Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Kanzashi in Bloom Book Review And Giveaway

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Kanzashi in Bloom by Diane Gilleland

What is Kanzashi?

The term Kanzashi refers to elaborate hair ornaments worn by women in Japan. They originated around 1600. Check out wikipedia for more information.

This book is filled with fabric folding techniques to create the basic flower which can then be turned into many many different projects. Including jewelry and much much more. You are only going to be limited by your imagination.

The photos are amazing and you are left digging around in your fabric stash for something to get started with.

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–Win Win Win—

We have 2 copies of this wonderful books for you to win. For your chance to win please enter the competition here.

Competition is open -Worldwide

Competition closes – 1st of August

Comments

  8. Kanzashi is so much fun – and it is really simple and easy once you get the basic principles down. That book is amazing as well – I have it on order.

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.