As we're into Socktober, sock tips feature this month; a new tutorial on Judy's ever-popular magical cast-on, and customising the toes of your socks for a better fit.
Rug hooking / tufting pops up a few times, including a 'getting started' tutorial.
In the Northern hemisphere we're now into jacket season. Stories this month include a combo spin Harlequin Swagger coat, handspun knitted hoody, a planned plaid shirt that turned into a hooded jacket, handspun and woven jacket and a Handspun and woven vest. If these woven projects inspire you, Susan Horton has some tips for cutting and sewing handspun fabric.
Read on for this month's bumper round-up of news, views and reviews for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers.
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Cover photo: Kojin / Shutterstock.
On 25th September, the 2022 annual Sheep Drive was held on Southwark bridge.
The annual event stems from the ancient right of the Freemen of the City of London to drive sheep toll-free over London Bridge.
Kate Humble joined dignitaries for the drive and Livery Fair.
The sheep drive's own website has a huge and worthwhile gallery of pictures.
Shetland Wool Week was back as an in-person event this year, albeit scaled-back.
The 'virtual' aspect of the last couple of years has stuck. The event's Youtube channel has a long playlist of videos. which include highlights, interviews, and chat with attendees, as well as sharing some films from the Film Series.
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb18JfR9eUPQa4bo0sHdJQ8OS9yxzgfQA
I've seen a few posts about Yarndale, which was 23-24 September. (see also fibreworkshop).
Kath Andrews enjoyed the atmosphere and entertainment.
Spin Together is a team event taking place at the start of October, along the lines of Spinzilla and Britspin in previous years.
Most of the chat has happened on the Facebook group and Ravelry group.
Teams have held their own challenges and in-person events, and spinners have individually been posting their own progress, so we'll have the results and a round-up next month.
Within the Shetland Wool Week videos you'll find Ella Gordon talking about her pattern which has been included in the SWW annual.
This is her own blog post in which she discusses the pattern and her inspiration.
As part of her Spin Together spinning, Topfrog has spun some Halloween 'superstretch glow in the dark spider web'.
This is a Halloween decoration and isn't the best fibre to spin, but Topfrog says that it's "pretty plasticy, as you might imagine, but I have spun scratchy wool that's worse."
She uses it to knit glow-in-the-dark ghosts.
Josefin recently spent a day spinning on a great wheel at Vallby open air museum.
She discusses the fibre preparation, her costume and the spinning techniques.
iamtbeck made this hand spun and woven 100 Years Shawl for the 2020 election.
Many people joined the 'shawl-along' to celebrate 100 years of women having the vote in America. (It would be another 45 years before black men and women gained the same rights).
This shawl is made from a blend of wool and silky fibers, first carded into batts, spun and then woven using rigid-heddle, introducing random-coloured yarn randomly to add colour and texture. There are many pictures and details in this blog post.
A combo spin involves taking several different fibre braids, breaking them up into chunks and then spinning singles randomly from those chunks. It's a way to get a larger quantity of yarn for a bigger project from several different colours. Debby explains further in this post, in which she spins the yarn for this project.
She has now finished this Harlequin Swagger coat (pattern by Jane Slicer-Smith).
She says that it was a fun knit, the skirt flares and drapes beautifully
The pandemic gave Rebecca the opportunity to work on a dream project which was to be a wool shirt. She used natural white and dark, and dyed some wool teal. Once spun and woven, it was too thick for the garment that she had planned and she had to rethink.
Rebecca Harkins has this advice: don't be afraid of big projects. The full story is here on Ply magazine.
This is dyer's chamomile alongside silk and wool locks that have been dyed using it.
Devin Helmen discusses the details of growing and using this plant.
spinoffmagazine.com/dyer-s-chamomile-and-best-laid-garden-plans
Flax cultivation for linen cloth was happening 3,500 years ago. The fibres are strong and resist decay, so linen cloth from Ancient Egypt can still be found intact. It was used for many things including clothes and household objects as well as wrapping mummies.
Interweave have been building a series on shawl shapes.
This latest instalment explores the asymmetric triangle. Why would you want one and how do you make one? Sandi Rosner explains.
www.interweave.com/article/knitting/shawl-shapes-explained-asymmetrical-triangles
Whether you're curious about e-spinners or already a fan, you'll be interested in this interview with Maurice Ribble, creator of the Electric Eel Wheel range.
spinoffmagazine.com/engineering-an-affordable-electric-spinning-wheel
Spin Off readers were asked to help name these cute twin Border Leicester lambs.
Five months on, they're much bigger and Kate Larson takes a close look at how their fleece has developed.
This is the story of Kate's visit to the Henry Ford museum where she saw a Charkha.
Following an exchange of letters the charkha arrived as a gift to Henry Ford from Gandhi.
In this post, iamtbeck takes us on a tour of this sinking-shed table loom which she uses for demonstrations.
By chance she found an inscription on it which led her to the original maker.
many people have been posting pictures of this lady, who cards, spins and sings outside St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.
V-Back Tee by Jamie Hoffman has a fade built into the pattern, "bringing a third colour into each transition".
Instead, Liz "spun the fade into the yarn". She spun the yarn and knitted this popular pattern as part of her series "Spin to Knit" here on her Youtube channel Yarn Waffle. I recommend watching this episode to see how she went about spinning the gradient. She also gives us a good look at this very nice pattern.
Racka is a primitive breed and in this article for Ply magazine, Jacqueline Harp tackles the challenge of spinning a lofty yarn from the dual-coated fleece.
She spun woollen and spun by drop spindle.
Here whole sheep-to-shawl story is here. In her conclusion, she advises "rise above the presumption of coarseness".
plymagazine.com...sheep-to-shawl-process-for-creating-lofty-yarn-using-racka-wool
This may seem like preaching to the converted, but in case you're reading this as a knitter or weaver, or just curious about spinning, Jillian takes the lecturn and makes the case.
She finishes with a short and simple tutorial with objects that you may have around you.
www.moderndailyknitting.com...why-you-might-want-to-learn-to-spin
On the subject of beginning, Jordan Lemley has some help if you're interested in beginning to knit.
www.darngoodyarn.com/blogs/darn-good-blog/what-can-a-beginner-knit
Araignee has advice for us all, born of experience.
"I am terrible at organising my stash", she says. This became a problem when she needed to know what she had. Some skeins were labelled and many were not. She had to spend time searching through old blog posts for the details. "From now on the original label goes back on the finished skein".
araigneestangledweb.blogspot.com/2022/09/friday-fluff_01546545177.html
When little needs saying except 'beautiful colour'
Jennifer says that she loves purples in October. She calls this BFL from bramble_ridge 'moody'.
more purple, this time courtesy Threadbender.
She calls this Purple Heather.
King Charles has long been an advocate for the wool trade and the importance of the 'amazing' material. More recently he has been patron of the Campaign for Wool.
This hour-long Australian programme discusses the new King's support for Wool.
In this amazing video, Judy Kavanagh, a spinner from Ottawa, demonstrates spinning using a charkha that she has made from a cigar box and Lego.
As well as being highly decorative and fun, it's functional and effective. It's a joy to watch Judy spinning perfect cotton.
With thanks to Kat for the tip. Having recently been asked how many ounces of fibre to spin for a sweater, she pointed her friend, and us, to Felicia's blog, where she explains clearly how to calculate what weight of fibre you'll need if your pattern gives you a yardage.
sweetgeorgiayarns.com....spinzilla-series-calculating-fibre-quantities-spinning
Ply magazine have published this short video in which Jacey demonstrates how to find your staple length, which is important to know if you're drafting worsted.
I've a soft spot for Judy's magic cast-on because the very first pair of socks I knitted used it and I've favoured toe-up ever since.
It's also used to start one of our suggested patterns this month, the Zoomies bottle sock.
Alexa Ludeman has made a fresh and thorough tutorial which includes pictures and a video.
Following on beautifully, Roxanne Richardson has published this article about customising the toes of your socks.
Wedge-shaped and round toes can be altered for a better fit. This article is primarily written with cuff-down in mind, but Roxanne says that if you knit toe-up you can reverse the shaping.
www.interweave.com/article/knitting/customize-wedge-shaped-sock-toes
Emonieiesha Hopkins discusses these two very different finishing techniques and when you would use each.
spinoffmagazine.com/a-perfect-finish-thwacking-and-snapping-handspun-yarn
Anne Merrow claims that even if you have a drop spindle collection already, making a drop spindle is easier than you think and a useful skill to have.
This is a short clip from a video course. Sara Goldenberg White demonstrates how she uses large rubber bands to help her get perfect tension while tying on.
littlelooms.com/tips-for-perfect-tension-on-the-rigid-heddle-loom
Mary says that the act of rug hooking is deceptively simple. She lists the tools and materials that you'll need.
For a floor rug you'll want 100% wool but for a wall hanging you can use anything you can find in a worsted or bulky weight.
www.fiberygoodness.com/2022/09/creative-rug-hooking-with-mary-berry
Cutting and sewing handwoven fabric is not quite the same as commercial fabric, and if you're inexperienced it can be scary.
Susan E. Horton has gathered together some tips on both cutting and sewing your handwoven fabric.
Kate Curry takes a look at the different designs, materials and sizes of crochet hooks and how you should choose.
www.darngoodyarn.com...what-crochet-hooks-should-i-buy-crochet-hook-faqs
In this short video, craftmehappy demonstrates how to blend two colours using mini combs, in this case equal parts red and black, 1:1
Textured yarn adds zing to projects, and is easy and fun to spin.
This yarn is colourful and textured. It uses commercial thread for the core and binder, and handspun thick and thin singles.
These instructions are free from Schacht.
A team of researchers have made improvements to yarn which produces energy when stretched. There is talk of using the technology to harvest power, as well as to sense movement.
www.inceptivemind.com/new-energy-harvester-produces-electricity...
Sometimes just a picture is enough
This classic Mac Finder face and other geeky designs have been tufted by Reddit user Designer_Taro_2569
Mary P. Hunt ' s new Cecropia Cowl pattern was inspired by a dying silk moth.
Both colours here are handspun yarn, which Jay writes about here. The lighter yarn looks much more green in other pictures.
I have very little information about this handspun hoody but there are a few more pictures in Roegwolwaark's feed.
woolywhorl has set up a great picture showing the fleece in its original state, with the handspun yarn and the start of the knitting. Swipe the first picture to see that.
This beautiful jacket is the work of Gretchen Roth who used wool from an Adelaide Walker fibre advent calendar. She visited their stand at Yarndale to say hello. There is a close-up of the woven fabric.
In earlier pictures, Lorna shows us the yardage on the loom and how she started weaving the width for the back, and then split it at the shoulders to weave the two front panels separately.
The yarn is 75% handspun yarn and 25% commercial.
She is "pleased with it and feels encouraged to weave more clothing".
Elise has used a hand-dyed Targhee/bamboo/silk blend from Quillin Fiber Art. Besides being "the most comfortable pair of socks I've ever knitted", she hopes that the bamboo and silk will help them to wear well.
The pattern is DRK Everyday Socks by Andrea Mowry which remarkably has 11 sizes.
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
Besides claiming to be the easiest pattern, this one also claims to allow you to crochet any sized pumpkin from any weight yarn.
The pattern is freely available on the page if you don't mind fighting your way through the ads. For a small price, you can buy a downloadable 'clean' pdf.
This Día de los Muertos-inspired project requires an 8-shaft loom with 12-dent reed. The pattern is a free download.
The City motif is worked in mosaic knitting which is easier than stranded colourwork.
Pentacap is a simple beanie with just the right proportions and clean lines.
It's written for worsted weight and is available in 4 sizes.
This is the latest pattern that Woolly has made available for free on her blog.
www.woollywormhead.com/blog/2022/10/4/new-free-pattern-the-pentacap
This inventive garment is a split rectangle, which you can button up to form a cardigan, or fold lengthways and wear as a scarf.
The pattern calls for two strands of laceweight yarn to be held together to form light fingering. it's made on relatively large needles to form a very light fabric.
This knitted V-neck tee has 11 sizes ranging from 30-70" finished chest, with some fit options and modification tips.
It requires 520 - 2560 yards of fingering weight (14 wpi) yarn
This is a triangular shawl that starts at one point and increases to the middle. It has a lace section and a stockinette / eyelet section. It's finished with a ribbing pattern.
It's designed for John Arbon Knit by Numbers 4 ply. John Arbon Textiles sell the Falkland Merino top for hand spinning the same yarn, or you could use any yarn that gives you the fabric that you like.
This is also a triangular shawl but will be much warmer. It's made from worsted-weight (9 wpi) yarn and has cables for extra cosiness.
Kelp is a colourwork beret that comes in three sizes.
It needs 197 - 219 yards of fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi) yarn in five colours
The author is donating the full proceeds from sales of Kelp to The Ocean Cleanup, an important cause.
She has written about her inspirations for the design here with some wonderful photography on the KDD blog.
This pattern is for you if you want stranded sock knitting but without the heel or toe or second sock syndrome.
Vivienne says that the bottle sock will fit a number of makes of 500ml stainless bottle and will protect them when rattling around in a bag. You can use leftovers from other projects. The pattern specifies fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi). No yardage, but she does suggest 2 x 20g mini-skeins.
If the zoomies theme is too fast for you, there's a similar but more sedate pattern here.
These mitts feature oak leaves, acorns and pumpkins.
They're one-size with instructions included for modifying the size by going up or down a needle size.
They take 228 - 279 yards of fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi) yarn in three autumnal colours.
It's hard to believe that these translucent objects are textile. Do Ho Suh has used brightly coloured translucent fabrics.
Martha Rosenfeld describes her work as 'painting with wool'.
www.wmuk.org/wmuk-news/2022-09-08/art-beat-painting-with-wool
This sheep has been revealing its dark secret every hour during the day. The unusual work by Andy Plant appears over the balcony at Wolverhampton Art Gallery a few minutes after the hour.
Thanks to David Clover for this short video.
Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October 2022, Kendal Town Hall
Kendal Wool Gathering mixes demonstrations, fun activities and displays, all connected to the cloth on which the town's wealth was built.
All things woolly - exhibitions, patterns, demonstrations.
Saturday 19 November 2022, Queen's Hall and Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
A celebration of all things woolly. From beautifully hand crafted items, clothing and footwear to knitting wool, fleece and all the equipment needed to make at home. Demonstrations run throughout the day with stall holders sharing their skills and knowledge with visitors plus wool skill workshops such as felting.
I'm Shiela Dixon, I've been doing this for around ten years in order to promote and encourage the craft of spinning.
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All that remains is for me to thank everyone who blogs, writes articles or posts pictures on the subject of spinning, knitting, crochet or weaving. This newsletter wouldn't exist without them.
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Happy spinning!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
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