Hi, I’m Katie Rempe, and on your Makers’ Minute today we’re learning about Michelle Allen Designs. Michelle Allen is located right here in the Pacific North West.
What exactly does Allen Designs have to offer? Let me show you.
Video with a text: Coasters… set of 4
Video with a text: Coin Purse… Stitch Marker Central
Video with a text: Wristlet Bag… Fits your phone!
Video with a text: Small cosmetic Bag… Perfect for larger notions
Video with a text: Large Cosmetic Bag… Did someone say Sock Bag?
Video with a text: Journal… For all your deep dark secrets
Video with a text: Shopping Bags! One for your sweater… and afghan… and new yarn!
Video with a text: Cat Lovers… Your cat will climb in these bags
Video with a text: You’re a Woot… All Things Owls!
All these Michelle Allen Designs can be purchased through MakersMercantile.com
In this video, Katie talks about Hikoo® Rub-A-Dub and the 6 new colors that are available! It’s a 100% microfiber in a massive 200 gram skein (108 yards). Buy the featured products below! (Shammy Pattern is free with Rub-A-Dub yarn purchase!)
Hi, I’m Katie Rempe and this is your Makers’ Minute!
Today we’re talking about Rub-A-Dub!
This yarn won’t worm. It was made in a specialty factory that makes mop heads. So each fiber is sewn in place and won’t come out.
200 gram hank will give you a hundred and eight yards which is enough to make a shammy! This shammy is absorbent, super soft, perfect for your bathro, kitchen. This shammy pattern is a Makers’ Mercantile exclusive and free to you with the purchase of the yarn.
This is also a great yarn for baby. It’s a super chunky yarn so it knits up really quick and skacel has a free pattern for a hooded baby blanket.
With your purchase of the yarn, you also get a free pattern on the label for a washcloth and a wash mitt. The colors we have available are: smurf, astro, piglet, snuffy, kermitt, and snuggles.
All the colors including classic white are all available right now at MakersMercantile.com
Do you despise short rows with a fiery passion? German short rows are the answer!
In this week’s Maker’s Minute, Katie quickly shows you this easy technique for short rows that’s sure to become your favorite!
Products used in this video:
– addi® Natura circular needle
– Hikoo® Kenzington yarn in color #1024 – Hokitika
Transcription
Katie: Hi, I’m Katie Rempe and this is your Makers’ Minute on German Short Rows.
Woman: What is this?
Katie: Hey wait, don’t go! Just because I said short rows doesn’t mean they’re not cool. They’re super easy.
We’re going to do the ‘wrap and turn’ on this stitch here. Knit it. Slide it back to the left-hand needle. Turn your work then wrap your working yarn around the right-hand needle on the outside to get this double stitch.
On the purl side, it’s almost the same thing. Purl the stitch for the ‘wrap and turn’. Have the yarn facing the right side or the back, slip it back onto your left-hand needle.
Turn your work and then wrap the working yarn around the right-hand needle. To close out your double stitches, you just knit them together as if they’re on stitch. When you reach a double stitch on the purl side, just purl them together as if they’re one stitch.
So next time you read a pattern that has short rows in it, don’t freak out. Remember, you’re now a pro at German short rows.
Meet the Envia bag, a Makers’ Mercantile exclusive for all your interchangeable needles and notions! In this video, Katie takes you through the features of this product and the options it is available in!
Product in this video:
Envia Bag
Transcription
I’m Katie Rempe, and this is you Makers’ Minute.
Today I’m introducing you to the Envia Bag. It’s made from 100% genuine leather and it smells delightful. Comes with an adjustable strap, brass finishing, to fit a full-sized Ipad, a pocket on the back, with elastic strap. Has two snap pockets, has three different sections, a pocket over here.
Comes in four different options: Fundamental package will get you bag plus trap, and one vertical and one horizontal insert. Each insert is also lined with suede.
Or, upgrade to the Luxury package and get two horizontal inserts, one vertical insert, and one clear zip bag. Addi needles not included.
Or, upgrade even further, and get an Addi click set of your choosing. Or the Ultimate Luxury Package which includes two click sets of your choice.
Available in both teal and black, and only at Makers’ Mercantile.
Video with text: Skacel – the creator and distributor of Hikoo and the North American distributor of Addi (Made in Germany) brings you the Zumie by Hikoo.
Katie: I’m gonna show you how to knit the Zumie hat and Cowl depending on which one you’re using. You can use a 16-inch circular or 24, and I’m gonna show you the cast on right now. You can start with a slip knot, or you can start with a just dripping it over the needle like this and doing a long-term cast on. You wanna make sure to cast on nice and loosely, and you’re gonna cast on 48 stitches for the hat or 72 for the cowl.
Okay, I’m ready to join in the rounds and I wanna make sure that my stitches are not twisted. So make sure that all those little purl bumps are facing down and join in the rounds. You could place some marker here that indicate the beginning of the round but I usually just use the tail for the first few rounds. This little yarn end right here will work as a marker. So bring the ends together and join.
My first stitch is actually a purl, so I’m doing a purl, and I always work on the first stitch a little tightly just to make sure that there’s no spling right there. So I’m purling two, and then I’m going to knit one, and I’m gonna wrap twice around the needle before drawing through and getting it off. So that’s just gonna give us a little extra length to make the longer the stitch that we need for the slip-stitch-ribbing-stitch pattern. Roll two, and then knit one. If I’m a continental knitter I’m going to do the same thing. So, I’ll purl twice, knit the stitch wrapping the yarn twice around the needle. Roll two, and knit one. So, just continue that until you reach the other side of the round.
I’m almost done with this round, I’m gonna work my last double wrap stitch. Pull through, purl, and end with a knit one. So I’m ready to work round 2 of the stitch pattern: the slip stitch-ribbing has you purl two, and then when you get to that first wrap stitch, you slip with yarn back, slip the stitch and the extra wrap is just gonna drop right off, so that stitch is kinda look a lot larger than the other knit stitch that you have which is right here. This is a normal one so you’ll only wrap once, so you’re knitting that as normal. And then purling, and slip this, drop the extra, and pull it.
With that does is when you slip them for the next couple of rounds, they’re gonna have enough yarn to not pull off the fabric and distort it, and it just creates this very dramatic, giant loop stitch that looks kinda like a chain link. Really nice in this big book I’m using here. Alright, this has magically changed color and I’m gonna show you how to finish the hat and basically what you do is you do a three little bind up, you just make sure that your stitches are evenly split over two needles, if you have a circular, you can pension and pull out the extra cables, serve like a magic loop. And I’m gonna bind off in pattern of just finished working row four of the pattern. So I have the extra slip stitch here, the longer one, and I’m just gonna knit those on this round, not dong that extra wrap so, binding up basically in a rib. So, to work with a little bind up, you hold the needles in parallel like this, and you have a spare needle, doesn’t really matter what size it is but it can be, it should be closed to the size of what you’re working with.
Uhm, so I’m gonna purl this first stitch going through the back needle, and on the front needle, purling those one at a time and sort it at the same time, and slipping it off. I know that doesn’t make much sense but, so that’s one, cut it off the needle. Now the next stitch is a purl so I’m gonna actually come in through the back on the back needle, and go towards the front, purl that stitch to the front one, and then the back one. You can kinda do it in one-full swoop, but if you’re just doing this for the first time, you might wanna do them separately. Then I’m gonna bind these stitches off, in a normal manner.
So I have the back stitch coming up and over the first stitch. Just sort of knit frogging over it. Then I have my longer knit stitch, I’m gonna knit that, but I’m not wrapping twice this time, I’m just knitting it as normal. The back stitch and the front one will stitch it off the needle and then I’m gonna rib from the back stitch over the front. You wanna make sure that you do this rather loosely , especially if you’re working with the cowl, you don’t want this to pull . For the hat it doesn’t matter as much but just try to work these in even tension not pulling it too tightly. Keep it neat but don’t hold it too tight. So just continue until you bound off all the stitches this way. Remembering to work in pattern just keep a ___ knitter.
So I’m gonna bind off my last few stitches, and last is in it so I’m knitting these together and, pulling up the big loop like this. Snip the yarn. You’ll only need about, I’ll say you don’t really even need this much, just about 12 inches. Now that my stitches are all bound up, I have a tail here, I’m going to bring it over to the opposite side, I’m gonna pinch these two ends together, and I’m gonna pull this yarn though this corner to fasten the hat together. This is optional. You can wear it just like this little look like, little catty’s wearing it, it’s kind of cute. Or, you can make it into a hat. You can dread this on a tapestry or you can use a crochet hook. So pull the arm through, and you just do that several times, to make sure their attached. When you feel confident that it’s secure you can weave the rest of your yarn end.
You can put a tassel or a pompom here, or you can wear it just like so. It basically falls to the back like that and looks like a little hunter’s cap. You just wanna make sure that your hat’s tall enough to fit over your head ‘cause this does take a bit of fabric. So, but what it makes it nice, you don’t have to do any shaping. It’s nice and easy. So there you go, that’s your finished hat. If you don’t like the way this looks fastened on the outside, it sorts of make a little heart which is kinda cute. You can actually fasten it on the inside. You just want to turn your hat inside out before you sew those ends together, and it creates a little bulk on the inside of the hat, but if you knitted it tall enough, it’s going to be fine.
This is my finished hat, and I still have plenty of yarn left over to knit . I can do a pompom, I can do a tassel. If you had two colors you could actually switch with a friend and then put a little stripe in or cast on with a different color or shade. That would be really fun. If you’re knitting the cowl, you just cast on more stitches and you’re knitting ‘til the almost side of yarn, making sure you leave enough for your bind-off, and you want to make sure that your bind-off is nice and loose. And make sure to bind-off in pattern. Here we have a bind-off that stand a little bit too firmly so draws in quite a bit more. It’s still really nice, it’s just knitted to a tighter gauge with a tighter bind-off, so that’s more close to the neck. Uhm, It’s up to you what you like to do and have fun!
