1. hobbies and interests
2. arts and crafts
3. knitting

contents
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Features
articles
PatterNs
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From the Publisher
XX
XX
Acorn Hat
XX
Events
XX
Chicago Hat
XX
New Yarns
XX
XX
Cool Stuff
Road Warrior Shawl Knit
XX
Q&A
XX
XX
In the Bag
Road Warrior Shawl Crochet
XX
Read
XX
DIY Mitts
XX
Hot Knitting in the City
XX
Party Girl Shrug
XX
Techniques
XX
Butterfly Swatch
XX
Sit ‘N Spin
XX
Bluebell Panel
XX
Flower Panel
XX
Feature store: Sifu
Design Studio
and Fine Yarns
a Newb casts On
✶ contents
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From the puBlisher
Chicago Knits
magazine
Kimberly richardON
Editor-in-Chief
shaNNON saar
Senior Editor
lisa WhitiNg
Submissions
samaNtha lyNN, aNdreW
rOdgers, lisa WhitiNg
Contributing designers
i
n September of 2009, I was laid off (OK, I was fired, but let’s not split
hairs). In an attempt to keep myself from watching too much daytime TV,
I went to Joann Fabrics to find something crafty to do. I already knew how
to sew, cross stitch, and paint, but I was always taunted by that yarn section.
So many colorful yarns and not a darn thing I could do with them. So when
I walked past the yarn section this time, I decided to do something about it.
I picked up a Teach Yourself to Knit kit. It came with size 8 single pointed
needles and a book. All I needed was yarn. I found the cheapest skein I could
find (Red Heart Super Saver. Bright red, of course) and headed home.
I haven’t put the needles down since.
In the four years I have been knitting (and crochet), I have had a world
opened up to me that I probably would have never seen otherwise. I have
met people, been places, touched yarns that would have remained off my
radar had I not taught myself to knit. It’s awesome to sit with a group of
knitters and see what their strenghts are, talk about our best projects, laugh
about our worst projects, make items for one another, show a new stitch or a
new finished piece. It’s amazing to see talents flourish—I’ve seen brand new
knitters go from lumpy scarf to lacy shawl in no time.
The knitting and crochet community in our fair city is one of close
friends. Chances are if you’re a yarn artist in Chicago, someone I know
knows you. We can’t all be at the same open knitting night together, so
Chicago Knits Magazine is an attempt to bring us all together in one place to
bitch. To share patterns and stories about knitting in the city, to talk about
upcoming events, to learn new things, to meet new people, to bring more
people into our knitting circles.
I want this magazine to be for the yarn arts community, by the yarn arts
community. If you think you have a good idea for this publication, please let
us know. Do you have an original pattern you want to share? A new stitch
you just learned? A funny story about knitting or crochet? Tell us! With your
support we can make Chicago Knits Magazine the voice of the Chicago yarn
craft scene.
city knits
magazine
city knits
magazine
chicago knits
chicago knits
CHICAGO KNITS MAGAZINE is published quarterly. Basic subscription rates: one year (4 issues) US$24.99.
Subscriptions do not include newsstand specials. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Chicago Knit
Magazine, P.O. Box 25413, Chicago, IL 60625. Entire contents © 2014, Chicago Knits Magazine, Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction on the Internet of the articles and pictures in this magazine is illegal without the
prior written consent of Chicago Knit Magazine. Products named in the pages of Chicago Knit Magazine are
trademarks of their respective companies. PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
4
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adiNa salmaNsOhN
Spinning contributor
sPecial thaNKs
Dave Kellett, Siân de Freyssinet,
Natalia Uribe Wilson, Diane Buck,
Karen Plomin
We welcome reader photos, letters and
stories (“submissions”), however, we
cannot promise to publish any submission
and none will be returned. Chicago
Knits Magazine shall not be liable for
loss or damage to any submission. By
sending in your submissions to Chicago
Knits Magazine, you represent and
warrant that you own or otherwise have
all necessary rights to the submissions to
allow us to publish them in Chicago Knits
Magazine and as follows. You grant
Chicago Knits Magazine a worldwide,
royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and fully sub-licensable
license to use, copy, distribute, publish,
modify, adapt, translate, and store
your submissions, in any form, format,
or medium, of any kind now known or
later developed and to use your name in
connection with its use of the submission
you provide. For more information, please
contact us at info@chicagoknitsmag.com.
No part of this magazine may be
repoduced without written permission
from the publisher.
events
yarN marKet NeWs
cONFereNce
March 9–11
Yarn market news magazine
annual conference. omni hotel,
chicago, il. $950 registration
fee. yarnmarketnews.com/
conferences/2014-chicago
yarN cON
April 5–6, 2014
chicago’s indie Fiber Fair
chicago Journeymen plumbers
union hall, chicago, il. Free.
yarncon.com
iNdiaNa Fiber aNd music
Festival
April 26–27, 2014
tri-county shrine club, clarksville,
in. Free. indianafiberfest.com
iOWa sheeP & WOOl Festival
June 14–15, 2014
Jasper county Fairgrounds,
colfax, iA. $5/day.
iowasheepandwoolfestival.com
midWest Fiber & FOlK art Fair
June 21–23
Lake County Fairgrounds,
Grayslake, IL. $10/day or 3 day
pass for $25. fiberandfolk.com
meg sWaNseN’s KNittiNg
camP
July 3–7, 2014
holiday inn conference center,
marshfield, Wi. see website for
pricing. schoolhousepress.com/
camp.htm
meg sWaNseN’s retreat 2.75
July 10–14, 2014
Holiday Inn Conference Center,
Marshfield, WI. See website for
pricing. schoolhousepress.com/
camp.htm
open knitting
lOOPy yarNs
Fridays 5:30–9:00pm
47 W. Polk St., Chicago
312-583-9276
loopyyarns.com
mia bella yarN & accessOries
tuesdays 12-2pm
thursdays 5-7pm
saturday 2-5pm
open spinning first tuesday of
every month from 5-8pm.
1815 St. Johns Ave.,
Highland Park, 847-748-8419
miabellayarn.com
siFu desigN studiO
& FiNe yarN
sci-Fiber Fridays
7:00–9:00pm
stitch n Brunch
sundays 10:00am–1:00pm
6054 N. Broadway St., Chicago
773-271-7438
sifudesignstudio.com
sister arts studiO
thursdays, 6:30pm
721 W. Wrightwood Ave.,
Chicago, 773-929-7274
sisterartsstudio.com
WOOlly lamb yarN studiO
tuesdays from 1:00–3:00pm
thursdays from 6:00–8:00pm
6007 N. Nina Ave., Chicago
773-631-6208
woollylambyarn.com
WiNdy KNitty
thursdays 7:00–9:00pm
5653 N. Clark St., Chicago
773-800-9276
windyknitty.com
KNit-iN
tuesdays 7:00–9:00pm
(except Guild meeting nights)
Panera Bread
6059 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
West lOOP stitch N bitch
1st tuesday, 3rd Wednesday of
each month, 6:00pm
Café Ciao
939 W. Madison St., Chicago
groups.yahoo.com/group/
westloopsnb/
Dates and times subject to change
without notice. Please contact shop
before scheduling plans.
WiNdy city KNittiNg guild
meets 3rd tuesday of every month, 6:45–8:55pm. Sulzer Regional Library,
4455 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. windycityknittingguild.com
city knits
april: Needle/Yarn Tasting
A night of trying different needle/
yarn and a discussion of other
knitting sources besides ravelry.
may: Anna Hrachovec
mochimochi little Animal Designer.
more information to come.
June: Pate Conaway, Fiber Artist.
he will putmagazine
on a Demonstration
of
chicago knits
magazine
his art technique
and will have a
presentation of his past work and
installations.
CHICAGO KNITS
July: Chicago Yarn Crawl. shops
not to be missed, planning a route
using public transportation.
chicago knits
5
cool stuFF
Kitty PrOJect bag
Gracefully tote projects
without wear-and-tear in
these 100% organic
cotton drawstring
bags—the absolute
perfect size for socks
and other accessories;
also terrific as an
inspired wrapper for
gifting! Available in
pun-tastic “superfine”
uperfine”
or sweet “Yarn
Kitten” designs.
knitpicks.com
sPud & chlOe mug Kits
new from spud & chloe! each kit
features a cute little spud & chloë
mug filled with a hank of spud
& chloë sweater, and one
of three brand new on-therun patterns. pick from the
venus mitts, the Aphrodite
hat, or the cupid cowl.
these adorable kits will be a
great valentine’s Day gift for
your favorite knitter. stop into your favorite yarn
store to pick them up! spudandchloe.com/
blog/2014/01/love-is-in-the-air-almost/
OWl measuriNg
taPe
hand crocheted tape
measures are a fun and
functional accessory for
your toolkit. metric and
english measurements
on opposite sides
of a 5’ long tape.
roughly 2—14 ” in diameter.
lanternmoon.com
electrONic rOW cOuNter
You no longer have to keep track of your knitting
and crochet notes on scraps of paper! the row
counter plus is a dedicated counter for rows and
repeats. this improved model
can add and subtract rows
on three separate counters
simultaneously. the unit
is very sturdy, small and
lightweight, and it has
been designed to be
hung around the user’s
neck on a 23” lanyard
(included). color coded
buttons make it easy to
remember their functions,
and the unit saves data
when turned off (no more
accidental triggering of buttons
while in your project bag). $24.00
nancysknitknacks.com
hiya hiya PaNda
iNterchaNgeable
cable stOPPers
Felt KeychaiN clutch
this felt keychain clutch from lantern moon can hold
your phone, cards and cash. Blue, grey and red yarn
balls decorate the front making this the perfect accessory
for yarn lovers. Black cotton/linen lining; 4—14 ”h x 6”w
lanternmoon.com
made just for your
size large hiYa hiYa
magazine
magazine
interchangeable knitting
needles - these adorable
panda li stoppers are just what
CHICAGO KNITS
you need to hold stitches in
place while not in use. made for
size lArGe cables only.
nobleknits.com
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7
ADvice
gettiNg PicKed uP
Qrequires me to pick up a whole
i am knitting a shawl that
mess of stitches along one side. is
there a good way to do this?
—Jane Doe, Chicago, IL
A
here’s how you handle that.
First measure the gauge of your
knitting. let’s say your gauge is
coming out to 7 stitches per inch.
next, measure the length of the
area you need to pick up stitches.
let’s say this is 10”. then you pick
up the amount of stitches per inch
that matches your gauge. For our
assumptions, you would pick up 70
stitches. 7 stitches per 10 inches of
your project.
hOW cONtiNeNtal OF yOu
Qenglish vs. continental
What’s the difference between
Knitting?
A
the main difference is in the way
the next bit of yarn is picked up
in order to make a stitch. in english
knitting, the yarn is ‘thrown’ around
the needle–wrapped with the index
finger of the right hand around the
right needle after the stitch has been
partially slipped from left to right.
in continental knitting, the yarn is
“picked” onto the right-hand needle
from where it is held out in front of
the left-hand needle. continental
knitting is often considered by
seasoned knitters to be faster and
easier on the hands, since they don’t
need to be held as awkwardly, but
english knitting produces a smaller,
more even stitch. if you have difficulty
with the more commonly taught
english-style as a left-handed knitter, it
might be worth your while looking in
to continental knitting, since the left
hand does most of the work.
You could also be inadvertently
doing yarn-overs, meaning that you
are forgetting to move the yarn to the
back when you are done with a purl
stitch.
stitch multiPlicity
Another problem might be at the
end of a row. sometimes an extra
stitch is formed at the beginning of
your needle. this happens when you
begin to work a row and you take
the yarn over the top of the needle.
When you first turn your work, the
yarn is likely going to be hanging
down in front. if you bring the yarn
up and over to begin working it will
look like there is another stitch that
needs to be worked. if you play with
the yarn a bit you will see what i am
talking about. make sure that you
bring it under and behind the needle
and not up and over the needle.
Qhow to knit. i’m doing my first
through the stitch, not under it.
i’m a total beginner learning
practice square, but it’s becoming
triangular as mysterious extra stitches
keep appearing. i started with 25
stitches, and after fifteen rows, i had
38! after another ten rows, i had
45. What am i doing wrong?
A
try to slow down and really look
at where you are putting the
needle in through. make sure that it
is going through the stitch loop and
not something below that along with
the stitch. if you make the mistake of
putting your needle under the stitch,
rather than through, you’ll be making
up two stitches instead of one. look
after each stitch to see that you have
only picked up one.
We’d love to solve your knitting
problems. Write to questions@
chicagoknitsmag.com
sheldON
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CHICAGO KNITS
shelDoncomics.com
© DAve Kellett
chicago knits
9
FAvorite plAces
hot KnittinG in the citY
Chicago is a large city, full of
people, cars, noise, and more
people. Finding peace and tranquility in this city can be a challenge.
Finding a nice, quiet place to knit
is something else all together.
I didn’t know how to knit when
I used to take the train into the
Loop every day for work. I would
read, play solitaire on my phone,
watch people. Every once and a
while I would see someone knitting. For some reason, it never
occurred to me that the train is a
great place to knit. Uninterrupted
time to devote to counting rows or
reading a pattern, while listening to
an iPod, totally in your own little
world. Every once and a while, I
look forward to taking the train
because I can get some knitting in.
Honestly, there is hardly any
place I wouldn’t knit. I have knit
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in restuarants, standing behind the
counter while working at Starbucks,
stopped at red lights in the car
(don’t do this), at the DMV, at a
Depeche Mode concert. Really, any
time I have about 15-20 minutes of
spare time, I’ll break out the needles
(which I always have with me).
I hate standing still and knitting
seems to satisfy my ADD tendencies.
My favorite place to knit right
now is probably during lunch at
work. We have a cafeteria at lunch
where a bunch of sit around and eat
and schmooze and complain. After
I’m done eating, I usually break out
my needles for the remainder of the
hour. The usual question: What are
you making now? I typically tackle
more portable projects, so I’ve usually got a hat or one mitt or something for a kid. I have gotten several
commissions from my coworkers
from showing my finished products. I think everyone on my design
team owns a pair of fingerless
alpaca mitts.
I noticed another girl knitting in
the cafeteria a few weeks ago. Later,
she noticed me knitting as she
walked past my table. She stopped
and asked what I was working on.
BAM, instant friend. She just sent
me a cool pattern for the cowl she
was wearing the other day. You
never know what’s going to happen
when you knit.
Where is your favorite place to knit?
Or, if your couch is your favorite place
to knit (and there’s nothing wrong
with that), where is the strangest
place you’ve ever broke out your
needles? Send your stories to info@
chicagoknitsmag.com
FeAture store
this adOrable yarN stOre iN edgeWater has eXactly
What yOu Need WheN it cOmes tO yar N, NOtiONs,
aNd cOmradery. Oh, aNd Friday Night Pizza.
siFu desigN
studiO aNd
FiNe yarNs
city knits
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18
I
’m sitting at a large green table in a cozy knitting shop. It is winter, but the radiators clink
with a warming comfort. There are boxes of yarn everywehere. Lisa Whiting, the store
owner, is sitting at the head of the table on her laptop, trying to decide what classes she
should offer for January. Don’t let the laptop fool you—she keeps all of her scheduled classes
and meetings analog, in a huge ledger that never leaves her sight. This table has a close-knit
(haha, knit. Get it?) group of people frequently sitting around it any day of the week that it’s
open. On Friday nights, the Sci-Fiber Fridays, everyone tries to get to the shop early to grab
a seat to get a good view of the sci-fi movie of the week. On Sunday mornings, people have
to sit two or three deep around the table during Stitch and Brunch. Goodies have been piled
high on this table, as have chinese food leftovwine bottles, and pizza boxes. It’s an irreverent
bunch that hang out at this table. And truth be told, this is my home away from home.
sPriNg.14
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CHICAGO KNITS
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proJects
Party girl shrug
skill level
yarn or “Dawn” braeburn
sport yarn
✶ 9 (10, 11) ozs. French
gauge
✶ 9 sts per 2”
materials
✶ “Dawn” or “Clover Leaf”
nylon or “Dawn” nylon
sock & sweater yarn or
“Dawn” dacron fingering
Blue, Light Blue or Baby
Blue.
✶ 1 oz. White or any
contrasting color for
all sizes.
✶ 1 snap fastener.
✶ 1 pr. knitting needles
No. 6.
This knit pattern is from Stoles & Shrugs, originally
published by American Thread Co, Book No. 103,
in 1953. The yarns used in this patterns are from the
era and may not be available today. You should pick
a yarn in a similar weight. Please do a swatch before
starting the pattern to determine the gauge.
Directions are for Small size. Changes for Medium and
Large sizes are in brackets.
Bolero is worked with a double strand of yarn throughout.
bacK
With Blue cast on 66 (72, 76) sts and work in pattern
as follows:
1st row * K1, P1, repeat from * across row.
techniques
✶ Knit and purl
✶ Cast On
✶ Slip
✶ Steel crochet hook
No. 0.
size
✶ Width across back at
underarm: 16” (17”,
18”
✶ Width across each front
at underarm 8½” (9”,
9½”)
✶ Sleeve Seam 12” (12”,
12½”)
bind off remaining 18 (20, 20) sts for
back of neck.
right FrONt
With Blue, cast
on 15 (18, 21)
sts and work in
pattern across
row, cast on 2
sts, place a marker
in last cast on st for
front edge. Work even
in pattern casting on 2 sts
at front edge every other row
twice, then increase
2nd row * P1, K1, repeat from * across row. Work
even in pattern for ¾”.
Next row Keeping pattern even, increase 1 st on each
side, then increase 1 st on each side every ¾” twice,
72 (78, 82) sts. Work even until back measures 4 (4½,
4½) inches from beginning.
Cast on 5 sts at beginning of next 20 rows for sleeves,
then cast on 4 (4, 7) sts at beginning of next 2
rows 180 (186, 196) sts. Work even for 4 (4½, 5)
inches.
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CHICAGO KNITS
Next 2 rows Bind off 1 (3, 8) sts at beginning of
each row.
Bind off 8 sts at the beginning of next 20 rows, then
chicago knits
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sWAtches
bluebell PaNel
skill level
techniques
j Yarn over
n Sl 1, K1, PSSO
d K2tog
g Purl
8
6
4
2
8
6
4
2
8
6
4
2
g
ggj
g
gjd
g
gg
g
gg
g
ggj
g
gjd
g
gg
g
gg
g
ggj
g
gjd
g
gg
g
gg
7
g
dnj
g
ggn
g
gg
g
gg
g
dnj
g
ggn
g
gg
g
gg
g
dnj
g
ggn
g
gg
g
gg
5
3
gg
7
jg
5
gg
3
gg
1
gg
7
jg
5
gg
3
gg
1
gg
7
jg
5
gg
3
gg
1
1
row 1 P2 [k1, p2] twice
row 2 K2 [p1, k2] twice
row 3 and 4 Rep the last 2 rows once more.
row 5 P1, yon, sl 1, k1, psso, p2, k2tog, yfrn, p1.
row 6 K1, p2, k2, p2, k1.
row 7 P2, yon, sl 1, k1, psso, k2tog, yfrn, p2
row 8 K2, p4, k2
repeat these 8 rows as many times as needed.
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