Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
One of the funny things about working at a yarn company is that you start recognizing yarns all over the place. I recently received a cozy crocheted hat, that I suspected was Vanna’s Choice in Rust. My only doubt came from the fact that my aunt, who gave me the hat, does not crochet. Then minutes later my cousin opened her gift, which was also a crocheted hat, this time undeniably Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Wood, confirming my assumption that mine was Vanna’s Choice in Rust.
It turns out that my aunt had bought them from Krochet Kids, an organization where women from northern Uganda crochet hats to support themselves and their families. (Click the related links below to learn more about Krochet Kids.)
Each hat has a tag with the woman’s signature in it so that you can look up who made your hat on their website. It is always really fun and exciting to see Lion Brand yarns used in people’s work in online marketplaces, and it was especially fun to see it used by this interesting organization.
To see some other great uses of Lion Brand yarns, check out the Lion Brand Gallery on Artfire. We also love seeing how you use our yarn, so be sure to post your most recent finished project in our Customer Gallery.
Related links:
Posted in Community, Yarns | 1 Comment »
Our friends at “afghans for Afghans”, a charity that donates handknit and crocheted items to the people of Afghanistan, is collecting donations of wool (or other animal fiber) sweaters, vests, mittens, and socks for their Youth Campaign. The shipment is going out in March so all donation must be received on or before March 1. Please consider whipping up a pair of mittens or socks in the next couple weeks and send it to the afghans for Afghan’s San Francisco collection center. If you are up for a challenge, consider finishing up a hibernating UFO or starting a child’s vest to send. Your wool gift will mean one more boy or girl is comfortable and warm in the harsh winters. Afghans for Afghans is looking for knits for boys and girls ages 7-14.
Click here for more information about the afghans for Afghans Youth Campaign. For general guidelines, including fiber requirements, and the mailing address please click here.
Posted in Community | 1 Comment »
In light of the current situation in Haiti, we want to turn our attention to this part of the world and how you can help out. We have received many inquiries about donating knitted or crocheted items to Haiti, but the most immediate concerns are basic needs, such as food, shelter, and health care. Therefore, in lieu of sending handmade items, we encourage you to make monetary donations to established charity and relief organizations already on-site in Haiti to help address these needs. Here is a list of a few relief organizations:
The American Red Cross is dispensing aid by building temporary shelters, providing medical assistance, and distributing clean water and medical supplies. Donate through their website or text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) is providing mobile hospitals, health care professionals, and medical supplies. Donate through their website. Popular knitter and blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is keeping track of how much money crafters have donated to the charity. Read more about her work with Doctors Without Borders here.
Save the Children is providing health care and resources to Haitian children and their families. Visit their website to donate, or text “SAVE” to 20222 to donate $10.
Founded by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is dedicated to distributing food, clean water, shelter, and first aid supplies. Donate through their website or text “QUAKE” to 20222 to donate $10.
Children’s advocacy group UNICEF is establishing safe space for children orphaned or separated from their families. Donate on their website or text “UNICEF” to 20222 to donate $10.
Posted in Community | 21 Comments »
On October 1st we announced we would be knitting and crocheting in the window of the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, to make scarves for charity. In addition, we announced we would be collecting donations of hats and scarves from our area customers to be donated to our local charity, Partnership for the Homeless. Many New York area yarncrafters participated, in addition, the blog sparked the interest of yarncrafters around the country to reach out to their own local charities through our Charity Connection.
8 weeks and nearly 170,000 of yards later, we collected from our customers:
170 Scarves
251 Hats
Click here to read about the Lion Brand Yarn Studio staff’s contribution.
It was amazing seeing all the great hats & scarves that were created, and experiencing the kindness and generosity of so many of our customers.
When we were packing up the scarves I recognized a few of my favorite Lion Brand yarns and Lion Brand patterns.
Here’s the Thermal Scarf, done in Fisherman’s Wool.
Here’s the Meandering Rib Scarf done in Wool-Ease
Posted in Community, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 21 Comments »
It’s our final scarf! Today, Claire shows off the simple-looking, but elegant rice stitch!
Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared with you some of the scarves we’ve been making for our Hat & Scarf Charity Drive at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Today, we finish our 8 days of scarves. Whether you’re making them as gifts or for charity, we hope you’ve enjoyed the inspiration & patterns for easy scarves from the Studio’s staff.
Claire’s Rice Stitch (shown in Vanna’s Choice Beige)
CO 25.
Row 1: P1 *K1tbl, P1, repeat from *.
Row 2: Knit.
Repeat these 2 rows.
Bind off and weave in ends.
*As with all of our scarf patterns shown, we only used one ball for our scarves, but you can use two and make them as long or short as you wish. Vanna’s Choice’s recommended hook size is J-10; its recommended needle size is US9.
Thanks for checking out our scarves. We hope that this handful of our scarves has inspired you this season. Come back after the holiday to see just how many scarves we made AND collected for the Partnership for the Homeless!
Posted in Community, Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff, Tips & How To | 6 Comments »
Andrea shows how versatile crochet can get with crochet checks today!
Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared with you some of the scarves we’ve been making for our Hat & Scarf Charity Drive at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Today, we continue with 8 days of scarves. Whether you’re making them as gifts or for charity, come back from now until Thanksgiving for inspiration & patterns for easy scarves from the Studio’s staff.
Andrea’s Crochet Checks (shown in Vanna’s Choice Burgundy)
Ch 20
Row 1: *(Sc tbl) twice, (sc tfl) twice, repeat from * to end, chain 1 turn
Row 2: *(Sc tfl) twice, (sc tbl) twice, repeat from * to end, chain 1 turn
Repeat rows 1 & 2 for body of scarf.
Bind off and weave in ends.
*As with all of our scarf patterns shown, we only used one ball for our scarves, but you can use two and make them as long or short as you wish. Vanna’s Choice’s recommended hook size is J-10; its recommended needle size is US9.
Posted in Crocheting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff, Tips & How To | 5 Comments »
On our journey through Scarf Land, we bring you to the classic cabled scarf…get the pattern below. 6 more days of scarf patterns left!
Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared with you some of the scarves we’ve been making for our Hat & Scarf Charity Drive at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Whether you’re making them as gifts or for charity, come back from now until Thanksgiving for inspiration & patterns for easy scarves from the Studio’s staff.
Gillian’s Cable Scarf (in Vanna’s Choice Taupe)
Cable stitch definition: CR4: slip two stitches to cable needle and hold in back, K2 , K2 from cable needle
CO 30.
Rows 1 - 8: Knit.
Row 9: K5, P4, K4, P4, K4, P4, K5.
Row 10: K9, P4, K4, P4, K9.
Row 11 & 13: Repeat row 9.
Row 12 & 14: Repeat row 10.
Row 15: K5, P4, CR4, P4, CR4, P4, K5.
Row 16: K9, P4, K4, P4, P9.
Repeat rows 9 - 16.
End with 8 rows of Garter stitch (knit every row).
Bind off and weave in ends.
*As with all of our scarf patterns shown, we only used one ball for our scarves, but you can use two and make them as long or short as you wish. Vanna’s Choice’s recommended hook size is J-10; its recommended needle size is US9.
Posted in Crocheting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff, Tips & How To | 3 Comments »
Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared with you some of the scarves we’ve been making for our Hat & Scarf Charity Drive at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Today, we’re kicking off 8 days of scarves. Whether you’re making them as gifts or for charity, come back from now until Thanksgiving for inspiration & patterns for easy scarves from the Studio’s staff.
Gina’s Crochet Basketweave (shown in Vanna’s Choice Linen)
Ch 21
Row 1: dc 19, turn
Row 2: ch 2 *dc through front post, dc through back post, repeat from * to end of row, turn
Row 3: ch 2 *dc through back post, dc through front post, repeat from * to end of row
Repeat rows 2 - 3 to end.
Bind off and weave in ends.
*As with all of our scarf patterns shown, we only used one ball for our scarves, but you can use two and make them as long or short as you wish. Vanna’s Choice’s recommended hook size is J-10; its recommended needle size is US9.
Posted in Community, Crocheting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff, Tips & How To | 2 Comments »
At the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, we’ve been making scarves for the Partnership for the Homeless, an organization here in NYC, as well as collecting scarf & hat donations from local yarncrafters. We’re having so much fun knitting and crocheting for charity in our window, we thought we’d share some of our patterns. Each one of us gets to make whatever we want. Sometimes we use the StitchFinder, and sometimes we make it up. In the next few weeks we’ll share some of the staff’s scarves.
As we said in our first post, each one of our window scarves is one ball of Vanna’s Choice, but you can make a longer scarf by using two balls. The recommended needle size for this yarn is US9 and the hook size is J-10, but as always, adjust up or down depending on the feel if your own fabric and your tension. With all of the scarves, you would bind off when you have yarn about 4 times the width of the scarf left. Then just weave in the ends, and you have a great scarf!
Patty’s Seed Stitch Scarf (shown in Magenta)
CO 24 stitches.
Row 1: *K1, P1*, repeat from *.
Row 2: *P1, K1*, repeat from *.
Repeat row 1 & 2 (purling the knits and knitting the purls).
Patty’s Garter Rib Scarf (shown in Wood’s Print)
CO 24 stitches.
Row 1: K2 *P2, K2*, repeat from *.
Repeat row 1.
Tracey’s Back Loop Crochet (show in Fern)
Ch 20.
Row 1 & 2: Dc across row.
Row 3: Dc through back loop.
Repeat rows 1 - 3.
Tracey’s Drop Stitch Scarf (show in Seaspray Mist)
CO 24 stitches.
Row 1 - 3: Knit.
Row 4: *K1, YO* repeat from * until last stitch, end K1.
Row 5: *K1, drop YO*, repeat from * until last stitch, end K1.
Repeat rows 1 - 5.
Come back starting next Monday for a new scarf pattern from the windows every day!
Related links:
Posted in Community, Crocheting, Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 3 Comments »
At the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, we’ve been making scarves for the Partnership for the Homeless, an organization here in NYC, as well as collecting scarf & hat donations from local yarncrafters. We’re having so much fun knitting and crocheting for charity in our window, we thought we’d share some of our patterns. Each one of us gets to make whatever we want. Sometimes we use the StitchFinder, and sometimes we make it up. In the next few weeks we’ll share some of the staff’s scarves.
Each one of our window scarves is one ball of Vanna’s Choice, but you can make a longer scarf by using two balls. The recommended needle size for this yarn is US9 and the hook size is J-10, but as always, adjust up or down depending on the feel if your own fabric and your tension. With all of the scarves, you would bind off when you have yarn about 4 times the width of the scarf left. Then just weave in the ends, and you have a great scarf!
Will’s Garter Stitch (shown in Antique Rose):
CO 24 stitches
Knit every row
Will’s Crochet Scarf (show in dusty blue)
Ch 21
Row 1 - 3: Sc across row.
Row 4: Dc across row.
repeat all 4 rows
Michelle’s Basketweave Scarf (shown in Taupe Mist)
CO 24.
Row 1: *K4, P4* repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2 - 6: Knit the knits and purl the purls.
Row 7: *P4, K4* repeat from * to end of row.
Row 8 - 12: Knit the knits, and purl the purls.
Repeat rows 1-12.
Michelle’s V-Stitch Scarf (shown in Dusty Rose)
Ch 21.
Row 1: Dc into 6th ch from hook, ch1, dc into same ch *sk 2 ch, (dc, ch1, dc) into the same ch. Rep from * 4 times. dc into last ch.
Row 2: Ch 3, turn. (dc, ch 1, dc) into each ch 1 space (5 times total). dc into the top of the turning ch of the row below.
Repeat Row 2 to desired length.
Are you in the NYC area? To find out more about how you can help us by donating knit & crochet hats and scarves, please click here.
Related links:
Posted in Community, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 2 Comments »
