#so many stitch markers

[morganbritton132]

Look, I’m against overconsumption as much as the next guy but every time I see a deinfluencing video about craft supplies that’s shaming people for buying the basics, I lose my mind.

[deepspaceclawstation]

Since I can't knit for a few days because of the hand-burning-thing, here's a(n extremely blurry) progress update. I have about 22 more stockinette rows before decreases and ribbing.

[journeyman-tier-fibercraft]

Shawl 14 | Pattern | Yarn

It's Wednesday and I'm almost done with chart one of my Evenstar! I was too impatient to wait to finish chart one before taking photos. Rn it fits comfortably on my 8 inch cables but after this chart the stitch count nearly doubles! 14 or 22 inch cables are in my future!

My tension is much looser on this weight needles/yarn than it would be for something I'm more comfortable with (specifically on the decreases) but I'm not worried about it. Looking at my swatches, a lot of that extra slack will probably block out with the tension from pinning.

[coridallasmultipass]

Okay, because I'm allowed to be a little weird about puppets and dolls on here, I need to share the new crochet(/knitting was optional) stitch markers I just got in the mail, because I am SO FUCKING STOKED TO USE THEM. (Only had a knitting WIP to model them with, I haven't started a new crochet project yet.)

THE EYES DO THE DOLL BLINK THING!! SO COOL! And teeth are just so #aes (I'm always gonna be thinking about like collecting teeth in the Alice: Madness Returns video game I was obsessed with. [Maybe I can paint them gold, even? Just an idea.])

This seller has so many whimsical fiber art related things (along with really gorgeous yarn I'm lookin' at). Like two years ago, I bought a facehugger cupcake stitch marker from them (along with slasher movie knife stitch markers!) Where in the world else are you gonna get creepycute unique items like these for all your yarn craft needs?!

Seriously, these are so freaking fun, I love them SO much. I definitely recommend the seller SillySheepDesigns on Etsy if you're a fiber art person.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SillySheepDesigns?ref=yr_purchases

I'm not paid to say this, I'm just SO excited about having my weirdness needs met.

[gemmahale]

🔍🫵 YOU THERE! What is the most interesting/coolest/funniest object on your desk/table/couch/etc? Share and send to 3 cutie patooties! 🫵🔎

Well, uh, there’s lots of things around me but a bunch of them have my legal name on them. 😅 No doxxing!

Have my wrong-season stitch marker I’m using on one of my blanket projects to keep track of what’s front. He’s a very cute Santa riding a llama. (I do not remember what company I got it from, I am sorry.)

[senseiwu]

Oh my god it feels so good to be back on my full dose of dexamphetamine again oh my god

Like a week ago I tried to refill my prescription cause I was almost out, but. My script had expired. Turns out they only last six months. Not too big a deal, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist in a week. I should be fine.

So I had to ration out 2 tablets a day, in mornings only. I haven't been able to do anything in the afternoons. And I felt so tired. And couldn't focus.

I had the appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday, got a new script and got my tablets.

It is nearly 3pm and I do not feel like going to sleep and I want to get my cleaning done now that I've chilled after work.

[typheus]

we are at the end of september so heres a blanket update :p

[revvethasmythh]

At moments like this, when I am using a chopstick as a cable needle and a rubber band an one (1) hoop earring as stitch markers, it would be hard to sell that I have actually been knitting my entire life

[quillyfied]

Crochet update! Getting places with it, and have awakened the inevitable new hunger: more yarn varieties. In the meantime…gonna keep practicing, I guess.

[tonyglowheart]

*picks back up a sweater I was knitting that I haven't touched in months, where I had deviated from the pattern and thus, I presume, placed a bunch of stitch markers to indicate. ??* hi what the FUCK do all of these stitch markers mean lmao

[babyblanketyarnrelitigation]

I have so many number related activities in my day to day for somebody who has clinically bad at numbers disease. This is an inane thing to say, it's just a result of the world being full of Countable Objects

Anyways I'm crocheting a blanket whose first step is "chain 245 stitches" and I'm in hell

[the-crafting-gremlin]

Well, I decided to give myself another project to jump between while I finish up Striped Sweater, so I started on Color Stranded Sweater. I got through 3 inches of ribbing and the first line of solid color for the back, started on the colorwork...and discovered that despite counting multiple times, using stitch markers to keep track, and counting again...I still miscounted and was 20 stitches short.

Because of course I was. So I got to unravel the whole back part I'd gotten done (about 5 inches by 30 inches worth of knitting). That was yesterday afternoon. I set my knitting aside for the rest of the day, and I'm sitting down to cast on this sweater again this morning.

I do want to get the other sweater finished, but I'm so excited to start the colorwork on this one, and since I hate long stretches of flat ribbing I can switch between the striped sweater and the new one to give myself a break from it.

I'm just so frustrated and disappointed that I managed to miscount like that. I usually count in groups of 20s for pieces this long, and I guess I managed to miss one group this time. To be fair, I likely have dyscalculia so numbers are not my friend on a good day. But that's why I check my counts multiple times...and I still messed up this time. It happens. That doesn't make it any less frustrating, though.

All I can do now is cast on again, and maybe ask someone else to check my count so I don't have to undo a bunch of work again.

[why-am-i-hereagain]

ik i have a caffeine addiction. Ive known that for a while. But like, i was looking for a dollar that i knew i had in one of my pockets so i could buy a monster, right? And i only wear like the same 4 jackets, but every pocket i reached into had a monster tab in it. I was like "this jacket?" Reached my hand in and pulled out evidence that i shouldn't find this dollar

[uncanny-tranny]

I realized making a single crochet swatch for practice that I fucked up bad, and honestly... it doesn't bother me anymore? It's so important to remember all of this when you do mess up, inevitably, and what brings me comfort is knowing that I am not the first to have messed up royally when doing row two of a swatch. I'm not the first person to lose a stitch or to be mad at my yarn-holding hand for fucking up the tension again, and all of this brings me immense comfort. I am learning so much, I am being vulnerable, I am letting thousands of years of human history wash over me like a gentle wave, and I am glad for it.

I'll continue carrying my little fuck up, and I'm glad to know I was never the only one to do it.

The most fulfilling thing about art (and why I'm so passionate about it as a concept) is just knowing that this is a piece of you entering this world and being born, and it's as imperfect, messy, and human as you are.

Like, this is my first single crochet, and look at it!

It's lumpy and not even whatsoever, but that came out of my hands. It is, essentially, not unlike a toddler who has just learned to walk with uneasy legs. Would you punish a toddler for toddling, for being unsteady and unrefined? Then why is it that we must punish ourselves for being in what is essentially that same state? Create, even if you cannot run with it. You can still walk with it. You can still crawl with it. But, create

[clandestinegardenias]

The C(r)ozier Cowl (with pattern!)

I FINALLY DID IT, and I'm so incredibly pleased with how it turned out (it's also maybe the warmest scarf I've ever knit, the Terror costume design people knew what they were doing)

Details and pattern below the cut, along with more pics!

Details:

This infinite loop cowl is a knit recreation of the scarf/cowl worn by Captain Francis Crozier in the first season of the tv show The Terror (2018).

The choice of yarn is, in my opinion, very important to the accuracy of the result. The pattern is quite simple, so getting the right yarn makes a big impact. My suggested yarn is below.

This is knitted in seed stitch at a very tight gauge, using a worsted weight yarn on size 4 needles. This produces a gauge consistent with the scarf from the show (did I measure Jared Harris’ eye and use it to calculate gauge from a photo of Crozier wearing the scarf? MAYBE SO). It makes the knitting a little hard on the hands, but the resulting fabric is DELIGHTFUL—super dense, and since the cowl is knit as a tube it's double thick and, in my experience, nearly entirely windproof. THIS IS A VERY WARM COWL!

After looking at too many screenshots, I ultimately determined that the article in the show is in fact a scarf (you can see the edge VERY briefly in one shot). However, I have designed my version as a tube cowl, as it more easily reproduces the look of the article as worn in the show (doubled over and in a continuous loop around the neck with no edges visible). You could produce a scarf instead by knitting this flat instead of in the round—cast on the same number of stitches with a long tail cast on, and then only knit/repeat row 1 (consider adding a seldvege edge).

If you have questions or want tips, or just want to show me what you made, hit me up!! I’d love to chat.

Materials:

3 skeins (approx. 660 yards) Cascade 220 Heathers in color 2445 Shire (google it to find purchasing options, or ask your local yarn store to order it!)

Size 4 needles; either 16 inch circulars or double-pointed

Stitch marker

Yarn needle

Instructions:

Provisional CO 72 stitches on size 4 16-inch circular (or double pointed) needles to work in the round. Place marker.

Row 1: k1 p1

Row 2: p1 k1

Repeat until cowl measures approximately 54 inches (4.5 feet; 137 cm) or desired length.

Unpick provisional cast-on, placing live stitches on any spare circular needles or dpns. Kitchener stitch ends together (tutorial for doing so in pattern here).

Wear as a single or double loop.

Now go have some glorious homoerotic tension with your second in command!

[xensilverquill]

Amigurumi/Crochet Toy 101 + Resources

Noticed a couple folks in my tags mentioning that they wanted to learn or wished they knew how to crochet amigurumi. So here's a quick and dirty little how-to guide with resources I threw together? Hope it helps!

Tools + Materials

Crochet is one of those hobbies that is actually relatively cheap to get into. Here is a basic list of what you'll need to get started. You can find most of these at any craft store or even Walmart.

(1) Yarn (Required)

Yarns come in a variety of weights (sizes) and fibers. I recommend a soft, worsted weight acrylic yarn (indicated by a number "4" and "medium" on the yarn label) for your first few projects.  

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(2) Crochet Hook (Required)

These come in a lot of sizes and styles, and what size you'll use will depend on your yarn weight and how tight you want your stitches to be. I'd recommend buying just one hook to start with rather than a larger set. Metal hooks with ergonomic rubber handles are easiest for beginners (and on your wrists longterm, lol). A 5.0 MM/Size H or a 4.50 MM/Size G works best for making amigurumi with worsted weight yarn.

(3) Polyfil/Stuffing (Required)

For stuffing your project.

(4) Yarn Needle (Required)

Most crochet projects require sewing to one degree or another. Yarn needles are distinguished from regular sewing needles by their larger size, larger eye, and blunter tip. Yarn needles may be straight, or they may be angled at the tip (i.e. a darning yarn needle).

(5) Scissors (Required)

Any sharp, medium-sized pair of scissors will do for cutting your yarn.

(6) Sewing Pins (Recommended)

For holding parts in place as you sew them on.

(7) Stitch Marker (Recommended)

Many amigurumi projects are worked in rows of continuous rounds, and stitch markers can be used to mark the beginning or end of these rounds. They can also be used to mark areas of interest in your project or to secure your project to keep it from becoming accidentally unraveled. I strongly reccomend getting split ring ones. Scrap pieces of yarn also work in a pinch as stitch markers.

(8) Counter (Recommended)

For keeping track of your rows as you work a pattern.

(9) Safety Eyes (Recommended)

Most amigurumi will require eyes of some sort. Safety eyes (you can find these in various sizes in the doll section of any craft store) will give your project a polished look, but you can also use buttons, felt, or even embroider the eye details on your amigurumi.

(10) Stuffing Stick (Recommended)

For getting your stuffing into hard-to-reach spots. A chopstick or wooden skewer works very well for this.

Basic Crochet Stitches + Amigurumi Techniques

Most crochet patterns are built from a few basic stitches. Before attempting any larger project, I recommend getting comfortable with these stitches by making a few small, flat pot holders out of each basic stitch. A lot of crochet is pure muscle memory and practice, and this is a great way to start.

There are also a few techniques specific to making amirugumi that will be helpful for you to know. You can find any number of free videos/tutorials online. Below are links to a few videos that I found helpful when I was learning to crochet.

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How to Make a Slip Knot

Single Crochet (+ Starting Chain and How to Count Stitches)

Half Double Crochet

Double Crochet

Triple Crochet

How to Keep Starting Chain from Twisting

Magic Ring

Ultimate Finish

Invisible Finish

Invisible Decrease

Beginner Amigurumi Patterns

These were the first three patterns I learned in the process of teaching myself how to make amigurumi. I recommend working them in the order they are listed. The first two links have step-by-step instructional videos and will help ease you into learning to read amigurumi patterns. All of these patterns are free, and there are many more free patterns out there as well. Have fun!

Amigurumi Ball

Amigurumi Whale

Amigurumi Stegosaurus