Emotive Yarns' Knitting Blog
Working out Ply
I get loads of emails asking about the ply of our yarns. We don’t publish the ply of any of our yarns, because most of them are fancy yarns – they aren’t made using the traditional method of PLYING the yarn together in twists.
By twisting and plying, a fibre can then be turned into a continuous yarn.
So, to answer everyone’s questions, I have a handy little method that can give you the relative ply of a yarn by looking at it’s needle size, and sometimes tension too.
Here’s our chart of what ply a yarn is:
8 ply – 4mm or 4.5mm needles – 21st x 29 rows
10 ply – 5mm or 5.5mm needles – 17st x 24 rows
12 ply – 6.5mm needles – 13st x 18 rows
It’s best to look at what needle size is required for a yarn and find patterns that use this size needle, that way your knitting will look right and fit properly.
Happy knitting!
Knitting with Henty/Strelley Yarn
I’ve had a flood of people asking how on earth to knit with this yarn, so I’ve thrown together a quick tutorial for you that hopefully helps make a bit more sense of it!
It’s very similar to knitting with our mesh yarns – see this old blog tute for an understanding.
This yarn has a band of eyelets and fringy boucle hanging off it.
This diagram on the pattern represents the eyelets and the fringe.
When you knit into the eyelets, the eyelets BECOME your stitches. You just knit garter stitch and the fringe hangs down off the knitting, creating a boa effect.
Once you get the knack you’ll wonder how you ever didn’t get it.
Casting On:
Weave your needle through the eyelets like so.
Knitting:
Place right hand needle into first stitch on left needle, as you usually knit.
In your right hand, stretch out the yarn to find the next eyelet hole.
Put your right needle through the eyelet, and pull through your left needle stitch.
Notice how the eyelet has become the new stitch.
Continue this way along the row.
You have just successfully knitted with this yarn.
Continue this way to create a scarf, or use this technique with one of our patterns.
Cast off using the eyelets as your stitches, in the same way you normally cast off.
Hope this helps you! X
Beanie Town
We’ve gone a bit silly for beanies at Emotive HQ. A hot item for the season, we’re seeing them on young things out and about. But they’re a classic shape, a cosy knitted creation that will never not be awesome to wear.
So we’ve dug up and published a bunch of our favourite beanie patterns for you to make and keep your noggin toasty this winter.
We’ve used Sidonia, our 8 Ply washable Aussie Wool for these patterns as it’s classic, simple, warm, fire retardant, hydrophilic… the list goes on. It’s Aussie Wool, you can machine wash it, there’s a bunch of delectable colours, and it’s amazing.
Hello Easy Beanie. A bit of mock rib, a bit of stocking stitch, some shaping for good measure and a pompom to top it off. Great for people who’ve just mastered knitting and want the next challenge up from Level Scarf.
The Stripy Garter Beanie is also a good one for newbies or hardcore knitters who just want something minimalist. You can make it with two-tone stripes, one block colour or go crazy with loads of different coloured stripes.
A nice one for the blokes, the Men’s Cabled Beanie is classic and elegant, and can really be worn by anyone. Adorn it with a pompom if that’s your thing, or keep it pared back and simple. Looks fabulous in colours like Inky Navy, Glass, Trinity Blue, Peach Glow or Cinnamon. Mmm mmmm.
And if you haven’t witnessed the glory that is my beanie effort yet, then here it is. I took the Easy Beanie and added some cute spots in different colours, to use up my stash (ppssh, ‘use up’, you and I both know it’s still huge).
I admit, the enormous pompom atop the beanie has come undone and I need to fix it. I was overambitious with its size.
Check out the Sidonia wool rainbow, grab yourself a few balls and a pattern and get knitting on your own beanie!
Emotive Knitter x
Yarn Bombed Vespa
I spent a long weekend around Anzac day in my second favourite Australian city, sunny Perth.
I went to the beach and sipped coffee in Fremantle amongst other things, but I also happened upon some lovely yarny discoveries on my ventures.
We found this gorgeous pop-up shop in Northbridge, called Montage which had delightful locally hand made wares on offer. I saw some of Anna Hadwin’s awesome crocheted creations; she makes fabulous toys of all sorts. I am wearing some humours and pretty cat earrings from Eeva Margita.
The shop had recently run a yarn bombing challenge to cover a cute little Vespa scooter, which I took plenty of photos of. Pretty cute!
I also paid a visit to Yarns on Collie in Fremantle, a bustling traditional sort of yarn store featuring just about every yarn ever imaginable.
Yum!
Knitting and Stuff
It’s a sunny and fresh autumn morning in downtown Melbourne, a cardigan and big scarf kind of day.
Our Red Hot Deals online yarn sale is still on today, finishes tonight! We’ve taken 50% off Hot Deals yarns making them silly cheap. You and I both know your yarn stash needs topping up. Check it out here.
In other news, on my Easter vacation to The Grampians in country Victoria, we stopped in for a visit at Blue Moon Alpacas. The Boyfriend was just as excited as I, because he loves the animals. We got to hang out with some and watch a man weaving on gorgeous big floor looms, as well as pat all their lovely alpaca products.
Alpacas are graded by their colour – they come in so many luscious natural shades, that by wearing them, you bypass the dyeing process cutting out use of chemicals, water and power, making alpaca a more eco-friendly fibre. Check them out here.
Yours truly just hanging out with some alpacas at Blue Moon.
So beanies are a popular item this season, and lo and behold, I’m knitting my own. We’re going to be popping some cute beanie patterns on Emotive Yarns soon, so you can make your own cable or stripey beanie! I’m using yarns from my stash, bits of 8ply wool and 10 ply acrylic from the Emotive vault, and decided to alter the pattern a little, adding cute spots and a pompom. You’ll see it when it’s finished.
However, as I knit on the train during my commutes to and from the city, I encountered the ghastly issue of tangling in my handbag.
You know what I did about it? I solved it.
Well sort of, I mean the yarn still tangles a little bit when doing intarsia but it’s SO much better than before!
Just grab a zip lock bag from the kitchen and cut some little holes in it. Shove your little wraps of fair isle yarn in the bag and poke the ends through. Seal the bag, start knitting, and say Ciao to your rampant handbag yarn tangles forever!
Have a craftastic weekend!
H & H Fair Cologne
So the fabulous bosses of Emotive Yarns and ACS choofed off to Europe in March to visit the annual Handarbeit + Hobby exhibition. I’m talking a massive trade show with every man and his dog – all the big dudes anyway – showing their latest yarns and creations for the season to come.
I wanted to give you all a sneaky insight to what they found at the show. Here’s some of the highlights:
Our friends at Hoooked were there showing off their awesome Zpagetti yarn, which is recycled fabric wound into yarn. I’ve got a few cones and LOVE it. It’s amazing for crocheting rugs and so forth. Or giant replicas of Miffy (see below).
Chunky yarns – they’re on a roll. I personally can’t get enough of them. Partly because I’m laz – ah, I mean, busy – and like to knit quickly, and partly because they look chic. Expect to see more of that.
Beanies! Word has it that Australia is about to break out into Beaniemania, with the only cure to knit more beanies all winter long until spring comes! I’m making my first beanie, it’s going to be SO cute. The pattern will be online soon!
Enjoy, knitters!
Artistry
Artistry is our leading yarn story for the season. It’s inspired by old tubes of paint, worn wood, creative winters, vintage craft tools, old pianos. We’ve thrown our favourite woolly yarns and patterns into the Artistry collection this month to give you inspiration for your autumn knitting and crocheting.
Like a master artisan, take the time to create something of quality. Painterly texture and poetic stitching meet rich oil paint colours and vintage inspired naturals for a truly impressionistic collection. We’ve focused our lens on classic wool yarns with natural texture and warmth. Traditional knitting technique blends with independent designer style, with artisan details like cables, Fair Isle and buttons. Develop your knitting like a Polaroid picture – gradual, nostalgic and lasting.
What we’re inspired by:
Yum. Check out the Artistry range here.
X
Ping Pong Kitty Knits
A loyal customer and friend of Emotive Yarns has been knitting away under the radar and creating something utterly excellent from our Ping Pong Yarn.
Meet Leanne, a big-hearted knitter and animal lover, founder of Ping Pong Kitty Knits.
She’s been gradually chipping away at our (what we thought was) never ending supply of Ping Pong yarn and turning it into gorgeous blankets for cats and dogs.
She makes them to order and has a portfolio of very satisfied customers to boot.
I chatted to Leanne when she shared her work with me, and I told her I thought it was the best use of the yarn I’d ever seen!
Leanne’s main mission with her blankets is one of charity; she custom makes each blanket to whatever size the client wants. She then keeps a little bit of the takings so she can buy more yarn to keep the business rolling, and then whatever’s left over, she donates to animal charities such as 9 Lives Cat Rescue, or puts it towards an animal’s surgery or carers who need financial support.
What a beautiful way to operate a small crafty business, AND contribute to the welfare of animals in need.
Check out her Facebook page and chuck it a Like. You can also get in touch with her from here to place your own kitty blankie order and help an animal in need.
She’s in the middle of a fundraising drive – have a look at her blankets available here and get in touch with Leanne to buy one 
Who’s a happy Kitty?
Happy Easter
We’re rushing around at the Emotive office today finishing things off before we sign off for the long Easter weekend.
It’s a nice rest after being so busy launching our 2013 collections. Check out all our new yarns here and there are sooo many great patterns for you to make. Mmmm.
We found this cute as Easter blog that we did 2 years ago when Emotive opened online! Make some pompom chicks or egg cosies as Easter projects this weekend.
And have a look at this fabulous brooch my delightful boyfriend bought me yesterday!
So appropriate! It’s made by local Aussie designer Kitty Came Home and I absolutely love it. Available at Craft Victoria.
Anyways, time to go scoff hot cross buns and pack my bags for our camping trip! Will report any cute alpaca sightings or CWA shop findings next week.
We wish you all a safe and delightful Easter!
Emotive Knitter xo
New Projects
Yesterday I popped into the old Emotive office/warehouse shop to do a few things, and while I waited, I flicked through a selection of books from the Emotive library! We’re yet to transfer them to the new office, but I brought a few back under my arm on the train.
Turns out we have a copy of The Knitting Man(ual) which is such a fun book! It actually has some great, simple projects that dudes would wear, or have a go at knitting if they’ve got the craft bug.
The book with the page open is Knitting On Top Of The World, by Nicky Epstein. It’s fantastic – she takes you on a trip through different parts of the world and focuses on their knitting traditions and styles, and then presents a pattern for each country or major area with a textile history. Defiknitely worth a read. See what I did there?
We have new projects online this week! Seewww exciting. Check out the new yarns and their patterns here.
This is my personal favourite, inspired by a Chanel style vintage blazer. But this is waaay comfier because it’s knitted! You will look uber classy in this one.
Get the Sidonia yarn here and the pattern here!
Now go forth and knit, pretties.
