craft smarter
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.“
Henry Ford
Tunisian crochet can be baffling because it has a crochet hook (the familiar part) but the stitches are all kept on the hook (the different part). There are two basic stitches in Tunisian Crochet. Learn how to do one of them below. Foundation Row …
Knitting a Latvian Braid is such a pretty way to add a decorative detail. It's hard to believe it's made out of ordinary stitches but it is! You just need to strand it differently. But don't worry - we'll show you how. It's easiest to work this in …
Pom poms can add such a touch of whimsy. Add them to a hat, or the back of a footie or on the edge of a mitten. String a bunch of them together to make a pretty garland. Connect a bunch of very large ones together for a scarf. Just google pom pom …
Depending on the yarn and your knitting style, you might notice that the left-most knit stitch of your ribbing is bigger than the others. This can happen because you use more yarn when switching from a knit stitch to a purl stitch. That …
There are several ways to mark up a pattern when it's multi-sized so you more safely follow the numbers just for your size. They all take a couple minutes but it's time well-spent. We've all made the mistake of following the wrong size's numbers only …
Tip for Knitting or Crochet: Using Multiple Size PatternsRead More
Lots of people like the Long Tail CO and with good reason - it's easy to do once you learn and it looks good! Running out of yarn The one thing that troubles many people though is running out of yarn. There's an easy way around this though! Use 2 …
Tutorial: Never Run Out of Yarn with the Long Tail Cast OnRead More
Where the yarn is stranded - either on the top or the bottom - impacts how it appears. The only difference is which yarn was held as the dominant yarn. In this case, the red yarn was held as the dominant color. It might not seem like a big …
Stranded knitting, fair isle knitting, two-color knitting - whatever you call it, it's pretty. Here are a couple tips you can use to make it a bit easier for you. Use Wooden Needles Wooden needles grab your knitting and make it easier to hang on …
Counting if you have a lot of stitches to cast on can be a challenge. Losing count, worrying if you counted correctly, counting several times just to make sure. It can be enough to drive you batty! There's a way to make it all easier. Stitch …
Making a seamless join is a great way to knit a circular project look polished. And it's so easy! Alternative I've seen people use their cast on yarn to weave in the edge and make it look flat. But why do that if this is so easy? Setup: Cast on …
Knit thru back loop (ktbl or even kb) is a great way to add a little decoration or make ribbing look crisper. What it looks like Here it is in a single column. And in multiple columns. Bias One thing to take note of - it does bias so …
The long tail cast on gets a bad rep of not being stretchy enough for socks. Or people suggest casting on over 2 needles to make it stretchier. What doesn't work Casting on over two needles DOES NOT WORK. It just makes a loose cast on. What DOES …
Another way of working short rows in a pattern that calls for them is the Yarn Over Short Row (or YO short row). It can be substituted anywhere the w&t method is used, just “turn, yo” instead of “wrap and turn”. Read below for step-by-step …
Expand your knitting with yet another method of working short rows with the Shadow Wrap Method. It's another way to work short rows without a wrap and turn. Even if you love one particular method, it's good to know other options because sometimes …
One of the things I really like about knitting is that there is next to never, only one way of performing a technique. Take short rows for example, ask several different knitters and you will find several different ways of adding fabric to your work …
