How to Make a Tassel

Tassel on the left was made with some wool yarn I dyed myself.  Tassel on the right was made with Sugar n Cream cotton yarn.

Tassels are easy to make.  You don't need any fancy equipment, either.

You will need:

1. A piece of cardboard or something else you can wrap your yarn around.  It should be a little longer than you want your finished tassel to be.  That way you can trim up the end without having a shorter than desired tassel.  (I used a piece of folded cardboard to make mine, as you will see in the video, but you needn't fold yours. )
2. Scissors
3. Crochet hook
4. Yarn, of course

To keep things brief here, I am not going to go into great written detail.  Not that it is complicated to make a tassel, but it is much easier to see it being done than read how to do it.   Basically, all you do is wrap your yarn around the cardboard, until the tassel is as thick as you want it.  The more wraps you do, the thicker your tassel will be.  Then, cut a length of yarn, slip your crochet hook under the wraps, pull the length of yarn under them, and tie it a couple of times tightly so that the tassel doesn't come apart. These are the strands you will use to attach the tassel to your project.  Next, cut the wraps on the opposite end from where you tied them together.  The tassel can be used as is, or you can cut another length of yarn, and tie it around the tassel a short distance from the top.  You can see in the picture above where I have tied my tassels.  I like to wrap my yarn a few times around the tassel, but you can just tie and be done.  With your crochet hook, pull the tails from the yarn you used to tie around the tassel underneath itself and voila. Trim if necessary.  To attach your tassel to a hat or scarf, or whatever you like, just use the strands from the top of the tassel to tie them on.  That's it.

So, here is the video.  Happy Tasseling!

Mattress Stitch

This was requested by a YouTube friend.  I personally avoid seams whenever possible.  I just don't like to seam.  When I bind off, I want to be done!  But I do love how this makes an invisible join that you really can't see at all.  Below are still photos, as well as a video of some small stockinette pieces being joined with Mattress Stitch.

My sample was done on stockinette fabric, however this could really be used with any stitch or fabric.  Do keep in mind that you should add a couple of extra stitches to the sides of your fabric so that you can seam easily, and you won't lose any width.  Seaming takes away from the width of your fabric - patterns that require seaming should have that fact accounted for, so no need to worry about adding extra stitches if you are following a pattern.  But if you are designing your own pattern, just keep in mind when calculating the size.  

OK, so here we go.

1. Your fabric should be placed with right sides facing.  You will be working in a side to side fashion. 
2. Use the same yarn that you knit your garment with.  To make things easy, you can either reserve a length of tail from your cast on, or bind off, for this purpose.  Or you can simply cut a length of yarn to use instead.
3. Don't seam along the immediate edge of your fabric; instead, move over to the first line of stitches.  You could always move over two lines of stitches, but that will make the back side a bit bulkier. 
4. Be sure that you stay straight as you seam up the fabric.
5. For the sake of clarity, we will say we are starting with the left piece of fabric here, but you may start with whichever piece of fabric you like.  
6. Beginning at the cast on edge of the left piece of fabric, insert your yarn or tapestry needle into the cast-on edge stitch, then do the same on the right piece of fabric.
7. On the left piece of fabric, insert your needle under the first strand of yarn between the edge stitches and the first line of stitches.
8. Repeat on the right piece of fabric.
9. Continue moving left, right, left, right and so on, until you reach the top of your fabric.  Then, insert the needle into the stitch along the bind off edge on both the left and right piece of fabric.
10. Now, gently pull on the tail of your yarn to tighten things up.  Pulling from both ends is easiest for me.  You will see that the yarn you used to sew up disappears like magic.  Don't pull too tightly or your fabric will become misshapen.  Just pull gently until the seam is neat and even.  Weave in the loose ends.

Now, if you are like me, you may be scratching your head and saying "Huh?!" after reading that.  I find visual aids much more easy to understand than the written word.  So, here are some pictures, and the video.

These are the strands that you will be picking up and running your needle and yarn under

Yarn has been inserted into the cast on edge stitches of each piece of fabric

Needle going under the first strand

I have started weaving from left to right, left to right

I have now finished weaving all the way to the top of my fabric, and the yarn has been placed into each stitch along the bind off edge as well

The yarn used to seam has been pulled tight, and I now have an invisible join!  

You can see how beautifully these pieces of stockinette fabric have been joined.  Here is a sample of seed stitch fabric I joined, which is just as nice.

Yarn Over 101

I decided to do a tutorial on yarn overs, since there can (and is) often times a lot of confusion on the topic. When I first began knitting, I was good with the YO - yarn over.  But then I started seeing things like yon, yrn, yfwd... I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to do.  I thought it was a yarn over, but then again, it seemed different. It must be different, otherwise the pattern would just say YO, right?   As a result, I avoided anything that contained these goofy instructions.  Somewhere along the way, I figured out that these were all yarn overs, and the only difference was yon, yrn, etc. were there to indicate how the yarn was treated, depending on whether the next stitch was a knit or purl.  These days, whenever I see any of these directions, I just make a yarn over and don't even worry if I am going over the needle, around the needle or whatever.  I know my working yarn has to be in the front when I purl, and in the back when I knit, and that my yarn will be going over the needle.  So I just throw the yarn over my needle, place it in the correct position, and make my next stitch.  It really is that simple.

I know a lot of knitters are very passionate about this topic.  For me, as I said above, they are all yarn overs, and I don't get too particular what "kind" of yarn over it is.  I just do it.  I knit to relax, and really don't need to stress over a hole in my knitting.

Here is a printable reference guide on yarn overs, including what to do when you forget to make one and what to do when you make one you don't need.  There is also a video which demonstrates everything on the sheet.  I hope this helps anyone who may be as confused as I was.  Happy Knitting!


Yarn Over 101 Reference Guide

Yarn Over 101 by on Scribd

Natural Stitches

Last weekend I visited a yarn shop called Natural Stitches in Pittsburgh Pa.
I wouldn't consider it a very big store, however it is absolutely full of beautiful yarn!  They also have a cozy little area to sit, relax and knit.  They have a reward program too - spend $250 and receive 10% your next purchase.  Almost one entire wall is devoted to Cascade 220 - they have every single color.  So if you are a fan of that yarn, this is the place to get it!  If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. Everyone was very nice, and they were able to help me with yarn for a project I am working on now, and will be sharing with everyone soon.  Below are just a few pictures.  As you can see, it is a very neat, clean and well organized shop.  I can't wait to go back!