Learn to use your Martha Stewart Crafts™ Knit & Weave Loom Kit to make a basic rubber band bracelet. Click here to get the written instructions for this project. If you’re reading this blog post in your email or an RSS reader, please click on the title to view the full blog post and video…

Technical editor and yarncrafting expert Kj Hay joins us for a series on understanding the different elements of patterns. Click here to read her earlier blog posts. Gauge is very important in all but the simplest designs. The gauge at which you work determines the finished size of the piece and the firmness of the fabric. If your gauge…

Technical editor and yarncrafting expert Kj Hay joins us for a series on understanding the different elements of patterns. Click here to read her earlier blog posts. Hooks and Needles The sizes of the hooks or needles listed in a pattern indicate the size used by the designer to achieve the listed gauge and to complete the item shown.…

Technical editor and yarncrafting expert Kj Hay joins us for a series on understanding the different elements of patterns. Click here to read her earlier blog posts. Crochet and knit patterns list a specific yarn and the number of balls of yarn needed. Using the specified yarn is the best way to achieve the intended results. If…

Working in the yarn industry, I constantly learn from the experts that I meet on the job. One of my favorite tips is from designer Sally Melville. (I’ve interviewed her twice for our podcast, YarnCraft—check out the first and second episodes featuring Sally). How often have you looked at a pattern and thought, “That’s definitely…

Technical editor and yarncrafting expert Kj Hay joins us for a series on understanding the different elements of patterns. Read the first installment here. Sizes and Finished Measurements It is important to know whether a throw will barely cover your lap or could easily cover a compact car. It is even more important to know whether a…

The provisional cast on is, as the name implies, a temporary cast on row. It is done with waste yarn so that you can take it out later and have “live” stitches in your working yarn. Waste yarn should generally be a contrast-color yarn (so that it’s easy to locate) and in a smooth, non-grippy fiber…

Technical editor and yarncrafting expert Kj Hay joins us for a series on understanding the different elements of patterns. Knit and crochet patterns provide a wealth of information. At first, understanding written instructions can be as intimidating as learning a foreign language or deciphering a secret code. Over the next several weeks, we’ll discuss different…

Throughout this season, we’re reposting some of our favorite columns by Barbara Breiter, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knitting & Crocheting, previously featured in our Weekly Stitch newsletter. Last week, I wrote about pattern terms and concepts people often find confusing. This week, I am covering a couple more concepts that you will often encounter. Parentheses, brackets, asterisks,…

You, our readers, asked for it and we’re happy to oblige! Designer and teacher Heather Lodinsky joins us for a new article on understanding the fundamentals of your knitting. Knowing exactly where you are in a knitting project requires knowing where you have been. “Reading” your stitches by identifying a knit versus a purl stitch is…