Knit Stars Scoop

Do you ever find yourself in a color rut?Wishing you could push your own color envelope…but afraid to invest in the yarn without knowing for sure how it will turn out?It happens to all of us. There’s comfort in the familiar. And when we’re drawn to a project, it’s often because of the color. So doing yours “just like the model” is totally ok!But if you’re looking to push your color boundaries, simple projects with speckled yarn are a great way to start.In this video clip from Knit Stars Masterclass Season 3, Beata Jezek shows you how almost all speckled yarns go...

This is the “do what the Knit Star says, not what I do” edition. 🙃In Season 3, Knit Star Andrea Rangel shared some simple, but critical stranded colorwork tips. Watch this 2-minute clip for her “stop and spread,” “block before you judge” and most importantly, “colorwork gauge” tips.In my defense, I did swatch before starting “The Owen Hat” by Jill Zielinski with 4 our Loops Luxe Chunky. I was just a little lazy and swatched in stockinette, instead of in the colorwork pattern. To quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Big mistake. BIG mistake. 😬 And as Andrea explains in the clip, you often need to...

As beginners, we’re often drawn to bulky yarn.We love the look. Even more, we love the idea of speed. “I’ve got a shot at actually finishing this project!” we think.But I’ve noticed, as we progress in our journeys, we can tend to leave bulkies behind. Thinking they look too beginner or even too “homemade.”Here’s the thing: With the right stitch and pattern, bulkies can be hot! And I don’t mean warm-hot. I mean va-va-va-voom! 🔥This week’s Knit Stars video tip is from Season 4. The ladies of Manos del Uruguay show how to create a simple woven stitch, here. It’s especially...

I finished a thing!Well, almost finished.🥴 I still need to close up those little underarm holes on my new Sipila sweater. But the timing is perfect! Because this week’s Knit Stars video tip comes from Masterclass Season #2 Star Alexa Ludeman of Tin Can Knits. It’s a one-minute fix for neatly sewing up those pesky holes that are a common occurrence when making a top-down sweater. Check it out! I’m not sure what I loved more about this project - making it, or the finished product! “Sipila” by Caitlin Hunter is named for her Finnish grandmother. It has short- and long-sleeved options. I went...

Through the years, our Knit Stars have survived some pretty intense filming conditions. But so far, I think Martha Wissing takes the cake!We filmed Martha’s Knit Stars workshop at 15,000 feet, at the Pacomarca sustainable alpaca network HQ. If you own Season 4 of our Masterclass series, watch Martha’s segment closely. You’ll hear the wind whipping all around us as we hung off the side of the mountain, trying to capture Martha’s words along with the majestic landscape and thousands of alpacas all around us!In this clip from Martha’s workshop, we’ve (mercifully) moved inside a small, simple building where the...

You may have heard that, when we created the first Knit Stars Masterclass 7 years ago, I was afraid to fly. Especially over the ocean.But ever since that first trip to Amsterdam to film Nancy Marchant, making her tuck stitch brilliance accessible to our Masterclass students around the world…I haven’t been able to stop. Of course, the pandemic had its impact. In 2020, instead of the planned production trips to Japan, Australia and Mallorca, it was car trips to deserted beaches. But still…always masked up and loaded up with vitamin C…I kept packing that suitcase.Was it wanderlust? Was I looking...