Dora's Pet Poodle and Other Knitting Fables

Betty's mother was sure that if all those mean children at school really knew her daughter, they'd stop being so mean to her. So she knitted Betty a sweater with her name on it, to help her get acquainted with the other children. After all, everyone knew how kind children are.

All the other mothers on Sarah Ann's block were satisfied with just making matching mother daughter outfits, but Sarah Ann's mother was always an overachiever.

Sometimes Natasha's parents felt a little afraid of their child. They weren't quite sure why, but maybe it had something to do with how furniture tended to move around by itself, or burst into flames, whenever Natasha gazed at it in a especially intent way, or the way a really high percentage of her babysitters had died in some horrific and statistically improbable way.

When Natasha got older and her parents sent her outside to play, the other children would burst out crying and run home at the sight of her, and their parents would later complain that Natasha was giving everyone in their household nightmares about black mists, maniacal laughter, and distorted faces outside their bedroom windows. Natasha's parents gave up even trying to send Natasha outside when they noticed that the elderly women on the street were crossing themselves as she walked by.

Natasha's parents thought giving Natasha a sibling might help with some of her problems, but things only seemed to get worse after they adopted Lucifer.

Tierney's mother had always known her husband was budget-conscious, but the day he said their daughter didn't need a new sweater because he could make one by stapling their bathmat together was the day she realized he was a hopeless tightwad, and that it was time she took a stand before Tierney started believing her father was normal. Or someone slipped on the bathroom floor.

Despite all the money Rochester and Heathcliff's parents had spent on their clarinet lessons, the boys still had to be forced to attend band rehearsals and to practice. Their mother hoped dressing the boys in some hip, music-themed outfits would help them learn to love making music.

Sometimes Morris liked to take Morris Jr. out for walks and give him pointers on how to be a man. He was gratified to see that Junior had already absorbed some of the finer points of manliness, such as how to dress.

Dora had begged for a pet dog so long that she was thrilled to finally have been given one for Christmas, and she had even gotten matching accessories. But she was slowly coming to the realization that maybe there wasn't something quite right about Loopy the Poodle. Her parents had told her he needed to sleep a lot, but surely he couldn't really be sleeping 100% of the time?

"Remember Barbie, dressing like a little lady means wearing gloves. And hemlines so high you can't sit down without everyone seeing England and France."

Why a Knitter Shouldn't Marry Mr. Spock

A little cartoon, entitled I Don't See The Problem, that pits Vulcan logic against knitting logic.

Advantage: knitting.

Aleksandr, the Very Last Knitter

Aleksandr, a 2010 animated short created by Rémy Dereux, Maxime Hibon, Juliette Klauser, Raphaëlle Ranson and Louise Seynhaeve, is a fabulous tale of yarn and knitting production in a village in the clouds... until the day a carelessly discarded yarn spool awakens their neighbour down below.

The Ties that Bind Off

Today's post was originally intended to be a post about ties and waistcoats for my series on knitting for weddings. But when I researched tie designs, I soon realized that they deserved a post of their own. So although this post may certainly used as a resource for knitting ties for weddings, I've tried to write a fairly comprehensive post on ties for all occasions.

Knitting a tie that looks right can be a bit of a challenge. Many of those I looked at looked too limp, too thick, had rough-looking or uneven edges, were twisted, or just didn't hang right. They looked homemade as opposed to handmade, and I'm sure you all know the difference between those two looks. It's so important that an item that is worn front and centre with a suit in a professional or formal setting looks doesn't look "loving hands at home". And achieving that seems to be a matter of getting the shape, proportions, and weight just right.

The best and most classic width for a tie is 3.25 inches, although any measurement from 2.75 to 3.5 inches is fine. The successful patterns I looked at all recommended fingering weight/4 ply yarn, and though silk was often used, a wool/nylon blend will also work, or a cotton yarn for summer wear. It seems to me that no knitter will ever need a lot of tie patterns, but should just select one good pattern for each shape desired (standard, straight, and/or skinny) and keep using it, changing the colourway and patterns as desired.

The Preppy Tie depicted above was probably the best example of the standard tie that I found. The fact that it is knit on the bias is probably the key to its success, as the usual three or sixfold woven tie that men wear is cut on the bias. It might be a little difficult to get a hold of this pattern, as it was originally published in the January/February 2011 issue of Knitting Today!

Here's another bias knit tie from Interweave Knits. It's very similar to the one above, but this time the pattern is readily accessible as a $4.50(USD) download. It is too short on the model. Make sure the length is right when the tie is on: just touching the waistband of the wearer's trousers. It always looks a little...Freudian...when men get their tie length wrong.

This pattern for Traditional Neckties, also from Interweave Knits, again looks very similar to the two above, but might provide some pattern variations, and is available as a $5(USD) download. I really like the pattern of the tie in the top right-hand picture.

If you'd like to make a straight tie, this basic seed stitch tie pattern from Benyamen Conn might serve you well. It's a free pattern.

The Ed's Tie design, by Sally Melville, has a good texture and seems to hang well. It appears in The Knitting Experience: Book 3: Color.

The Angelus Knit Tie is another straight tie with a great texture and bit of stripe. It's a free pattern.

Here's a striped tie, designed by Christy Pyles for Knitter's Magazine.

This New School Tie is from Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun.

If you'd like to make a skinny tie, the Rustic Elegant Tie is a good textured skinny tie pattern. It appears in Knitting Classic Style: 35 Modern Designs Inspired by Fashion's Archives.

If you like a more sporty skinny tie, the Tsubaki Cotton Necktie might be the design for you. It's a free pattern.

And of course, I can't leave out the bow tie. Here's a pretty good one, the linen stitch Gestrikt design, by Malia Mather, as modelled by Stephen West. It's a free pattern.

Learning to Knit

An animated short called Learning to Knit, from Max Alexander. Some people learn to knit faster than others. And some of the slower-paced knitters have a hard time accepting that.

Pencil in Some Knitting

Today is the first Tuesday in September, and that means it's the first day of the school year for most students in Canada and the United States. So I thought I'd do a back-to-school type post, and soon settled on the idea of picking out a selection of pencil case knitting patterns for you all. I can hardly think of a more classic going-back-to-school purchase. My father still has the pencil case that was bought for him when he began first grade back in 1944, although his pencil case was not the zippered fabric or plastic envelope that is used today but a narrow wooden box with two compartments and a sliding top. He tells me the cool kids in his class had a three-decker wooden pencil boxes, and that in his day schoolchildren didn't have backpacks to carry their books in but fastened a strap around them and carried them by the end of the strap.

The pencil case above is, of course, quite literally a Pencil Case, and is designed by Katie Startzman. I'd almost feel like making a book-shaped backpack to go with it. The pattern is available as a $4(USD) download, or as part of an eBook.

This Abacus Pouch pattern by Derya Davenport harkens back to an even older educational tradition than wooden pencil boxes and book straps. It's a free pattern.

This plaid pencil case pattern by Debbie Bliss appears in her book, The Knitter's Year: 52 Make-in-a-Week Projects-Quick Gifts and Seasonal Knits.





This Bright Pencil Case, designed by the Lily Sugar n' Cream yarn company designers, seems perfect for holding a selection of coloured pencils. It's a free pattern.

The Daisy Dachshund pencil case might be perfect for a small child who doesn't like leaving the family dog or his or her stuffed toys behind at home during the school day. The pattern is by Mel Clark and appears in Knitting Everyday Finery: Practical Designs for Dressing Up in Little Ways.

Here's a simple yet eye-catching striped pencil case, designed by Stephanie Mrse, from the book 50 Knitted Gifts for Year-Round Giving: Designs for Every Season and Occasion Featuring Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted.

The Cabled Pencil Case pattern, by Dissolved Girl, is a free pattern.

The Sanquhar Pencil Case pattern, by Tom of Holland, is available as a £2.50 download.

The pattern for this flowered pencil case, made by Ravelry member Cassidy Clark, is not available but would be easy to copy.

For that matter a pencil case would be an easy beginner design project and a good way to use up some odds and ends of yarn. If you're making it for a child, it's a good idea to involve the child in the design process. There's always a schoolyarn social dictum as to what's in or out, and as an adult, you may not have any idea as to what the equivalent of today's three-decker pencil box is.

The Little Red Plane

The Little Red Plane is a knitted stop motion short about a boy and his cat and the trip they make in a little red plane in order to deliver parcels. This short was made by Charlotte Blacker in her final year of university.