A Socking Knitting Machine

To non-knitters, knitters may look like a monolithic group, but there are actually factions and camps within knitting because there are so many different types of knitting. One small but avid subset you'll find among knitters is antique sock machine enthusiasts. It's still possible (if challenging) to find, buy, and operate an antique sock knitting machine. In the video above, Shelly Hatton demonstrates how she uses her antique circular sock knitting machines at Maker Faire in Austin, Texas.

In a second video, Kenya Habegger, a sock machine enthusiast from Berne, Indiana shows us how her sock knitting machine works and also tells us something of the history of sock machines. During World War I, sock knitting machines were sold for about $11 and their operators were paid $0.05 for a pair. Habegger can make a pair of socks in 45 minutes. You can work out for yourself how much a machine operator would be likely to make in a day and how long it would take that machine to pay for itself.

For more information about sock knitting machine, check out this online sock knitting machine museum, or visit Angora Valley. And if you're very interested in sock machine knitting and would like to connect with other like-minded knitters, check out the New Sock Machine Society of America (which is an international organization despite its name), which has its own website and a Ravelry group.

Knitting Something Nice for You

Here's a song called "Knitting Something Nice for You", from the 2010 album Versicolour by British Columbia experimental folk singer Aidan Knight.

How to Speed Knit

Here's a Knit Picks-created video that explains how you can increase your knitting speed by learning from the example of Miriam Tegels, the Guinness World Record holder for the most stitches accomplished in a minute (118, if you're interested in knowing).

Bergère de France Magazine #168: A Review

Bergère de France has published Magazine 168. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Patterns #01, Crew-Neck Sweater, and #02, Hat. (I do wish Bergère de France would come up with proper names for their designs.) They're not bad — I can see a grade school-aged boy being quite willing to wear them, at any rate. And I am beyond impressed that the stylist managed to find socks that matched the hat.

Pattern #03, Coat with Zip. I like this one too. Simple, sporty sweaters like this are perfect for young boys.

Patterns #04, Tunic Dress; #05, Scarf; and #06, Long Mitts. I quite like the simple but sharp tunic, but don't know about the scarf and mitts. The scarf just looks too undesigned, though I must admit it looks good with the sweater. The mitts are too bulky and impractical for a child — it's not going to be easy for a little girl to handle anything with them on. I think they'd be fine with a more fitted hand.

Pattern #07, Cuddly Toy, is really cute, though I did spend five minutes staring at it wondering what animal it's supposed to represent.

Pattern #08, Over Sized Sweater. If this were a woman's sweater, I'd be criticizing it for being baggy and unflattering, but I think it works for a child. It'll be easy and comfortable to move in and yet, thanks to the ribbed sleeves and waistband, shouldn't be catching on anything or winding up in the kid's lunch, and the stripes make it fun.

Patterns #09, Coat, and #10, Aviator Hat. This jacket and cap are good conceptually (the cap especially made me smile), but I'm not thrilled with the execution. That jacket is not going to look good worn open and I wish the aviator cap looked less rough and a little more realistically like a real aviator cap.

Patterns #11, Hat; and #12, Snood. (In Bergère de France, a cowl = a snood.) This hat and cowl are kind of cute and definitely suited to a childlike sense of humour.

Pattern #14, Jacket. I'm not crazy about this one. The exposed seams just make the pattern look rough and the wide sleeves aren't practical for a child — they will get absolutely filthy. This design would work if it were neatened up a little.

Pattern #15, Sleeveless Waistcoat. I think I would like this better if it were in a smarter colourway.

Pattern #16, Hat and Mittens. This is a nice hat and mittens set, but the colours chosen for the braided trim so do not work with the colour of the items. I'd be sure to pick out complementary colours for the trim, or just leave it off altogether. It's an interesting enough set without it.

The designer of pattern #17, Jacket seems to have been aiming for a sheepskin jacket look. It's a good concept and it's not badly done, but I think there's room for improvement. I'd add some detail to the front, such as some more seams and pockets.

Pattern #18, Jacket with Buckles. Here we have another sheepskin jacket look. I like this one though I think the buckles on the front could have been better chosen.





Patterns #19, Fur Hat and #20, Fur Front Coat. Again, I like the concept of this one but not the execution. A Russian-style fur hat could be a totally cute look on a little girl — and this one's not bad — but I'm really not crazy about the coat. Just making a bodice in the faux fur looks kind of random and pointless. I'd trim the coat in the fur (collar, cuffs and hem), add some cables or other interesting detail to the body of the coat, and use a higher contrast, more attractive colour yarn for the main body of the coat. Cream, scarlet or lilac would look sharp.

Pattern #21, Tunic. Man, is this lace overdress ever depressing. I think I might like it much better if it were in a pretty yarn instead of Burlap Sack Brown. The last time I did a Bergere de France review and complained about the prevalence of dreary oatmeal and gray colourways, a reader helpfully explained in a comment that the French see these dreary, understated tones as chic for children. So I think the intended effect of this look is getting lost in translation.

Pattern #22, Crew Neck Sweater. I like the general lines and stitchwork of this sweater, but sewing just nine sequins to the front a plain and sensible sweater looks kind of pointless and absurd.

I very much like pattern #23, Long Jacket. The one quibble I have is the way the front gapes between buttons. I know a lot of designers go with this type of fastening, but I don't think it ever works. I'd move the buttons over or create a welt to hide the gaps.

Pattern #24, Hooded Cape. Not all that impressed with this one. I think I might like a child's cape if it were done well (and I very much like the idea of the stars), but this one's just too rough and ready looking. The cape's already going to be somewhat shapeless because, well, capes are, and to add such a heavy textured yarn to shapelessness is too much.

Pattern #25, Crew Neck Sweater. This one really isn't working. Those two yarns don't go together and whole sweater look randomly thrown together. And the stars? Are not helping.

Pattern #26, Star Cardigan. This one's very cute and quite smart.

Pattern #27, Dress. The concept of a sky picture knit deserved a better rendering. For one thing clouds and stars don't generally appear in the sky at the same time. Either go with an evening sky of moon and stars or a daytime sky of clouds with a sun peeping out from behind one.

Pattern #28, Sleeveless Dress. This dress needed a little of just the right garnishing to finish it off, but those pom poms are not it. I'd have chosen to do some duplicate stitch embroidery with the black, such as working some little motifs in some of those diamonds.

Pattern #29, Zipped Hooded Jacket. Quite like this one. Though if I were knitting for a young boy, I'd let him pick the colours. And I bet they wouldn't be the ones used here.

Pattern #30, Hat. I... don't even know what's going on here. What, did the designer run out of yarn to finish the brim off properly and sew on some random buttons and hope people would think it was a design feature?

Pattern #31, Long-Sleeved Dress. I like this understated dress. It has some texture and good lines to keep it from being boring. And of course it doesn't hurt to accessorize it with a fascinator. Fascinators on little girls could be the next new wave of cuteness.

Pattern #32, Cap. Very cute little cap.

Pattern #33, Turtleneck Cape. I like this one. The roses are pretty, and the style is one that an adult woman might not be able to carry off but that almost any little girl could carry off with panache.

Pattern #34, Openwork Snood. Not crazy about this cowl. It looks too much like a random swath of knitting that's been sewn around this little girl's neck. Even the child model is all, "Really?"

Pattern #35, Short-Sleeved Dress. I'm not impressed with this, but I think it's the colours that are putting me off. In prettier or bolder colours it could look quite smart and cute.

Pattern #36, Crew-Neck Jumper. Very much like this one. It's a perfect young boy's sweater because it reinterprets classic menswear in an age-appropriate way.

This cardigan should be pattern #37, but the Bergère de France site is claiming that it is ^No. 13. Ooookay. At any rate, I love the idea of a child's drill major sweater, but this one does need some tweaking. I don't like the collar, and the double-breasted panels are pulling apart even when buttoned. I'd figure out a way to neaten up the front. I do very much like the colours used here and the epaulettes are really cute.

Brutal Knitting

If you like knitted art with more than a touch of the horrific and surreal, you might like to check out Brutal Knitting, the work of British Columbia artist Tracy Widdess. Widdess uses obscure sci-fi and horror movies as a source of inspiration, and her specialty is masks that make you wonder a little nervously what the rest of the creature looks like, and where it might be.





Widdess also does some graphic work.

To see more of Tracy Widdess's work, you can check out the Pinterest page and Tumblr of her work, or visit her Brutal Knitting page on Facebook. Widdess's work is available on commission and for exhibition.

Comb Knitting

Have you ever tried knitting with a comb? Craftster member Mieljolie has, and the results aren't bad. She details the process here.






If you'd like to see a demonstration, YouTube user Theanswerladyknits has created a comprehensive video showing how she knits on a dollar store comb and demonstrating several different stitches. Comb knitting looks too limited and slow to interest me, but it does look like an excellent project to do with children — it's easy, it will give them a sense of the general knitting process, and they can have fun making simple scarves for themselves.

Grannies Inc.

Those who want to knit for some extra money often face the problem of how to find clients (neither too many nor too few), or to have to knit to punishing deadlines, or to have to work for a store that will keep the lion's share of the purchase price. Those who want to hire someone to knit for them face the problem of finding a knitter who isn't too busy knitting items for themselves and their family and friends, and who will do it for a price the customer is willing to pay. (I know my response to anyone who wants to hire me to knit for them is a polite brush off.) A U.K. company called Grannies Inc. aims to resolve these problems by connecting their team of over 300 knitters with customers who can order bespoke knit wear online.

Grannies Inc. offers a selection of knitting patterns to choose from and allows for customization of orders, and each knitter can set her own delivery timeframe. The image above is a screencap of their order form for a knitted beanie. Their prices look more than reasonable for handmade goods and although I've had no direct dealings with Grannies Inc. I do see a gallery of customer pictures on their site that suggests the business model is working fairly well. Grannies Inc. is actively looking for knitters and designers (though it looks to me as though the designers receive only exposure in return for their work), and of course, for customers. Check out Grannies Inc. on their website and on Facebook.