Pick up some knitting needles and reconnect with family members from different generations.
“In the 90s people would say, ‘This isn’t your grandmother’s knitting,’ as a way to make it hip. And one of the things I love about it is, it is your grandmother’s knitting. And her grandmother before her,” says knitwear designer, Jill Draper. If you’ve always wanted to learn this heritage hobby, take a look at Jill’s terrific introduction to lace knitting.
Jill leads you through a practice swatch so you get the hang of the simple pattern before launching into the final project. And she gives you a trick in case you get lost counting the rows. This lacy “little something” could easily grow into a giant cozy shawl if you’re feeling ambitious.
Jill Draper is a hand dyer, knitter, knitwear designer and infrequent blogger living in the Hudson Valley of New York. After graduating from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn with a BFA in Fashion Design she worked in the corporate design world for a while, before realizing what she really craved was a smaller footprint and artisanal production.
Jill believes everyone is capable of making, to this end she has taught hundreds of people to knit and won’t stop until everyone has at least one handmade garment in their closet! Jill Draper Makes Stuff, Jill’s hand dyed yarn line, was born when she moved out of the big city and into the country. She hand dyes yarns, many made in the U.S. with wool she sources from local farmers and writes knitting patterns and tutorials for books and magazines. Jill teaches classes locally and at fiber events around the country, a current list can be found on the website doubleknotstudio.com she shares with fellow maker and clothing designer, Cal Patch.
CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.
CreativeBug now has multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!
- $24.99 monthly
- $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
- $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months
Now through September 30, EcoSalon readers get $10 off for any subscription plan when they apply promo code ECOSALON12 upon signing up.
So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.