Simply Crafted Knitting

Freeform Spinning

While I was searching the Internet for information on spinning, I stumbled across a couple sites with incredible yarns. These spinners have taken the rules of traditional spinning and applied them in new and creative ways to create unusual novelty yarns: ones with giant slubs; spun-in flowers, pompoms, beads and uncarded locks of fiber; intentionally overspun crinkles; and spikes of cut commercial yarns, to name only a few. Maybe it is just my new interest in freeform knitting and crochet, but these sites seem to offer the spinning equivalent: freeform spinning!

• Pluckyfluff (even more inspiration from Alexis Boeger, the author of the book Handspun Revolution - see below)
• Houndscroft Farm (items inluding handspun yarn, spinning kits, and plus an online newsletter, Twisted, that shows how she made some of the yarns)
• Pink Peppercorns, (handspun yarn plus some hand-dyed ribbons and other items)
• Lampe's Lumps (hanspun yarns and other items)
• Fun with Yarn (both handspun yarn and hand-dyed fiber)
• The yahoo group Spinning_on_the_edge
• The live journal group A Weekly Fiber Extravaganza

and some sites with wonderful freeform crochet creations made from these yarns:

• fuzzybumblebee (both wild freeform crocheted items and hanspun yarn)
• Ana Voog's hats (an example of one of her hats is also in the back of the book Handspun Revolution)

All of these amazing yarns inspired me to purchase two new books from Amazon: Spinning Designer Yarns by Diane Varney and Handspun Revolution by Alexis Boeger.

Spinning Designer Yarns is the most useful book I've found on designing and spinning yarns. Not too long or complicated for a beginner, but still packed with enough information to keep me spinning happily for quite a while to come.

The first chapter, General Considerations, includes information on wheels, sampling (spinning small amounts and testing out the yarn - the spinner's equivalent to gauge?), finishing yarns, and integrating commerical yarns. I expect that the information on wheels will be useful once I'm ready to get a wheel, and the section on sampling will be more relevant once I am ready to spin a larger quantity of yarn with a project in mind. But for now, the best part is Diane Varney's suggestion to add in commercial yarns as cores and binders for fancy handspun plied yarns. How freeing! I was so caught up in getting the handspuns "right" that this hadn't occured to me. Among other things, I've found that plying commercial yarns with handspun ones is a great way to test fancier plying methods without worrying about my newly handspun yarn falling apart when I go back and  re-ply a section that didn't work as I would have liked.

Anxious to start designing yarns, I skimmed the next several several chapters -- Thinking About Design, Spinning Control, Color, Fiber and Color Blends. Some chapters, such as the one on spinning control, overlap with what I'd already read in Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' High Whorling: A Spinners Guide to an Old World Skill and the ones on color and fiber blends are essentially a shorter version of what Deb Menz explains so well in Color in Spinning.  Other chapters, such as the one on design, will definitely be useful once I'm ready to come up with a project and spin a yarn for it, rather than my current approach of spinning something and then letting the finished yarn inspire the knitting  project. 

The information in the longest chapter, Making Yarn, is reason enough to buy this book. Diane Varney begins by encouraging the reader to dissect commercial yarns and see how they are spun, an excellent idea. I pulled out some of the more unusual yarns from my stash and kept them with me as I read through the rest of the chapter. How wonderful to really understand how these yarns are created, and what a great source of ideas! The chapter moves methodically through sections on textured singles yarns (curly, fuzzy, and slub yarns), plied yarns (basic, Navajo), corespun yarns (this form of plying seems to have lots of potential for fun yarns: spiral, boucle, double wrap, snarl, knop, tufted, and crepe yarns), and finally on to items that can be spun in to the yarn (feathers, cut pieces of yarn, beads, sequins, rags and ribbon, metallic yarns, etc.). By the time I had read this chapter and tried out some of the techniques, I felt like I had taken a huge leap forward in my spinning.

The other book that I got, Handspun Revolution by Alexis Boeger of www.pluckyfluff.com, takes the basic rules of yarn design that Diane Varney explains so well and elevates them to a whole new level.  The book is filled with luscious pictures of 22 different yarns, general directions on how to duplicate these effects, and short but useful discusions on the wheels, materials, and methods (carding, setting the twist) used to create the yarns. It is difficult to choose, but my favorite yarns include:

I've made something like Candy Stripe by letting a thinner yarn or thread wrap around a thicker handspun core, but this one is spun as a single with stripes of different color fiber drafted together, and the thin thread held slightly away so that is stays on the outside of the yarn. This is definitely on my list of yarns to try.

Scraps is a wonderful, lively mix of colors; it starts with cut up scraps of yarn added to the carded wool and then spun in, using the wool to hold everything together. I've tried this technique in more subdued colorways: see Green Monster and Poseidon below.

Sequins - Alexis Boeger offers several methods for spinning in sequins. I haven't tried any of them with sequins yet, but did find that they worked well with beads (see Princess below), and I assume would work equally well for other items.

The colorful, circus-like Superslub is another one that I'm itching to try. It is a lovely singles yarn with giant slubs, all done in barberpole twists of multiple colors.

In Mohairy, the slightly transluscent mohair is fuzzed out around a colorful core, creating a beautiful yarn with bits of the core peeking through in random places.

Birdsnest consists of a fiber spun around an elastic core, creating a wonderful twisty mass. I'm not sure how knitting with it would be, but might be fun! Testing it out will have to wait for a bit; it seems difficult to do with a handspindle, and may have to wait until I am a bit more accomplished.

For Shag, she cut short, even lengths of various yarns and then spun them into an amazing, shaggy yarn by spinning sections of cut yarn beteen two core yarns. Yet another one I can't wait to try.

Beehive alternates sections of handspun coiled tightly around a thread core with sections of thread wrapped loosely aroun the hanspun yarn. The pictured yarn -- a great, green yarn with coiled sections in salmon and pink --  would make me want to take up spinning if I hadn't already.

My final favorite is Flowers, a cute yarn in which flowers made from differently colored rovings are spun right in to a neutrally colored singles yarn. I'd love to try something like this and then knit it up into a child's hat or scarf.

Creating My Own Freeform Yarns
Inspired by these two books and the many websites, I set out to create my own adventurous yarns. I began by combining fibers, which led to a rather painful lesson on the differences between combing and carding. When I was at Carolina Homespun, the owner, Morgaine, had effortlessly demonstrated both carders and combs, making both seem equally simple. And the pictures in Color in Spinning also seemed to confirm that either method would work to combine fibers. Well, since I had been spinning mostly combed top, I figured that I should start with the combs. Big, big, mistake.

First of all, once I got home and tried spinning the carded bats from Crosspatch Creations, it turned out that carded wool was just as easy to spin (see pictures at the end of my Adventures in Spinning post) as combed wool.  And then there were the combs -- once I tried to use them, the evil nature that they had sucessfully hidden while at the store emerged. After their nasty, sharp teeth drew blood for the 32d time (I am not exaggerating here - I counted), I buried them at the bottom of my spinning basket, put band aids on the three worst gouges, and headed to the pet store. One problem with Carolina Homespun is that it isn't that close and has very limited hours. So I figured that two large dog brushes could fill in as carders for the moment. What a relief! Carding, even with dog brushes, is much, much easier (and less painful) than combing.

Finally, after reading the Spinning Designer Yarns and Handspun Revolution, it turns out the carding also is the way to go for adding little bits of yarn and other fun things before spinning. Yet another count against the combs; I really wish I'd read these books before I bought the combs.

With the carding moving along quite nicely, I raided my yarn stash and other craft supplies for materials. I pulled together a pile of yarn scraps, discontinued yarns that might work well for plying, some blue silk thread that had been living in my sewing basket for at least 10 years, some glass beads, and some scraps of a green knit fabric scattered with random blobs of fur.

Green Monster
I started this guy by spinning a thinnish yarn in shades of hand-carded green Merino and Corriedale wools mixed with scraps of silk and novelty yarns and long strips of the green knit fabric. In some sections, I tried adding the scraps in as nubs to add a bit more texture. I then plied the resulting yarn with a ball of discontinued green Artfibers Tiara to make about 100 yards of soft, bulky-weight yarn. I am thinking of combining the yarn with some Cascade Indulgence (superfine alpaca and angora) and Kidsilk Haze (superkid mohair and silk) in shades of spring green, along with the rest of the handspun green boucle wool from Magry Knits that I used to make my mossy wrap.
   

Poseidon and Neptune
I made the base handspun yarn for Poseidon in much the same way, spinning together blue and turquoise Merino and Corriedale wools with scraps of fuzzy yarn. When I finished spinning yarn, I plied it with a turquoise silk yarn so that I could try making knops with both the silk and then the handspun yarn - quite fun! Finally, I plied the resulting yarn with a the thin, blue silk thread.

   

When I finished Poseidon, I still had a large pile of extra yarn scraps, some turquoise silk yarn, and a good amount of silk thread left over. To finish these off, I plied together the yarn scraps and the silk yarn, and then plied them again with the silk thread to create another version of the yarn that I named Neptune. I plan on using both yarns together with some blue Mirella,  Phos (scratchy but beautiful), and Tsuki, all from Artfibers.

Princess
Princess is my first attempt at a yarn with beads -- something that requires quite a bit of patience. I started by carding plum and fuscia Merino and Corriedale wools, and then got out some pink and white glass beads that I had left over from a tiara that I made to go on a cake. The most time-consuming part was stringing individual beads onto roving and groups of beads onto lengths of laceweight yarn. Once I had the beads ready to go, spinning them together with the fiber wasn't that bad. To add some bulk, I plied the resulting yarn with some discontinued fuscia Artfibers Tiara (silk and superkid mohair). This has the added benefit of coordinating the yarn with the remaining Tiara yarn, as well as some discontinued metallic Artfibers starlet.

Now, on to figuring out what to make with all of these creations!

Not Your Usual Knits: Alterknits and Knits with a Twist

Leigh Radford's Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises is not what I expected, but I like it. I think I had assumed that the book would take specific knitting techniques and show ways to take them in new directions. Maybe something like The Art of Knitting, enhanced with hand-knitting directions and some patterns. Instead, Alterknits reminds me of Erika Knight's Simple Knits with a Twist: Unique Projects for Creative Knitters, but with more projects that I could see myself doing…or at least using as starting points. Both books encourage creative approaches to knitting and provide an array of imaginative, unusual, and sometimes inspiring knitting patterns. Together, the books also illustrate how different designers using many of the same techniques can achieve very different results!

I tend to look at patterns with an eye for the techniques and how they are used, rather than by colorway (since I will most likely modify that anyway). So I found browsing through both books an interesting experience. Simple Knits with a Twist is organized by color family/style, while the pattern order in Alterknits seems even more random. Certainly not the technique-centered approach used in Loop-d-Loop  and Unexpected Knitting! But still quite enjoyable once I got myself into the mindset that I use when I'm wandering through a thrift shop looking to unearth various treasures.

Patterns with Embellished Knitting
One obvious way to enliven knitting is to add things after the fact – duplicate stitches in contrasting colors, embroidery stitches, threaded ribbons, etc. In Simple Knits, Erika Knight uses duplicate stitch to add more color to some projects such as the Rose Chintz Cushion and the Barcode Dog Coat. The rose cushion and a Beaded and Sequined Muffler also included sewn-on sequins.

Alterknits has a bit more variety. Projects laced with ribbon include the Faux Ruffled Tank with ribbon threaded through a ribbed panel and the very creative Lace-Up Scarf, Shawl and Wrap that has a scarf and shawl that can be laced together to make a larger wrap. Leigh Radford also includes several projects embellished with embroidery: felted PDA Cases, Cardigans for Clark and Lily, and Abstract Cardigan.

I like the idea of using sequins or beads sparingly to emphasize a stitch or design detail on a project, but am not sure I'd want sew them on. I’d much rather knit them in as I go and avoid the finishing later! Leigh Radford does include a Skull Cap with knit-in beads, but I'll probably still reach for Jane Davis' Knitting with Beads when I want inspiration and instructions on adding beads or sequins. The lacing ideas in Alterknits were also quite interesting. I could see adding a faux ruffle with threaded ribbons, and have started wondering how else lacing could be applied – laced cables and gathered sections created by lacing ribbon through purl bumps or eyelets come to mind.

Patterns with Fabric Paint
One Alterknits (Dylan's Baby Blanket and Hat) pattern adds painted dots after the knitting is finished, while a Simple Knits pattern (Painted Felt Cushion) takes the very different approach of painting fabric before cutting it into strips and knitting it.

I can't think of instances where I'd want fabric paint on top of knitting, but painting on dyes might be interesting…sort of like painting yarn, I suppose. I remember reading a Threads article about someone who actually machine knit up fabric, dyed it, unraveled it, and then reknit it into fair isle garments. [Just checked – it was Color Blending by Gillian Bull in the compilation Colorful Knitwear Design.] That method sounds like too much work for me (at least until I break down and get a knitting machine), but a simplified version of just painting on dye might be interesting. Maybe dip dyed hems and sleeves? Or subtle painted-on dye to emphasize design details? Some of Jeung Hwa Park and Mie Iwatsubo's Shibori-felted items combine dye in lovely ways with fabric manipulation and felting.

Erika Knight's technique of painting fabric and then cutting it into strips could also lead to some creative applications.  The pattern recommends painting on felt, but I could see painting on any number of fabrics. I had good luck recently with a knit fabric that I cut in strips and then spun with other fibers, and had been thinking about just knitting the fabric strips without spinning them first. Painting the fabric before cutting it could add all sorts of possibilities…

Patterns with Fabric Pieces
Both books have patterns that combine sections of knitting with sections of woven fabric. One Alterknits pattern – Multilayered Tube Scarf and Shawl – adds a layer of fabric inside a tube of stockinette knitting. Simply changing the fabric could create a whole different look – an intriguing idea! If I made this, I might change the pattern by substituting a more open stitch, to better show off the fabric.

Alterknits (Modern Bustier, Velvet Trimmed Raglan Pullover) and Simple Knits with a Twist (Patched Throw, Denim beanbag) also both have patterns that attach fabric (or ribbon) directly to knitting. These don't appeal to me in the same way, mostly because I love how knitting stretches to fit (with the exception of felted knits, of course!) I suppose there could be cases where sewing on woven fabric or ribbon trims that eliminate knitting's built-in elasticity could be a design feature. Or maybe the knitting could be combined with a commercially knit fabric or one of the new woven ones with stretch. But in general, if I want something not to stretch or to combine stretchy and non-stretchy areas, I'd probably just skip the knitting and sew the whole thing.

Patterns Knit with Non-Traditional Materials
The two books also include a variety of patterns for items knit with materials other than yarn. Leigh Radford provides patterns for a Silver Squares Necklace, a Herringbone Leather Cuff, a Crepe Paper Crown, Mixed Media Pillows, and a Bridgetown T-shirt Rugs. Erika Knight has patterns for a Recycled Plastic Caryall, wire Beaded Napkin Rings, Satin [Ribbon] Boudoir Slippers, Molded Wire Bowls, and a tulle Flower Trimmed Evening Bag.

What a wonderful range of materials in these patterns: metal wire, leather cord, crepe paper, t-shirt strips, plastic bag strips, ribbon, tulle…there are so many possibilities there! Knitting with wire is one of those things that's been on my project list for ages. I've also been wondering what would happen if I knitted with wire and yarn together…could I create a moldable fabric – sort of like those ribbons with wire edges?  And Leigh Radford's crepe paper crown is one of my favorite patterns in Alterknits. It seems wildly impractical – I can see the dye running out and the crown disintegrating if it got wet. But I still find it very appealing! I'll definitely have to try it at some point, maybe embellished with a large crepe paper flower or two.

Patterns for Adventurous Knit Items
Alterknits has several patterns that illustrate how breaking knitting "rules" and moving beyond traditional construction can result in interesting items. The felted Laptop Cases pattern simply turns the work on its side to allow stripes to run vertically and the Abstract Cardigan combines a variety of yarns and gauges. There is also a Unisex Deconstructed Pullover that combines a variety of non-traditional techniques, including exposed seams, asymmetrical stitch and color use. I like the concept, but find Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop experiments in the same vein much more to my taste. Similarly, I much prefer Teva Durham's Steek Tunic to Erika Knight's Laddered Sweater.

Both Alterknits and Simple Knits with a Twist also include patterns for knit versions of things that aren't usually knit. Alterknits has patterns for a Custom Cushion, a Felted Bulletin Board, Paper Lanterns (very cute, but I'd worry about flammability), a rug knit from strips of T-shirts, and a Screen Door. Simple Knits with a Twist includes patterns for a Retro Poodle Bottle Cover, a Woven Woolen Rug (a rug is a bit much for me, but a felted version as a trivet might be interesting), an Aran Armchair Cover (lovely, but more cable knitting than I would ever have the patience to do), a Hanging Basket Liner for plants, and a Gardener's Kneeler. I like the idea of using knitting where I wouldn't normally think to use it, but I'm not sure any of these ideas are for me. I'll need to keep thinking about where I could add some knitting…

Patterns Using Thrift Store Finds Finally, both books have patterns for repurposing thrift store finds with no hand-knitting required. Simple Knits with a Twist includes a pattern for Customized Cushions, while Alterknits includes a felted Zigzag Sweater Blanket, Recycled Sweater Totes, and a Decoupage Dress Form covered with old yarn labels.

I'm about halfway through a throw made from felted squares of discarded sweaters…maybe these patterns will inspire me to finish!  These patterns also got me thinking about commercially knit wool fabrics, which can also be quite fun to felt. I've found them particularly useful as a way to try out Shibori techniques or to act as a filler when I can't find the right color felted sweater to use in a throw or pillow.

Moving Beyond The Patterns In addition to patterns, Leigh Radford also intersperses Alterknits with "Creativity Exercises" that for the most part focus on topics such as who would you invite to your dream knitting party, what would be dream knitting day, how to host knitting groups where everyone chooses materials from a bag, what you'd take to knit on a desert island, and so on. These are fun to think about, and could certainly get readers out of a rut and encourage creativity. My only quibble is that I would have loved to see other creativity exercises that challenge the reader to think about how they could actually alter the patterns presented in the book.

Unexpected Knitting

Well, going through The Art of Knitting got me to pull out Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting again. When I started rereading it, I realized that like Teva Durham and Barbara Walker, Debbie New discusses her patterns and knitting techniques in a way that inspires me to adopt her adventurous approach to knitting.

Unexpected Knitting covers a range of techniques, some of which I think she introduced previously in knitting magazines. The book is divided into ten "galleries," each of which introduces a new technique -- swatchless knitting, free form knitting, scribble lace knitting, swirl knitting, sculptural knitting, virtual knitting, cellular automation knitting, ouroborus knitting, labyrinth knitting, and miscellaneous. Each gallery begins with an introduction that includes both examples of Debbie New's own work and her detailed explanation of the technique; she follows with several patterns that demonstrate the technique.

Although the patterns are amazing (if not all necessarily my taste), it is really the pictures of Debbie New's creations and the sections describing each new technique that make the book one of my favorites. I've definitely been inspired by several techniques in the book, most notably scribble lace knitting (which is essentially knitting with stripes of thick and thin yarns on large needles) and swirl knitting (creating sinuous curves and swirls by decreasing or increasing across a row). These two techniques inspired two freeform capes:Cobweb and Wedding.

The Art of [Machine] Knitting

I've been going through The Art of Knitting: Inspirational Stitches, Textures, and Surfaces page by page for the past couple of days. The book combines close-up photos of various knit swatches with pictures of natural elements (rocks, water, etc.). In some cases, it can be difficult to see where the knitting stops and the background begins. Overall, the book provides inspiration rather than specific directions on how to duplicate the techniques. It also tends to focus on machine knitting more than hand knitting.  Still, it has definitely gotten me thinking about some new things to try and even possibly experimenting with machine knitting one of these days.

Barbara Walker's Books

A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, as well as Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and Charted Knitting Designs: A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns are my favorite sources for stitch patterns. Aside from the vast array of patterns, the best part of the books is the the commentary on each of the patterns. It's like having access to someone's personal notes on how each stitch knits up, how it could be used, and how it could be varied.

There is also a fourth pattern book, A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns that I don't have (yet). I also love another of her books, Knitting from the Top.

Loop-d-Loop

I am so happy that Teva Durham has her own book, Loop-d-Loop -- with over 40 patterns! I love how her modern stylish (but not too trendy) patterns tend to introduce a new way of looking at some aspect of knitting. Some of the patterns aren't new; I already own some of the ones that were on her website, www.loop-d-loop.com. But the beautiful photos and her commentary on how she approached each design still make the book well worth it.

Getting Started...

I've been meaning to get around to starting a blog for a while now, and what better time to start than when on vacation? It's actually more of a stay-in-town type of vacation...time to update my website, visit museums, and otherwise catch up on all of the knitting and other projects that have been piling up.

The best part has been taking the time to find some new inspiration for knitting projects -- I am really enjoying going through Loop-d-Loop, Unexpected Knitting, and The Art of Knitting  in detail (see my comments under Recent Reading).