'm going to rave about a possum yarn I've been working with... and along the way, clarify a common American/Australian-New Zealand confusion. As you probably know, my dearest is Australian, so I [...]
Adorable sheep pouches for notions!
If you like yarn, you're more than likely to like sheep... and here are some adorable ones! I just spotted these super-cute sheep notion bags from Frabjous Fibers at my LYS. They come in two different sizes, three colors, and are handmade. They're lined and have a zipper closure- perfect for storing all of your tiny little notions that tend to [...]
An erasable highlighter!
So, yesterday, I told you that I was going to the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament... and I picked up a great tool that I wanted to share- an erasable highlighter! I use highlighters all the time... I highlight items on my to-do list when they've been completed (I think it's much more exciting to have all of the things I've done pop off the page, [...]
Why yarn labels can be deceptive…
Let's say that you're in the yarn shop, looking for a yarn. The gauge of your pattern is 5 stitches to the inch. You see these two labels (pictured below). You may be inclined to think that the first yarn is perfect (because the gauge is exactly what your pattern says), and the second yarn is the wrong yarn... ...and, you'd be wrong. [...]
Making yarn from fabric strips
I recently knitted a bath mat using yarn that I had made from fabric strips. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the entire process (because I didn't know I'd like the end product so much!), so this post is more of a guideline than an actual tutorial... but I hope you'll get the idea about how to make your own. Making yarn from fabric is a lot of [...]
Suncatcher Eyes
I just stumbled on a great source for safety eyes & noses for amigurumi: Suncatcher Eyes. And... we have an interview with the designer/owner- so scroll down! When making amigurumi, plastic eyes give your animal a really nice 'finished' look. However, finding a good selection of eyes can be difficult. Most craft stores don't carry a very big [...]
Banana and Recycled Silk Yarns!
I love yarns from unique fibers... and I just stumbled upon a couple great ones! Frabjous Fibers makes yarns from lots of incredible fibers, such as nettles, sari silk (a by-product from making Saris) and banana fibers! Above, you'll see photos of two colors of Banana Silk yarn, celery and turquoise. It's handspun by women in Nepal, so not [...]
Too tight foundation row?
For some amigurumi pieces, you'll need to crochet a foundation row, instead of working straight out from a circle. An example is when I was crocheting the leg of Gordon the Flamingo. Sometimes, when you begin with a foundation chain, the stitches in the chain can be too small, making the top of the leg (shown at left) look a little anemic. [...]
Using a Nostepinne (replacement)
In this blog post, I'm going to show you how I used a sunscreen bottle to wind beautiful balls of yarn! When you purchase yarn that comes in a hank, you'll need to wind it before using. You can usually wind your yarn at your local friendly yarn store when you purchase it... however, if you want to wind your yarn into a ball at home (maybe [...]
Adorable Snail tape measure!
I'm very excited to share my new snail tape measure! I love snails... and my previous tape measure was non-retractable, which meant that I needed to re-coil it every time after measuring a piece of knitting/crochet (you can see a photo of it in this previous post, where I commented on how I wished for a retractable one someday...). I had a gift [...]
