Many of my patterns for tiny people and other characters use the technique of joining legs together seamlessly into the piece. It’s a simple process, but one that’s best shown in a series of photos that I can’t normally fit into the space of a pattern. So here’s a tutorial on exactly how to do it.
Category: knitting
How to: Knitting with Double-Pointed Needles
Knitting with double-pointed needles, or DPNs, is an excellent way to knit 3-dimensional toys with minimal seaming. The needles, which are usually used 4 at a time, take a little getting used to, but it’s really less complicated that it looks! This tutorial will show you the DPN basics when knitting toys.
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How-to: Joining feet
I just got an email from someone who wanted some clarification on how to join the feet in the Mochimochi Reindeer pattern. It’s a very simple method, but not so simple to explain in words. Since I also use the same basic method for the Ninjabun and the Woodins patterns, it occurred to me that others might like a quick visual guide. Here goes!
How-to: Mattress Stitch
For a lot of knitters, seaming finished pieces together is their least favorite part of of a project—it’s time-consuming and can turn out so ugly. But for those who have joined the cult of mattress stitch, the technique of sewing pieces together on the right side for a virtually invisible seam, finishing is a relatively effortless and almost magical process. Mattress stitch is also a very handy skill for making great looking knitted toys.
Bonney’s Yarn Bombing
Don’t tell anyone, but the person who recently yarn bombed a small town near New London, NH, is my mother-in-law!
It’s interesting to me to see yarn graffiti in a non-urban setting. Instead of street art, it looks more like a sign of an ancient ritual, or some mischief done by forest sprites in the night. Or, as Bonney told me that a neighbor surmised, trees marked to be cut down. (Let’s just hope no one with a chainsaw makes that mistake.)
Bonney tagged seven trees in all, and it seems to have whetted her appetite for delinquent behavior, because she’s planning more yarn-related surprises for her town!