Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Thanks to everybody for helping me decide which colors to choose for my afghan. I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments and can’t want to see all the colorful combinations you choose for your projects. It seems like I got plenty of votes for colorway #4, and since that fits with my décor, I’ll go with that one. Here are some I didn’t choose, but that you might have:
Many of you are anxious to get started with learning a join-as-you-go method, but I’m going to ask that you be patient for one more week while we do some other steps.
Swatching Tells the Tale
As with any project, it’s important to do a swatch before beginning a project. A swatch gives us an idea of what size hook to use, how much yarn we’ll need, and what the likely finished dimensions of the afghan will be. Luckily for us, in this case the swatch may just be the first or second motif of our project.
I tried a couple of different hook sizes and settled on an I-9 (5.5mm) hook for the Vanna’s Choice yarn that I’m using. You may need a different hook size to get the ideal feel for your gauge and yarn. You want a motif that has a little bit of body without being too stiff or too floppy. If you’re not sure what size you need, start with the suggested size on the yarn band, but don’t hesitate to change hooks to get the ideal gauge for you.
My motif measures about 3.25″ across one edge, 6.5″ from point-to-point across the center, and 5.5″ from side-to-side across the center. I printed out some (really cool) hexagonal graph paper from Incompetech.com and used that to envision how the motifs will be arranged. Here’s what my hand-drawn worksheet looks like. You can see the size and shape of the afghan outlined in black.
Sketch of afghan outline
You can also see that I need 60 hexagons in all. My swatch weighs in at about 12 g, so 12g x 60 motifs = 720 g, or 8 balls of Vanna’s Choice yarn. However, since I’m using more than one color, and I’ll need some yarn for joining, I know that I’ll need more than 8 balls of yarn, not including the yarn needed to join the motifs together either as we go or at the end. At this point, I can’t be completely accurate in knowing what amounts I’ll need, because I don’t know how colors A, B and C will be used.
If you are using lots of colors, and just want to do a patchwork/freeform design without a plan, just start stitching. Leave a longish (12″) tail on the final round, and don’t weave in the final tail. You’ll understand the reason for this later.
Planning the Design
In my case, I want to have a plan for placement of my motifs. I still need to decide how I want to arrange the colors on each motif, and also how to arrange the motifs to form the overall design. I’ve started by stitching one motif. Because I’m still in the designing stage, I’m going to work the first few motifs in a variety of color arrangements. Let’s call my colors A (taupe), B (cranberry) and C (linen). I use a kind of shorthand to describe the color arrangements, with letter designations for each round. Here are the motifs I’ve done so far, although I could do even more variations with just these 3 colors.
CABA
BABA
BACA
Here’s where it gets really fun. I can do any of the following: (1) Decide to join my motifs once they are all complete. That means that right now I can just stitch individual motifs. I can decide on placement and color arrangements as I go, allowing the design to develop as I stitch. I don’t have to commit to a placement scheme until the last minute. I actually prefer this way most of the time. That’s because I don’t mind joining motifs at the end—it’s not that hard or time-consuming, I promise. (2) Use a random pattern of color variations throughout. (3) Pick one or two color arrangements and use them in alternating rows. (4) Scan the motifs, then print out the (now smaller than life-size) images on my color printer, making as many prints of each one as I choose. Then I can cut them out and play with the pieces until I have an arrangement I like. If I tape the pieces together I’ll have a template to remind me what to stitch next. (5) Do #4 above with color pencils or crayons. This can be lots of fun, and the kids can play, too! (6) Scan the motifs, and then manipulate them digitally using an image-editing software program. Since I’m trying to learn a new-to-me program, and since it makes nice prototype afghans for this purpose, this is the method I’ll choose here. You’ll see that they are just rough digital “sketches”, but that’s all I need at this stage. (Note to mention: this is just about the extent of my skill at this point. The strange white lines between the motifs are just my inexperience!) Here are some of the options I came up with, based on the scanned motifs above.
Version 1-Alternating Stripes
Version 2-note that this one has 3 more motifs than the sketch.
Version 3- an allover pattern of a single motif
Version 4-note this is a bit shorter than the sketch
Of course, there are many other options! This time, I’m going to let other members of my family decide which version they like, and which one I’ll make. I suspect I’ll be adding a tiny amount of a fourth color (sapphire?) to add some pop.
What’s next?
Whew! I’ve been doing lots of planning, but now I’m ready to start stitching in earnest. I’m going to make 4 or 5 complete motifs, but not join the final round. I’ll probably make some others through Round 3 only. Once I decide on my joining method (next week’s post), I’ll do the final round on those motifs as needed. Why don’t you do the same?
The Sliding Loop
One final thing for this week: I want to show you how I do the “sliding loop” technique for starting a motif in the round. Although the pattern says to start with a ch-4 ring, I prefer to start all my motifs with a sliding loop—a variation of what you may know as the magic loop. It is a bit tricky to learn, but once I mastered it, it became my favorite method. It makes an adjustable ring into which to work the first round, and I can make the ring as large or as small as needed to fit my needs.
Wrap the yarn 2 full times around your finger, with the yarn tail toward the tip of the finger and the working end of the yarn toward the palm.
Insert the hook under all 3 strands.
Pull the working yarn under the other 2 strands.
Pull the yarn through and allow the two strands to come together. Take the doubled loop off your finger.
Pinching the doubled loop to keep them from coming apart, chain the number called for in the first round. In our case, it will be ch 6.
Work all first-round sts into the doubled ring. Those of you with eagle-eyes will notice that this example is not exactly the same as yours-I’m only putting 1 chain between treble crochet sts, not 2 as called for in the pattern.
As you work, you may have to expand your doubled loop in order to get all the stitches in. Once you have completed the round, you’ll see that the doubled loop is still peeking between your stitches. Gently pull on your yarn tail and you’ll notice that one of the strands (probably the inside strand) will tighten. Go ahead and tighten that strand up, but not all the way. Once it is just barely visible, stop tugging on the yarn tail and instead pull on that tiny little tightened strand.
When you pull the inside strand, the outside strand will tighten, and you’ll get a big loop from the inside strand. It looks scary, but the next step is magic…
Now pull on the yarn tail once more and that big loop will magically disappear!
Once you have a nice tidy center, finish the round with a slip stitch. Again, note that this round only has 1 ch between each treble. Yours will have 2 chains.
Please post your questions or comments here, and feel free to chip in with helpful suggestions for each other. We’re in this together!
Related links:
Posted in Community, Crochet-Along, Crocheting, Tips & How To | 47 Comments »
On the latest episode of YarnCraft, my co-host Liz and I explore the topics of yarn as art (and even yarn as graffiti), and what it means to express yourself through the creation of objects as an artist and as a community.
We talk about groups like Knitta Please, artists like Robyn Love and some of the great fiber arts exhibits that have been taking place around the country, as well as organizations like Keep the Fleece, whose longest scarf project supports Heifer International, a non-profit aiming to end world hunger through self-reliance and sustainability. Since yarncrafts are most often thought of as home-arts suitable for making useable projects, it was interesting for us to think about yarn as a means to express oneself. In this episode, we also interview Brooklyn Tweed’s Jared Flood about blog as a vehicle of expressing himself through his knitting and photography. Click here to listen to this episode now [MP3].
We have previously featured art projects here on the Lion Brand Notebook, and it’s always interesting to see what people have to say. What do you think? Is there value to yarn used purely for art? Or do you feel that yarn should be used solely for things like garments? Share your thoughts here in the comments.
Related links:
Posted in Community, Crocheting, Knitting, YarnCraft Podcast, Yarniverse | Leave a comment »
It’s always great to see how many people are excited about sharing their designs with others, and with the advent of the internet, it’s easier than ever to share through Ravelry, your own blog or website, and online magazines. Still, there’s something great about seeing your design in a book.
If you’ve always wanted to see one of your creations in print, now’s your chance!
Our friends at Quarry Books are currently inviting knitters to submit their knit hat designs for a chance to be included in the forthcoming collection, 1000 Fabulous Knit Hats, presented by Annie Modesitt. There will be cash prizes for the top 3 designs, in addition to the excitement of having your work in this cool compendium.
Designs are due July 1st. Click here to see all of the details on their website [PDF].
Want to get more advice on taking your yarncrafting to the professional level? This August, Daniela and I will be giving a talk at the Crochet Guild of America’s Professional Development Day, a day for people who want to get involved in knitting and crochet on a professional level. (Click here for more info.)
Posted in Knitting, Yarniverse | 2 Comments »
I love it when my favorite blogs feature knitting and crochet in other forums. Check out 2Modern Design Talk’s feature on some gorgeous knit, crochet, and woven furniture! Click here.
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Yarniverse | 2 Comments »
BK4K (By Kids, For Kids) is our monthly kids’ newsletter that’s perfect for kids and the adults that craft with them, from parents and grandparents to teachers and scout leaders.
In the December issue of BK4K, we encourage you to share your creativity by making your very own own amigurumi. What is an amigurumi? The name comes from the Japanese words for “yarn” and “stuffed toy.” They are cute creatures like our lion (left).
AND with just a few basic skills, you can make your own fun creatures, from animals to people (like in this earlier blog post)!
In this issue, we share some basic shapes that can be used in your own designs. Rectangles, triangles, and circles are easy geometric shapes that can be combined to make an endless amount of creations. Decorate with i-cords (click here for i-cord directions) and French knots (click here for French knot directions). You can also add buttons, ribbons, pom-poms, and anything else you can think of!
If you’d like some inspiration, simply search LionBrand.com for amigurumi. We have dozens of free animal and food amigurumi patterns.
For more great kid-friendly ideas each month, subscribe to BK4K. If you already have a Lion Brand account, you can simply add it by clicking on “My LBY“, and selecting it under “My Subscriptions.”
Related links:
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Tips & How To | 1 Comment »
Swatching is an important part of the design process. Let’s say we decide to design a striped afghan knit with Vanna’s Choice. The variables are infinite! How many of the 49 colors do we want to include? How long should each stripe be? What colors should be placed next to each other?
When designing the afghan, we make all of these decisions, by experimenting with mini-versions of the ideas in the form of swatches so I can see how each possibility looks.
Color sequencing is very important and I’ll share with you the inner dialogue that I have as I knit. First I knit a few rows of one color. I started with Chocolate (bottom right of this swatch). It’s dark so I figure, “Let’s brighten it up a bit now.” So I try a stripe of Magenta. I like the way the two look together, but I think we need something at this point to give it some “pop” so I add just a little of the Pea Green color. Now I want to do something unexpected so I put in Cranberry, which doesn’t really “match” the Magenta but looks great just a little further on, in between the Mustard and the Silver Gray. Deciding when to shorten the stripe and when to lengthen it is part of the process and there is no formula. You think it through visually, execute it by trial and error, coming up with a combination that works.
We swatched up a number of other combinations that you can see below, but thought that the swatch above was the most successful one in terms of achieving the look we wanted.
It’s like making soup–start with a basic idea and start adding. “I think it would taste good with some onion. Carrots? Yes, but not too many–I don’t want carrot soup. The carrots add some color, body to the flavor of the broth, and a slight sweet undertone. Can I put in an unexpected spice like jalapeno pepper? Sure, but just a tad because, like the Pea Green color in our swatch, it’s meant to add a touch of excitement and could easily overpower the result.”
The way we do colorways is part of our mark and swatching is our form of research. When you try creating your own color combinations, you’ll discover a look that encompasses your favorite color combinations and expresses something unique to you.
Here’s why I like the swatch we went with for the afghan and the qualities that I believe make it a successful effort:
I hope this gives you some ideas and the confidence to do your own experimenting with color. Remember, there is no right or wrong combination. It all depends on the look you want.
This swatch includes some new colors of Vanna’s Choice, which we will be presenting in an upcoming newsletter. Visit this blog on June 20th to see the afghan we designed based on this swatch experiment.
This is the first in a series of posts about swatching. I’ll be sharing our swatch experiments with you and showing you how to work with color, stitches and pattern to enhance your creativity with yarn.
Posted in Community, Knitting, Lion Staff, Tips & How To, Yarns | 2 Comments »
Each year, Design Industries Foundation Fight AIDS (DIFFA) give select designers free reign to create lavish, amazing dining rooms for their signature “Dining by Design” fundraiser tour.
This year, the space by the Rockwell Group was a room knit from ceiling to floor. Check out these photos:
Posted in Yarniverse | 1 Comment »
