Universal Handwarmer Pattern!

Okay, so it’s been a long week. The economy is in the crapper, and life is hard. Something that always makes me feel better is the act of creating. Specifically knitting. This pattern can be used with ANY yarn/needle combo, and to make ANY size or length of handwarmer.

This is not a pattern for someone who has never knit anything before. I consider it a starting place for intermediate knitters to begin writing their own patterns.

Before you get started. Here is the least you need to know. I failed math. I don’t mean “ I was bad at paying attention, and math was hard for me”. NO, I failed math- literally. Twice. I went to art school mainly because I knew I wouldn’t have to take a math class. I can do this math, and so can you. Just don’t think about it too hard, follow the instructions, and it’ll all work out.


To start you will need:

The yarn you plan to use. Generally you can expect to use about 200 yards of yarn for an average pair of handwarmers. This changes depending on lots of things, so be prepared to use 100 yards more or less depending on your project.

A calculator. Math is your friend.

A set of Double Pointed Needles- the right ones for the yarn you are using to achieve the gauge you want (whatever that may be for you)

A notebook or place for taking notes and an implement of marking- or just print this blog post, and write on it. I like to keep my knitting notes in a book, you should do as you please.

4 yds Waste yarn- the same gauge as the yarn you are using.

A soft cloth/plastic tape measure.

A yarn needle

To start:
knit a 4” by 4” gauge swatch using the stitching pattern you are planning to use. YOU MUST KNIT A GAUGE SWATCH FOR THIS TO WORK. NO CHEATING!

Count your stitches and rows. Write them on the top of your notes.

Gauge: ______(stitches) ______(rows) equals 4x4




Okay. Now measure.
ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE TO THE CLOSEST ¼ Inch.

Around the palm of your hand (not including thumb) this is your width measurement.

(Width)_________ X (Width Multiplier)_______=_______ (Cast On) round to nearest whole even number

Now measure from the crook of your thumb to where you want the handwarmer to end on your arm. This is called length A

(Length A)__________ X (Length multiplier)______= _______ (Rows to Thumb Row) nearest whole number

Length B is from the crook of your thumb to where you want the handwarmer to end on your fingers.

(Length B)________X (Length multiplier)_______= ________ (Rows After Thumb Row) nearest whole number

Now wrap the tape measure around the base of your thumb and DIVIDE by 2 (half). This will give you the Thumb width

(Thumb Width) ________ X (Width multiplier)_______=_______ (Thumb Opening) nearest whole number

Now measure how tall you want the thumb sleeve from the base of your thumb.

(Thumb Length) _______X (Length multiplier)________=________ (thumb row) nearest whole number



Now lets do some math! I promise it’ll be okay.

Divide gauge Stitches______ by 4. Round to nearest .5 this is your multiplier for widths.

(Width Multiplier) _______

Divide gauge Rows ______by 4. Round to nearest .5 this is your multiplier for lengths.

(Length Multiplier)_______



Plug these numbers into the worksheet above, pull out your calculator and do the math.


OPTIONAL BUT RECCOMENDED:
Now if you want to get extra fancy and figure out exactly how much yarn you will need – frog (rip out) your gauge swatch and measure it in inches________ (Gauge Length).

Multiply Gauge (Stitches)______ X Gauge (Rows)_________=_________ (Total Gauge)

To get how much yarn per stitch you will need divide (Total Gauge) _______ by (Gauge Length)_________= _________(Stitch length)

Add (Rows to Thumb Row)_________+ (Rows after thumb row)______+ 1 = _______(Total Rows)

Multiply (Cast on) _______ X (Total Rows)_______ = (Stitches in body)_______

Multiply (Stitches in Body)_________X (Stitch Length)________= __________(Single Needs)

Multiply (Single Needs)_______ X 2 = _________ (Total Needs)

Divide (Total Needs) ________ by 36=_________ (Base Yardage)

Add 30 + (Base Yardage)________= _________GRAND YARDAGE

GRAND YARDAGE = this gives you about how much yarn you will need to knit your handwarmers with your gauge! You should round UP when buying yarn, so you do not run out. There is almost nothing as frustrating as needing 10 more yards of something once the dye lot is no longer available.



Okay, so now onto the fun part!

Start designing your handwarmers! Cuff and stockinette? Ribbed for your pleasure? The options are yours. Stripes? Whatever you want.

Wrist Cuff: you should decide what type of cuff you want based on how many stitches you are casting on, and personal preference. With a little math you can determine what type of ribbing you want, and how tall you want your cuff to be.

I generally use 1/3 of the total of (Length A) to get the number of rows for my cuff:
(Divide Rows to Thumb) ______ by 3= ______ (round to nearest whole number).

Type of ribbing can be determined by personal preference and number of stitches in cast on. For example: I like a 3x1 rib. In order to get a 3x1 rib I need my total stitches to be divisible by 4 (3knit+1purl) you get the picture. You can adjust your cast on stitches accordingly. If you like your knitwear a little tighter- subtract stitches from cast on. If you like your knitwear a little looser, add. I generally like to add, because my hands swell and shrink in the winter and I hate to have things too tight!

Finger Cuff: This is the cuff at the top of your handwarmer over your fingers. The ribbing here should also be divisible by the same number as your wrist cuff, but it doesn’t need to be the same. I like mine to be around 10 rows long. You should use your personal preference and design something pleasing to your eye.

If you want to do stripes, use your (total rows) and divide into stripes. I like to use three colors and a 4 stripe repeat, so it looks random, but there is a pattern. You should design something that makes you happy.

Okay so onto the knitting! After all that math, you are going to really enjoy knitting handwarmers you designed, that are perfect for the yarn you like! And won’t you feel smug when someone asks you for the pattern, and you can say “oh, I designed it myself”


Cast on _______sts. Divide evenly between 3 DPNs. Place marker. Begin knitting in the round. BE CAREFUL not to twist your work!

Knit in your rib pattern: Knit ____ Purl____. Repeat for rows 1-______(rows for cuff). Continue in pattern to end of (rows to thumb row) _______. Slip marker.

Thumb.
Pick up waste yarn and knit across (Thumb Opening)_____ turn work, and knit across those stitches again. Drop waste yarn, pick up main yarn and knit across those same stitches one more time.

Complete this round. This completes thumb row. Leave waste yarn in place and continue knitting in pattern for (rows after thumb row)______. Be sure to put on your finger cuff for ______ rows.

Bind off loosely.

Knit the bodies of both handwarmers before you knit your thumbs. It helps you to count and double check that your right and left are both the same length, and the thumb is in the same place on both.

For the thumbs!

With your work facing you carefully pull out the waste yarn and pickup the stitches. This should look a little like a buttonhole with knitting needles holding it open. Pick up an additional 2 stitches on either side of the “buttonhole” to complete the round. Distribute onto 3 DPNs place marker and begin knitting in the round for _______ (thumb rows). Knit the last 3 or 4 rows in ribbing to keep them from rolling down. Bind off loosely.

ALMOST DONE!

Weave in your ends, and block with steam over a clean rolled-up washcloth. Voila! You are now a knitwear designer!!!!!

Priceless

Tank of gas in New Jersey...$27.00

Road snacks, coffee, lunch...$19.00

CD of This American Life to keep me company on my journey...$17.99

Tolls from CT to DC...$22.00

Calling the cops on my neighbor one last time...priceless


Trying to get out of town is always hard. It is extra difficult when it involves the police. But we'll get to that later.


Saturday was awesome! The Hartford Stage folks came and helped me load the last bits of my life into storage and we headed out for one last beer and plate of fried pickles (I swear, they are waaaay better than they sound). Sunday, I spent one last day finishing up my work on the current show at the Stage Co and attempting to prepare the shop for my departure (they are totally in capable hands). After work I had dinner and a milkshake with some very dear friends, finished loading my car and settled onto my air mattress in my empty apartment with the last beer in my fridge and a DVD episode of This American Life on my laptop. (I like the radio show much better than the television program). I fell asleep feeling like all was well in the world, and tomorrow begins a grand new adventure.

I woke up on Monday morning to discover my horrible neighbor aka Mr. Peesonhisownlawn, aka Mr.Shoutsexplitivesintothephone, aka Mr. Barfseverymorning is also Mr. Beatshisdog. So what did I do? I called the Manchester Police one last time. In retrospect, I'm really happy I did. At the time, I wished I had put my kitty into her carrier before my apartment had 3 cops with loud radios and a scared kitty hiding under the bathtub.

Turns out my crappy neighbor had/has several warrants out for his arrest in Florida, and so the police not only arrested him for animal cruelty but also for whatever he did in Florida (in my mind it involves peeing on his lawn). The police were very nice to me, thanked me for calling them and were more than happy to take this guy away. They even offered to help me try to extricate the cat from beneath the bathtub, but I thought it might be better to let her chill for 20 minutes.

Once Ms.Kitty came out from under the bathtub, was properly sedated (as prescribed by the vet) and her carrier safely belted into the car we were on our way. The trip was pretty smooth. We got stuck on the George Washington Bridge for about an hour, but with the soothing tones of Ira Glass to keep me company, I didn't really mind too much. The Garden State soundtrack is a great soundtrack for driving thru The Garden State on a gloomy day, and lasts almost as long as New Jersey.

We arrived in DC only about 30 min after my projected arrival time, and without further problem. The company housing apartment I am staying in is swank. It's a luxury high-rise with a water feature in the lobby. I could never afford to live here in my real life, but I sure as heck am gonna enjoy pretending like I could.

....the best part-I have a dishwasher and laundry in unit.

Oh, and if you are still worried about the dog, he looked like he was okay as the police were taking him to get checked out by the vet.....

Andre The Giant Has A Posse

If you know what this means.....you are automatically cool.

If not, here is what I am talking about.

Once upon a time (1987ish) there was a young girl and her brother was a skateboarder. She was a very crafty, very nerdy, figure skater sort of girl. Her brother was a very cool, very straight edge, very skateboarding sort of fellow. He had some fabric patches, and later some vinyl stickers that had a silk screen print that said "Andre The Giant Has a Posse" with a image and some other stats for the pro-wrestler. The younger nerdier girl said to her brother and his friends "what does that mean?" and they told her if she didn't know, she wasn't cool enough to know..... brothers can really suck sometimes.......

Fast forward 20 years to 2007ish and that nerdy girl is now a rock star crafter, who never forgot how if felt to want to be a part of something so cool, so esoteric, that if you didn't know what it was you probably aren't cool enough to be a part of it. Enter Etsy.com and the CT Etsy Team. Etsy is not so cool that you need a password, but it is still just indie enough to be cool. Oh, and the Andre The Giant and later OBEY patches--they didn't mean anything--just like the name Etsy- doesn't mean anything.

And here is my homage to the OBEY patches:

Not quite Andre The Giant, but cool for sure. I'll have the stand alone patches at the Craftastic on April 13th ($2) as well as a few of the zipper pouches ($8). A portion of the profit will go back to the CT Etsy Street Team to help promote the rad, indie crafters in CT to advertise, host markets, and generally make Etsy as big as Andre The Giant.

Oh, and they were my first trip into the extra cool, extra indie world of homemade silkscreens. I am in love. I used actual silk for the screen, and I think it worked better than tulle or stockings.

Craft Market Tres

It is about 2 days before the market, you have all your pieces done, the tags are on, and you have a plan(ish) for what your display will look like. Now comes the hard part. The part where you have to talk to people you don't know about your work and they either buy it or they don't. This can be more difficult than all the seaming, felting, painting, and exacto cuts combined.





I watched a documentary about buzz marketing a couple of years ago, and it changed my life. Buzz marketing is a style of guerrilla marketing where you create a 'feel' or *buzz* around a product without overtly advertising it. The easiest way to market something to people is if they see someone who they want to be like using, enjoying, or taking part of a product or service.

Therefore; give yourself some buzz.

When I get up and go to work in my crafty studio, I do it in whatever I have been wearing and a paint stained apron. This is not how I dress to go to a craft market. When I am a market vendor I think about who my target audience is, and I dress like them (this is easy, since I'm part of my own target market). If your market is young slightly conservative moms, try to look like someone they would go shopping with, take out your nose ring, and wear a sweater set. If your target market is Brooklyn hipsters, pull out your ironic tee shirt, slap some Vaseline on your tattoos and put on your ballet flats. Remember: part of the 'buzz' is creating 'the image'.

Here is a list of things to remember the day of the market

1. Change. People come shopping straight from the ATM machine, so you should be able to make change for at least a couple of $20 bills.



2. Tape. Something on your display will need to be taped, trust me.



3. Scissors and some string or yarn. Something or someone will need it.



4. Bags or something to put purchases in.



5. Lights, extension cord, table/display and a table covering.



6. Business Cards or postcards.



7. A notebook or sales slip book to record your sales in.



8. A small project to work on. It is a great way for people to strike up a conversation with you.



9. Water and a couple of healthy snacks. It's easy to forget to take care of yourself, but you will feel much better if you can eat something and keep hydrated.



10. Your fabulous products and your smile!









I can't wait to see you all at the Craftastic spring fling.



woot.

Craft Market Dos.

Okay, so you have carefully decided what to make, how it should be priced, and the day of the market is about a week away. It is now time to label and display your work for sale.

I generally use business cards or a nice hand written tag for my labels. On the labels I include my company name, a way to get in contact with me (a URL or email address), and any care instructions, if there are any that apply. I think it is a good way to make your work feel finished, professional and it lends an air of confidence to your work. The more professionally you can present your work, the better.

Once everything is labeled I price it all individually. The only time I think it is a good idea to group price things is when you are dealing with 'stocking stuffer' gifts, or jewelry you are displaying on a board. Remember, people are paying you for something unique, so play it up. The more unique the item feels, the better.

Everything is priced, tagged, labeled and ready to go. The best advice I can give anyone about presenting work is merchandise, merchandise, merchandise. Go to a store you think is beautiful. Look at how items are presented, things are presented in a way that makes you want to touch it, try it on, and is visually interesting.

Levels and vertical presentation boards are a great way to make yourself stand out in the crowd. It is really hard to get someone to walk across a room to look at something if they aren't interested. There is nothing more boring than walking into a craft market and seeing flat tables with work lined up in neat rows. Asymmetry, odd numbers, and multiple levels are interesting.

If you need to see an example- go to an upscale, trendy store and take notes. A well merchandised store will always make more money than a cluttered and poorly lit one.

If you are selling wearables, be sure to have a mirror available for viewing. People want to see how great they are going to look in your work before they give you money. You should also be sure to bring additional lighting if the space is dark or if you have something like textiles or jewelry that is better viewed in bright light.


Next post, You and your business image.

Craft Markets. Uno.

Last week Jillian made 2 new posts about what she has learned from her new trip into participating in craft markets.

This weekend I attended a Connecticut Etsy Street Team meeting and am starting to prep for the Craftastic spring fling. As I read Jillian's posts, meet people on my team, and get to know the online community as real people some things have become very clear to me. Etsy is FULL of wonderfully talented incredibly skilled people. Some of them are participating in Etsy with an entirely different mindset than I am. Part of that is the difference in life view and part of it is purely what people want to get out of Etsy as an online marketplace. I am also learning that although I think of myself as a newbie to indie craft, I have a lot more experience than many of my team members.

As I am prepping for the last craft market I will be a vending in for a while I thought I would write a multi-post tutorial about what I have learned participating in craft markets over the last 5 years. Remember, I am writing about small venues with less than 12 or so crafters. If you are going balls-to-the-wall and trying your hand at a giant venue with 30 or more vendors, it is a totally different story.


Here is part uno.


When I am planning what I am going to take to a market there are a couple of questions I ask myself. These include:

Who is my target audience? and what is their income and spending level (realistically)?

For me I know most of my work appeals to educated women in the 24-40 age group who more than likely work in the arts, or are pretty crafty and trendy. I like to think of it as the 'BUST' magazine-reading-smarty-pants-market. So I work on developing products that appeal to these women and fit in their spending patterns.

Can I create this product and still make a profit on it?

If the answer is no, then it's time to re-evaluate how I am constructing something, the materials I am using, and how I am charging for the product.

Has this product sold well in the past?

I always bring some items I call my guaranteed sells. These are items that generally cost less than $15, are good gifts, and would appeal to a broad variety of people. If I make something and it proves to be unpopular I will stop making it. No need to waste my time making something that is unpopular, even if I am having a blast making it. Time to add that item to my 'personal crafts only' list. For me- these things include hand dyed yarn, jewelry, and knitted hats. The market is (in my opinion) flooded with these items and I don't need to try to swim in an already crowded pool. side note- I am still trying to get rid of some of these things, so look for them to be marked down like crazy at the spring Craftacular.

So now you have decided on what you are bringing to the market. Now let's talk quantity. In all the markets I have participated in (some holiday, some not) I have almost never sold totally out of anything. Having said that, I usually try to have a good quantity of items. What is a good quantity? Depends. If it is a holiday market- it could be as much as 20 of one item. For a non-holiday market, I try to have a dozen of my best sellers.

Most people (myself included) were totally overwhelmed by their first market. It is a daunting thing to have to go out and chat with people about your work, look them in the face and on occasion, have them ask really dumb, insulting questions. However, when someone is totally thrilled with your work and is willing to give you some of their hard earned money for something you made -it is worth all the time and energy. Trust me.

Next post- How to display your work.

Cupcakes for your head

Hello friends. As I'm gearing up for the Side Project Artisan Market and loading my Etsy shop with handmade goods I also work as a theatrical Milliner and costume craftsperson. Here are some images of my work from theatre. Sure, there are no fat little crafty beavers, but there are some pretty hats.

What's a diorama?

Well kids, a diorama is what girls named Katie make when they need to photograph their woodland critter pincushions and it's snowing outside. brrrrrr. This week has been incredibly productive. The Secret may work for some poeple, but for me it's some good old fashioned hauling butt. I have finished a lot of crafty projects, published the side project market blog, fancy email advertisement, postcard layout, and opened a show at work. All this and I sold more items on etsy this week than any other week so far. I even found time to have a pedicure, dinner out and a little poke the baby time with Maizie (my favorite dumpling). I didn't sleep much, my apartment looks like a cross between a recycling center and a craft store, and my refrigerator is basically something a college student would be ashamed of, but I did make some great stuff and I feel good about my products this season.


Drumroll please.

>>>>> Here are some of the Woodland Creature Pin Cushions<<<<<<<<

This is Stinky the Skunk.
























This is the Crafty Beaver.

There are more listed on etsy.com, but these are my favorite. I may have to make a beaver to keep for myself.

In other news- the sushi ornaments are selling much better than I thought, so I made some fortune cookies this week, and hopefully they will find their way into the hearts of Asian food lovers as quickly as my merry maki Christmas ornaments.

I hope to keep the momentum up for the next week so I can go to the BUST magazine Craftacular this coming weekend and see some friends in NYC.

Fused Plastic Tutorial

It's 20 days and counting till I leave for the craft fair in Chicago. I keep adding things to my list of things to do, and frankly it isn't getting smaller because of it.

Here is the finished project today:

It is a re-purposed plastic messenger bag made of Stew Lenards produce bags. The learning curve on sewing plastic bags is a little steeper than I thought, and this one didn't turn out as *perfectly* as I had hoped. The next 4 should go a little smoother. Here is how I made it in case you are feeling super crafty yourself.

Things you'll need

-Plastic bags- about 20 should do for a 10x14 inch messenger bag.

-Iron set to medium (you will need to adjust the temp depending on your iron)

-Kitchen Parchment Paper

-Your Ironing board or an ironing surface

-An open window-burning plastic is INCREDIBLY TOXIC.

-A simple pattern and notions for a messenger bag (I made mine myself, but if you are new to sewing-buy a simple one)

HERE WE GO!

1. cut apart approx. 20 plastic bags into flat sheets of plastic. Cut off the handles, the fused bottom seam and slice the bag open.

2. layer the bags between 2 sheets of cooking parchment paper so you have at least 8 layers of plastic in all places. -The parchment is important- be sure your iron does not touch the plastic directly- wax paper will leave a waxy residue and the plastic bags may stick to regular paper.

3. Start ironing! It is important to start in the middle, keep the iron moving at all times and not to let the plastic scorch. If you accidentally burn the plastic you will release VERY TOXIC FUMES that are big time bad for you, your pets and especially kids.

It takes about 20 minutes of ironing to get the sheet flat, smooth and even. If you see a lot of air bubbles, you may need to poke a pin hole in the plastic and iron over the area again.

****Note*** the ink used to print on plastic bags releases with heat. Turn bags inside out, or sandwich between clear bags to keep the ink from releasing all over the place and making a huge mess.

4. Once you have one side nice a flat, flip the whole piece (including the parchment) over and iron the other side till the entire piece is flat, smooth and feels like it is one piece of plastic.

5. Allow the piece to cool, peel off the parchment and start cutting. I flat lined (sewed each piece to it's lining individually) and serged my pieces because I want the bags to be nice and strong, you should test it out and decide how you want yours. Turning pieces inside out smoothly is difficult, so you may want to alter your pattern so you don't have to 'flip' any pieces.

6. Sew and finish your bag following the pattern instructions - remember you CAN'T iron the plastic directly- you must sandwich it in parchment paper.


Additional Notes:

- practice with different plastic bag types to find one you like. Do a practice piece to get your pieces fused smoothly and completely and your iron temp correct.

-Make sure you have enough plastic to cut your pattern pieces without having to overlap them and that you have 8 layers of plastic in the areas you are cutting. Less layers and you will have a weak spot in your bag.

-Plastic has NO grain, so you don't have to worry about grain lines on the plastic, but you should follow them on your fabric lining.

-Pencils don't mark on plastic so use a ball point pen for your markings.

-Send me a picture of your bag.