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Simple Softies Book Review and Giveaway

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RRP: $24.95 au  Available 28th June

Simple Softies includes 15 quick and easy patterns for quirky, cute and cuddly dolls. The toys are all designed to be hand sewn and are simple enough for children to make – either by themselves, or with a little help from an adult.

Children will find projects to suit their level of ability and spark their imagination. And adults will discover that crafting with kids is a real joy. The step-by-step instructions are straightforward, and there’s a handy glossary of terms and techniques – including all the stitches you’ll need to make your softie.

Kids (and grown-ups!) will enjoy hours of fun making these gorgeous toys.

WIN WIN WIN

Thanks to Penguin Books Australia we are giving you the chance to win our review copy. For your chance to win simply enter here.

Competition Open- Worldwide

Competition Closes- August 1st.

 

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Make Your Knitting Machine Scarves Better

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve shared any patterns for our circular knitting machine users. I know these devices aren’t for everyone but even though I much prefer knitting by hand, it is kind of fun to crank things out on these machines.

One of the most common early projects for a circular knitting machine is a scarf. Which makes sense, because it’s just one long tube and you can make it as long as you like.

One problem that comes from knitting scarves on the circular knitting machine, though, is that it can be hard to know how to finish the ends of the tube so that it looks like a finished scarf and not a tube of knitting.

If you’re not a knitter or crocheter, the most basic way to finish a circular knitting machine scarf is just by cinching up the ends and maybe adding a pompom to each end to cover up any hole that might still be visible at the end.

But if you have a little knitting or crochet skill or are willing to learn, there are a lot of different options for closing up the ends of a scarf. And this would also be true if you hand knit a tube scarf!

I recently wrote a post over at Our Daily Craft that includes five different ways to close up the ends of a tube scarf:

  • the simple cinching method mentioned above
  • sewing the stitches together
  • three needle bind off
  • grafting
  • crochet bind off

Grafting is my favorite because I feel like it gives the cleanest, closest to a seamless look. If you’re a knitter you may already know how to do it but even if you don’t it’s not that hard to learn.

Do you knit tube scarves by hand or machine? I’d love to know how you like to finish them!