How to keep track of whether you need to work a cable or not.
Read moreVideos: Opening and Closing Knot Cables
Pleione Cowl by Lucy Hague; Photo ©Jesse Wild
Three videos in one post: learn how to work a 1-into-5 increase and 5-into-1 decrease for making knot cables and also how to fix mistakes in stocking stitch.
Read moreAnnouncing Something New To Learn About Cables
We are proud to announce the launch of Something New To Learn About Cables, the second book we have published.
Read moreHow to neatly finish Alex the Mouse
This isn't one of the monthly AYoT video tutorials, rather a bonus one for May to show you how to work an applied i-cord edging to join 2 pieces. If you're nearing the end of Alex the Mouse, this could be invaluable.
And that's not all. Ella Austin has shared her expertise on finishing toys
Read moreHow to Care for your Handknits
Please don’t talk to me about the two months I spent knitting a pair of Glynis socks by Cookie A, only to felt them on the first wash: it’s still painful 7 years later! Having spent hours (sometimes even years!) knitting a beautiful design, it’s vital that the finished item is properly cared for. There’s little in knitting that is more distressing than ruining something that you’ve spent so long creating. Whether it’s spillage of bolognaise sauce down a child’s jumper, or the dreaded moths nibbling a hole in a treasured Fair Isle sweater, this article will help you to avoid some of these pitfalls.
Read moreUsing Ravelry part 2
There are so many different ways to use a website like Ravelry. Many people visit only to purchase patterns, while others use it to keep track of their projects, yarn and books, and still more use the forums to chat online to like-minded crafters. However you choose to use Ravelry, I hope that some of the hints and tips in this article might come in handy.
In the first part of this Masterclass series, we looked at the information you can store in your Notebook section of Ravelry, as well as how to use the Pattern and Yarn databases. In this instalment, we will focus on the social side of the website.
Read moreHow to... Use a Hap Blocking Frame
Blocking your knitting is one of the most satisfying and transformative processes. What starts out looking like a hair net, can be utterly changed by a good soak and stretch. While blocking has a place in the finishing of most knitwear, it is particularly vital when knitting lace patterns. Stretching out the wet lace and leaving it to dry reveals the beauty of the patterning in a way that's almost unimaginable when you are knitting the tangled-looking mess.
The following tutorial is going to show you how to use a hap blocking frame (aka hap stretcher) to block square, rectangular and right-angled triangle haps and shawls. Hap is the Shetland word for a shawl designed for everyday wear.
Read moreHow to: Hexa Hap tutorials
One of the joys of knitting is that once you have mastered a technique, or found your perfect pattern, you can keep on going happily as long as you please. Equally, you could find a pattern you long to knit and discover that you need to learn something new in order to make any progress. It's the latter of these that keeps us interested in what we do as neither of us, me in particular, can say we know about, and can do absolutely everything possible with needles and yarn.
Image © Kate Davies Designs Ltd
Tom van Deijnen's Hexa Hap from The Book of Haps cleverly relies upon repeating the same sequence throughout to produce a fully reversible fabric. It also employs a couple of techniques that may be less familiar, so we have produced these short videos to help you to get to grips with them.
First is the intarsia twist, which gives a smooth, reversible transition between the two shades of yarn:
Hexa Hap is modular in that you work a triangular wedge at a time and then pick up stitches for the next wedge. Here's how to pick up the stitches:
I do hope that you will find these tutorials helpful. You can see more over on our YouTube channel: Arnall-Culliford Knitwear on YouTube
How to: Nut-Hap tutorials
I absolutely love to learn new techniques. I'm a sucker for a nifty way to make things, and I love to finesse my knitting. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to look at a new pattern and realise that it includes a heap of things you've not done before, so we aim to hold your hand with some of these techniques.
Image © Kate Davies Designs Ltd
My Nut-Hap design for The Book of Haps features a few tricks to give a really polished finished scarf. First up is the tubular cast on - my all-time favourite way to give your knitting a professional finish. Here's our YouTube video to talk you through how to work the cast on:
Nut-Hap then uses tucks to create an architectural shape to the lower edge. These are worked in with the ribbing of the body, and we've made videos to show you how to do the separating row:
And another video to show you how to work the joining row:
I do hope that you will find these tutorials helpful. You can see more over on our YouTube channel: Arnall-Culliford Knitwear on YouTube
How to: Add tucks to your knitting
To complement the pleats tutorial from last week, here is a how to video on working tucks in your knitting. If you've ever wondered what the difference is between pleats and tucks, this will explain all (or is it just me that thinks about these things?). I adore the generous texture that tucks can add to knitted fabric. My Nut-Hap for The Book of Haps features a tucked edging, which is worked in a slightly different way - more on that another time.
I am busy planning our next lot of filming for next week, so do let me know in the comments if there are any techniques you'd like to see us feature.
This video covers the following areas:
What is a tuck? What's the difference between a pleat and a tuck?
How to pick up stitches for a tuck.
How to work a tuck joining row.
Ysolda Teague's Ripley Hat pattern uses tucks.
My Nut-Hap uses tucks worked in a slightly different way.
The cowl I'm wearing in this tutorial is my Knotted Kernel design.
Photos © Kate Davies Designs Ltd
Video © Arnall-Culliford Knitwear Ltd