News
-
Knit and crochet without pain — treat your body like you’re an athlete.
Tingling hands, achy forearms, pinched neck, tight shoulders — if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, chances are it could be because of how you’re using (or abusing) your body while you practice your craft.
If you love making things with your hands and want to keep doing it without pain, it’s time to start taking care of your body like you’re an athlete. Because you are. Embrace it!
-
Is it the pattern — or is it me?! What to do if you notice something’s off.
Argh! You get almost to the end of a row and you notice that you're "off" by a stitch or two. In The Shift, this has happened to more than a few of us! What to do? It might be easier than you think to get back on the straight and narrow with your pattern! Read on for our tips! -
Choosing colors can be hard — our favorite ways to make it fun!
If you’re a knitter or crocheter, it’s a safe bet that you enjoy playing with colors. For those of us lucky enough to work at The Goat, we get to play with color a lot! We've got some tried and true strategies that will help. -
New twist on a gauge swatch — “You can just start knitting!”
After all our propaganda about how gauge swatching is sexy, we’re here to tell you that sometimes you can just start knitting.
This crazy idea is what we’ve been telling folks who are participating in our Knit Along for The Shift cowl by Andrea Mowry. Read on to find out why!
-
Finish with flair — The joys of blocking.
Everything you always wanted to know about blocking your finished projects — why it's like the twin of your awkward cousin Gauge Swatch, why it's important, and how to do it! -
"Pick up and knit" — Go boldly where no knitting was before!
Create new stitches on your knitted edge?! It’s really like magic.
This is a technique that’s handy for making button bands on cardigans, for a ribbed neckline, or for certain types of modular knitting.
It might sound daunting, but we’ve got some tips and tricks to make this manageable so you’ll be picking up stitches like a champ in no time!
-
Mistakes happen. What to do about them?
You’re watching All Creatures Great and Small and you unintentionally join both fronts of your Ramona cardigan about 9” down from the neck (plunging neckline anyone?), and just keep knitting in the round, totally absorbed by the fantastic knitwear on the screen — not to mention the mossy stone walls — until you realize you were actually knitting a cardigan and not a pullover. (True story, it was an easy fix.)
So what to you do when you spot a mistake?
-
Ramona KAL — Pattern FAQs
Bookmark this post for the Ramona Knit Along!
We thought it would be good to have one blog post to warehouse all your Ramona questions — and our answers. If you’ve got a question, chances are that others might be wondering the same thing. Keep checking back here, as we will be adding more to this post as the weeks go along.
-
What's a raglan sweater anyway?
New video alert!
Raglan, top-down sweater? What the heck does it mean?! If you're joining us for the Ramona KAL in 2023, this is the method for both cardigans and the pullover.
A raglan, top-down sweater is one of the fundamental vocabularies of sweater design. In this video Iris shows us the big picture of how a raglan is constructed.
-
Knitting your first big project? Start with our recipe for success!
Starting a big knitting project?
When you embark on a bigger knitting project, it's kind of like making a delicious meal with high-quality ingredients — you need the right recipe (pattern), the best ingredients (yarn and needles), and you might need to learn a few new techniques.
This post walks you through the basics of project planning, so you can get organized and set yourself up for success! It's like a virtual version of the conversation we'd have in the shop with you. Read on for our recommendations!
-
Take your yarn on a date — how swatching is sexy.
We're here to tell you why we love a hot date with yarn.
It's easy to feel the passion and pull of a new project, you're so in love, you daydream about your pattern all the time, and you've finally found the McDreamy yarn for it! Why not just elope, cast on those stitches and run away together?!
We’ve been there and it’s so tempting to get swept up in that passionate moment!
You. Just. Want. To. Cast. On! ...But is it a match made in heaven? Or is it destined for frustration, tears, and maybe even therapy?
