First Double Knitting Homework: Double Knit Duvino Headband

I already mentioned that I am following a double knitting class from Craftsy. There are some very nice projects to make in the class and during the week I've been doing the first class project: a double knit, reversible headband.

I already dabbled a bit in double knitting when I was doing my Christmas double-knit coasters, but taking this class gave me better tips on how to cast on and bind off in a neater way, and also how to have cleaner edges (in the case of flat double-knitting), and I'm still only at the end of lesson 4 out of 10, so I'm hoping to learn a bit more from it.

One thing you need for double-knitting is A LOT of patience. This is a very slow process that requires focus so not something to do while watching a movie (better switch to an easier project!). I haven't been able to knit more than 4 or 5 rows a day (each row has 3 repeats of the pattern and a total of 111 stitches) because I would have been on the verge of losing my mind. Even though I love the effect achieved by double knitting, this is not a knitting technique I would recommend for big projects.

So here we go, I present you the Duvino Headband, designed by Alasdair Post-Quinn and knit by my own ten nimble fingers:

Now I'm going to knit something simple before I get back on the double knitting horse because my brain needs to rest a little, but then again, I might just decide to get on with the next lesson tomorrow!

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Joining Pinterest And Giving Away My Snowflake Coasters

About 2 weeks ago, I joined Pinterest. I had heard so much about this pinning site that I thought I would give it a try. I started following some knitting boards, created a few of my own, and as a nice surprise, I got an invitation to pin to a Simply Knitting board that I was following.

So far I am finding it fine, my items get pinned by other users so I guess that's a good sign, as the items from my Etsy shop have a link to the listing page and the more they get pinned and repinned, the more traffic I am bound to get. Even though it's another time-consuming activity, I try not to spend too much time on Pinterest. It's a great way of finding new material to post on my Facebook page too, so I'm glad I joined.

I finished knitting my fourth set of reversible coasters this weekend. I wasn't sure whether to sell them as sets of 2 or 4 so I listed both options in my Etsy shop. If I get an order, I can either quickly knit another 2 or update the remaining listings to another set of 2 (if I sell the twin set) or remove the set of 2 (if it's the set of 4 that sells) - I ran out of white yarn but expecting a new delivery tomorrow so knitting extras won't be a problem as I am saving the charts I drew on my knitting graph paper - I am not expecting to get 2 orders of similar coasters on the same day (I would have to get an order in the first place!).

Hopefully I will also get to publish the knitting patterns for all my coasters before Christmas. Did I mention that I sold 1 Slouchy hat pattern from Ravelry and also the same sold on Etsy 2 weeks ago?

I mentioned knitting 4 sets of coasters but I am only listing 3 because my daughter's school is organising a fundraising raffle and they were asking if some parents could donate items. I jumped at the chance and wrapped my favourite set of Snowflake coasters, making sure to include a few business cards, as it could be an opportunity to get a little bit of local business.

So here is what I parted with yesterday (sniff!):

I could knit another set for listing on my Etsy shop but I feel it's time to stop listing Christmas items now, as I need to start knitting the Christmas gifts I've been planning to make for my family, and as soon as I'm done with these, it will be time to start on coasters and mug cozies for Valentine's (sets of 2 only for that occasion).

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Double Knit Reversible Christmas Coasters

This week-end, I started knitting these fun Christmas tree coasters:

Front side

Back side

This is the first reversible coaster I made. It is knit in one piece, using 2 strands of yarn simultaneously. This little coaster measuring 11cm (just over 4 inches) took me an insane 6 hours to make - between counting stitches, getting mixed up, undoing and re-doing a few rows.

Even though double-knitting is very slow, it is extremely fun to do, and that's beside the fact that the only bit of sewing there is to do, is the secure weaving in of the tails on the inside).

Once I had finished this one, I tried to find a way to make a neater edge and after a few trials, I successfully finished this one:

Front

Back

This little coloured edge is not only pretty, it's also functional, and if it wasn't there, both sides would split. I could have done 2 separate sides and sewed (ouch!) them together but the colour changes in double knitting are actually useful in keeping both sides together. It gives the coasters extra stability.

Thankfully I am picking up a bit more speed as I keep knitting these cute Christmas reversible coasters: I just knitted the bottom half of a new one in about 1 hour and a half this morning, so I am hoping to be able to make 4 or 5 sets of 4 double knit coasters and list these on Etsy in about 10 days (this may mean a bit less Facebooking and much, much more knitting than I've been doing lately;-)

I would love to hear your thoughts on these reversible double knit coasters or on double knitting in general. If you are interested in learning, you can head on to my Knitting Tutorials page, where I've just added the Very Pink Knits Double Knitting tutorial video.


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Knitted Mouse Pad

The mouse pad I had bought from my computer store is not the best, and as I didn't want to buy a new one (these things are expensive, especially if you are looking from something else than the traditional blue mouse pad that everybody is using or had used at some stage), I decided to make myself one.

As it needed to be thick enough to be stable on a desk, I decided to experiment with double-knitting, and even though it was a slow start and took double the time to knit, I really enjoyed making this reversible hand-knit mouse pad, using some of my leftover "Art of Knitting" yarn.