Fresh off the needles: It Goes Both Ways Toddler Hat

Why do kids have to grow so fast? My niece grew out of all her hats I've made her. Naturally, now that the weather is warming up, I decided I should probably get on to knitting her a new one.

The hat I knit was made from a pattern designed by CheyOnna the Yarn Mission.The Yarn Mission is a great company that I love to support as much as possible. They are dedicated to the advancement of justice and the end of an oppressive system through community engagement. For more information visit theyarnmission.com.

The Pattern

The It Goes Both Ways pattern is super clear and super adorable. I love the simple two stitch cables that create an effect that looks nothing like your traditional cable. The pattern is 100% perfect as is and I plan on knitting one for myself in the near future. But my niece got top priority, so I decided to modify it to make it fit her.

The Modifications

To start I used a sport weight yarn instead of worsted. I thought that was going to be enough of a change for me, but doing the math I realized I was going to need to do more. But still, it really wasn't that much. All I did was figure out how many stitches I needed to cast on to get the size I wanted then fudged the numbers a bit to make sure there were enough stitches to end the round with a full pattern repeat.

Having to fudge numbers did make it so that I ended up making a bigger hat than I had planned on. But when I make hats, especially when I make them for kids, I don't worry too much if it comes out a little on the big side. You know how kids are always growing like we don't want them to stay little forever. I figure, it'll fit eventually.

The only thing I wish I had taken the time to do was figure out the decreases like the original pattern. I opted to just do a stockinette section with the decreases. It really would have given the hat a more finished professional look. It does look fine, by all accounts, I just wish I would have put in a little more effort. If it really does end up bothering me a ton, I figure I can always slap a Pom-Pom on it. Pom poms fix everything.

The Yarn

The yarn I used was Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. It is 100% superwash merino. I LOVE this yarn. I’ve always loved the color range that Cascade 220 offers, the colors are rich and vibrant and you can find just about any color you need. But the 100% wool is way too scratchy for me. Then I discovered the Superwash Merino and my life was made. It has the perfect amount of softness for me, but it's not so soft that it's slippery and hard to work with like Knit Picks Swish can be sometimes.

I for one love this hat. My niece? Not so much. Apparently she doesn't wear any thing that's not pink. She won't even try it on. I mean, I do kind of have to agree with her though. The orange I picked isn't really my favorite color either. I guess that only means I'll have to make her a pink one next.

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This Gal Knows Book Review: The Handy Book of Sweater Patterns

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which cost you nothing, but when you buy something through these links I get a small commission. I also bought this book with my own money and was not asked to review it. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of my first goals after learning to knit was to knit a sweater. I knit a few conventional sweater patterns, but it was hard for me to find patterns that came in my size. So, naturally I jumped head first into adapting the pattern all on my own. Let's just say, that little adventure may or may not have ended with me flinging notebooks around the room. Luckily, that’s when I discovered The Handy Book of Sweaters by Ann Budd.

The Handy Book of Sweater Patterns includes instructions for six different sweater constructions (Drop shoulder, Modified drop shoulder, Set-in sleeve, saddle shoulder, Raglan, and Seamless yoke). Each sweater construction is broken into two sections; kids sizes (26 in chest to 34 chest), and adult sizes (36 in chest to 54 in chest). Each size section is then broken down into five gauges. All you have to do is swatch your yarn, pick the size you want to knit and you have a basic sweater pattern that you can customize as you see fit. With this ginormous range of sizes, it’s been perfect for when I’m trying to resize certain patterns.

It by no means is a fully comprehensive design book, you will still need to know basics about what roles certain yarns and stitch patterns play in your finished sweater. But there are piles upon piles of books out there with that type of information. As well as some great online resources.

I will say, that while I think it’s great for beginner sweater knitters, I suggest you try out a conventional sweater pattern first, especially one geared towards first time sweater knitters. Or at the very least watch a few video tutorials to fully understand sweater construction. There are a few things that I can see becoming confusing for someone who hasn’t knit a sweater before. Here's a Ravelry bundle I'm working on filled with good beginner sweater patterns.

My absolute favorite thing about the book is the wide variety of pattern options. You could literally knit something for the entire family from this book. The sizes may not go down to infant sizes, but with the measurements of your desired finished object, your gauge and a little bit of math, you could easily use the numbers for a different gauge and size and make it work for your baby.

The one thing I really don’t care for is that there’s no bottom up instructions for raglan sleeves. In the book it gives instructions for top down raglan sweaters. I know it’s more common to knit a raglan sweater top down, but I’ve come to realize I don’t really care for the line of increases down the sleeve and I would have really like to have bottom up instructions. It’s especially frustrating since there was eventually an entire book dedicated to top down sweater construction.

I really love the flexibility of this book and I would really recommend this book to any knitter who likes to knit sweaters and wants to bring their sweaters to the next level. It's especially handy for folks who knit several different sweater sizes. Or those of you who are like me, and need a little help modifying an existing pattern to work for you.

Have you used this book in the past? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comment section.

As always to see my sweater process, follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Free Coloring Page Printable

Who doesn't love to color? I know I do. I may not be that great at it, but I love it anyway. That's why today, I have a free printable coloring page.

I had fun messing around with a different technique with this coloring page. All I really had on hand were some Crayola Markers that I couldn’t really get to color evenly, so I decided to try a little dot pattern. I thought it turned out alright. I'm not entirely sure how to handle the background. Any suggestions?

I originally created this design because I wanted a fun little knitting journal where I could sketch all my sweater ideas. As I was creating this design for my cover on the computer, I couldn’t make up my mind what colors to do. I decided to create this coloring page so that even after I finalized my color choices, I could still have fun with the design.

What’s Included
[1] 8.5” x 11” coloring page in a PDF format

Printing tips

• Print on high quality for best results

I'd love to see what you guys come up with. Post your finished pictures on Instagram and tag thisgalknows.

Coloring not your thing? Check out some finished products in my RedBubble shop. You can get fully colored notebooks, prints, t-shirts and mugs.

I have a few more coloring page ideas up my sleeve. Follow me on Instagram so you don't miss out.

If you like this printable and find it useful, please consider buying me a coffee so I can continue to bring you guys free printables. For more information about what it means to buy me a coffee click here.

Fresh Off the Needles: Socks that actually fit

I did it! I finally knit a pair of socks that actually fit. Best part? They're not even for me. I finally knit a pair of socks and they fit someone else. Maybe it's not a big deal for most people, but it's a pretty big deal for me. For the longest time, I've been having such trouble with sock knitting that I was about to give it up all together. I would have too if it weren't for all the Knit Picks Felici I've stocked up on. So, how did I do it you ask? Simple, I finally took the time to make a cardboard foot template following the instructions from Fish Lips Kiss Heel pattern. I wish I had done it sooner, it would have saved me a headache or 600. I've had this pattern since my sock knitting journey began (find link to old post). If you're having trouble fitting your socks I highly recommend this pattern. It's only a dollar on Ravelry, so you really don't have much to lose. I knit everything but the heel in Knit Picks Felici in the Surfs Up colorway. Like 99.99% of the sock knitting community, I love this yarn. The only thing I don't love, is that it comes in extremely limited quantities about twice a year, so right now, it's not available on the Knit Picks website. And it's why I have more of it stashed away than I know what to do with.
For the heel, I used some Cascade Heritage in the Snow colorway. I did a simple German Short Row heel instead of the heel called for in the Fish Lips Kiss pattern only because I prefer making my short rows German styles. One thing I still need to figure out when I'm knitting socks is how to avoid the hole at when I start knitting in the round after knitting the heel. I try to pick up an extra stitch to close it up, it that always seems to make it worse. If anyone has any tips I'm all ears. Overall, I'm pretty pumped about my sister’s new socks and am gunna check this in the win column. Have you had a major knitting win? I'd love to hear about it in the comment section.

Want to keep up with all my sock knitting shenanigans? Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Project Overload

Anyone else ever have so many knitting projects going on you don't know what to work on? So, you end up working on nothing. Then you go a few days without knitting anything which makes you feel guilty, so you then start a new project to get yourself back into the swing of things? Then as you're working on said new project, your mind starts to wander and you start thinking about all the other abandoned projects you have to work on? And then you're tense and stressed until you finally convince yourself to just stick to one project and the rest will have their time soon enough? Then, finally, you can relax and hopefully start getting some finished objects?

No? Me either. Just asking for a friend. But my friend would really like to know how you all deal with project overload, so, tell me about it in the comments. I'll be sure to pass along the information.

 If you want to stay up to date on all my projects follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

First Impression Book Review: Vintage Design Workshop by Geraldine Warner

Whenever I go to Half Price Books, the knitting section is always my first stop. Sometimes I have luck and find something of interest other days I don't. During my last trip, when I picked up, Vintage Design Workshop: Knitting Techniques for Modern Style by Geraldine Warner, I knew I had luck on my side that day.

Usually when I find a vintage knitting book, it's a collection of updated vintage patterns, which I love, but this book is different. Vintage Design Workshop is exactly what it says it is. It shows you step by step what you should do while knitting from a vintage pattern. It has everything from how to assess your vintage knitting pattern to how to adapt a modern pattern to give it a vintage look.

My latest vintage knitting project

My favorite section, in the entire book is Chapter 2: Substituting Yarns. This has been one of my biggest stumbling blocks when knitting from a vintage pattern. In vintage knitting patterns, there's very little information on the yarn. Usually, it just has something along the lines of, "12 balls of Patons Confetti Flecks". Not too terribly helpful. In this book, Warner gives you advice on how to figure out what type of yarn was used from analyzing a series of things from the gauge given to the description of the garmet. Then she has a whole section dedicated to learning what you can from the preview picture. I really could have used this section a few months ago when I started my most recent vintage project.

This is all just a first impression, I can only assume I'll love this book more once I have time to actually use it on a real project. But just from skimming through it, I would highly recommend it. And even though I got it at a deep discount, this is a book I would definitely feel good about paying full price for.

Have you guys purchased this book? How do you like it?

To keep up with my next vintage knitting projects follow me on Instagram.

WIP Wednesday: Poison Ivy

After spending almost two weeks without knitting on my most recent WIP, I decided to pick it back up over the weekend.

Initially, I wasn't overly excited about the way this sweater was turning out. It didn't look like the picture in the booklet. I had felt this way after I'd washed and blocked my swatch, too. I still don't think it looks like it does in the booklet, but I'm okay with that now.

I'm currently about to split the front and back, and I've made a promise to myself that when I finish the fronts, then I get to start on my annual Christmas sweater. Things like that always get me going when I've stalled out on a project.

What are some things that kick you into gear when you're less than motivated to finish a project? Let me know in the comment section.

As always follow me on Instagram to keep up to date on all my projects.