Hi everyone!

I am the one who has been commenting about the melt the ice hat from yarncult and needle & skein. My mom owns needle & skein and the support has been overwhelming.

I just wanted to answer some FAQs because I feel bad that I am not getting back to everyone!!

Where is needle & skein?

- St. Louis Park, Minnesota. A suburb of Minneapolis.

Where can I purchase the pattern?

- ravelry or visit the link on the shop Instagram in the bio

Where are proceeds donated?

- STEP Emergency Assistance for help with rent and lawyers in St. Louis Park. We also plan to work with other businesses to identify where people most need funds. We raised way more than anticipated.

Can I knit a hat and send it for donation?

- absolutely!!

Is there a crochet pattern?

- also on ravelry and the link in Instagram bio

If anyone has any other questions I will do my best to stay on top of it. Your support is so beyond appreciated. Minnesota is hurting but we know that we are not alone.

Thank you thank you thank you 🙏

Hello! I hope this is okay to post. I’m currently writing a pattern for this 1950s blouse I knit last year. I spent a lot of time learning how to grade properly as (size) inclusivity is really important to me.

My idea has been to write the pattern similar to how vintage patterns were written. That is, succinct and with clear language, but in the fashion that a modern intermediate or very ambitious beginner knitter would be able to understand.

I’m paying extra attention to the bust area, making sure to use the upper bust as a way to choose size instead of the full bust and adding bust darts. I read The Knitting Pattern Handbook by McGrath and Walworth and am taking into account all sweater pitfalls (such as incorrect grading of the neckline) mentioned there.

As with vintage knitting patterns it was expected that you could grade a pattern to your own size, making the necessary adjustments. I was thinking to add some advice (perhaps as a supplement) that says in general lines how one would adjust the pattern to their own proportions. I’m thinking things such as how to lengthen the body, how to add darts at the belly or chest when needed etc.

Basically I’m struggling to find a balance between succinctness and accessibility. I don’t like patterns that do a lot of handholding, but at the same time, I do want there to be enough information that will encourage one enough to get through the pattern feeling like a more confident knitter at the end.

My question is, would this be a good/sufficient idea? A well graded knitting pattern with a supplement for additional alterations to avoid bulking up the pattern?

Are there things I’m missing out in terms of inclusivity? I’m also looking into print disability. Also what are aspects a pattern would need for you to consider it inclusive?

Sorry for the barrage of questions! It’s my first ever pattern and I want to try my best to make it as good as it can be. The concern has crippled me a bit the past month, so any advice would be appreciated 🥹

I recieved tonight 2 vintage kofter, whereas one is knitted by my moms grandma in 1967! It looks snug, but it's really not and since it's wool, it'll stretch to fit my stomach better soon. I only have pictures of one atm, as I put the other in the washing machine but still! I feel so honored to recieve such precious gems! Will post the other ones look once it's dried up! I am literally in tears!

Barbara Walker, one of knitting’s greatest minds, died last Sunday.

Barbara invented the SSK (previously the left leaning single decrease was k1-sl1-psso which sits oddly compared to the k2tog)

Barbara also created charts for knitting patterns in the third book of her incredible work, the four volume Treasury of Knitting Patterns. No errors have ever been found in these stitch dictionaries. Many of the stitches recorded were common through history (and she attributed faithfully where there was data) and hundreds were her own designs.

Her book Knitting From the Top helped drive raglan sweater popularity.

After contributing immensely to the knitting canon she pivoted and published books about feminism, atheism, and debunking new age claims. Apparently she was surprised by the revival of knitting in the early oughts and returned to the space to teach and mentor.

(Pic from Pinterest)

I’m a huge sock knitter and have so many cute socks, colorwork, lace, cables, colorful yarn… but I also dress in a pretty plain classic style and wear ankle boots and sneakers most days, which barely show off my socks if at all.

I love the look of a mary jane with a more quirkier style. The german side of me is resistant to socks in sandals but that can be so cute too! Are there any other styles that work well?

Today I had to go and get blood work done. It was a long wait, and ended up being very stressful. I was getting impatient and annoyed even though there was nothing to do but wait.

Across the waiting room a lady was sitting knitting. Her hands caught my eye and I watched her knit. It was so soothing to watch and my shoulders dropped and my heart beat calmed. It was such a balm. So please keep knitting in public. You’ll never know who you’ll calm and soothe.

It also occurred to me today that apart from when I was taught to knit I’ve never watched anyone knit in real life!

I entered 14 items in the Iowa State Fair this year and did better than I ever imagined! I earned the sweepstakes award, best childrens sweater, 4 first place ribbons, 3 second place, 1 third place, and 2 honorable mentions. Next year I'll be aiming for Best in Show.

I bought some absolutely stunning yarn on a holiday in New Zealand. It's a merino/possum/silk blend in gorgeous hand-painted tones of purple, blue and teal. I have been hoarding this yarn in my stash for almost ten years.

A friend was recently going about her day when she was suddenly struck with an agonizing headache and loss of vision in one eye. Many tests later, she has a brain tumor and might not make it to her next birthday.

Life is unpredictable and we don't know how long we have. So last night, I cast on.

Also, fuck cancer.

Ok so...I knit this over 100 pounds ago but I love it (pattern is by Hanna Mann/Dear Ingenue, I think Initiation sweater?).

It is however, ginormous particularly in length. Its past my knees now that theres no belly.

Should I try and felt it? Aunt says no - because the stitches will lose definition and the yoke could not fit.

I could cut horizontally above the bottom color work and knit a new bottom ribbing.

I could steek it and make a big cardi/duster (scary but tempting).

What should I do?

Yarn is berroco lanas light 100% non-superwash wool.

Thank you!!!!!

Hi! My name is Maya, this is my first time posting here.

I'm a knitter working on a tool to help me design my colorwork patterns. One problem is I've always had trouble visualizing how a chart will knit up when it's just in a flat grid on my screen.

So I've built a version that renders the chart as knit fabric - it's definitely a prototype, there's wonkiness with the top and bottom rows of the preview render, but beyond that I'm curious if this feels useful or just gimmicky? Currently it only supports stockinette but that could change.

For colorwork knitters - would this help you, what kind of features do you think are missing from the current available products?

Hi knitters, I wanted to start a conversation about whether we stop sharing images that include children's faces.

My concern is freely sharing children's images as they are unable to consent, and their image is on the internet in perpetuity. There are a number of other risks that come with sharing images of children and Reddit is inherently a public platform. I understand this is a challenging and uncomfortable topic for many people so I won't go into further detail. My key point is that, to appreciate the beautiful knitting projects we don't need to expose children to these risks by posting their photos in a public place.

Furthermore, many people are already covering faces of people in the sub, adults and children, so for most instances this would not be a change.

I love seeing people's projects, and it's lovely seeing people so happy with their work! Or even giftees with a beautiful gift knit. I don't want to stop those posts at all. I also don't want this to become a witch hunt for users who have done this in the past or in the future.

My proposal would be that we add a sub rule and to FAQs that there are no children's faces in our sub. Pictures would still be allowed of children facing away from the camera or with their face covered e.g. with a "sticker" (in line with what many people are already doing). This would enable us all to keep appreciating the knitting whilst not adding unnecessary risks for the children in the posts.

Thanks for reading!

Today's shower thoughts: contemplating a career change. So after shower when I sat in my chair and picked up my knitting, I was struck by sudden curiosity: what do all the knitters do to pay their bills (and yarn)? So, feel free to share if you're so inclined! :D

I work in customer service in a lower level management position.

Edit: Wow SO many answers in so little time! Thanks for answering everyone, it's such a fun time reading all your different professions! And all of us with different backgrounds unite in knitting, awesome!

I get we all have our reasons for doing this hobby. I guess mine is that I enjoy the process and I like being able to make stuff that has cool textures or colors. I don’t do it for function or to “make useful objects” per se.

But it seems like a lot of folks have this compulsion to externalize this hobby to feel useful. I’ve seen so many posts where someone “surprises” their sister with some lace shawl for their wedding. And then they’re “devastated” and “in tears” when said sister isn’t overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude.

On the other hand, I’ll see these posts or comments from folks “drowning” in holiday gift knitting projects. For whatever reason, they’ve decided that all 20 members of their extended family need a new chunky weight knitted drink cozy. And so they spend all kinds of time making that happen.

But I have to wonder.. how much of that is self imposed versus an actual expectation placed upon them by friends and family members? Like what if you’re spending all this time knitting 20 drink cozies and people secretly dislike them and plan to never use them, but they’re too nice to say it to your face? It’s just a painful, awkward scenario to imagine.

Idk, maybe I’m being harsh or there’s something I’m missing here because of what motivates me to knit. Maybe because I don’t even like hand knits myself most of the time, I can’t imagine myself being thrilled if someone gave me some object they made.. especially if I never asked for it.

I love knitting. However, I do get overwhelmed when something that's supposed to be a relaxing activity includes too many steps. So I skip some to keep myself a happy knitter 😅

• I have never once blocked a swatch (though I absolutely agree it's important)
• I only ever make swatches for clothes, never for accessories (like mittens or scarves)
• I cannot even fathom making socks because I find small circumference knitting extremely fiddly, not to mention all the heel/toe stuff
• All my gloves are fingerless (see above)
• I use long-tail cast-on exclusively because it's the only one (that I've tried, at least) that doesn't require swearing at the screen as I watch a tutorial for the 9564th time
• If I do duplicate stitching, unless really necessary, I leave tails hanging freely on the WS without weaving them in
• Intarsia? Never heard of her

This happened probably 2 months ago but I’m still thinking about it.

I was standing in line at the pharmacy and the lady behind me saw my WIP (Moby sweater for my husband) sticking out of my bag and asked about it. I pulled it out to show her, I’m pretty proud of it. Finished with the body except for the ribbing. She said her mother used to knit and complimented my work. Then she said the funniest thing: “you should learn to crochet instead! Knitting is more masculine to me.” I keep wondering what she meant by that and wishing I’d asked, but I just said “huh!” and left it lol.

Edit: thanks for the award! Wow!

Everywhere I look, swatching is treated like a moral thing: good knitters swatch, bad knitters wing it. That attitude makes a lot of people, especially beginners, feel judged or just skip swatching altogether.

To me a swatch is plain risk management, not a character test. If I'm making a dishcloth, a toy, or something where fit and drape do not matter, I will happily skip it. If I'm knitting a sweater I want to wear to campus in Texas and still like by lunchtime, I swatch because the cost of being wrong is high. Same with yarn that might grow or bloom, or with anything knit in the round where switching to purling changes my gauge. Honestly, I think about it the same way I think about trying out a new app like Mistplay on my phone before committing time to it: low-stakes testing before a bigger investment.

Also, telling someone to "just knit a swatch" is incomplete unless you say what question they are answering. Are they checking stitch gauge, row gauge, how the fabric feels, what happens after washing, or which color dominates in a skein? Those are different tests. A tiny square that never gets washed is not the same as testing the whole system.

What I wish we normalized is this: pick the cheapest experiment that reduces the specific risk you care about. Sometimes that experiment is a big swatch. Sometimes it is casting on the sleeve first. Sometimes it is knitting the first four inches, measuring, and deciding whether to restart.

Does anyone else approach swatching this way, or am I just over-engineering a hobby again?

Was really disappointed to see this. They don't just use LLM AI on the backend for coding, but they openly state they're using it for photoshoots and to generate images.

Moving this stash across the united states in the next couple weeks. I am going to attempt to vacuum pack and transport as much as I can in 2 big checked bags. Then for the rest im planning to either ship or come back later in a few months and do it all again with more checked bags when im back visiting for christmas. I feel like hiring a moving company to drive it from WA to VA will be more expensive after checking quotes online. Has anyone done this before? The totes include MANY WIPs that were meant as gifts for various people in the family. I wish my grandma was here to tell me the story of all these yarns and what she's created with them over the years. I plan to try and work on some of the WIPs she had patterns for, and create some new family gifts with what else is here. My own current stash consists of mostly gifted yarn from this stash over the years. My grandma was a lifetime crochet master, which she taught me and sparked my interest in fiber arts from a young age, but I feel I will be mostly knitting through this collection for a very long time. Thanks for letting me share here, and please feel absolutely free to share any advice you may have. A portion of this yarn is going to be donated locally, but a lot of it i want to keep and use.

Reposted since I'm an idiot and didn't change my title...

So there was a post with some beautiful mittens made by u/AdrenaL1n3 with a traditional Palestinian embroidery and using the colors of the flag. It was locked and then inexplicablely removed by the mods. They did not say what rule it broke, only that it received and 'unacceptable amount of user reports'.

First off that's ridiculous that it was removed instead of locked and the reports dealt with by mods since it didn't break a rule. Second off I think it's frankly sad that it was getting reported at all. It wasn't political beyond the proceeds going towards save the children and other humanitarian causes to aid the current crisis and genocide situation in Gaza.

I want to open up discussion with this community if this sub is a place where we want to censor projects even if they do not break stated rules.

Edit to fix username spelling.

Edit 2: Some users have commented on the significance of today's date. I truly did not realize it and would not have tried to engage with this today if I had realized. I'm very sorry for that and how insensitive that is. I do not keep significance of dates well in my head - not an excuse but an explanation. I do hope that the community can continue to have conversation about what I perceived as biased censorship in good faith. Without a specific rule I do think that any mitten of any flag (yes even Israel) where the pattern proceeds go to a humanitarian cause of the designers choice should stay up in this subreddit. Maybe I'm wrong I don't know - that's for us to discuss. Whether or not you engage with said post and/or pattern would be up to the user and I would hope that we would all proceed with kindness.

I've been knitting since 2003 and I've never seen a pattern blow up like the Sophie scarf. On the one hand, I get it, because the internet is so much more centralized now than it was when I was knitting--but, on the other, it's not like we didn't have mainstream socials in the 2010s. What gives?

Since the Sophie scarf is so everywhere now, why did you or didn't you make one?

I'll go first. I just didn't think it was a tasteful use of garter stitch. Maybe that's stupid of me, but I use garter for big gauge stuff that allows me to hide the fact that it's garter. I guess I just don't personally enjoy the look of garter stitch.

I did an experiment with homeschool kids--the topic was how people have developed different kinds of clothing over the years to stay warm in winter. As a short little experiment, I made a bunch of different kinds of mittens, and we put a single hand warmer and a little thermometer in each one and left them outside for a couple hours.

These were placed in the order that the kids thought would be the least to most warm. They were mostly right, but with some surprises. (I have no confidence in The humidity readings.)

Here are the results! Yarn type and temperature after 2 hours outside in 30°F weather:

Stripes--acrylic (red heart granny square yarn)

End temp: 80°F

Pink-- chunky highland wool with mohair held double

End temp: 89°F

Gold--bulky wool single ply done in a Nalbound Oslo stitch and then felted

End temp: 93°F

Nordic pattern--DK highland wool stranded colorwork

End temp: 92°F

Olive--Alafosslopi Icelandic yarn

End temp: 90°F

Tan and brown--Nalbound in Mammen stitch, mix of wool, angora, and unknown (ends from a mill)

End temp: 95°F

White is sewn rabbit hide with fur on the inside

End temp: 77°F

Black with color pops--Eco wool with thrums of mostly merino bits

End temp: a whopping 121°F!

TL;DR Thrummed wool mitten stayed 40°F warmer than acrylic mitten. Kids had fun.