Oolong knits

This is the probably the simplest and easiest hat there is. Why probably? Well it kind of depends if you prefer sewing to decreases. The idea is simple: knit a rectangle with a length that is a bit less than the brim of a person's head and a width that is a bit larger than its depth. Sew the shorter sides together, making a tube/cylinder. Thread a piece of yarn through the top and pull in such a way as to close the hole. Tie it. Weave in the any ends. You're done. The resulting hat is usually much better looking than one would guess from such a simple procedure. Now the non-trivial part is of course to calculate the length and width of the rectangle. Here are some ideas. Length:  - measure the circumference of another knitted hat you may possess, or - measure the head's circumference and subtract about 1in/2.5cm (this is because the knitted fabric is stretchy and you don't want the hat to be too loose). If this hat is for a small head, like a baby or child, ...

I actually do not recommend buying books for beginners. Why? Because it is much easier, faster, and less error prone to learn the basics from videos instead of books. In the past many people    who could not get someone to teach them (which is still the best way to learn)    learned from books, and beginner books were really important, but today with all the great tutorials you'll find in YouTube, it is just insane to try any other method. Once you have learned the basic techniques, you'll be pretty much ready to buy a good reference book, which I do agree can be quite useful, but this will be the subject of another post. I don't recommend them, but I do review some here, in case you want to know my opinion. Although I can't possible imagine why you would. "Knitty Gritty: Knitting for the Absolute Beginner" by Aneeta Patel is a bestseller on the knitting books  category in the UK. If anyone wants my copy they can have it (please take it, it is occupying sp...

Drops is a Norwegian yarn brand. The reason I'm writing this post about them is twofold. One, they have the most amazing webpage, Garn Studios , that includes a huge amount of free patterns. They are not very stylish and tend to be kind of old-fashioned, but some of them are really beautiful. Most of them are not too difficult either. This is also a good place to find Nordic traditional patterns. But what I really recommend is their Tutorial videos . They are incredibly simple and clear. They are even voice-off in order to be understood universally. The nice people at Drops have figured out that nobody speaks Norwegian ;). Paradoxically I think that is the reason they're so clear. And there is not a single technique that is not included, from the most basic to the most advanced. Here are some useful examples that I've used Stripes knit in the round with no jog How to avoid a jog in the first row when knitting in the round At the end of the first link, there is an...

Journal scarves are very simple projects. The idea is that each day in the evening you knit a row (or two) in the colour that corresponds to that day. The end result will have a random-like pattern of colours which may be very attractive, but the main reason to do a journal scarf is probably not aesthetic. The idea is that it can be a fun and visual way to remember something meaningful. What I mean is that what ever one decides to register in the scarf, in other words the meaning of each colour, should be of special value to the knitter. The most common of journal scarves is the mood scarf. This is a very popular project. The idea is that each colour corresponds to the dominant mood of that day. What you should get is a multicoloured scarf with a nice random pattern, but of course that depends on your personal life. The most basic mood scarf will have two colours, one for happy and other for unhappy, but you'll probably want to add a bit more colour to it. Most people choose at ...

ravelry.com is undoubtedly the best resource for knitters you'll find. I've only recently registered, but I can already say that it surpasses my expectations. They've everything you could ever want and some more. First of all it is like the FB of knitters. Every user gets a personal page where he/she can post their projects and also keep a record of his/her yarn stash. They've forums you can ask questions and read other people's opinions about stuff you didn't know existed. There is so much to learn, so much great information for beginners (and advanced knitters too). But it is much more than that. So much that it would be impossible (or at least too cumbersome) to include everything Ravelry allows on this post. The main thing is they have a nearly infinite number of patterns, many of them free. Of course the excess of options can be a very bad thing, how will you find what you're looking for in a sea of things you don't want? The good news is t...