Tag: crochet patterns

You’re Still Not on Ravelry?!

Jane Leave a comment

It has come to my attention that there are knitters out there who are still unaware of Ravelry.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Do you live under a ROCK??

Not to make you feel bad or anything, but you are missing out on so many wonderful features that will add to your enjoyment and delight in knitting!

What’s Ravelry?

Ravelry.com is a magical combination of social media platform and mega pattern & yarn information database.

You must create a username and password to access the platform, but it is completely free to do so. Once you’re a member, you have at your fingertips a library of hundreds of thousands of knitting and crochet patterns.

Many of them are free to download, and others you have to pay for. The staggering number of over 500,000 patterns can be a little misleading because they’re not all necessarily available to download. Anyone can add a pattern to Ravelry, even if it’s a pattern from an old magazine for instance. But mostly, you’ll find a pattern that is at least available somewhere online, even if not directly on Ravelry.

Some of My Favorite Ravelry Features

Aside from the enormous list of available patterns, there are many features I love on Ravelry.

1. Advanced Search Filters

First, I love the pattern search filter options. When you’re looking for something to knit, you can search by almost any possible category you can think of.

The Advanced Search option lets you choose by craft (knit, crochet or both), category (garment, accessory, toy, home decor), whether it’s available to download, yarn weight, design attributes… SO MANY OPTIONS!

I love using this when I have some yarn and I don’t know what to do with it. I’ll search by weight, yardage and how many colors I have. Though I’m not usually a stasher (I buy yarns with a specific pattern in mind), when I’ve had a stray skein or two this has been so helpful.

2. Projects

Though this requires a bit of input, I love the option you have to add projects to your profile. You create a project and you can include so much information: the yarn you use, the needles, who you’re making it for, sizing, etc.

If the pattern exists on Ravelry, you can automatically populate a lot of the details in your project. As soon as you link your project to a pattern, it is then visible from that pattern’s Ravelry page.

I always try to add photos (because it’s one thing to see the designer’s photos of the pattern, and it’s another thing entirely to see how the piece looks when other crafters knit it).

You can also write notes, which I always try to do. Why? Because I LOVE it when other Ravelers write detailed notes on their projects. When I’m thinking of knitting a pattern, I’ll comb through others people’s projects and read their notes.

You can even search through projects linked to a pattern and filter your search by whether or not the project has notes, and if other Ravelers (yes! That’s what we’re called!) have identified them as helpful.

In my notes, I’ll include links to videos I used for techniques, or to blog articles I found helpful. I’ll also make a note of changes I’ve made in the pattern, or issues I encountered. A couple of my projects have been added to peoples’ favorites because of my detailed notes, so that’s great!

3. Yarn Reviews

Especially when I’m shopping for yarn online, I don’t like to buy without first checking out the yarn’s Ravelry page.

There are SO many yarns listed on Ravelry, that unless you’re talking about a really small scale dyer, or someone who simply isn’t online, you’re pretty sure to find your yarn there.

You can search by fibre, by weight, you can look up your local yarn shop (assuming they’re on Ravelry!)… There are just so many options.

Most importantly, I look at the ratings and the comments (if any). People will give feedback on how the yarn feels, how it holds up after washing, whether it pills or splits, and more.

If you’re looking to try out a new yarn, the Ravelry yarn database is a good first stop for info.

4. Stashing

This also requires a lot of input, but it’s worth it if you take the time. If you keep your stash updated on Ravelry, you can more easily search for patterns to match your stash. You also don’t have to go pulling out all your yarns every time you’re thinking of what to knit.

Simplify your life, add to the power of Ravelry and stash your yarns!

I’ve also actually managed to buy and sell leftover or unwanted skeins by listing it in my stash as “will trade or sell.” If you’re suffering from stash guilt, I suggest you give that a try…

There’s So Much More

There is a whole lot more to love about Ravelry. I don’t use the forum feature much at all, but that is a huge part of the community for many people.

You can also join groups of your favorite designers and sign up to do test knits of new patterns. I follow many designers, but since I don’t spend time in the forums I never learn about a potential test knit in time.

Lots of people make heavy use of the queue feature (basically, listing what you’re going to knit next), but again I haven’t been very good about that. It is a nice thing to use, especially if you keep your pattern library and your stash up to date!

I strongly recommend you check out Ravelry if you haven’t already. Play around with it, because there are so many ways to make it work for you!

It will add to your enjoyment of knitting or crochet, and it also helps to foster a sense of community. You can add friends on Ravelry (careful! This is not like Facebook where you have to approve friends–you can be added by anyone, so be aware before you put too much personal info in).

Look me up: I’m thebraininjane and I’d love to see what you’re making!

Knitted Knockers (or Knot!)

Jane Leave a comment

It’s time for another knitting post! This time, I have knitted what might be called a “medical accessory”: Knitted Knockers!

Knitted Knockers are knitted breast prosthesis, designed to be comfortable, lightweight and soft. The Knitted Knockers foundation registers medical providers to sign up to receive knitted prosthesis for their patients. The foundation also gets the word out to knitters and crocheters all over the US to invite them to make and donate knockers.

Makers can choose from several different approved knockers patterns: click here to see all the different pattern options! The foundation also provides a list of approved yarns. The yarns must be cotton–no wool!

Once you’ve made your knockers from approved yarn and the official pattern, you mail them to the foundation (unstuffed) for quality control. They’ll take a look at the sizing, at your gauge, and at the quality of the knitting. If they meet the foundation’s quality standards, they’ll stuff them and get them out to medical providers and clinics who need them.

There is very high demand for these, and when I first heard about them I thought it was a brilliant idea. I didn’t realize how soon I’d need to make them for someone I loved.

Knockers Needed

In December, we learned that a family member needed to have a double mastectomy. Always a scary prospect, we were especially worried about her going into hospital due to Covid (this was before many people were vaccinated).

Thankfully, all went well, and once the procedure was over, the prognosis was very good. Of course, recovery wasn’t easy and naturally the scars from the procedure are significant and uncomfortable.

That’s when I thought of Knitted Knockers. Of course, offering to knit someone breast prosthetics isn’t covered in any etiquette guidelines I know of. I wasn’t sure how to proceed and I didn’t want to be indelicate or offend.

Thankfully, this person is a crafter herself, and we have always enjoyed chatting about knitting, crocheting and other crafts together. So I decided to make the offer in the most straightforward and friendly way possible.

My offer was well received, and it was taken absolutely in the spirit it was meant: with love.

The Knitty Gritty Details

We consulted on size and color, and I decided to knit a size A in Cascade Ultra Pima cotton yarn (color “buff”–as in, “in the–“!).

For the pattern, I chose the latest version of the knitted pattern: Bottoms up in the round on DPNs. The original pattern started at the front of the knocker (at the nipple, essentially), with only three stitches cast on, and increased from there. Many knitters found that to be difficult and fiddly, so the pattern designer, Claudia Barbo, wrote a new version in which you knit the knockers from back to front. In this version, you cast on 15 stitches, which is a lot easier to manage than just three!

My yarn was a DK weight, and the pattern called for 3.75mm needles. However, I didn’t have DPNs in that size, and since my gauge tends to be tight anyway, I went up to 4mm.

I have to admit that I am not crazy about working on DPNs. The pattern tells you to divide the stitches by three and always keep them on the same needles. This creates a gap between the stitches on each end of the needles. Usually, when I’m knitting on DPNs, I rotate around so that my needles don’t always change at the same spot.

I followed the pattern, and here’s the result:

Not the most even stitching…

The Knitted Result

Though pretty, I was not crazy with the unevenness of the stitches. Also, the decreases on the front of the knocker (what you’re looking at in this picture) created ridges which met in the middle and formed what looked like a “nipple”. Washing and pinning it out to dry helped to reduce that, but still. It could have been smoother.

Also, it was too small! When the knockers arrived at their destination and were stuffed, they were about two sizes too small.

No problemo! That’s an easy one to solve: just make it bigger!

The issue of the “nipple” created by the decreases required some trial and error.

Yarny Experimenting

There are several different patterns available on the Knitted Knockers site. I decided to try the original pattern, starting with just 3 stitches and increasing from there.

However, it was really fiddly. I had trouble keeping my needles straight and making it look any good.

Then, I tried using the pinhole cast on:

It’s a beautiful cast on, but even doing this there were ridges that wouldn’t have been smooth enough.

I tried a few more times, but I really wasn’t happy with how it was turning out.

Then, I had an epiphany:

I Know How to Crochet!

That’s right! I know how to crochet! And the crocheted knockers looked fantastic!

And so, I dusted off the ol’ crochet hooks. They haven’t seen daylight in quite a while, and I had to re-learn how to hold the yarn in my left hand. But muscle memory kicked in really quickly, and before long I had cast on using the magic ring and was chugging along.

Using the same yarn and a 4mm crochet hook, I whipped them up pretty quickly:

Tah-daaahh!

I was SO happy with how these turned out! Though denser than the knitted version, they are far smoother. I washed and dried them and they came out very soft.

Crocheted Knockers (not as catchy…)

So they’re not knitted, but they look great. They’re on their way to their recipient, and I’m awaiting feedback on these. Hopefully they’ll be as comfortable as their knitted counterparts!

You can read all the details about my knitted knockers and my crocheted knockers on my Ravelry page.

I made two sets of knockers using one skein of yarn. I have a whole other skein, so I will either make more upon request for my family member, or I’ll donate some!

Finished_Triangle_Crochet_Baby_Blanket

Trendy Triangle Baby Blanket

Jane 32 Comments

Triangles are all the rage these days. Just a glance through DIY décor ideas on Pinterest will tell you that much.

Seeing as our friend Perrin PimPim has been bitten by the triangle bug, Taloline and Clelola decided a homemade triangle baby blanket would make the perfect baby shower gift for her. They weren’t wrong!

Picking the Pattern

Photo credit from MorganOurs.com
Photo credit from MorganOurs.com

Taloline and Clelola sneakily made use of Pinterest’s secret board feature and created the distractingly named “Choco” board just for us. From there, they went a-searchin’ for triangle patterns.

They decided to go for crochet because it seemed quicker and simpler than knitting for making triangles.

The pattern they decided on is an easy step-by-step tutorial by MorganOurs they found on Pinterest. The slight modification we made was instead of simply not crocheting the last stitch on each end, we decided to do a decrease stitch on the ends for a cleaner look.

Choosing the Yarn

Berroco_vintage_yarn_crochetThe girls decided on a color scheme of 7 complementary colors and visited Mouliné Yarns here in Montreal to pick out the best yarn.

The yarn had to be, of course, machine washable for practicality! So they picked out an old, reliable option: Berroco Vintage yarn. It’s a wool-acrylic blend and it comes in a wide variety of beautiful colors.

To Work!

We each had to do at least 4 triangles, and those of us with more experience crocheting did a couple more. The pattern said to use a 4.5mm hook, but since we were three different people with three different tensions, we all ended up using different sizes to get the final triangle size right.

After a couple of screw-up attempts (Taloline and I found ourselves decreasing too quickly), we finally got the hang of it and started producing our beautiful triangles.

I crochet in the back, while the girls crochet in both.
I crochet in the back, while the girls crochet in both.

As we worked, though, we realized our triangles looked different! Mine had more of a textured look, while Clelola’s and Taloline’s were smoother. A little investigating soon told us why:

I learned to crochet in the back loop only (see figure) rather than in both loops. The others crochet in both loops.

We decided, though, rather than have me do my triangles over again, that the different textures looked quite nice when put together. We would just have to be sure to mix my triangles in well with the others’.

Placement of the Colors

triangle_crochet_blanket_schema
Color coding the blanket

In one evening, after finishing up our last triangles and deciding who was to make which half-triangles and in which colors, Clelola set about placing the colors in the right order.

This was delicate because we didn’t want colors to repeat too frequently within a row or a column. Clelola spent quite some time placing the triangles on the floor, trying to decide what would work best.

We probably could have used some kind of Excel spreadsheet to place them so that they were mathematically correct, but whatever. It looked fine to us.

Blocking the Triangles

I was given all the finished triangles to block, and took this responsibility very seriously!

Some people block simply by ironing the piece with a towel placed between the iron and the crocheting, to avoid squishing the pattern too much. I learned, though, that the best way to block is to fully wet an item and pin it out to dry.

So that’s what I did. Using my new washing machine’s delicate wool cycle (how I love it!), I washed all the triangles and pinned them out on my bed over some towels. It was a tedious process, and I had to do a lot of stretching and measuring to try to get them all the same size.

Blocking_crochet_blanket

 

In the end, I finally also ironed them for good measure. Oh well.

Assembling the Rows

We were each assigned a row or two and our homework over the next couple of weeks was to sew our designated rows together. I, of course, finished mine just before the girls came over to assemble all the rows together (whoops! Procrastinator!).

Building_Perrine_Blanket
Sorry, the photo’s a bit blurry

But finally, once we had sewn it all together (with only one restart), and Clelola had added the border, it looked stunning:

Finished_Triangle_Crochet_Baby_Blanket

 

Optional: Sewn-On Backing

To add a touch of class (and to incorporate another craft) to the project, we visited Effiloché and picked out a great fabric to add as a backing to the blanket.

Normally, if sewn correctly, there is neither a “right side” or a “wrong side” to a blanket like this (it’s a bit like a granny square blanket). But we liked the idea of making it feel like a quilt-crochet combo.

So Taloline broke out the sewing machine and added the cutest fabric to the back:

triangle_crochet_baby_blanket_backing
Perrin PimPim’s other half is a photographer, so we thought he’d enjoy this fabric on the baby’s blanket.

Needless to say, we were all mightily pleased with the result, and Perrin PimPim was delighted, both by her surprise baby shower and by her homemade gift for her little bundle of joy.

Thank you to Taloline and Clelola for organizing the gift idea and for a fun time putting it all together!

Christmas Yarn Haul

Knitting in the New Year

Jane 1 Comment

Out with the old, in with the new! Well at least that’s how I feel about going from 2013 to 2014. But before leaving 2013 entirely behind us, I wanted to share with you a few knitting projects I finished up over the holidays.

Baby Sophisticate Knit Sweater

This free pattern on Ravelry looked like the perfect gift for my rapidly-growing nephew. The little love bug (as I like to call him) would be going on nearly 11 months by the time Christmas rolled around, so the idea was to make something big enough for him to grow into.

My friend Caroline from over at De Mailles et de Mots made this sweater for a friend’s baby and she warned me that the pattern tends to run small. To compensate (and, knowing that I have a very tight stitch), I chose a machine-washable (very important!) Berroco Vintage Chunky yarn in a gorgeous sea-green-blue color.

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out:

Baby Sophisticate in Vintage Chunky
The result!

To make sure it was big enough, I compared the smaller and larger sizes in the pattern and using the stitch proportions, I made it one size larger.

Three Little Hats for Three Little Chaps

On the Spanish side of the family, Chico and I have three nephews ages 13, 10 and four. Though Spain hardly requires the same cold-weather gear that North America does, I thought they would each enjoy a little knit or crocheted hat.

Three Little Hats for Three Little Chaps
I say “little” but the two oldest nephews really aren’t that little…

Again, I went with Berroco yarn, this time just the regular Vintage (worsted weight). Berroco Vintage is my current favorite because it’s affordable, pleasant to work with AND machine washable (it’s an acrylic-wool blend).

I can’t find the pattern for the little blue and yellow hat, but the other two are a crocheted reversible pattern by Nancy Smith on Ravelry.

Though sadly I don’t have a photo, I also made my lovely sister-in-law this knitted headband in the same gray used on the two older boys’ hats.

Traditional Knitted Dishcloths from VeryPink Knits

For the Stitch n’ Bitch Christmas gift exchange, I picked up some 100% cotton wool in lots of fun different colors to make these traditional dish cloths.

Knit_Dish_Cloths
Photo courtesy of Ysabelh at Métro-Boulot-Tricot

For the second year in a row, my friend Eva from OuaKi Dou (a fabulously talented knitter and crocheter!) got my gift.

Knitting in 2014

It would seem that my family is enjoying my newfound passion for knitting, because I got two beautiful gifts of yarn from my parents and from my sister-in-law.

Currently, I’ve gone back to crochet and am working on an afghan for my boss’s little girl (pattern from Afghans for All Seasons from Leisure Arts – sadly not available to link to online).

On the list I also have a cabled hat and what will be my first attempt ever at a sweater! I’m looking at two patterns to use with the luxurious yarn from my parents, so I’ll keep you posted!

Christmas Yarn Haul
I still have a lot of this yarn to knit…

***

Don’t forget to check out TheBrainInJane on Ravelry to see my queue of projects!