Blog | Stitchin' Post

Knit or Crochet Soap Cozies - Free Patterns

I hear some of you thinking..."What's a soap cozy?"  It's basically a washcloth that your soap fits inside of. The cozy adds a bit of exfoliation and helps your soap lather with no need for a separate cloth or puff. Plus it keeps it from slipping out of your hands or off the soap dish. 

Practical, good looking, inexpensive and a breeze to make this week's project is a go-to for last minute gifts. Personalize it with the recipients favorite colors or match their home decor. Add a special soap with a great scent and who wouldn't want one! 

Now that you want a soap cozy, or two, let's go over how to make one. First, you'll need cotton yarn. For our samples we used Happy Cotton in School Days (navy) and Bubbly (blue). Three 28g balls made both the crocheted face cloth and soap cozy with enough left over for a second cozy. One ball will make a full cozy of either pattern (obviously with no stripe). 

This project can be knit or crocheted. We've included full instructions for both at the end of this post. Keep in mind that depending on your yarn choice, gauge, and size of soap, you may need to alter your starting number of stitches. Don't worry though, no other modifications are needed. Whatever number of stitches you start with, the patterns are worked the same. 

We chose a large bar of soap (1"x 2 1/2" x 4") and made our cozies to fit. Our finished cozies are 3 1/4" x 5 1/2". You want the cozy to fit snugly around the soap. Your cast on stitches, or beginning chain, should measure about 1/4" smaller than the end of your soap. Cotton yarn stretches! 

If you want to add a companion washcloth, that is even easier. Our crochet version is a simple square of single crochet and for a knit version make a square of garter stitch. These simple stitches look great and are sturdy enough to hold up to some scrubbing. A couple of washcloths in fun colors make a great gift for a cook. Add a rubber duck to a couple cloths and you have a cute and useful gift for a new baby. 

You can make all of these projects from any cotton yarn, but we love Happy Cotton for them. This quality yarn comes in 50 colors and small 28g/47y skeins so it's easy to add stripes (or any pattern) and still buy just what you need. Each skein is only $1.75 so you can make one for everyone on your list without breaking the bank!

All projects are suitable for beginners and can be completed in a few hours or less. 

Shop Supplies: Happy Cotton Yarn, Soap 

To make either soap cozy you will need:

1 skein Happy Cotton,  size H/8-5.00mm hook/size US 5-6 needle, tapestry needle, soap

Crochet Instructions for Soap Cozy:

Chain 13.

Single crochet in front loop along entire chain, then single crochet in back loop along the other side of the entire chain.  You will have 24 sts. All further stitches are worked in the round. 

Round 1 : double crochet all stitches

Round 2: single crochet all stitches

Repeat rounds 1 & 2 until your cozy measures 5 1/2" long.

Repeat round 1.

Snip yarn and pull though. Weave in ends

For tie: Chain until you reach 14" or desired length.

Weave chain through last double crochet row at top of soap cozy. Insert soap and tie cozy closed. 

Knit Instructions for Soap Cozy

Cast on 14 stitches using Judy's magic cast on. 

You will be knitting in the round--use your preferred method. 

Round 1-3: Knit 

Round 4: *K1, wrap twice, rep from  * to eor

Round 5: *K1, drop both wraps, rep from * to eor

Rep rounds 2 - 5 until your cozy measures 5 1/2" long.

Knit 2 rounds. Bind off. Weave in ends. 

Braid three 18" strands of yarn or make i-cord. Weave cord through the top set of dropped stitches. Insert soap and tie cozy closed. 

 

Hedgehog Fibres - Yarn of the Month

This month we want to introduce you to Hedgehog Fibres. Hedgehog Fibres is an Irish artisan yarn and fibre dyeing studio located in Co. Cork, Ireland. 

Yarn dyeing started as a extension of Beata Jezek’s other hobbies - spinning, knitting and crochet. Beata says “Soon after I took up knitting, I realised I really wanted to create my own yarn line of soft, squishy yarns in beautiful colours. It's the colours I want to knit with, the colours I want to wear and the colours I can't live without.” Hedgehog Fibres colours reflect Beata’s personal style and range from dark, rich and earthy to crazy, fluorescent and vibrant depending on her moods - but always colours she loves! Originally from Slovakia, Beata has called Ireland her home for over a decade. In Slovakian, Jezek means hedgehog so in 2008, when knitting friends pushed her to sell them yarns, Hedgehog Fibres was founded.

This gorgeous yarn is now available at Stitchin' Post in Merino Sport and Kid Silk Lace and is 10% off all November. 

 

Knit Along with Us!

 

We would love it if you joined us, August 24th, for a knit-a-long featuring the Find Your Fade pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Find Your Fade is a large shawl pattern using 1,600 yards of fingering weight yarn. The pattern begins with one color and works through all your colors to the end. You can use one, three, ten, or more colors. The choice is yours!

This is an informal, drop in, knit-a-long. We will choose yarns and get started on the pattern the first session. Then stop by each week to learn the next section, solve problems, and share your progress.

If you can't make it to the shop you can still participate. We will be sharing photos and answering questions on our Facebook event page.

Knit-a-long is free to join!

Sign up here

7 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started Knitting

Recently, I was reflecting on when I first started knitting and what I have learned since then.  Here are 7 things that I really wish I had known when I first started that would have made me more successful in the beginning.

 

 

Gauge matters!

    When I first started knitting I never took a gauge, I didn’t know to care.  The I tried to knit my first pair of socks (they were hilariously bad, for more reasons than just the bad gauge) and when my socks didn’t fit I couldn’t figure out why.  I had followed the pattern exactly, but they were WAY too big.  If I had taken the time to take a gauge I would have known to change my needles so they might have fit (at least better anyway).

 

Invest in good needles:

    When I first started knitting I used whatever needles I could find or that were given to me.  This was great when I was starting, but as I got better I found that I could work faster and with a more consistent gauge if I used good quality needles.  My thoughts on needle    purchases are that I would rather buy a good tool that will last me a lifetime than a product that I won’t love in a year.  Plus, you reuse needles, and rarely reuse yarn.

 

 

Not all yarn is created equal:

    When I first started, I had no idea about plys or fiber content and what fibers lend themselves to which kinds of projects.  Granted, this knowledge comes with time, but I wish that I had known that I did not know this.  I used whatever I had for whatever project I had in mind. This means I have made socks (that didn’t last) out of single ply yarn and I attempted to make a bag out of lace weight yarn.  I also didn’t know about different weights of yarn and hurt my hands trying to use worsted weight yarn for socks on a tiny needle (see again gauge). 

 

A notion case is a must:

    I didn’t know about all the notions that I would ultimately end up buying and using regularly so I had no idea that a case is a great idea. I keep my stitch markers, little scissors, tapestry needles, yarn scraps (you never know what you’ll need), tape measure, cable needles, needle gauge, crochet hook, and a pencil in my little knitting tin (you could use anything).  This also makes it easy when I travel to grab my whole tin and I know that I will be prepared for anything that happens while away from my living room. 

 

 

There are no mistakes:

    When I first started knitting, like many others, I found giant holes in my knitting and weird amounts of stitches.  Sure, when I started these seemed like the end of the world and I needed to rip everything out and start over.  I wish I had kept my first project and not frogged it so I could look back and see how far I’ve come.  What I learned years later was that all those “mistakes” I would come to do intentionally.

 

Be fearless:

    This goes with the last lesson, but to not be afraid if something is too difficult and try it anyway.  I did not learn and get better by only staying in my comfort zone.  Challenging yourself is the best way to get better at something!

 

Ask for help!

    I was so scared to ask for help and face someone’s judgement that I didn’t know how to knit the second row (true story, just move that needle to your left hand again and keep going!).  But I was lucky to have a great local yarn store that could answer my questions.  I wish I had gone and asked more questions early on.

 

BONUS!

Buy enough yarn for your project

    I cannot tell you how many times I have looked at a pattern and thought to myself “Oh, I only need 1 ball for this!”.  This is not true! Look at how many yards are in the recommended yarn versus what you are actually using because some skeins have 500 yds and some have 90 yds.  I also learned that it is much easier to return a skein that was not used than it is to find the same yarn, in the same color, and forget about finding the same dye lot!  I learned that it was so much easier to just buy enough from the get go.

 

Happy knitting!

 

Katie

 

Save

Winter & Spring Classes at the Stitchin' Post

Winter and Spring Classes are open and waiting to be filled!

We have a big line up for quilting, sewing and knitting classes for January through June. 

We had our Class Preview Party on January 9th, but we still have all the samples up in the classroom for you to see. 

 

Take a class or two from our resident Jelly Roll queen, Edie. Kiwi Conserve, Jelly Sandwich, Wistful, and Blueberry Hill. Each Classes uses Jelly rolls and  are a snap to sew together. 

If you're looking for an Art Quilt class or two, we have a few to choose from.

Leotie Richards' Fearless Portraiture  creates a portrait within a context of graphic imagery that tells a story.

Julia Jeans' Fabric and Paper Beads adds a bit of 'pop' or of dimension to your fashion, art quilts, jeweler and more with fabric and/or paper beads.

Bobi Herring, a new teacher to the store, will be teaching her Magpie Menagerie. Experience "eccentric styling" with raw-edge hand appliqué, couching, embroidery and some nubby twist edges.

Sharon Carvalho is mixing the digital world with quilting in her Digital Surface Design. Maniplulate, recreate, build, blend, and incorporate images in ways not yet imagined.  

Learning new techniques and how to use a new to you tool can be difficult, but with these three teachers, they make it a breeze. 

Join Laura Simmons as she shows you how to make a new classic, Metro Rings using the Quick Curved ruler and block construction as well as quilting ideas when you finish. 

Paper Piecing can be intimidating, but with Joyce Boyd it can be fun. Learn the basic concepts of Paper Piecing buy making sample blocks from different projects.

Kathy Shaker is here to teach a monder approach with the simple-to-assemble quilt in Crazy Dresden. Combining machine and hand stitching along the seams of the blocks is refreshingly quick and fun!

Knitters and all alike, we have some great, fantastic classes for you to take! Our three teachers, Paula, Pat and Gin are ready to teach a variety of techniques and projects. 

Pat Drake is back to teach three knitting classes for us and they are beautiful projects. Stitch-Sampler Handwarmers & Ribbed Scarf is all about the endless possibilities for combining knit and purl stitches. Diagonal Lace Wrap & Scarf is an easy-to-knit yet elegant pattern.The Simple Sideways Scarf is easy to wear in many yarns, with the shallow triangle shape has a long tails to wrap or tie. 

 

For our friends out there who would like to learn how to Crochet, do not fret! Paula Johnson will e teaching Beginning Crochet 101 where you will learn the basics, as well as Beginning Crochet 102 where you will focus on going beyond the basics with new stitches and projects. Paula is also teaching Needle Felting. It is a way to use fiber in a new and exciting way. It's easy and fun.

Paula is just a busy bee when it comes to teaching classes. Offering two Crocheted projects and and three Knitting. Crocheted Hat will teach you how to crochet in the round and the Crocheted Shawl/Scarf is a beauty you can do. Learn to make the Lace Knitted Socks on with whichever meatod of knitting in the round you prefer. Then make some Lace Back Fingerless Mitts. This is your chance to pick from three different lace patterns. With all that left over bits of yarn you have from past projects, Paula will show you how to use them to make shawl in Crazy Ball Shawl.

 

 If you have ever wanted to take a class from Janet Storton, the you are in luck! Janet will be teaching both The Grass benith their feet Quilt where you will discuse pattern and fabric layout and some fabric traiding. In the Historic Story Quilt" class  Three different appliqué techniques and stitchery will be taught to make each quilt a "museum quality" work of art.

Toney Phillips is at it again with three classes. A favorite of ours and everybody else, Tonye is bringing back her Fabric Postcards. Being surrounded by wonderfully textured and shaped cones here in Central Oregon. What better idea for a small wall-hanging quilt than Pine Cones! Let's keep the shapes simple and practice a bit of hand applique together in Cascade Cones. Tonye will share her simplified techniques with a no-pressure approach in Silly Bird. 

 Four classes, art, traditional, fishy and styleish, Jean Wells will be more than happy to share her work and techniques with you. Join Jean for Mixology, Trip Around the Wolrd, Metolius, and the Briefcase Tote. 

 

Join Peggy Lindsay in her Chunky Monkey class. Just like swinging from trees, this quilt or table runner is fast and fun! Taken from the book Skinny Quilts, Chunky Monkey fits into your narrow spaces. Let's stack, shuffle, slice, and insert to keep things interesting in Hibachi.

Remember those colorful granny-square crochet blocks designed to use up scraps of yarn? Now you can create a colorful Great Granny Square quilt with 2 ½" fabric scraps from your stash! Joind Tamra Dumolt in Great Granny Squares. 

Candy Woods as she shows you how to make Suburbs, by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew, a beginner-friendly quilt made with Layer Cakes or Fat Quarters.

Gather your favorite Marcia Derse fabrics and join Annette as she guide you in the techniques of improv cutting and keeping the curve of your rows manageable in this ½ day class in Sticks.

As a Change of pace, Sheila Snyder and Candy will be here to show you how to make the Turban Footstool. Sheila has put together all the ingredients to make this footstool come together quickly and easily. 

Join award-winning garment artist Deb Wilkinson to get a good foundation started in color, design and finishing of your own personal art statement in Wearable Art Vest.  

 Pam Raby is back with three new classes that are fenominal. Speed DAting Improve: Round Robin, Double Trouble Stash Buster, and Pin Cushion Selvedge Stash. 

 Sue McMahn is teaching two Tula Pink quilts! Freckles, is both quirky and elegant in a way that only Tula can achieve! The "freckle circle" is easy. Relax and enjoy an adventure with a bright and breezy result. Then take Misdirection, with a fabulous sense of color position, this quilt provides a playful romp among fabric. Misdirection can be accomplished so easily with the Quilt In A Day 4"x8" Flying Geese ruler. With very little fabric waste and easily followed directions, four geese units will be created at a time, using just four lines of stitching!

 Kristin Sheilds is offering two classes as well. Join Kristin for a fun day of hand stitching as Folk Art Creatures come to life with simple embroidery. Create animal designs with inspiration of your own choosing or from the templates provided. In Improv Feathers, come learn liberated and improvisational techniques as they relate to feathers. Kristin will also introduce gentle curves.

 Our very own Lawry Thorn is offering two classics, Absolute Begining Quilting and Begining Machine quilting, and a new purr-fectly fun class Kitty Kitty, from Elizabeth Hartman's Pattern, Kittens. 

 Its always a pleasure to have June as an instructior, so join her in her fun Doodle Quilting where you will experience a variety of doodle-quilting designs. Once again June is teaching her Picture Design, utilizing June's "paint-by-number" technique, you too can create a fabric picture from any photo

 All of these classes and more are open for signup. So check them out and more at www.StitchinPost.com

And as alwyas, Happy Quilting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015 Guest Teachers & Classes!

Whos ready for 2015? Well, we are! 

With The Stitchin' Post celebrating its 40th year in business, we decided to invite many of our favorite instructors to give workshops.

Right now on our website, workshop descriptions, costs, and registration procedures are available to view. On July 28th at 10am, we will begin accepting registrations on-line at www.stitchinpost.com, on paper (in person or by mail), and by telephone. We will process all registrations in the order they come in.

Listed below are instructors, titles of their workshops and dates.

 

Violet  Craft  - April 16–19  April 16:  Flying Falcons - $85 April 17  & 18:  Forest Abstractions - $170 April 19:  Breeze Blossoms - $30 (no lunch)   Jean Wells - April 20–24:  Color, Texture, and Stitch - $340   Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, & Erin Gafill – May 25–28 May 25:  Sunny Snowball (Patchwork with Kaffe & Brandon) - $150 May 25:  Get In, Get Out, Get On With It! (with painter Erin Gafill) - $150 May 26:  Gridlock (Patchwork with Kaffe & Brandon) - $150 May 26:  Lecture: Color & Inspiration (Kaffe) - $20 May 27:   Concentrate on Color (Knitting with Brandon) - $150 May 27:   Creative Jumpstart (with Erin Gafill) - $150        Sue Spargo - May 28–31 May 28–30:  Textural Study - $300 May 31:  Fun Wool Piecing - $100      Rosalie Dace - August 24–September 4 August 24–28:  Here and Now - $430 (students must have taken a previous workshop with Rosalie) August 31, September 1 & 2:  Over the Moon - $260 September 3 & 4:  African Cloth, Color, and Quilts - $175     Amy Butler – Sept. 18–19 September 18 - Unique Color Story! - $160 September 19 – Improvisational Patchwork - $160     Gwen Marston - September 21–25 September 21–23:  Small Studies - $263 September 24 & 25:  Minimal Quilts - $175       Valerie Goodwin – September 21–27 September 21–25:  Complex Composition - $430 September 26 & 27:  Favorite Places - $175       Rosalie Dace - Sept. 21–25:  Line Dance - $430       Julie Herman - October 1,2,3:  New Workshops TBA - $85/day (Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts will be teaching some of the newest designs from her line of quilt patterns, using the Hex-N-More and/or Sidekick rulers.)     Sherrill Kahn - October 16–20 October 16–18:  Mixed Media - $255 October 19-20:  Creative Books - $170     Jean Wells – November 2 – 6:  Exploring Your Own Personal Theme  - $340   For more information about registration procedures and polices visit us at www.stitchinpost.com

 

Storage Solutions for Sewing and Knitting

The Beatle Bag - Grab, Go and Sew

by Abbey Lane Quilts

The Beatle Bag is a traveling bag personalized by you. Use it as a sewing kit or for storing all your knitting needs.  But don't stop there...It could also be used for beading, embrodiery, make-up and jewelry.  Want to use it for more than one hobby, we have extra sets of inserts available also.

 Not only do you have pockets for needles and notions but there is a handy pin cushion and 2 pockets for rotary cutter and scissors.

 The velcro tabs that hold in the pocket inserts make it easy to convert your bag. So you can have different sets of notions and then just switch them out... get ready to just grab and go!

 

 

It's a "yarn" thing

I know we spend the majority of the time on the blog talking about fabric and quilting/sewing. But there is a very special part of the shop that we designate as the Yarn Department. And we would love to share a bit of it with you.

This is the lovely Lorna's Laces. If you haven't tried it...you are missing out. Love, Love it! The vibrancy in her colors are glorious. 

The crazy thing about yarn is that no matter how much you have at home, there is something new that you have to get on your needles...immediately. And that is why we have just as many UFPs as quilters do!

 

There are those of us who love yarn just as much as fabric and we are constantly torn...to knit?...to sew?...oh how to choose. 

 

So, here are a few yarn beauty shots to get your "fiber" juices flowing. Plus, you always need a project that travels well!

New Erika Knight yarn

And a little message to send you out into the world. SING!!

New Churchmouse patterns

The amazingly talented folks at Churchmouse Yarn & Teas on beautiful Bainbridge Island have released 15 new knitting patterns. We loved them so much that we ordered all of them. Take a look at the new scarves, gloves, hats, cowls and wraps.  We love them because they are beautifully designed with well written pattern descriptions.

Since we just received the patterns in the store last week, we are busy working on our store samples. Here is the beginning of Jill's version of the Reversible Cable Neckwrap and Scarf. We are using Madelinetosh Vintage in Antler (held double). It is glorious! Take a look at all the new patterns on our website.

Cast on and have fun.

For your knitting pleasure

We wanted to give a little press time to our wonderful knitting department. If you are currently a knitter there are several classes scheduled this Fall that we think you might like.

Knitting Socks on 2 circular needles (ditch those double pointed ones) Catherine will introduce you to this new world of socks and you will never go back.

Intro to Fair Isle- don't let color-work intimidate you. Once you learn this technique you can apply the skills to future projects...including Christmas Stockings!!

Christmas Stocking- who can pass up a handmade Christmas Stocking? These will look great hanging from the mantle this holiday season.

And if you are a beginner or have been thinking about joining the wonderful world of knitting...

Beginning Knitting

Beginning Crochet

My first Hat

 

We hope you take the time to check out our Fall Class Schedule and hopefully swing by the Preview Party on Saturday, August 25th from 9-6 to register.