How to Knit a Two Row Button Hole

The two row button hole creates a larger hole which is better for bigger buttons. I just used this technique in my latest project; an ugly scarf which I am converting into a bag. Once my bag is complete I'll post pictures of it. For now enjoy this quick tutorial on knitting a button hole.

• Begin by knitting the row until you reach the spot where you would like your button hole to be. Then cast off the desired amount of stitches, I did four. Continue knitting until you finish the row. 

• On the second row, knit until you reach the part where you bound off your stitches. Switch hands so that the needle with the stitches that you've just knit is now in your left hand. Making sure that your yarn is in the back cast on your stitches using the cable cast on method. Then switch hands again, making sure your yarn is back, and continue knitting to the end of the row. 

Photos are courtesy of Knitty and depict a different cast on method than the one I described. Keep in mind that knit button holes typically do not look very tidy so try not to be discouraged. 

Yarn Porn

Last week I decided to take a trip to a yarn store just to look around. Sure, Joann Fabric is a store that sells yarn but it offers nothing compared to these small local boutiques that supply hand dyed, home spun, and luxury yarns.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at my stash of acrylic the same way again when just 3 minutes of browsing hand dyed yarns on Etsy leaves my mouth watering.

I'm going to have to learn how to dye my own yarn one day. Perhaps I should concentrate on learning how to knit first though. Currently I'm working on a larger project turning this hideous scarf that I started about a year ago and never finished into a decent looking bag. I'm doing the entire thing in garter stitch but other skills needed for this project include color change and making a button hole. I'll be sure to post the results, hopefully within the next few days, since I'm getting kind of sick of knitting this project and want to move on to something a little more interesting.

Chunky Knit Fingerless Gloves

I'm excited to say that this is my first non-scarf project! I was a little intimidated at first but this pattern is extremely easy. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick yarn or a different yarn of a similar weight
• A pair of size 13 needles
• Some sharp scissors
• Measuring tape
• A needle with a large eye

Instructions:

1. Begin by casting on 15 stitches
2. Work in garter stitch until it's reached 8 1/2 inches in length
3. Bind off and be sure to leave a long yarn tail before you cut
4. Using your tapestry needle, sew your glove together, making sure to leave a hole about 1 to 2 inches for your thumb
5. Weave in the yarn ends

Thanks to Lion Brand for the pattern! 

One thing that I didn't like about this pattern is that I felt the yarn was too thick for this kind of project. As a result I felt that the gloves looked more boxy than fitted. I would like to try a variation of this with a worsted weight yarn and see if that turns out better. I think that these specific gloves would best suit a smoker on a cold winter day more than the average person.

My First Purl

So I spent the day teaching myself the purl stitch and practicing it. My original plan was to make a dishcloth in the purl stitch just to practice and get a finished product out of my work. After casting on and purling maybe 10 rows until I got comfortable with the stitch and found a nice flow I examined my work. Hey, this looks familiar. I dug out my garter stitch dishcloth which I knit last week as a refresher. They looked exactly the same. What the hell? Scratching my head, I opened up Stitch 'N Bitch: the knitter's handbook and turned to the purling section. 

It turns out what I had previously thought was the purl stitch was actually called stockinette, created by alternating rows between knitting and purling. I quickly began alternating rows on my dishcloth. After several rows I reexamined my work. Behold what I have created! I'm a little embarrassed at how fascinated I am by this simple pattern. 

My second knitting epiphany of the day came when I returned to my book and read this sentence. "Now that you've learned to purl, you should really give yourself a pat on the back, because you now know how to make all the stitches there are in knitting." No. Way. I browsed an array of different advanced knitting projects and realized it's true. Now, I realize that putting it that way is really oversimplifying things and that I should in no way think that the hard part is over with. However, I can't help but have a reaction of that's it? I guess I just assumed that there was a multitude of complicated stitches that I would have to learn. 

Coming Soon:

• I already finished a project of chunky knit fingerless gloves, however, I'm having technical difficulties with my digital camera. I'll post about this project as well as pictures as soon as I can get it up and running. 
• My next project will be a pair of ribbed leg warmers to practice my purling. 

Unraveling my Comfort Zone

Over the past several years I've been a very casual knitter. As in, knitting about one simple garter stitch scarf  annually around fall or winter. However my current situation deems it necessary to advance my skills and my interests:

• I'm currently 8 months pregnant and unemployed.
• Punctuating my days with food, exercise, and copious amounts of  web browsing is becoming extremely tedious, not to mention redundant. 
• I'm on the road to recovery after abandoning all my crafty hobbies during a bout of depression several years back.

In addition to wanting to regenerate my previous creative outlets, I'm also trying to develop a skill set that will last a lifetime. I want to be able to make my own clothes, to build a coffee table, to think of 20 uses for old mason jars off the top of my head. In the past, I've always had all these ideas. A surge of brilliance which falls flat, collecting dust in my notebooks, as I seek lonely comfort, wrapped up in that sweet, sweet depression. No. I'm ready for a change. No more empty promises to myself.

This blog will follow my knitting projects as I branch out beyond the scarf. I will include patterns, instructions, and pictures for my readers' pleasure. But mostly, this blog will be a documentation of my progress as I become a more well rounded knitter.