Bramblestitches

Deadline and diapers (or just in the nick of time)

Annie — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:39:41 +0000

Deadline is over at last, and I’m particularly pleased with how well this issue came together. And I’m even more pleased that my cloth diaper article that I’ve been whining about telling you about for ages is finally going to print! Hooray! (And incidentally, it turns out that Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream is even better than the best chocolate for getting through my writing fits… especially when it’s my very own pint hand delivered by my charming husband.)

So for all of you who have been sitting on the edge of your seats wondering, “When will she finally finish that dag nabbed article,” you can rest assured that it will hit your mail box in mid-August.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to do the happy dance with the kids… and wash diapers.

Still in love

Annie — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:10:34 +0000

16 July 2002

What a lucky girl I am.

Sock blockers

Annie — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:20:02 +0000

Every now and then I get a question in the comments, but I don’t think too many readers get to see the answer if I just respond in the comments, so I’m going to try posting a little Q & A section every now and then.

The first Q is from Mary:

I have a question for you–can you tell me where you got your adjustable metal sock blockers?

My sock blockers are all from the thrift store. I know that’s no help to anyone, sorry. All of mine are made by Lee-Rowan Co, and every now and then I see a pair on eBay. The good news: it is ridiculously easy to make your own custom sized sock blockers. Or, if you like to work with wood (I do) you could also make yourself a gorgeous wooden set of blockers. Trace a pair of socks onto a piece of 1/4-inch birch plywood, cut out the shapes, sand it REALLY well, and finish the wood however you like.

Tutorial: The knit-in hem’s identical twin

Annie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:28:08 +0000

I finished Erik’s neck warmer thingie the other night, and I want to show you how I made the top hem (the cast-off edge) look identical to the bottom hem (the knit-in one). There are plenty of tutorials on the web for the knit-in hem, so I won’t go into it here, but I haven’t seen the identical sewn-up version anywhere, so here you go. As always, you can click the photo to see it larger.

Here is the knit in hem, as viewed from the front.

Here is the knit in hem, as viewed from the back.

Now to set up for the sewn-in version, knit your garment to the desired length, knit your turning row to match your knit-in hem (if you have one), and knit your hem to the desired length LESS ONE ROW. You will be sewing your final knit row. Finally, cut your yarn with a very generous tail–at least long enough to go around your work four times. Better to be safe, than too short. Thread your tail onto a blunt needle, and proceed as follows:

Step One: Pass needle through first stitch as if to knit. Take the stitch off the knitting needle, and pull yarn all the way through.

Next, fold up hem and stitch up through back of matching stitch.

Third, stitch down through adjacent stitch to the left, and purlwise back through first knit stitch that you removed from the knitting needle. Pull yarn all the way through, and repeat from first step, moving one stitch to the left.

Tada!

It looks identical, because structurally it IS identical. Yay for twins!