If you haven’t tried this training-wheels sushi, find a Hawaiian friend and ask them if they like SPAM musubi. Go ahead, I’ll wait right here. Let me know what their answer is. I’ll bet you it’s “I lurrrrrve me some SPAM musubi!” Next, invite them over for musubi-tutorial fun, or take them out for lunch at a Hawaiian joint. Soon you’ll be a new convert, you’ll have a perfect thank you gift for your new Hawaiian bestee: a hand made SPAM musubi pillow. Even Martha Stewart proved a masterful SPAM-lover on NPR’s quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me (listen & laugh).

This easy project is intended for maximum fun. I designed it as four separate pieces so you and your kids can always play with your food. It looks great with affordable acrylic like Caron One Pound Yarn: if you get it on sale, you can make one on about $10 worth of yarn. A quick, two-evening project, the yarn is held double to work up super fast. Beginners will be glad it uses basic stitches and simple construction techniques. 

Members of my entourage enjoy a special 2-day offer on this new crochet pattern in their inboxes. Join my entourage here to get in on deals for the upcoming mini SPAM musubi pattern and a SPAM musubi phone case. It’s true, I just can’t leave well enough alone. Hawaii and yarn have become such kindred spirits that Norma and I are scheming market yarn bombs and crochet lessons.

Aloha Pumehana,

Lorna

Why are plastic canvas crafts so… well, lame? When Diane at Crafty Pod asked for plastic canvas tutorials for this week’s blog hop, I signed up to challenge myself.

Here’s a medium ripe for experimentation in three dimensions, and for merging with other crafts. There must be some fun uses for it. Turns out, there are!

Papercrafts, meet plastic canvas

After learning some basic stitches and bending and folding pieces together, I realized what I was envisioning was similar to papercraft sculptures. Voilà, you can do any papercraft with plastic canvas! After spending time with bookworm relatives, I thought these paper corner monster bookmarks from Tally’s Treasury would be perfect gifts. Try some of the pictured paper crafts with plastic canvas. I challenge you to make ceiling cat or grumpy cat before I do!

Let’s begin!

Materials

Cut out the face

Cross stitch the teeth

Stitch the edges

Gobelin stitch the face

Stitch face parts together

Stitch remaining edges

Glue on eyes

Share

Now feed your monster bookmark some book pages! I’d absolutely love to see your projects on my Facebook page, or tag them @knitsforlife on Instagram. And stay tuned to the Plastic Canvas Blog Hop for more fun projects this week.

xxxo,

Lorna

The Bellwether Knits For Life Maker Mama Seamstress Erin 30 Minute Crafts Trinkets in Bloom Jenny Henry Designs Nuts About Needlepoint Gingerbread Snowflakes CraftyPod

Two questions crossed my path and stumped me recently: What are your creative goals for 2013? If you could make something for anyone in the world, what would it be?

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower

The easy answer is that The Dapper Toad and I are transitioning our focus from making handmade items–which are difficult to profit from–to designing them, allowing us to create anything we can imagine. However, these questions made me realize I wasn’t dreaming big enough: given the opportunity to design anything, what would it be?

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”
― Gloria Steinem

I encourage you to stop reading, give yourself room to pace and a decent view, and ask yourself these right now. For a better year ahead, seriously, go do it. Get out of here! Shoo!

Learn and explore

One of my creative goals is to collaborate with knitting and crochet artists I admire on new projects that let us dream big. Really big.

A perfect opportunity to hit up San Diego-based Marcy Kraft of Crochet Grenades arose when I visited SoCal for my 93-year-old grandpa’s birthday. Marcy’s work transforms objects through yarn bombing, which you know is right up my alley. She does beautiful corded lettering, has a great sense of color and proportion, and loves to dream big–of course I wanted to play with her! Cruise on over to her Facebook page to check out her gumball bollard, dangling dirigibles, beachy surfboards, and sign up to crochet simple granny squares for 60 giant Rubik’s Cubes to be shown at this summer’s Comic Con.

My sister, Jill of The Dapper Toad, was also game. She is known for her beautifully-photographed, squee-inducing knitting and crochet patterns like Octopuss and Shelf Elf, which you can download here. As my Siamese twin and partner in crime, we work well together by complimenting each other’s skills and encouraging our exploits. I’m so lucky!

After much scouting (incredibly carved out of Marcy’s super-mom schedule), texting, and brainstorming, we hatched a plan to create an epic, 32 square-foot Etch-a-Sketch. An artistic toy that takes coordination and skill to use, it’s a fitting tribute to collaboration, don’t you think?

Who would you work with?

Networking with pre-filtered people face-to-face is a great way to meet people you’ll have a lot in common with. Marcy, Jill, and I never ran out of things to discuss, like long-lost souls speaking a common language. The only downside to reaching out to people in your travel destinations is that you have to leave!

Pick an area of your work or life and think of people you admire. What can you propose working on them with? Is there a project you couldn’t do alone that’s perfect for collaboration? New places or techniques to explore? Share your dreams in the comments and paste me the links to their Facebook pages or websites so we can all indulge!

Coming up

Another admiree of mine is Diane at Crafty Pod, who produces the only fluff-free, informative craft podcast. When she asked for bloggers to dream up plastic canvas projects, I saw a cheap technique I’d never used so said yes! Follow my Facebook page, RSS feed, or Instagram @knitsforlife to see tomorrow’s silly project. And don’t forget to join my entourage to get exclusive discounts on upcoming Knits for Life knitting and crochet patterns.

Are you tired of choosing between functionality and fashion? Do you wish your iPad and MacBook matched your crochet TOMS? Never fear, Knits for Life is here. An eco-friendly, hand-crocheted iPad or MacBook sleeve is a smart investment that will cuddle your device ’til it’s obsolete.

My iPad MacBook sleeves are the best and here’s why

Three fashionable pastel colors.
Three device sizes: iPad Mini, iPad, 11″ MacBook Air.
Made with fiber spun from recycled plastic bottles.
Certified USPS Priority shipping with a tracking number.
I plant a rainforest tree with The Nature Conservancy for every item sold.
Comes with a pretty herbal pouch to scent your drawers, or microwave it and use it as a pocket warmer!
Free gift wrap and personal message.
Super high quality work: I am a perfectionist with an eye for details, even on the inside.
Exclusive Knits for Life design to crochet these sleeves that you won’t see anywhere else.
I can accommodate special requests like organic or vegan fibers, and custom device sizes.

Wholesale pricing available for retailers

Contact me at KnitsForLife at gmail dot com for prices and turnaround times.

Make your own!

Join my entourage here to get exclusive discounts on the soon-to-be-released crochet pattern, with instructions for all three sizes.

xxxo,

Lorna

Somewhere around 1987 I knotted Corey Haim a black and purple friendship bracelet, then checked Bop magazine monthly to see if it pictured him wearing it. Imagine my sorrow twenty years later watching The Two Coreys on A&E! Friendship bracelets definitely outlived poor Corey: today Instagram has about 50,000 pics tagged #friendshipbracelet. But the good news is you don’t have to be ten years old to wear them anymore. And you certainly don’t have to hover over a safety pin stuck through your favorite leggings to stitch one up for everyone in your best friend tier.

A grown-up friendship bracelet

Geometry and neon just won’t quit in accessory trends, so this spring is a perfect time to show you how to use them in one of my favorite crochet techniques: tapestry crochet. Crocheters will love this simple method of charting and hooking up anything you can sketch into life on graph paper. Knitters will recognize its similarity to fair isle. I use it for monograms, love notes, fan art, and even hashtags on my yarnbombs.

What the heck is tapestry crochet?

If you crochet, you’ve probably done tapestry crochet without knowing its name. First, tapestry crochet uses multiple color strands. Second, tapestry crochet wraps around the trailing strands of colors not in use, just like those old friendship bracelets on the school yard did. That’s it. If these two elements are in your crochet project, you’re doing tapestry crochet. The Ravelry group TapestryCrochet is a wealth of charts, tips, and ideas. This technique works with any kind of thread, yarn, and hook sizes. I like to use embroidery floss.

Materials and charting

Every crocheter can appreciate this sentiment from FlyingJai on Twitter the other day:

Hash tag happiness, holla! And indeed, you won’t need much to crochet this bracelet! Just a 1.5-2.5 mm hook, some floss, and scissors. For the motif shown, you’ll need two things of green and less than one of the other colors.

Finally, you need a chart. Because you’re crocheting in the round, each row will be shifted slightly to the right of the row below. If you chart on graph paper, know that this means your pattern will slant to the right. If you chart with Carol Ventura’s amazing crochet graph paper that mimics the slant of single crochet, the result will look as charted. (Download printable crochet graph paper for right-handed rounds, left-handed rounds, and crocheting flat at tapestrycrochet.com)

The chart below shows two motif repeats: the first and last. It starts at the big arrow and spirals up, from right to left. So the end of every round is in the center of this chart. You’ll repeat the motif 4-6 times, depending on your gauge.

Ready, set? Let’s begin!

You must to do a gauge swatch before you start, but you can give me a big wet kiss because I’ve got a handy conversion to make it easy for you.

First, do this teeny tiny swatch in the blink of an eye: Foundation – ch15. Row 1 – ch1, 15sc, turn. Repeat row 1 two more times.

Measure the width of ten stitches and measure around your wrist. Be sure your wrist measurement is large enough to pass over your hand!

Now calculate this: 10 / (width of 10 sts) x (inches around wrist) / 14 = the number of motif repeats for your wrist using your combination of hook and floss or. You’ll probably have 4-6 repeats. I recommend rounding up. Now we’re ready to start!

Foundation chain (Fig. 1-2): With green, ch14 for each motif repeat (4x=56, 5x=70, 6x=84).

Round 1 (Fig. 3-4): You are now starting at the the big arrow on the chart. Sc in first ch to join for working in the round, taking care not to twist chain. Sc to end.

Round 2: Now you’ll learn to switch colors like a pro. 1sc, stopping before the last yarn over (Fig. 5). Switch to orange to finish the first sc (Fig. 6). Yay! You just switched colors. Notice that you start a color on the last yarn over of the previous stitch.

Now you’ll learn to hide the unused colors as you go. Sc, inserting hook into next st and under the trailing green strand (Fig. 7-9). This encloses the trailing strands inside the working stitches. Continue with motif (Fig. 10).

Now you see how the color strands follow you as you work. Just remember that when you want to change colors, stop at the last yarn over of the the previous stitch. Below shows where you switch back to green, and then back to orange.

Continue motif to end.

Round 3: This round, you’ll add a third color. When you get to it, introduce pink as you did orange (Fig. 5-6). Continue, now enclosing two trailing colors inside each stitch. This motif only uses up to 3 working colors at a time. At the end of round 3, you are finished with orange. Cut the end, and enclose the tail along with the other trailing colors. Hooray, you won’t have to weave in all those tails!

At the end of round 3, you’ve learned to change colors, work around the trailing colors, work with three colors at once, and finish a color. Now you know enough to finish this whole motif! After round 9, cut the strand and weave in ends.

Get creative with your own charts!

Now that you’re a pro, I hope you love messing around with tapestry crochet! This bracelet also looks awesome replacing the green with turquoise, or double-wide with a mirrored motif. Here is a free alphabet on tapestry crochet graph paper. Show me your designs on Instagram or Twitter @knitsforlife or #knitsforlife. Below are a few of my custom designs for Sherlock fangirl customers. Personally, I think it’s a good sign that now we crush on grown men like Benedict Cumberbatch, rather than boys like young Corey. Don’t you? Let me know in the comments what designs you’d like to see! Be the first to know about new designs and get exclusive discounts by joining my entourage.

xxxo,

Lorna

I don’t go to local yarn shops because they bore me. Gasp! *Shields head from crockery sailing out of the interwebs towards me* Phewf! That was a close one. If you’re still listening because you kind of agree, raise your hand! See, I knew we were buddies. You guys are the ones I’m looking at as I announce my new crochet pattern. DOO-do-do-DOO!

Oppa crafty style! Op, op, op, op…

I’m excited to announce that the crochet pattern for my popular crochet bling scarf is here! After dozens of orders for these handmade scarves, I’ve refined the size and shape to the perfect level of crafty swagger. Orders keep pouring in for gifts, and even repeat customers return for one in every color. Take it from me, everyone you know will insist you hook them up. (Wink, wink–get it?)

Maximum effect, minimum effort

This is a perfect beginner’s pattern, using only slip stitches and single crochet, with no special skills. Each scarf takes about 3-4 hours, so you can finish it in a single evening. Be adventurous with alternating colors, or one color for each wrap length.

You can use about 450 yds of worsted weight yarn, or about 225 yds of bulky or super bulky weight yarn. Plus, it describes how to scale the length for a scarf that wraps around once, twice, thrice, or more!

Get this pattern now for free

Sign up to join my entourage here and I’ll email you a surprise! Or, download the pattern now in my Ravelry store here.

Show me your crafty swagger pics in your new crochet bling on Instagram! Use @knitsforlife or #knitsforlife.

If you’ve never yarn bombed before, this is a perfect way to start! And if you’re a pro, it’s a great chance do something epic because we have permission to yarn bomb almost anything! When the local Public Works department saw an article about my pay phone yarn bomb, they invited me to help beautify the city on clean up day with more yarn bombs. Now I’m inviting you to yarn bomb with me, either in person or by mail.

How it works

On Saturday, April 20th at 8 am, hundreds of kids and adults will meet in Central Park to converge on Downtown San Mateo to paint, yarn bomb, plant flowers, scrub, and rescue litter. In just 3 hours, we’ll make it look like we just installed candy stores and smell-o-vision. Oh yeah! At 11, we’ll shake off our gloves, wipe our brows, and head over to Central Park for a big party with food, drinks, and music. How awesome is San Mateo to have a spring cleaning party? I love my town!

During the clean up, I’ll lead teams of volunteers to sew on yarn bombs that I crochet in advance. These will be the silliest, funnest yarn bombs ever seen. In the pipeline are monster feet, lollipops, flying pigs, and more! If you want to bring or mail your own yarn bomb, even better. Come point with pride and say, “I did that!”

Makeover subjects

Here are some of the things we’ll yarn bomb on clean up day. It’s practically anything goes, so if you have an idea, throw it out there. I especially need feet for mail boxes and long rectangles for bike racks. Feet can be any size attached to an 8″ flat square to wrap like a sock, and bike racks segments are 8″ wide and any length. 

Join us, or spread the word

Leave a comment below or email me at knitsforlife at gmail dot com to participate in person or by mail.

Tweet or post this to Facebook: “I’m yarn bombing at the 1st Annual Downtown San Mateo Spring Clean Up. Join me! http://knitsforlife.com/?p=1318 #crochet #knitting #sanmateo”

Re-blog this post on WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr.

Download the Clean Up Day flyer here and post it in the area.

Post this picture to your Instagram (click to download):

These yarn bombs are ready to be sewn on by YOU

Earlier this year a new study found that we’d been underestimating by billions the number of birds and small mammals our cute little kitties ravenously kill every year. Oh noes! Bad bad kitties!

Fortunately, the country is also full of wildlife rescue centers. These are the places where sensitive nature-lovers like you and me deliver injured birds and other animals in the hopes that they’ll be nurtured back to health and released back into the wild.

Play the Easter Bunny for a fledgling this year

This time of year baby bird nurseries are aflutter, not with marshmallow peeps, but tiny robins, jays, towhees, and thrushes all orphaned, injured, or separated from their parents. When a family member in Seattle emailed me about a local rescue center’s call for knitted nests for baby bird season, I knew it was the perfect Easter craft to share with you all. Look how cute they are!

How to knit a baby bird nest

You’ll enjoy every stitch, thinking of the little feet and feathers flopping around in your nest! The pattern is so simple that after just one, you’ll have it memorized and won’t be able to stop making more. Well, as you can see, I certainly couldn’t!

Here are the details from the call for nests from the West Sound Wildlife Shelter. Please click over and read for more information. Thanks to Barbara Johnson for the pattern. Ship your finished nests to West Sound Wildlife, 7501 NE Dolphin Dr., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110. Please note that they are not open to the public. If you live in the area and want to deliver your nests, call 206-855-9057 to arrange an appointment first.

Tips

• To make sure the nest is tight and washable, use two strands of washable yarn (using two different colors to make counting stitches easier). Use three strands if the yarn is very fine.
• Use double-pointed needles—just about any size, from 5 through 9, depending on the weight of the yarn. You can use circular needles if you prefer.
• When doing K2tog, it seems to be easier to knit through the back loops rather than the front. If you’re still having problems with K2tog, try using a crochet hook to pull the yarn through.
• Only decrease to the point where you have a small, easily closed gap in the bottom of the nest; otherwise there can be a bump on the bottom that can make the nest unstable.
• Directions given are for nests that are about 4” across. Cast on fewer stitches for smaller nests. They knit up so quickly, it’s easy to experiment. (If the nest is much smaller, start the decrease with K6, K2tog.)
• The yarn should not be fuzzy so toes don’t get caught.

Directions

1. Using 2 strands of yarn, cast on 54 stitches; then divide evenly among 4 dpns.
2. Work in stockinette (all K stitches) until the nest is approximately 3″ tall.
3. Purl one row, and then start to decrease:
4. Row 1) K7, K2tog—repeat to end
5. Row 2) K6, K2tog—repeat to end
6. Row 3) K5, K2tog—repeat to end
7. Row 4) K4, K2tog—repeat to end
8. Row 5) K3, K2tog—repeat to end
9. Row 6) K2, K2tog—repeat to end
10. Row 7) K1, K2tog—repeat to end
11. See tip #4 above to determine if you want to continue in this pattern for one more row. Cut yarns, leaving a 6″ tail. Slide yarn on needle, draw tight to close up end (put a few stitches across the gap if need be.) Weave in yarn and cut off.

Ready, set, stashbust!

I love how they turned out in this Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn. I’ve had it for years and always rip out the projects I use it for. Something about the color pattern and stiffness of the cotton was never satisfying, but it’s such cute yarn that I hung on to it. What a perfect match for this project! I held it double and used 3.75 mm needles.

What part of your stash is this project perfect for busting?I hope you have some quality creative time (and chocolate and ham!) this weekend and can dedicate a little of it to this wonderful rescue center. Share your nests with me on Instagram by tagging them with hashtag #knitsforlife, or tweet them to me @knitsforlife!

Coming up next week is a fun crochet bracelet tutorial, so stay tuned by following me on Facebook, or your favorite RSS feed.

Happy Easter to you all!

xxxo,

Lorna

Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stirrup-leg-warmers

Size

Small (medium/large)

Finished measurements

Calf circumference: up to 13 inches(13-15/15+)

Length: 19 inches, or as desired

Width: 5.5(6.5/7.5) inches

Materials

Main color (MC): about 300(350/400) yd worsted weight yarn

Contrasting color (CC): about 30(35/40) yd bulky yarn

J-10 (6 mm) crochet hook

Gauge

12 sts and 14 rows = 4 inches

Pattern notes

Pattern is worked in the round as a spiral. Construction starts with the upper hem, working down through the stirrup to the toe hem.

Abbreviations

bphdc – back post half double crochet

ch – chain

dc – double crochet

fphdc – front post half double crochet

fptc – front post triple crochet

hdc – half double crochet

sc – single crochet

sk – skip a stitch

sl – slip stitch

st- stitch

yo – yarn over

Special stitches

Lattice triple cluster (ltc) – In the front post st two rounds below and to the right, fptc, stopping before the last yo. In the front post st two rounds below and to the left, fptc, pulling the last yo through all loops on hook.

Skills required

You should know how to make front and back post sts, as well as half, double, and triple crochet sts. If you are new to these, search for them on YouTube for step-by-step instructions.

Instructions

Make 2

Foundation chain: With MC, ch 28(32/36) sts.

Since this row will not stretch, stop and make sure your chain is not shorter than the desired calf circumference. If it’s shorter, use a larger hook to get the right length.

Row 1: Taking care not to twist the chain, hdc in first ch and every st to end.

Row 2: *Fphdc, bphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 3: *Fphdc, bphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 4: With CC, dc to end.

Row 5: *Sk, 3sc, ltc* (note that the ltr does not involve the fphdc directly below, but the ones to its right and left), repeat from *to* to end.

Row 6: Sk, dc to end. 28(32/36) sts.

Row 7: 2sc, ltc (work the ltc’s around the points of the previous ltc’s, going under both arms of each point), *sk, 3sc, ltc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 8: With MC, sk, *3hdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 9: *Sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 10: *Sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 11: *3hdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Repeat rows 9-11 until you have 32 rows of MC, or to desired length.

For leg warmers without a stirrup, repeat row 3 twice. Weave in all yarn ends on the inside of the leg warmer.

For stirrups, continue with pattern.

Heel split: *3hdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* four times total, ch12, skip to end.

Row 1 of stirrup: *sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* four times total, 12hdc in ch. 28 sts.

Row 2: *Sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 3: *3hdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 4: *Sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 5: *Sk, 3hdc, fphdc in same st,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 6: *3hdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 7: *Bphdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Row 8: *Bphdc, fphdc,* repeat from *to* to end.

Weave in all yarn ends on the inside of the leg warmer.

Your yarn storage is a mess because of this conflict:

Yarn companies want you to buy the yarn. You want to use the yarn. The ideal ball of yarn for each goal is different. You will buy a ball of yarn that is soft, squishy, and that looks big for the price. Plus, small-batch hank producers want to invest in less equipment and reduce labor. But, when it comes to using the yarn, you need to find the end, create good tension, and–let’s face it–store it with the ungodly amount of yarn they’ve already suckered you into taking home. You want to use a ball of yarn that has a conspicuous end hanging out of the middle of a compact center-pull ball.

So, while you’d love to be like Vanna White and have a pretty pedestal bowl for your five skeins of yarn, well… seriously? Do you KNOW how much YARN I have, Vanna? Do you KNOW how fast MY cat (who isn’t a designer Bengal cat, but a fluffy rescue cat that’s way cuter than yours!) would POUNCE on that bowl of yours, DESTROYING those pretty skeins?

Yeah, thanks, Vanna, but no. I don’t even know where you’d get a fancy pedestal bowl like that.

Right now you’re using drawers, baskets, and zip-lock bags. All good ideas, but kind of a pain in the ass to access, and starting to fill every crevice you can find. Plus, they’re missing one big thing. If you have a yarn problem, you probably love gorgeous things. Why keep your best treasures in the dark?

The result: you need to upgrade your yarn storage solution.

But you’re in luck! Google “yarn storage” and take your pick from over 21 million ideas. Uh… OK, you have standards. Let’s refine that and Google “yarn organization”. Good, now you just have 13 million options. Sigh.

OK let’s look at Pinterest. That’s the better way to look for things like this anyway. (type type type, enter). Woah, that looks awesome! Oh my god, I like that one. Ooooo, so pretty. What else is on that board? OMG I have to repin that now. Squee! Oreos baked inside chocolate chip cookies!? Genius! I’m craving cupcakes now. Isn’t it perfect weather for baking? Oh shit, my cat is eating my yarn!

Oh, internet, you’re as mischievously useful as Aladdin’s Genie, aren’t you?

Try another angle. Jill at The Dapper Toad made a list of her needs: “For me, the ideal yarn storage solution has 3 qualities. It must be: easily accessible, out of the way, and nicely displayed. There are countless ways to store yarn that meets 1 or 2 of these ideals, but never all three! It’s the elusive yarn lover’s trifecta!”

She took a page from makers (those people us crafters date and marry), for storage ideas. Yarn, hooks, and needles are our materials and tools. How do makers store materials and tools?

Now that’s crafty! Jill even put the peg board behind the door, turning and unused space into a useful one.

Sold! I’m always rearranging my apartment. I have this little nook that wasn’t working as an office, but would work perfectly as a yarn studio. Plus, think of all that closet space I’d get back! I rearranged (again) and enlisted Jill for help. Let me show you what we did.

What you need to make a peg board yarn storage wall

Back to our initial conflict. You have lots of skeins and hanks that are hard to work with and bulky to store. The first thing you need is like a little eight pound six ounce baby Jesus: a yarn winder. This one is a good balance of quality and price.

Winding is fast, easy, and fun! I recommend holding the strand as you wind to give it some tension. It will wind better and create a more compact ball. Winding alone reduced my yarn storage by a third: from 15 ANTONIUS IKEA drawers to just 10!

Peg board and hooks are cheap and sold at most hardware stores. Boards come in 2×4-foot sections: combine or tailor cut them to your space. For each board, be sure to pick up a set of the spacers and screws that hold the peg board away from the wall a little, where the hooks poke through and anchor. They’re usually with the hooks, not the boards. Hooks come in all shapes and sizes: I recommend two- and four-inch straight hooks. Check the combo packs to get the best deal.

Once you screw in your wall and wind your yarn, the fun part starts! I spent hours meticulously color-matching my enormous stash. It was interesting to discover what colors I have and wonder whether that means I don’t use them or like to buy them.

So many peg board attachments exist, that you’ll start rethinking all your storage systems. I created rails by laying dowels across peg board hooks and hung some IKEA storage cups from them. I also hung some IKEA cloth baskets. You can even lay your long knitting needles across peg board hooks.

With a cozy chair and a good lamp nearby, you can even knit or crochet off the wall!

Installing my yarn wall only took an afternoon and was super gratifying. I can’t stop taking pictures with it. Knitting and crocheting in my little nook is so invigorating now. Everything is instantly accessible and a cinch to put away. When people come over they’re in awe. Personally, I’m in awe of all my empty closet space!

What yarn storage ideas do you currently use? I’d love to see and swap ideas! Tag your Instagram pics with #knitsforlife to show me or tweet them to me @knitsforlife.

All this knitting and crocheting in my new studio nook has been productive. Coming up I’m posting a free leg warmer pattern for those of you still weathering out the cold, and for the lucky ones enjoying spring, a geometric crochet bracelet photo tutorial (in neon colors!) using embroidery floss. Catch them by adding me to your Feedly or Bloglovin’ RSS feed, or following me on Facebook.

Until next time!

xxxo,

Lorna

All image sources above are linked to the image.