Author Archives: Coffee Tea Knits

The year for a year-long knit-along

Hello folks hope your New Year started off warmer than mine! Mine started with extremely cold temperatures and snowfall during the first week of the year. Good time to stay indoors and indulge in knitting projects with a cup of coffee or tea of course.

I finished this custom seamless cardigan last month just in time for the cold weather. I learnt many new things knitting this cardigan. I learnt how to knit a hood, add patch pockets (I found Susan B Anderson’s and Tin Can Knits tutorial helpful), and make a crochet chain button loop (many tutorials on YouTube). I also hand dyed the yarn since the skeins I purchased had different dye lot numbers. Yarn used: Patons Shetland Chunky Yarn in the Aran colorway. After hand dyeing, the yarn color became a light charcoal.

Cardigan with Pockets and Hood

This year I will be following the square of the month knit-along by Hannah Wallace in Knit Simple Magazine, Holiday 2017 issue. I will be modifying the pattern quite a bit. The modifications will include a different yarn (I already have this yarn) and all the squares will have the same number of stitch counts and rows so for certain months the stitch patterns will be substituted for other knit and purl stitch patterns. I will post pictures of a square or two each month on this site and on my Ravelry project page.

January 2018 square (Yarn: LionBrand’s Vanna’s Choice® Yarn in the Brick colorway)

This is my first knit-along and the reasons for doing this includes:

  • To work with the yarn I already have (The finished project will be quite interesting since it will be in several different colorways!)
  • Do a little each month
  • Sample new knit and purl stitch patterns
  • Write some project details on my Ravelry project page,
  • Have a deadline for the completion of this project.

This year will be a year to learn new stitch patterns, try different knitting techniques and take part in a year – long knit -along.

Thanks to all knitters and non knitters who read this blog.

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

A season to knit earwarmers

Posted in November 2017 by

Earwarmer with Fair Isle Knitting

Yarn Used: Patons® Classic Wool Worsted in Burgundy and Grey? (not sure about this colorway since it was knitted from yarn I already had and no longer have the label for it)

Project Details: This pattern Fair Isle Headband by Jane Stringer is a free Ravelry download and really a good project to start knitting Fair Isle. This is a fourteen stitch and fifteen round repeat pattern that can be knitted within a week. Next time I will knit two extra rounds of ribbing since the ribbing was curling up before I blocked the earwarmer.

This is my first time knitting Fair Isle and I wanted a small project to practice it. I still need to work on carrying my floats in the back (missed one in the lower right section of the second image) and knitting without tangling the two strands of yarn. It was a straightforward project with no increases or decreases in the pattern and a great introduction to Fair Isle knitting.

A season to knit earwarmers

  • They are quick knits making them great holiday gifts.
  • Learn or practice new and more complex stitch patterns (eg. Fair Isle) before investing time on a bigger knitting project with that particular stitch pattern.
  • Can be knitted flat and then seamed or can be knitted seamless and in the round. The pattern is the same bottom up or top down.
  • One skein (200 yards) of yarn is enough to make 2 or more earwarmers. Great for using leftover yarn.
  • Can be knit with any type or weight of yarn.
  • Good for keeping your ears warm in the winter without messing up your hair.

Happy Knitting! 

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

To knit a sweater

Posted in October 2017 by

Seamless Pullover with Contiguous Sleeves


Yarn Used: Lion Brand Heartland – Glacier Bay. I’ve used this yarn to knit a sweater before and you can see it here. This yarn is budget friendly, machine washable, and a soft yarn to knit with. This yarn is also very warm making it a good alternative for those who don’t use wool or other fibers.

Project detail: The pattern I used for this pullover is Avril in April by Reiko Kuwamura. I modified the pattern by using a 2 x 2 ribbing, longer sleeves, and a higher neckline for this pullover. I also added a cable pattern in the front from Liliane Poncho by Liliane Young.

To knit a sweater 

There are so many different ways to knit a sweater. It can be knit in separate pieces and then seamed together or knit seamlessly (or with minimal seaming) either bottom up or top down. Other sweater construction styles include knitting sideways from sleeve to sleeve, front to back, and so on. The sleeves can be raglan shaped, yoke, contiguous, dolman, drop shoulders etc. Fortunately, there are many patterns available on Ravelry and other sites for the different sweater construction styles that can be knit in separate pieces and then seamed or knit seamlessly (top down or bottom up).

Take a vote and see which is more popular – seamless or seamed sweater construction style.

Happy Sweater knitting to all!

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

The versatile craft of knitting

Posted in September 2017 by

Fisherman’s Rib Hat with Pom Pom


Yarn Used: Manos Del Uruguay Maxima* in Mixed Berries colorway.
Project details: The hat was knit in the round using the Fisherman’s rib stitch pattern. This project requires some concentration and focus and is certainly not a project to knit while watching TV. It’s best to put lifelines (there’s a short tutorial on lifelines for brioche stitch by Fruity Knitting Podcast Episode 35) every now and then because fixing a mistake in this stitch pattern is quite frustrating and time-consuming. More project detail can be found on my Ravelry project page.

The versatile craft of knitting
The versatile craft of knitting can teach us many things besides the various stitch patterns and techniques. It can be therapeutic, reduce stress, and also sometimes teach us to be more mindful, kind, thankful and calm. And now, according to the article “Girls Knit Their Way to a Math Career“, knitting is being used to teach kids math and science concepts and also to ease their math learning anxiety.

In the past year or so my focus has been more on reducing my yarn stash and less on the benefits of knitting that initially drew me to this craft (read the reformatted entries of my previous blog named Coffee Tea or Knits). While too much yarn and too many WIP’s can be overwhelming and stressful, it’s heartening to know that knitting can teach us many positive things that are just as versatile as the craft.

*There’s an article in the Spring 2017 issue of Interweave Knits about Manos del Uruguay, a non-profit cooperative organization, and its social mission for the rural women in this country.

Just a knit show and tell post

Posted in July 2017 by

Hello folks it’s been quite a while since my last post. I’ve been busy and my free time has been divided between knitting, watching knitting video podcasts, and reading knitting blogs. So here’s just a knit show and tell of one of my knitting projects. The stitch pattern and style of this cardigan was inspired by Jared Flood’s Tinder.

My version of Tinder Cardigan

Pattern: I didn’t have a written knitting pattern for this project which has a bottom up construction with a collar and ribbing. I just looked at the picture of the cardigan and knitted my own custom top down raglan sleeve version of it. However, the cardigan does have the waffle stitch pattern and a little bit of the style of the Tinder cardigan by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed.

Yarn used: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chestnut Heather colorway.

Knitting experience: I really liked the depth and variety of the colors within this yarn. Here’s a close up of the colorway of the yarn.

It’s very budget friendly and machine washable.  I found this yarn a little rough on my hands while knitting but using hand lotion before knitting helped quite a bit. After washing the yarn is quite soft and warm.

Leave a comment if you’ve also found inspiration for your knitting projects by looking at the knits of different knitwear designers.

Happy Knitting!

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.