Most spinners start off spinning with spindles, but many people see them as a way to test the waters, a method of ensuring that you like spinning before you make the investment of buying a wheel.

Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. Interweave Press.

But Abby Franquemont says spinning with a spindle can get you any kind of yarn you want; a spinning wheel never needs to be in your house if you don't want it. She makes this argument -- and proves the point nicely -- in her book Respect the Spindle.

The book explores the many different types of spindles used around the world, the basics of making yarn on them and the physics of why spinning yarn works. She provides tips on what kind of spindle you might want to use to make a particular kind of yarn and how to maximize efficiency when spinning with a spindle.

There are also instructions on how to ply yarns and a few knitting and crochet projects you can use to try out your fabulous fiber creations.

This book is a great choice for those new to spinning and those who might feel cheated because their budget -- or their living arrangements -- make a wheel an impossibility.

Spindle Spinning originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 14:47:24.

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Because we're talking about spinning this week, I'd love to know how many of you out there have spun yarn, are spinners for part of your livelihood or are interested in spinning but haven't taken the plunge yet.

That's a lot to cover in one poll, so it accepts multiple answers as to whether and how you have spun yarn in the past, what your preference is when it comes to how you spin and, if you're not already a spinner, whether you have any interest in the craft.

As for me, I have spun a little bit using a drop spindle and I have really enjoyed it, though I haven't gotten enough practice in to get any good at it. My yarn is very thick and thin (which the person who taught me spinning wisely said to enjoy because it's really difficult to make that sort of yarn when you're trying to make it that way).

And if you've got some handspun that you'd like to share with other About.com readers, we'd love to see your work. You can share it -- and some information about how it was made -- through the handspun gallery.

Do You Spin Yarn (and How)? originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 09:26:45.

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Many knitters get really inspired by the fibers they get to play with as knitters, and that obsession leads pretty naturally into a desire to spin your own yarn.

While spinning is a little bit beyond the scope of this website, so many knitters do it -- or have an interest in learning more about it -- that it makes sense to me to take a closer look.

Start Spinning by Maggie Casey. Interweave Press.

Spinning is probably easiest to learn from another person or a video, but just like knitting it can be learned from a book as well. And there are a lot of great resources out there for new spinners and those with more experience, several of which we'll be taking a look at this week.

One of the books that falls into the "for new spinners" category is Maggie Casey's Start Spinning. The book looks at how to spin both with a spindle and a spinning wheel, so you can explore both options, and it really is great for beginners. As this book and others remind us, spinning great yarn takes practice (practice I've either been unwilling or unable to put in so far!) but getting the yarn of your dreams at the end is certainly worth the effort.

Spin Your Own originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 10:00:25.

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We're wrapping up our look at knitting and crochet with what's probably my favorite book of crocheted edgings, Nicky Epstein's Crocheting on the Edge. If you remember her On, Over and Beyond the Edge knitting books you'll recognize the format of this book, and many of the patterns are inspired by designs in that book.

Crocheting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein. Nicky Epstein Books.

This is a great book because not only does it include more than 200 different patterns for ribs, bobbles, ruffles, flora, fringes, points and scallops, it also has a half dozen patterns designed just for knitters to use on their projects -- which isn't at all to say that the others can't be, just that these are actually worked on a base of knitting so you'll know what the two look like together.

Like those other books, this one includes a few full projects, but really the fun of this book is just looking through and seeing how the trims might inspire you to design a whole garment around them.

Crochet Inspiration originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 09:47:05.

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Here's another quick and easy way to add a bit of crochet to a knitting pattern: by adding an edge to a sock. These basic Crocheted Edge Baby Tube Socks are so quick to knit you can finish one in an evening, and because they lack a heel they're easy to put on baby's foot and to fit a wide variety of baby sizes (they just get shorter as baby's feet grow).

Crochet Edge Tube Socks, (c) Sarah E. White.

The addition of crocheted picots gives them a little girly flair, which of course can be omitted if knitting these socks for a boy. Crocheting picots is great because it's actually faster than knitting them, which usually also involves sewing a seam.

These would work in any sort of medium weight yarn you like, but the one I used, Patons Baby Bamboo, is a soft bamboo acrylic blend that's easy to work with and machine washable -- always a good idea for baby things.

Quick Knits for Little Feet originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 16:08:23.

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If all this talk about crochet has inspired you to want to learn more about how to add a bit of crochet to a knitting design, check out Interweave Presents The Harmony Guides Crochet Edging & Trims, edited by Kate Haxell. This book contains 150 different crocheted edgings, from basic picots to waves, bobbles, loops, flowers and much more.

Crochet Edgings & Trims, edited by Kate Haxell. Interweave Press.

These designs might all be simple to attach right to the edge of your knitting, but they're sure to give you plenty of ideas about how you can go about adding crochet to a knitting project -- or fancying up a crochet project if you're already a person who likes to crochet.

If you're not a fan of crochet, looking at a book like this might just inspire you to give it a try, even though some of the designs certainly aren't for beginning crocheters. And if you've already got a mind that likes to play with combining crafts, looking at these edgings might just help you dream up a design you'd never thought of before.

Crochet with an Edge originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 15:53:01.

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I know I'm not the only knitter out there who has struggled to learn how to crochet. I think that when I finally learned Continental knitting it was easier for me to crochet because I was used to holding the yarn in my left hand.

Other than that, I think it's like learning any skill: it requires patience and working at it and an understanding that with time you'll get better at it. I'm still not great at it, but I'm much more willing to crochet things than I've ever been in my life, which is a start.

All you knitters who also crochet are welcome to share your tips and the ways you incorporate crochet into knitting projects with other readers. I can't wait to see what wise advice you have to offer!

Share Your Crochet Tips originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 12:06:49.

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There's a lot of knitting news this week having to do with really big knitting gestures. Some of them are obviously useful, like the 4,000 hats knit in Switzerland, Germany and Austria that are going to help keep children warm in Guatemala.

Less obviously useful is the 6-foot by 6-foot house being knit by a group in Hilmarton, England, but that work of art is to be the highlight of a festival this summer that will benefit a local church. The brink house will feature a garden fence, chicken and eggs and window boxes on the house.

Then there's the pure whimsy -- and mystery -- of the knit trees and sign posts in West Cape May, New Jersey, which have set the shore town abuzz and have authorities asking the "culprits" to reveal themselves, though there's no word that knit graffiti is a crime.

And the Welsh knitter who's whipped up a blanket for a mountain. Ann Jordan of Killay says she's spent 1,500 hours and 12 miles of yarn knitting a 20 foot blanket that will cover a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park on Mother's Day (that's this weekend in the UK). The blanket will be carried to Black Mountain along an old coffin route, and Jordan says the project represents the cycle of birth, death and rebirth as well as the artist's relationship with the landscape.

Finally, there's the story of Pat the Super Knitter and Bob, the man who puts up with all her yarn and has learned not to bother her when she's counting. He recently wrote a piece in the Arizona Daily Star about living with the stash, witnessing speedy knitting and the perils of buying more on eBay than you're able to sell. If all our partners could be so tolerant of our habits, the world would be a better place!

Knitting in the News: Big Knitting originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 16:45:49.

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One of the easiest ways to add crochet to a knitting project is adding it as a border, as is done on this Seed Stitch Washcloth with Crochet Trim.

Seed Stitch Washcloth with Crochet Trim, (c) Sarah E. White.

Cleaning Up with Crochet originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 15:20:29.

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• How to make a slip knot
• How to crochet a chain
• Making single crochet and single crochet variations
• Double crochet and variations
• Some of this can also be found in crochet videos

Want to Learn to Crochet? originally appeared on About.com Knitting on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 10:47:21.

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