Tag Archives: Ysolda Teague

Monster Shaping with Ysolda

Posted on by
Reply

Have you knit this little guy? I have. A bajillion and a half times.  Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but this is my go-to pattern for knitting baby gifts. Blankets are time-consuming, plus everyone always seems to knit blankets or give blankets. A handknit toy seems cute and practical. I also don’t knit them just for babies (but that is a whole additional post about choosing knitted gifts that are appropriate for the intended recipient).

Elijah (the elephant) is one of Ysolda Teague‘s most popular patterns in our store. I’ve made him out of several different yarns – the one for our shop sample is in Louisa Harding’s Kashmir Baby.  If I want one that wee baby hands can grasp, I head for Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply. If I’m aiming for larger kiddoes, I knit him in Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran.  I usually choose a yarn that is superwash, even if he can’t be really be tossed in the washer (the eyes!) because I like the additional safety net that he won’t felt while being swished around in a basin for handwashing.

If you haven’t knit this little guy (or any other toy), and even if you have knit a toy or two, I highly recommend our upcoming Monster Shaping Class with Ysolda.  She is covering invisible cast-ons, different increases and decreases, picking up stitches from stuffed pieces (applicable to Elijah!), short row shaping and stuffing and embroidering features.

And if you want to knit Elijah (or Ysolda’s other toys: Otto the bear and Sophie the rabbit), we have plenty of patterns in stock.

Ysolda’s class will be Thursday Oct. 20, 1:30 – 4:30 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn just down the road. She will also be teaching classes on making perfectly fitted sweaters.

Ysolda Teague at the Woolie Ewe

Posted on by
Reply

You’ve all been patiently waiting and now your patience will be rewarded, because we have the details of Ysolda Teague’s up-coming visit to the Woolie Ewe.

Ysolda will be teaching classes here Thursday and Friday October 20 and 21.  She will be teaching three sessions of her class “The Perfect Sweater Fit” and one session of “Monster Shaping”.

On both Thursday and Friday, Ysolda will be at the Woolie Ewe from 5 – 6 to sign books.

The classes will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is located approximately 2 miles south of the Woolie Ewe, off of the access road to the George Bush Turnpike East, between Custer and Independence.

Sign-ups are available through our website.

Please note that class fees are non-refundable.

Little Red in the City

Posted on by

 Ysolda Teague‘s new book, Little Red in the City, will change the way you think about knitting garments for the rest of your life.  Ysolda, a young designer based out of Scotland, has been working on this book for quite some time and the effort she put into the book shines through on every page.

The information she covers about pattern altering and sizing is impressive in it’s scope and clarity.  I can not think of a knitter who doesn’t need this book in their knitting library.  This hefty tome goes in-depth on bust shaping, choosing the correct size and doing everything you can to guarantee that a finished project will fit the way you desire.

Presented in a down-to-earth tone, Ysolda does a fantastic job of addressing the potentially sticky issues of women’s body shapes and sizing. The abundant illustrations are filled with side notes and kernels of information.

In the first part of the book, Ysolda also covers how to select substitute yarns and all the factors to account for when changing yarns.  As someone who assists people in substituting yarns everyday, I thought this section was particularly well done.  If more people paid attention to this information, there would be fewer people disappointed when their project doesn’t turn out as they hoped.

Techniques are well-illustrated and sometimes a few different methods for completing each technique are presented.

 

The range of sizes included for the six patterns is impressive and encompasses a lot of sizing information. The patterns are presented in a style reminiscent of a fill-in-the-blanks worksheets, with the numbers supplied by a chart. Each pattern has design notes and tidbits on fitting the piece.

Hand-written notes show how the math is figured for altering sizes or areas.

The patterns themselves are all knit-worthy, my top two being the vest above (Angostura) and the hooded jacket below (Melia).

 

Best of all, in addition to all the information covered, each hard copy of the book comes with a  code to download the e-book version for free, making it possible to access the information on pretty much any mobile device you have handy.  The patterns can be printed out individually and the numbers filled out without having to make copies from the book.

We have ONE signed copy of Little Red in the City to give away.  Leave us a comment below telling us what you struggle most with when making sweaters and we’ll randomly choose a winner. Comments will close Thursday July 21 at noon, Central.