Hot Knitting & Crochet How-Tos

How To: Knit a Spiral Ruffle Scarf

These lovely scarves have different names. I call it the Spiral Ruffle Scarf. It's easy to make and looks great in either a fine or a medium weight yarn. I made mine with softball cotton yarn and size 8 needles. Here are the videos and written directions:

How To: Knit a Snowflake

For the holiday season, a great knitting project is a snowflake design. It's perfect for handmade Christmas gifts. You can knit just one, or a row of them, or use them as full pattern on a sweater or blanket—or whatever project you choose.

How To: Knit a button loop

Berroco knit bits shows how to knit a button loop easily within minutes. 1) Thread a tapestry needle with a 18-24″ piece of yarn. 2) Knot the end of the yarn and insert the needle where you want your first button loop. 3) Make a second stitch an inch or so away from the first stitch. 4) Tighten up the thread, placing your fingers in between the yarn and the button band creating a loop. 5) Work blanket stitch around this loop, stacking each stitch on top of the previous one until the ent...

How To: Decrease on a Circular Needle

Decreasing on a Circular Needle is as simple as decreasing on a straight needle. You can still do it both ways. Either K 2 tog or K, slip, psso. You will need to know how to decrease on a circular needle when you make hats or purses. If t don't know how, see the bottom of the page for instructions.

How To: Knit with a serenity loom

This video demonstrates how to knit with a serenity loom. A serenity loom can produce a blanket up to 10 feet. To start, thread a double loop of thread through a straw. Then use the loop of thread to pull through a piece of yarn. The straw will help you place the yarn around the pegs of the loom easier. Tie a loop around the anchor of the inside of the loom. Then loop completely around each peg, being sure to place the loops in the middle of the pegs consistantly. Wrap as far as you want your...

How To: Thread a bobbin on the Brother LS 2125 sewing machine

Many habitual sewers like to sew by hand if possible for smaller projects, since all it requires is some finger dexterity, a needle, and some form of thread. Sewing machines can create stitches and embellishments of great beauty, but as with all electronic devices sometimes their constituent parts have complications. The bobbin, which holds the thread beneath the machine, is one of those pesky things sewers have to deal with.

How To: Loom Knit Newborn Baby Mittens

When making these knit newborn mittens use 2 strings at the same time for warmth. Wrap the string around your finger twice to create a slip knot (back loop over the forward, and then pull it down to leave the loop). Use only 7 pegs from the 24 peg loom. Use the anchor as the starting point. Put the slip knot over the first peg. If you're right-handed, work towards the left; and likewise, if you're left-handed, work towards the right. Now, wrap over and back down the peg beside your first peg....

How To: Manage two different colors of yarn

In this video, we learn how to manage two different colors of yarn with Eunny Jang. You can do this all on your left hand, right hand, or with both of your hands. It's all about what is most comfortable for your, even if it's something different. Start out with all your yarn in your right hand then knit with one yard at a time. This means to just knit as usual by dropping the yarn and picking up the next color. This can be a bit tedious because you will be constantly stopping and starting. Yo...

How To: Do the Two Needle Cast On Knitting

There are so many different ways to cast on knitting. I have my own favorite. It's the way I learned when I first started knitting. My way is called TWO NEEDLE CAST ON. I like this 2 needle method because you don't have to guess how much you need to measure out a length of yarn at the beginning. I also think it makes a tighter and straighter edge.

How To: Make Simple Mittens in Single Crochet

This is a simple pattern, designed to produce a well-fitting mitten. Both the right and left mittens worked the same up to the shaping for the top of the mitten. A slight adjustment for making one right and one left, then they are worked the same. The gusset for the thumb constructed with the increases made in the center of the gusset, rather than on each side. This makes it easy with a minimal amount of counting stitches as you go. I have been crocheting for 56 years. In doing research for w...

How To: Knit a Mobius Dog Scarf

If you save scraps of yarn, and have a dog, this is an easy project for you. The Mobius scarf has the advantage of not having any ends to come untied, or dangle down for your dog to trip over, or get tangled in branches and stuff. I made this one for Pepper, my 16lb rat terrier. Step 1: Choose Your Yarn: I had very little yarn to work with. I had one more ball, but it had just a little more on it than the largest shown here.

How To: Do the Kitchener Stitch (Grafting)

Here is how to join two sets of stitches without leaving a seam. This method is good for the toes of socks, the top of hoods, baby garments, or anywhere else you don't want a bulky seam.. It's NOT recommended for shoulder seams on heavy sweaters or other places where you need the stability of a bound-off edge to hold the shape of the garment.

How To: Knit the Ladder Stitch

The Ladder Stitch is wonderful for scarves, blankets, shawls. It might seem complicated at first, but once you get into the rhythm of it it goes along easily and it's fun to watch the ladder go up and up. Step 1: Row 1 (WS): P4 *k2tog Tbl, Wrap Yarn Twice, k2tog, p4; Rep from * to End.

How To: Knit Fingerless Mitts

Fingerless mitts are all the rage. They can be fancy or simple, long or short. This article will show you how to make a simple pair of fingerless mitts—for men or women. By adding more colors in stripes or other patterns, you can make them more interesting. You can also add to the length to make them longer.

How To: Machine Knit a Baby Blanket with a Brother Garter Carriage

If you have been curious about how a Brother garter carriage works, this 2 part video will show some basic steps to casting on and knitting a baby blanket. The charity blanket pattern used is available free on the internet. This video machine-knitting tutorial also shows a trick to switch yarn without the joint showing. Follow along with this video and learn how to knit a baby blanket using the Brother Garter Carriage knitting machine.

How To: Knit a Ball

Knitted balls can be used for all sorts of projects. The obvious is a Christmas ornament, but knitted balls can also be the basis for knitting toys or snowmen. And of course, they can be used simply as balls which make a lovely gift for a baby. They can be all one color, striped or patterned. To get started, follow the directions below for a one-color knitted ball. You will need to know how to knit on double-pointed needles, so if you need help with that, check out my other article.

How To: Bind Off Ribbing

Now that you have learned how to knit ribbing, you will have to know how to bind off ribbing. If you have knitted something that needs to have a stretch to it, such as socks or a neck, this is a very important technique to know.

How To: Knit a Decorative Flower

This beautiful flower can be used as decoration on a hat, scarf, headband or purse. You name it. There are many uses. On the photo above, I added it to a hat. I have also used it as a decoration on a napkin ring. The flower is knit in three parts. Check out the instructions below. And see the closeup photo of the finished flower at the bottom of the page.

How To: Knit Ribbing

The two basic stitches in knitting are the Knit Stitch and the Purl Stitch. Once you know how to do both of them you can put them together to make RIBBING. RIBBING is usually, but not always, used at the bottom of a garment, as well as at the cuffs and at the neck. It's also a good stitch to use when you want both sides of the fabric to look the same like for a scarf or a blanket. RIBBING is usually K2 P2 (knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches) but it could be K1 K1 (knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch) ...

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