Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Today’s guest post is by Nancy, our webmaster, who has spearheaded Lion Brand’s efforts to provide access to our patterns and resources for blind and visually impaired knitters and crocheters.
I’m the webmaster at Lion Brand and I want to make sure that everyone who wants to use our website is able to do so.
If you are not blind, you may have assumed that knitting is a hobby only for the sighted. But, what is the first thing anyone says about a nice piece of work? They say “Oh, that is so beautiful! Can I touch it?”
Knitting can be done by touch and is a popular hobby among those who are visually impaired. So, to make sure that our website works as well for those who are not sighted as for those who are, even though I’m a “sightling,” I participate in several Internet groups composed of visually-impaired people who knit or crochet. Many of our customers have commented on the clarity of explanation on the Lion Brand website; much of the credit goes to my Internet friends who have patiently explained to me what does and does not work on a website when the visitor cannot see.
A month or so ago, Davey Hulse, one of the members of the “BlindStitchers” Google group mentioned that he had written a book on how to knit because he’d found the beginning knitting texts so frustrating. I asked him for a review copy of The Touch of Yarn and was delighted to find that Davey is not only an unusually good knitter; he has written an unusually good book.
Lion Brand has long offered all free patterns in both large type and braille format. It seemed a natural extension to offer a book in the same way. The Touch of Yarn is the first downloadable book that we’ve ever offered and it is available both in Braille Ready Format (.brf) and in large type format (.pdf). As far as I know, we are the only yarn company to ever have done so.
But the book is not only for those who cannot see!
The Touch of Yarn is a beginning knitting primer that offers thorough explanations of each step in knitting. The step-by-step instructions describe every movement, hand position and what the step should look like, making it appropriate for both sighted and non-sighted knitters. The author says:
I want your experience to be better than mine was from the first day you pick up your first set of knitting needles, those strange little pointy sticks. I don’t want you to be one of the sad and frustrated people that try with confusing or unclear instructions and wind up throwing the whole wad of needles, tangled yarn and, dare I say it — painfully awful knitting — into a bag and giving it to a thrift store, like I almost did. There is no reason for it…now!
This book is designed to be what I wish I had had when I started knitting in August 2007. I wanted a quick, practical, approach to the basic skills, something that had no jargon and something that made no assumptions. I also wanted something that didn’t rely on pictures or videos. I’m totally blind, so those pretty illustrations didn’t help a bit until I called in my sighted wife who would try to make sense of what she was seeing and then to make a valiant effort to interpret it to me. My follow up questions would usually result in the answer: “I can’t quite tell from the picture.”
The Touch of Yarn is written in a casual tone and reads almost like the author were sitting by your side. Because the book is intended for beginners who may be working by themselves, it also covers topics that many of us take for granted: all about needles, how to select needles, yarn weights and the fiber that makes up yarn. It also has a section on helpful resources for blind and visually impaired knitters as well as some extremely practical advice on how to read instructions, how select a pattern and how to organize that yarn and needle stash that knitters of all vision and experience levels will find useful!
It is a startling fact that about 3% of the US population under the age of 65 — over 10 million people per the 2000 US census — are blind or severely visually impaired and that the level of visual impairment increases with age. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, close to 60% of people over the age of 85 suffer severe vision loss and many lose their vision altogether. The author notes:
It’s important to me that if you are reading this because you’re having vision problems that may lead to blindness that you come away knowing that there’s a way to do this art form even if you are totally blind. And, the joy in the art form is just as rich even though you can’t visually see the variegations or complex color changes.
Remember this: What do people want to do when they see that scarf or shawl?
They want to touch it.
The Touch of Yarn is sold in downloadable format on LionBrand.com
Related links:
Posted in Knitting, Products | 3 Comments »
We’ve created 5 more videos to help you learn to knit and teach others. This round of videos is all about increasing and decreasing. These techniques change the shape of your item, giving your garment a better fit. If you prefer written directions, visit our Learn to Knit page for detailed instructions.
Related links:
Posted in Knitting, Tips & How To | 6 Comments »
Videos are a great way to learn how to knit or brush up on your skills. If you’re already comfortable with these basic skills, videos are an easy way to help teach others the fundamentals of knitting, even if they live far away from you! We’ve created four short videos to help you cast on, knit, purl, and cast off. If you prefer written directions, visit our Learn to Knit page for detailed instructions.
Posted in Knitting, Tips & How To | 4 Comments »
Before working at Lion Brand, I only had limited experiences with handknit items. A friend of mine knit me a beautiful ribbed red scarf when I was in college, (It wasn’t until working at Lion Brand that I realized that the yarn used was Wool-Ease Thick & Quick) and later in college, my girlfriend knit me a scarf with Homespun. I kept thinking about how beautiful and amazing hand-knit pieces were, but could never wrap my head around the idea that two long cylindrical objects (needles) could take a piece of yarn and create something wearable. It was a task that I considered far too difficult for my clumsy, maladroit hands.
Not two weeks into working at Lion Brand, however, I noticed the incredible knitting and crocheting culture here. From Zontee (of the YarnCraft podcast) to Jackie and Karen (of the Design Department), I had a number of people telling me that knitting wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought. So one day after work, I sat down with Zontee and was ready to learn. She taught me how to cast on and how to knit. That night I knit a number of rows, and came back to work ready for something new.
After work that next day, Zontee was ready to teach me how to purl. A few rows later, I was knitting a stockinette stitch, and was excited to start my first real project. Looking for a fairly simple project that could help me hone my newly found knitting and purling abilities, the people in our Design Department found a great, easy 2 and 1/2 Hour Scarf for me to complete. This would be a little bit more complex, and used three strands weaved in as one, but was an exciting first project. The first day I was ready to choose my yarn. With the expertise of our creative director, Karen, I picked out three beautiful colors of Vanna’s Choice, and I was ready to go. Once again, Zontee helped me cast on and watched me knit my first few rows.
For the next few days, I could be found at home, on the train and after work working on this scarf. This was during NFL playoffs as well, so I was knitting while watching the Giants play – something that I would have never anticipated. The first few rows started off a little shaky (as you can see on the left side of the scarf), but after that, it was four and a half feet of pretty smooth sailing. When I got into trouble toward the end, Zontee also helped me to fix a stitch I’d dropped.
Truthfully, it was fun, exciting and really not as hard as I’d originally imagined. Though the “2 and 1/2 hour” label given to me probably did not take into account the fact that I had knitting growing pains, it still was a fairly quick project to do. With a little bit of help from everyone here, I now have a scarf that I’m proud to say I knit! I’ll admit though, it’s easier to knit a beautiful scarf when you’re surrounded by fantastic knitters.
Do you or someone you know want to learn to knit or crochet? Check out our Learn to Knit Guide and our Learn to Crochet Guide.
Posted in Knitting, Lion Staff | 4 Comments »
We were recently contacted by a blogger from Spain named Ariel, who authored a post about how to knit (como tejer in Spanish) over 2 years ago. Since he thought our own learn-to-knit instructions were very useful, he linked back to our website as a graphical resource that he found and used for these instructions, which are also available in Spanish.
All the content on LionBrand.com is provided to help you to grow as a crafter, whether that entails learning new stitches from the StitchFinder, discover more with YarnCraft, or connect with our Notebook. The great thing about the internet is that it is vast, yet completely interconnected - if you find something of ours that is useful, feel free to link to it and share with your friends or family! I hope you’re enjoying this journey as much as we are!
Posted in Community, Knitting, Yarniverse | Leave a comment »
