Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
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 »
We’ve been knitting and crocheting in the Lion Brand Yarn Studio’s window for a week now, and we love all of your reactions. People of all ages have been stopping by to see if our knitters and crocheters are real! Because our building is next to a daycare center, we’ve had lots of excited children stop by the window every day. Keep stopping by to see how many scarves we’ve made, and don’t forget to say hello to the person in the window!
Related links:
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 3 Comments »
This November, the Lion Brand Yarn Studio 
celebrates its first birthday. It’s been a fantastic year, so we want to celebrate by giving back to the New York City community. From October 1 to November 22, we’ll be knitting and crocheting scarves in the front window of the Studio. Each scarf will be donated to the Partnership for the Homeless, a 501(c)(3) organization, to keep New York’s homeless individuals and their families warm this winter.
You’re invited to help New York families, too! Simply drop off your handmade scarf or hat at the Studio by December 1, and we’ll ship them to the Partnership for the Homeless. You can also receive some great discounts for your kindness. Click here for more information.
So swing by the Studio to say hello to Andrea (pictured), me, and all the other crafters as we give to a worthy cause!
Posted in Community, Crocheting, Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 5 Comments »
For those of you who haven’t had a chance to visit the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in New York, check out this video from our friends at Craft!
Via CRAFT
Related Posts:
Posted in Lion Brand Yarn Studio | 2 Comments »
A new pattern came out, the Thermal Scarf, and it had a stitch that I wanted to try. It was a scarf using front post double crochet. I grabbed a ball of Cotton-Ease from our demo bin of yarn and gave it a try. I wanted to make sure I understood the pattern in case any of our customers asked about it. I was having so much fun I couldn’t stop. I took it to home and I realized I was getting close to the end of the ball, but alas, I had no idea what the dye lot was. I had two choices, rip it out and start again, or improvise.
I decided to look up how to do crochet button holes. I put in two button holes, picked up some cute buttons from the Studio and turned it into a one ball neck warmer. I love it.
Posted in Crocheting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Tips & How To | 1 Comment »
Following a pattern as written is great, but sometimes you want to mix it up a bit. Don’t be shy, jump in. Here are two different takes on one of our most popular patterns, the Weekend Retreat Cardi.
Michelle followed the pattern as written, but substituted Lion Cotton, color Sagebrush. She really like this yarn and wanted to find a simple stockinette pattern that would really show it off.
How cute is she?
The next take on the same pattern comes from one of our customers, Jodi. She described to me a sweater that she wanted. I suggested she start with the Weekend Retreat Cardi, but then instead of going to rib she knit the feather and fan pattern for the bottom. I think it turned out great.
Before you say, “I could never change a pattern like that,” note that Jodi took her very first knitting lesson at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in February. She has only been knitting for five months! If she can do it, you can do it.
Posted in Community, Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, Lion Staff | 10 Comments »
At the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, we use our Silver Reed Knitting Machine for many things. We teach private lessons on it, we use it to make objects for our windows and displays. This adorable headband was made on the machine by knitting strips of Microspun and strips of Moonlight Mohair and then braiding them.
If you want to read about our gift wrapping, made on the machine, check out the Studio Blog post about it.
Posted in Knitting, Lion Brand Yarn Studio | 1 Comment »
Here in the Studio, we have a customer, Jodi. She’s a great gal, great knitter, but she has one terrible habit. Dumping lots of yarn in a bag and dragging it all around New York City until it becomes a tangled mess:
She came in the other day and our trusty Michelle helped her with her mess. I told them I call this picture
“The Tangler and the Untangler (or friends don’t let friend’s tangle their yarn)”
If this is a problem for you, and you’re in the NYC area (or stopping by on vacation this summer), stop by the Studio and pick up a project bag (or two) to keep your yarn organized, OR read some of the “tips of the day” from customers on LionBrand.com for useful storage ideas.
Posted in Lion Brand Yarn Studio | 8 Comments »
The Lion Brand Yarn Studio was closed for part of the day yesterday because we had a special guest. It was an exciting day for us but we don’t want to give away the surprise just yet. In our March 20th newsletter we’ll give readers a sneak preview (before it goes public!)
Posted in Lion Brand Yarn Studio | 8 Comments »
If you were not able to attend the customer preview days at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, we hope you’ll make plans to visit over the next few months. You can check out the Studio web site for a schedule of events and classes, which we will be expanding in the beginning of the year. Check out this Flickr page to see some photos from the preview days.
Posted in Community, Lion Brand Yarn Studio | Leave a comment »
