Do I knit, crochet or sew? No. Do I still love this content? Absolutely. Watching your journey with learning these hobbies has been really inspiring and I hope you keep giving us these videos occasionally ❤
I am loving these knitting/sewing/crocheting videos! It kind of fits seamlessly (no pun intended) into a book channel. Both incorporate hobby, creativity, challenge, history and progress etc
You'll LOVE a yarn festival. I used to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Such an inspiring place to go. Sounds like you've got a great year of knitting ahead of you.
I loved the MSWF!!! It was mind blowingly huge!! In Oregon we have two large shows: Black Sheep Gathering and the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and a few smaller ones. 🩷🎈
Squishing at yarn festivals is not only allowed, it’s encouraged 🙂. Have fun! I miss yarn festivals. I used to go to Fibre East with friends when I lived in the UK. So much fun egging each other on so we all came home with at least double of what we had intended to 😂. Try brushed alpaca instead of mohair. You get the same effect without the scratch. A lot of them come as a silk blend. I have some Fyberspates Cumulus that I need to use. As for colour of yarn to go with the mohair you have - take it with you to the show. You can see what options you have and you’ll get some colour and knitting experts happy to weigh in and give you advice. For summer cardigans, also think of merino. You just want to go down to lace weight or fingering weight depending on what you are after. Superwash merino is particularly bad for sagging and not holding shape. Untreated merino is better. Ooh… steeking. Hell no! I tried that once and never again. I went back to my Shetland lace which was much easier for me. Hope you have more luck than I did.
oh, i can help explain the love of shawls: size and fit doesn't matter. Swatching isn't really even necessary for most. You just dive in and have fun and can always wear whatever you end up making, lol.
Hi Mara, I rarely comment but I want to thank you for the last two videos on knitting- l have really, really enjoyed the thoughtful and inspiring creative content and your reflections. Excited if you share more throughout the year!
Thank you so much for your last knitting video! I’ve been trying more creative hobbies, and it inspired me to get started with knitting. :) I also want to make garments. I hardly know how to do anything yet but I’m excited! Good luck with your knitting this year.
It’s so great to hear you talk about knitting! It’s the same vibe you have in your book videos but yarn! I love in person fiber events. Sadly the one by me (Stitches West) is defunct as of last year. I went to it yearly since 2006ish. I’m planning my next sweater project to be either the Cat Knit Pullover or the MDK knitalong - The Bolin Cardigan. Happy knitting and reading!
Love all your knitting plans for the year! I’ve done the last two Stephen West shawl MKALs. His patterns are so much fun, and they are very clearly written with UA-cam tutorials for pretty much every step (that’s how I learned brioche!). I think so many people like doing shawls because you don’t have to worry about fit/gauge as much and they are often a great way to showcase a beautiful yarn. I also gasped aloud when I saw that deer head sweater! Immediately going to go find it in ravelry.
Watching your beginner knitter journey has been so fun. You have learned so much in just a year. I didn't understand the shawl hype when I first started knitting either, but I knit them all the time now. I live in an area without much cold weather to speak of and I find shawls way more useful than I thought they would be, so you might be surprised!
I rarely watch booktube anymore because knitting took over all my content consumption in 2023. I had to do a double take when I saw this video pop up. It's like an unexpected crossover! I love cardigans, and I currently have 3 on the needles, one finished and one jacket finished as well. The jacket is out of a scratchy (to me) unspun, but I do get good wear out of it as a quick toss on to let the pup out on cold nights. I find that barrier layers and being properly cold enough for it both make prickly yarns more tolerable. I do find mohair a bit prickly, but not too bad. I need to try a suri to see if that is more tolerable. I would swatch the mohair with a few different stash yarns to get an idea of how the colors play: darker yarn, lighter yarn, highly contrasted yarn, closely matched yarn. I don't have a ton of opportunities for fluffy garments in my subtropical weather, but I do have 4 skeins of suri and I'm sometimes surprised by the pairings that look good and the ones that don't when swatching with it. I just unravel the swatch and reuse it again and again, since I'm testing for pairings and not a specific gauge for a specific pattern. I took just over a year to knit my Stephen West shawl. I love the way they look, but I did feel like it was a bit of a slog and I love garments so much that I didn't prioritize it, which made it take even longer. Love twin sets but I haven't made any yet. My only finished cardigan I have plans to make a top with my remaining yarn to wear as a twin set or alone. I know summer knits often have small tight gauges, but I think that's preference. I think all my summer knits have been bigger gauge (so not see through, but less than a store bought knit gauge), because I find they are faster and breezy. Think Jesse Mae gauges instead of the clean/posh Danish designers type of gauge. Openwork lace (like some of James N Watts) also work up quick for summer knits. I've only made one Ozetta pattern so far (the jacket I made out of unspun) but I found it really enjoyable and well laid out, and easy to do off gauge (which I tend to do a lot) I have a couple more of hers on my list to do this year. I think Lily Kate France is always size inclusive and I have a bunch of her stuff in my library. I've watched her designer podcasts and I think she spends a lot of time thinking of things like short rows around armholes to get a really good fit. The polo, I think the Winona Polo would be a a great base, maybe with less ease and omit the buttons. The printed (I think) top, I was able to replicate in stitchfiddle, if you want me to send you a screenshot on IG. For the base, look for set in sleeve, v-neck and double knit edging without too much positive ease. You would be knitting colorwork flat, if that's something you cant to avoid, there are options like the broken seed stitch stripes or something like mosaic to get a similar vibe without the stranded colorwork.
That mohair with a cream or tan would be GORGEOUS! Also, if you do find it too scratchy, maybe look into alpaca. It can be super warm, but it's also way softer. I can't really do mohair because I find it a sensory nightmare, but I love alpaca as an alternative.
A couple years ago i learned how to knit from yt. I never made anything too complicated but I've always wanted to get back into it and your knitting vids really make me want to try making a sweater for the first time. 🙈
My favorite mohair cardigan I’ve made is Like a Cloud by Joji Locatelli. It is mohair and lace weight, I used Shibui pebble (now available from Jimmy Beans Wool online) but any lace weight yarn would give a similar light fabric, I like Malabrigo Lace, the color Frank Ochre would be great with the mohair you have. For the polo neck inspiration sweater I thought of the Stamford Sweater by the knit purl girl. Sarah on the Lady Stairs knitting podcast test knit a striped version. Stitchfiddle is a website where you can create a colorwork pattern to apply to a plain cardigan pattern for your second inspo sweater. I love those colors!
Yay I loved this video! Some of your goals are mine too since I’m a new knitter as well. I’m AdventurerKnits here on UA-cam - I ended up making a separate knitting channel from my book channel. I would like to steek as well…I loved knowing about Andrea Mowrey cardi. Perhaps a steering KAL? 😊😊😊. Love love your knitting and book content both. Btw, I liked the Coboo! Wooldreamers is carried by some US yarn stores. My local store , the Moon and Yarn Craft Room has Wooldreamers Mota.
Great discussion. I’m popping over from the Fat Squirrel. As a knitter who learned about 55 years ago, love hearing your thoughts as a newer convert. Will stick around for the books! I always hack Tin Can Knits patterns
Mara, Stephen West has sone really cool looking shawls with brioche color work. @whatlydiamade has some cool patterns and she is also size inclusive. She has some color work, some vintage styles and I believe most have bust shaping. That makes such a difference in how her garments fit tbh. I must say, I’m so inspired by your fearlessness to try all kinds of new techniques. Maybe I’ll venture out as well.
Crochet is so much easier than knitting, I cannot knit for the life of me but crochet regularly and have made garments too. You’ll Rock, I love the jumper you made so much ❤
I love your knitting goals for the year! I think it's more exciting to set goals like experiences, materials, etc. I definitely want to be more active in local knitting groups too (I'm kind of the founder of an unofficial knitting group that's slowly gaining steam 😅). I love that mohair you bought! I think it would look gorgeous paired with a mossy green or a medium-toned brown to created a mélanged colour 😍 I have plans to make Cottage by Jaq Cieslak this year because I also want more cardigans in my wardrobe. I've knit the Augustins no. 21 sweater dress! I made it with wool-acrylic yarn and ended up donating because I didn't love the fabric, but I would love to reknit the dress someday because it's so pretty! I have the PERFECT pattern suggestion for the striped polo shirt you want to make! My friend Emily of Emily Knits is currently making the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen and it would be a great base project! A great option for the cardigan (no colourwork) is the Flair Free Cardi by Sharon Hartley is a similar style. I'm so inspired by your knitting journey and I can't wait to see what you do next!
tbh i find crocheting with cotton slightly hard because i find it a bit stiff and the working yarn gets a bit tangly. but that is probably just the brand that i use because i only have access to one brand lol. but i still use it a lot because its so versatile. hopefully cotton yarn likes you more than it likes me lmaooo i hope you have a great crafty year mara ❤
Great video. I’m a knitter too. Crochet is easier I find, but I don’t like the garments it produces. Love your goals and thanks for the heads up about the Nashville yarn fest!
I love all the knitting content (also Dropout references!!). I think the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen could easily be adapted to make Vic's polo and it's a size inclusive pattern that I've seen a lot of people love. I'd love to hear if you cast it on, I'd be interested in making one for myself, too! If Rhinebeck seems too far and busy, I'd recommend Maryland Sheep and Wool, which would be closer for you and is one of (if not the) oldest fiber fests in America! I'd also recommend Aimee Sher's patterns! They're a super inclusive designer with beautiful basics and some more elaborate lace/cable patterns, too!
Yay I loved this video! Some of your goals are mine too since I’m a new knitter as well. I’m AdventurerKnits here on UA-cam - I ended up making a separate knitting channel from my book channel. I would like to steek as well…I loved knowing about Andrea Mowrey cardi. Perhaps a steering KAL? 😊😊😊. Love love your knitting and book content both. Btw, I liked the Coboo!
Have you seen Lydia Marrow's designs? I think she is currently designing a polo that could be similar to the one you're looking to make. She also has dress and skirt patterns that are size inclusive.
Love that deer head one! I'm so impressed that you jumped right in to garments. I've crocheted and knitted for years (fixing mistakes in crocheting is easier 🙂) and have not progressed beyond throws, shawls and amigurumi. I do enjoy a good "yarn mangler" group. Hope you like your new one! Can't wait for periodic updates on your progress.
I think the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen may be a good starting point for the polo you want to recreate. I just knit a Tolsta Tee with Coboo and it wasn't horrible - not my favorite, but not as bad as 100% cotton.
I'd be happy to chart out the colorwork pattern from Emily Axeford's sweater! I also love colorwork and that looks like a fun patterning. Edited to add: I just charted it out! It's a 4 rows x 8 stitch repeat that's pretty simple!
Strange Brew -- I would pair it with a rich cream, an olive green, a dark rust, or a deep purple. I've been knitting and crocheting for decades, but only once or twice a decade. Still doing scarves in Texas. I need to move on. 😂
Mackenzie from em to third knitting \ the sibling energy podcast is grading a Marie wallen pattern this year as part of the bucket list KAL if you want further inspo and ideas 🥳🧶
I bought a baby blanket kit from Wool and the Gang last summer so I could knit one for my incoming niece without having to put in all the time to make decisions and gather materials on my own...So my knitting goal for 2025 is to actually make it, and hopefully before her first birthday (and I am not confident in that 😅)
Do I knit, crochet or sew? No. Do I still love this content? Absolutely. Watching your journey with learning these hobbies has been really inspiring and I hope you keep giving us these videos occasionally ❤
I am loving these knitting/sewing/crocheting videos! It kind of fits seamlessly (no pun intended) into a book channel. Both incorporate hobby, creativity, challenge, history and progress etc
You'll LOVE a yarn festival. I used to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Such an inspiring place to go. Sounds like you've got a great year of knitting ahead of you.
I loved the MSWF!!! It was mind blowingly huge!! In Oregon we have two large shows: Black Sheep Gathering and the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and a few smaller ones. 🩷🎈
Squishing at yarn festivals is not only allowed, it’s encouraged 🙂. Have fun! I miss yarn festivals. I used to go to Fibre East with friends when I lived in the UK. So much fun egging each other on so we all came home with at least double of what we had intended to 😂.
Try brushed alpaca instead of mohair. You get the same effect without the scratch. A lot of them come as a silk blend. I have some Fyberspates Cumulus that I need to use.
As for colour of yarn to go with the mohair you have - take it with you to the show. You can see what options you have and you’ll get some colour and knitting experts happy to weigh in and give you advice.
For summer cardigans, also think of merino. You just want to go down to lace weight or fingering weight depending on what you are after.
Superwash merino is particularly bad for sagging and not holding shape. Untreated merino is better.
Ooh… steeking. Hell no! I tried that once and never again. I went back to my Shetland lace which was much easier for me. Hope you have more luck than I did.
oh, i can help explain the love of shawls: size and fit doesn't matter. Swatching isn't really even necessary for most. You just dive in and have fun and can always wear whatever you end up making, lol.
Hi Mara, I rarely comment but I want to thank you for the last two videos on knitting- l have really, really enjoyed the thoughtful and inspiring creative content and your reflections. Excited if you share more throughout the year!
Thank you so much for your last knitting video! I’ve been trying more creative hobbies, and it inspired me to get started with knitting. :) I also want to make garments. I hardly know how to do anything yet but I’m excited! Good luck with your knitting this year.
I LOVE your knitting content and would love for you to continue to share! ❤
It’s so great to hear you talk about knitting! It’s the same vibe you have in your book videos but yarn! I love in person fiber events. Sadly the one by me (Stitches West) is defunct as of last year. I went to it yearly since 2006ish. I’m planning my next sweater project to be either the Cat Knit Pullover or the MDK knitalong - The Bolin Cardigan. Happy knitting and reading!
Try Anne Hanson’s aka knitspot patterns for shawls. Well and lots of other things too. She’s one of my favorite designers
I love Anne’s lace shawl designs!! She also has a line of natural yarns you may enjoy.
Love all your knitting plans for the year! I’ve done the last two Stephen West shawl MKALs. His patterns are so much fun, and they are very clearly written with UA-cam tutorials for pretty much every step (that’s how I learned brioche!). I think so many people like doing shawls because you don’t have to worry about fit/gauge as much and they are often a great way to showcase a beautiful yarn.
I also gasped aloud when I saw that deer head sweater! Immediately going to go find it in ravelry.
Watching your beginner knitter journey has been so fun. You have learned so much in just a year. I didn't understand the shawl hype when I first started knitting either, but I knit them all the time now. I live in an area without much cold weather to speak of and I find shawls way more useful than I thought they would be, so you might be surprised!
I rarely watch booktube anymore because knitting took over all my content consumption in 2023. I had to do a double take when I saw this video pop up. It's like an unexpected crossover!
I love cardigans, and I currently have 3 on the needles, one finished and one jacket finished as well. The jacket is out of a scratchy (to me) unspun, but I do get good wear out of it as a quick toss on to let the pup out on cold nights. I find that barrier layers and being properly cold enough for it both make prickly yarns more tolerable. I do find mohair a bit prickly, but not too bad. I need to try a suri to see if that is more tolerable.
I would swatch the mohair with a few different stash yarns to get an idea of how the colors play: darker yarn, lighter yarn, highly contrasted yarn, closely matched yarn. I don't have a ton of opportunities for fluffy garments in my subtropical weather, but I do have 4 skeins of suri and I'm sometimes surprised by the pairings that look good and the ones that don't when swatching with it. I just unravel the swatch and reuse it again and again, since I'm testing for pairings and not a specific gauge for a specific pattern.
I took just over a year to knit my Stephen West shawl. I love the way they look, but I did feel like it was a bit of a slog and I love garments so much that I didn't prioritize it, which made it take even longer.
Love twin sets but I haven't made any yet. My only finished cardigan I have plans to make a top with my remaining yarn to wear as a twin set or alone.
I know summer knits often have small tight gauges, but I think that's preference. I think all my summer knits have been bigger gauge (so not see through, but less than a store bought knit gauge), because I find they are faster and breezy. Think Jesse Mae gauges instead of the clean/posh Danish designers type of gauge. Openwork lace (like some of James N Watts) also work up quick for summer knits.
I've only made one Ozetta pattern so far (the jacket I made out of unspun) but I found it really enjoyable and well laid out, and easy to do off gauge (which I tend to do a lot) I have a couple more of hers on my list to do this year.
I think Lily Kate France is always size inclusive and I have a bunch of her stuff in my library. I've watched her designer podcasts and I think she spends a lot of time thinking of things like short rows around armholes to get a really good fit.
The polo, I think the Winona Polo would be a a great base, maybe with less ease and omit the buttons. The printed (I think) top, I was able to replicate in stitchfiddle, if you want me to send you a screenshot on IG. For the base, look for set in sleeve, v-neck and double knit edging without too much positive ease. You would be knitting colorwork flat, if that's something you cant to avoid, there are options like the broken seed stitch stripes or something like mosaic to get a similar vibe without the stranded colorwork.
That mohair with a cream or tan would be GORGEOUS! Also, if you do find it too scratchy, maybe look into alpaca. It can be super warm, but it's also way softer. I can't really do mohair because I find it a sensory nightmare, but I love alpaca as an alternative.
A couple years ago i learned how to knit from yt. I never made anything too complicated but I've always wanted to get back into it and your knitting vids really make me want to try making a sweater for the first time. 🙈
My favorite mohair cardigan I’ve made is Like a Cloud by Joji Locatelli. It is mohair and lace weight, I used Shibui pebble (now available from Jimmy Beans Wool online) but any lace weight yarn would give a similar light fabric, I like Malabrigo Lace, the color Frank Ochre would be great with the mohair you have.
For the polo neck inspiration sweater I thought of the Stamford Sweater by the knit purl girl. Sarah on the Lady Stairs knitting podcast test knit a striped version.
Stitchfiddle is a website where you can create a colorwork pattern to apply to a plain cardigan pattern for your second inspo sweater. I love those colors!
Also the Staghead sweater has been on my list for years…. I even have yarn for it and everything, maybe 2025 is the one 😊
Well done on the Knitting Sidequest! I wish you all the best and can’t wait to see the projects.
you are inspiring to crotchet because I want to do that. Knitting is intimidating.
Yay I loved this video! Some of your goals are mine too since I’m a new knitter as well. I’m AdventurerKnits here on UA-cam - I ended up making a separate knitting channel from my book channel. I would like to steek as well…I loved knowing about Andrea Mowrey cardi. Perhaps a steering KAL? 😊😊😊. Love love your knitting and book content both. Btw, I liked the Coboo! Wooldreamers is carried by some US yarn stores. My local store , the Moon and Yarn Craft Room has Wooldreamers Mota.
You're inspiring me to start up my crochet 😊
Great discussion. I’m popping over from the Fat Squirrel. As a knitter who learned about 55 years ago, love hearing your thoughts as a newer convert. Will stick around for the books! I always hack Tin Can Knits patterns
Mara, Stephen West has sone really cool looking shawls with brioche color work.
@whatlydiamade has some cool patterns and she is also size inclusive. She has some color work, some vintage styles and I believe most have bust shaping. That makes such a difference in how her garments fit tbh.
I must say, I’m so inspired by your fearlessness to try all kinds of new techniques. Maybe I’ll venture out as well.
Crochet is so much easier than knitting, I cannot knit for the life of me but crochet regularly and have made garments too. You’ll Rock, I love the jumper you made so much ❤
Thanks Mara for another video! Have a lovely day :)
I think the green mohair would go really well with a pale purple!
love the knitting videos!!! please keep sharing your stuff :)
I love your knitting goals for the year! I think it's more exciting to set goals like experiences, materials, etc. I definitely want to be more active in local knitting groups too (I'm kind of the founder of an unofficial knitting group that's slowly gaining steam 😅).
I love that mohair you bought! I think it would look gorgeous paired with a mossy green or a medium-toned brown to created a mélanged colour 😍 I have plans to make Cottage by Jaq Cieslak this year because I also want more cardigans in my wardrobe.
I've knit the Augustins no. 21 sweater dress! I made it with wool-acrylic yarn and ended up donating because I didn't love the fabric, but I would love to reknit the dress someday because it's so pretty!
I have the PERFECT pattern suggestion for the striped polo shirt you want to make! My friend Emily of Emily Knits is currently making the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen and it would be a great base project! A great option for the cardigan (no colourwork) is the Flair Free Cardi by Sharon Hartley is a similar style.
I'm so inspired by your knitting journey and I can't wait to see what you do next!
Lunan is a polo pattern you could add stripes to as well . I love the stag cardi !!! Fun plans
tbh i find crocheting with cotton slightly hard because i find it a bit stiff and the working yarn gets a bit tangly. but that is probably just the brand that i use because i only have access to one brand lol.
but i still use it a lot because its so versatile.
hopefully cotton yarn likes you more than it likes me lmaooo
i hope you have a great crafty year mara ❤
I love the look of so many shawls and even started one but its not an item I have ever worn.
I haven’t tried her garment patterns but I have knit some of her sock patterns. I absolutely love Ozetta!
Great video. I’m a knitter too. Crochet is easier I find, but I don’t like the garments it produces. Love your goals and thanks for the heads up about the Nashville yarn fest!
I love all the knitting content (also Dropout references!!). I think the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen could easily be adapted to make Vic's polo and it's a size inclusive pattern that I've seen a lot of people love. I'd love to hear if you cast it on, I'd be interested in making one for myself, too!
If Rhinebeck seems too far and busy, I'd recommend Maryland Sheep and Wool, which would be closer for you and is one of (if not the) oldest fiber fests in America! I'd also recommend Aimee Sher's patterns! They're a super inclusive designer with beautiful basics and some more elaborate lace/cable patterns, too!
Yay I loved this video! Some of your goals are mine too since I’m a new knitter as well. I’m AdventurerKnits here on UA-cam - I ended up making a separate knitting channel from my book channel. I would like to steek as well…I loved knowing about Andrea Mowrey cardi. Perhaps a steering KAL? 😊😊😊. Love love your knitting and book content both. Btw, I liked the Coboo!
Have you seen Lydia Marrow's designs? I think she is currently designing a polo that could be similar to the one you're looking to make. She also has dress and skirt patterns that are size inclusive.
You look very pretty in purple! If you want colors for the new yarn. 😊
Love that deer head one! I'm so impressed that you jumped right in to garments. I've crocheted and knitted for years (fixing mistakes in crocheting is easier 🙂) and have not progressed beyond throws, shawls and amigurumi. I do enjoy a good "yarn mangler" group. Hope you like your new one! Can't wait for periodic updates on your progress.
I think the Winona Polo by Emily Y Chen may be a good starting point for the polo you want to recreate. I just knit a Tolsta Tee with Coboo and it wasn't horrible - not my favorite, but not as bad as 100% cotton.
I understand a very small amount of the technical terminology, but I did enjoy the goals. 😊
I'd be happy to chart out the colorwork pattern from Emily Axeford's sweater! I also love colorwork and that looks like a fun patterning.
Edited to add: I just charted it out! It's a 4 rows x 8 stitch repeat that's pretty simple!
Knitting videos >>>
I loved this video thanks for sharing❤
Strange Brew -- I would pair it with a rich cream, an olive green, a dark rust, or a deep purple. I've been knitting and crocheting for decades, but only once or twice a decade. Still doing scarves in Texas. I need to move on. 😂
That last pattern looks like a DNA helix to me. Can you tell I am just a science nerdy non-knitter!!
I thought the same!! I’m a sciency nerdy knitter aka Neuroknitter from my MS research!! 😊
Mackenzie from em to third knitting \ the sibling energy podcast is grading a Marie wallen pattern this year as part of the bucket list KAL if you want further inspo and ideas 🥳🧶
Please check out Arne & Carlos. They are knitware designers. They are amazing!
I bought a baby blanket kit from Wool and the Gang last summer so I could knit one for my incoming niece without having to put in all the time to make decisions and gather materials on my own...So my knitting goal for 2025 is to actually make it, and hopefully before her first birthday (and I am not confident in that 😅)
Oh. Ooooh, oh I see what you are wearing ! Were you a tester ? Are did you already finish the Staffin sweater since it has launched ?
Arne & Carlos on UA-cam 😊
I think I'd call the pattern on Emily's cardigan a 'ribbon' motif? For the sake of search terms lol
omg did you test knit the staffin sweater? i just bought the pattern and i almost stopped my other two sweaters to start it lol
Do you take knitting lessons or self-taught