stitch pattern Archives

December 6, 2019December 6, 2019

Stocking Stuffers for Knitters and Crocheters

Stocking Stuffers for Knitters & Crocheters

Stuff a stocking with tools and notions for a fiber artist in your life. They’ll love you for it, and you may even get a handmade gift in return! Here are some suggestions for stocking stuffers for knitters and crocheters.

Scroll over the image for more information, or click the links to learn more.

This post contains affiliate links, which may provide a small income to me if you buy something, but won’t cost you anything extra.

Stitch Markers

Every crocheter and knitter uses stitch markers, and if they don’t, they should! And markers have a way of getting lost, so we always need more.

There are several different styles of marker. Even if the gift recipient has a current favorite, it’s always a good idea to try new products. Try them all!

Hint: Crocheters need markers that open. Look for the words “locking”, “split ring”, or “opening” in the title to make sure you are getting the right kind.

Scissors

A good pair of scissors is always appreciated. I’m always on the lookout for tiny scissors that pack easily but are sharp enough to cut well.

Wondering about scissors in your airplane carry-on? According to the TSA, scissors with blades less than 4″ are allowed. However, razor blade style circular thread cutters are not allowed.

Small Tools & Notions

Besides stitch markers and scissors, there are all kinds of little tools that make a fiber artist’s life easier. Here are some suggestions.

Hint: Check before buying tape measures. They either have WAY too many already, or not quite enough.

Note Cards & Paper

We can’t play with yarn ALL the time! Sometimes we have to write old-fashioned notes, on paper.

A Google search will lead you to lots of knitting and crochet-themed paper products. Here are some of my favorites.

Things to Drink From

It’s important for crafters to stay hydrated. Whether that’s water, soda, or wine, there are plenty of options for yarn-related beverage containers.

Once you open your eyes to the possibilities, there are lots of stocking stuffers for knitters and crocheters.

Want ideas for larger gifts? Read 12 Gifts for Knitters and Crocheters, and Sheep-Themed Gift Roundup.

If you find something I’ve missed, please share your ideas in the comments below.

August 30, 2019August 29, 2019

Announcing the Premiere of Stitch Makers Live Virtual Crochet Conference!

It’s been hard to keep quiet about this one, but now I can tell you about it!

What is Stitch Makers Live?

This post contains affiliate links, which is how I make money from teaching. Please buy your tickets from this site.

Stitch Makers Live is a 3-day virtual event for crocheters. It’s all the fun of a crochet conference from the comfort of your home!

Join 11 crochet bloggers and teachers LIVE on Facebook throughout the event. We’ll be hanging out with you, teaching and answering questions.

The LIVE portion runs Thursday, September 19 through Saturday September 21, 2019.

What Do I Get?

15+ LIVE virtual classes with industry experts
Exclusive bonus crochet pattern with each class (15+ patterns)
Discussion and socializing with other attendees and teachers
A virtual party at the end of the event
Full access to the recordings for one full year

And you’re invited!

Early Bird Tickets are only $55 now through Monday, September 2.

After Labor Day ticket prices will increase to $80, so buy now to lock in the lower price.

Tell Me More

Our experts are passionate about sharing their love of crochet with others. Whether your goal is to improve your skills in hat making, gather the bravery to begin your first sweater, or dive into short rows, our goal is to help you. We have handpicked these teachers and designers to bring you the best instructors on a variety of crochet topics.

Getting to an in-person conference can be a barrier for some crocheters. You want to improve your skills and meet new people, but work, family life and budget constraints can make that impossible. Stitch Makers Live is the affordable alternative, because you’re only paying for the classes, not for flights, hotel rooms, restaurant food, and so on.

Stitch Makers Live is the only crochet-only online conference, and we’d love you to be part of the excitement.

How Does Stitch Makers Live Work?

When you buy a ticket to Stitch Makers Live you’ll get access to a private Facebook group that is only open to Stitch Makers Live participants and teachers.

The event runs September 19-21. The live video classes and interaction with the teachers will take place on the private Facebook group. Instructors will be teaching and interacting with you from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm Eastern each of those days.

And we’ll be having a virtual party from 7:30 pm until 9:00 pm Eastern on Saturday night, September 21!

Edie, What Will You Be Doing?

I’ll be teaching techniques from The Village Hat pattern. You’ll learn my tips for great-looking crocheted motifs and join-as-you-go techniques. The Village Hat pattern includes both charted and text instructions, and it’s free with your Stitch Makers Live attendance.

Want to buy a yarn pack so you can make the hat using the same yarn I did? You can! It’s available now from Wonderland Yarns.

Join Stitch Makers Live

Have I convinced you about how excited I am to be a part of this brand-new venture? After all, I get to share my love of crochet from the comfort of my home, too!

Won’t you please join us? I can’t wait to see you there!

August 5, 2019August 5, 2019

Crochet Pattern: Crimson Cowl

Crimson Cowl Universal Yarn designed by Edie Eckman

Get ready for the cooler days of fall with my newest design for Universal Yarn: the Crimson Cowl. The cowl is shaped to drape gently around the neck and to sit lovingly over the shoulders.

The Yarn

Fibra Natura’s Cashmere Lusso from Universal Yarn is a luxurious blend of virgin cashmere and recycled cashmere. You can feel good about using yarn with recycled fiber, and the yarn feels great against the skin.

Cashmere yarn is lightweight but warm, and is lovely to crochet with.

You’ll need just a single skein in either this beautiful Anthurium color or one of the other on-trend colors available.

The Pattern

Crimson Cowl designed by Edie Eckman for Universal Yarn

There are no tricky stitches here. Just chains, single and double crochets worked in the round and fanning out to create a lovely drape from the neck down. Use a size H-8 (5 mm) hook or whatever size you need to get gauge.

The pattern for the Crimson Cowl is free at Universal Yarn’s website. The pattern is both written and charted.

Other Projects

For other small crochet projects to keep your neck and shoulders warm, check out these patterns. Hint: They all have text AND charted instructions.

Bobble Fringe Scarf

Cascade of Color Scarf

Easy-to-Wear Cowl

May 2, 2019April 30, 2019

Flame Stitch Crochet Stitch Pattern

Show your colors with the Flame Stitch crochet stitch pattern! There are several variations of this stitch, but they are all great ways to use different yarn colors. Try it in vibrant hues, or more subtle gradient shades.

This pattern uses American crochet terminology. You’ll be using single crochet, double crochet, and long double crochet (also know as spike double crochet). Watch the video below for more details.

This post contains affiliate links, which won’t cost you anything extra but may provide a small income to me.

You’ll need at least thee colors of yarn, in any weight, and a hook in an appropriate size for the yarn. The yarn I’m using is Red Heart Chic Sheep by Marly Bird. I’m using a 5.5 mm Clover Amour crochet hook.

Flame Stitch

Worked in three colors: A, B and C.

With A, chain a multiple of 4 + 2.

Set-Up Row 1 (WS): Working in back bumps of chains, sc in 2nd ch from hook, *ch 3, skip 3 ch, sc in next ch; rep from * across, changing to B on last st, turn.

Set-Up Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc throughout), *dc in next ch-space, skip 1 ch of foundation ch, dc in back bump of next foundation ch; dc in same ch-3 space**, ch 1; rep from * to last st, ending last rep at **, dc in last sc, turn.

Row 1 (WS): Ch 1, sc in first dc, ch 1, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc, *ch 3, skip (dc, ch 1, dc), sc in next dc; rep from * to last 2 sts, ch 1, skip 1 dc, sc in last st changing to C, turn.

Row 2: Ch 3, dc in next ch-1 space, *ch 1, skip 1 sc, dc in next ch-3 space, dc in next sc 2 rows below, enclosing the ch-3 and ch-1 spaces, dc in same ch-3 space; rep from * to last 3 sts, ch 1, skip 1 sc, dc in next ch-1 space, dc in last st, turn.

Row 3: Ch 1, sc in first dc, *ch 3, skip (dc, ch 1, dc), sc in next dc; rep from * across, changing to A on last st, turn.

Row 4: Ch 3, *dc in next ch-3 space, dc in next sc 2 rows below, dc in same ch-3 space; rep from * to last st, dc in last st, turn.

Repeat Rows 1-4, continuing in established A, B, C color sequence, for desired length. End with a RS row.

Last row (WS): Ch 1, [sc in each dc and long dc, and long dc in sc 1 row below each ch-1 space] across. Fasten off. Cut other two colors.

Love this stitch? Want to see it in action? Want to learn more crochet techniques like this? The Skill-Builder Crochet Blanket pattern offers lots of opportunity to grow your crocheting skills. Written text with helpful notes, video tutorials and charts combine to make it easy to learn more than you ever knew.

April 23, 2019June 17, 2019

Easy Lacy Rib Knitting Stitch Pattern

This Easy Lacy Rib knitting stitch pattern is perfect for warm-weather knitting. With only a 3-stitch and 4-row repeat, you’ll soon get into the rhythm of the pattern without having to think too much.

Can’t you see this as a cotton summer wrap, or perhaps as a tunic to wear over your tank top or swimsuit? Or use a lightweight yarn to create a simple shawl for cooler weather.

The yarn I’m using is Chic Sheep by Marly Bird from Red Heart. I’m using US 8 [5 mm] Clover Takumi bamboo knitting needles. The grey yarn pictured below is Nifty Cotton from Cascade Yarns.

Easy Lacy Rib

Cast on a multiple of 3 sts + 1.

Row 1 (WS): K1, *p2, k1; rep from *.
Row 2: P1, *yo, ssk, p1; rep from *.
Row 3: Rep Row 1.
Row 4: P1, *k2tog, yo, p1; rep from *.

Repeat Rows 1-4 for pattern.

That’s it! Watch the video for tips on how to read your knitting so that you can go “off pattern” and pick up wherever you left off.

Abbreviations
k: knit
k2tog: knit 2 sts together
p: purl
rep: repeat
ssk (slip, slip, knit): slip the next 2 sts one at a time knitwise, insert left needle into the fronts of these two sts, then knit them together through the back loops
st(s): stitch(es)
WS: wrong side
yo: yarn over

For more knitting stitch patterns, check out the list of stitch pattern dictionaries

April 16, 2019April 7, 2019

3-D Stripes Crochet Stitch Pattern

Why do plain crocheted stripes when you can do 3-D stripes? Add some texture and dimension to your fabric with this fun and easy crochet stitch pattern.

This pattern uses American crochet terminology. You’ll be using single crochet, double crochet, and treble crochet. You’ll also be using the front loop only/back loop only technique to create the pattern, with what I call a “folding single crochet”. I demonstrate both methods in the video below.

This post contains affiliate links, which won’t cost you anything extra but may provide a small income to me.

You’ll need at least two colors of yarn, in any weight, and a hook in an appropriate size for the yarn. The yarn I’m using is Red Heart Chic Sheep by Marly Bird. I’m using a 5.5 mm Clover Amour crochet hook.

3-D Stripes

Worked in two colors, a main color (MC) and a contrasting color (CC).

Special Stitches

Folding sc: Insert hook into back loops of next treble (BLtr) and into back loop of corresponding stitch on previous row, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops. Alternatively, you can insert the hook into both loops of the treble and into the back loop of the corresponding stitch. Just choose one method and be consistent with it.

With MC, chain any multiple.

Set-up Row (RS): Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across, changing to CC on last st, turn. The skipped chs count as a dc.

Row 1 (WS): With CC, ch 4 (counts as tr), BLtr in each st across, turn.

Row 2: Ch 1, folding sc in each st across, changing to MC on last st, turn.

Row 3: With MC, ch 3 (counts as dc) dc in each st across, turn.

Row 4: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each st across, changing to CC on last st, turn.

Rep Rows 1-4 for pattern.

Abbreviations
BLtr (back loop treble crochet): treble crochet into the back loop only
CC: contrasting color
ch: chain
dc: double crochet
MC: main color
sc: single crochet
st(s): stitch(es)
tr: treble crochet

https://youtu.be/-KrLJdNrR8o

For more crochet stitch patterns, look at my posts about Linked Trebles and Tower Stitch.