Blanket Making Challenges & Motivation | Podcast Episode #66

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Crochet and Knit Blankets. A Love/Hate Relationship?

When was the last time you finished a knit or crochet afghan? How did you feel? Relieved? Or maybe you thought to yourself, “I’ll never do something like that again!” There’s no doubt the time and yarn commitment required for an afghan isn’t for everyone. I tend to be one or maybe two afghans a year kinda gal. My motivation usually evaporates after that. You can imagine my excitement to find someone whose passion is fueled by making blankets, one little stitch at a time.

Today’s Guest

I’m joined by, Alison, the creative lady behind the La Reserve Design Etsy shop. Unlike myself, Alison is incredibly passionate about making afghans and she shares her unique perspective on why. This was a real eye-opener for me and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too! She also chats with me about different types of blanket “constructions” that are great for different skill levels and we even spend some time answering the popular question, “How many chains” or “How many stitches do I need to cast on for a blanket of  x size.” You won’t want to miss this conversation!

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Hello there and welcome to episode number 66 of the BHooked podcast. This is our final episode in the month of May where we’re wrapping up our chat about yarn appreciation.

Well, I asked you a moment ago if you absolutely love making blankets or if you hate it. Now, I have to admit that I’m one of those people that it’s sort of a love-hate relationship for me. I’m typically the type of gal that can work at least one afghan a year, and hold your breath, I’ve actually worked two this year so far, and we’re only five months in, so who knows, I might actually make a third afghan before the year is over.

Well, whether you love crocheting blankets or you hate crocheting blankets, I think you’re going to enjoy this chat today with my guest, Allison. Well, Allison is one of those rare gems that rather than dreading working on an afghan because it’s a little bit mundane and you’re kind of doing the same thing over and over, well, she is fueled by a greater passion and a different perspective, and she’s going to share that with us today.

Before we get started, though, I want to take a quick moment to thank Yarnspirations for sponsoring today’s show. This is the last day, guys. If you’re listening to this in real time, as I know so many of you are, this is the last day to take advantage of the coupon code that they’re sharing with us, where you can save 20% off the brands you love, like Peyton’s, Bernat, Caron, and Lily Sugar’n Cream.

To redeem your 20% off, all you have to do is go over to their website, Yarnspirations.com. You’ll fill up your cart as long as the total is $40 or more. When you enter the coupon code BHOOKEDPOD at checkout, then you’ll save that 20%. And it’s actually very timely because, well, a little secret here—next month, we’re going to be talking about Amigurumi.

And I have designed a brand new pattern that uses a bunch of Yarnspirations yarn. Actually, the one project incorporates three different types of yarn. It’s really cool. So you want to take advantage of this coupon code while it’s still available. That once again is BHookedPod at checkout, B-H-O-O-K-E-D-P-O-D.

Throughout our chat, Allison and I talk about what fuels her inspiration and basically why she’s so passionate about making blankets, and we cover a lot of ground. We talk about different types of construction for knitting and crochet blankets. She kind of has the knitter’s perspective, and I sort of chime in with the crocheter’s perspective of different types of patterns that are good for different skill levels.

We talk about crocheting blankets during the warmer months and why that’s actually the better time to make those types of projects. We also talk about some of the best yarns to incorporate in your blankets and why some other yarns may not be such a great choice.

But my favorite part is at the very end—we talk about one of those very frequently asked questions, and that is how many chains or how many stitches do I cast on to make a blanket that is… whatever size, fill in the blank. If you want to make a king-size blanket, you have a perfect stitch pattern and you want to know how many chains to make, we talk about that.

So you want to stay tuned for that and I’m not going to delay anymore. Let’s hear from Allison from Laud Reserve Design. Allison, hi, welcome to the show.

Alison: 4:26
Hi, I’m so happy to be here.

Brittany: 4:28
I am so happy to have you here too. We had the opportunity to meet last year at an event in Toronto and it was such a pleasure and I’m so excited to share your journey and your tips here with my listeners.

Alison: 4:36
So, I’m asked this question often and I really wish that I had like a better answer or maybe a more linear answer, but my story’s kind of all over the place and I think that’s like most people in life and that’s okay.

So my grandmothers both taught me how to knit as a child and I’ve been knitting on and off my whole life for sure. And my family actually owns a textile manufacturing plant in Montreal, which is, you know, recently have moved overseas and blah, blah, blah. But I grew up in the world of textiles.

And I always kind of thought like, oh, no, that’s what my family does. Like, I’m going to do something else. And then when I graduated from university, I started working at my family’s business and I just—it clicked. I loved it.

I did more like digital textile designs. I wasn’t really making things with my hands, but I would, you know, create things digitally and then go home and knit whatever I was like thinking about during the day. And yeah, I really just—it clicked and I loved it.

And then, you know, my project pile started building up. My stash started building up and everything was like quite unmanageable. So I listed some things on Etsy and Instagram. I think I got lucky with a few like early sales and I got motivated and I kind of like drank the Kool-Aid a bit and things snowballed from there.

Brittany: 6:02
Yeah. So was that back in the early days of Etsy where it was really easy to be featured on the homepage?

Alison: 6:08
I don’t know if I was ever really featured on the homepage, but I definitely felt, yeah, like it was a less saturated marketplace. I feel like I put my stuff up there and it wasn’t like I had no background in photography or, you know, it wasn’t like the most visually stimulating Etsy shop, but I still got some early sales. So I do think it was like a less saturated, less competitive marketplace at that point.

Brittany: 6:33
Yeah, it definitely did seem to be a lot easier back in those days and the sheer complexity of it, honestly, is one of the reasons why I kind of steer clear from that. So I definitely appreciate when somebody is kind of killing it on Etsy and it sounds like you’re doing a wonderful job. So congrats to all the success.

Alison: 6:51
Thank you. Yeah, I love Etsy. I think that, you know, every platform has its limitations and that Etsy kind of gets like a bad rep a little bit because it is so saturated.

Brittany: 7:05
Mm-hmm.

Alison: 7:06
But yeah, for me, like I wouldn’t have a fiber business without it. And I will—I will probably remain on Etsy for longer than I should.

Brittany: 7:16
Yeah, it’s definitely a good strategy, especially if you love it. If you love what you do. I mean, that’s really the bottom line.

Alison: 7:22
Yeah.

Brittany: 7:24
So you learned how to knit from your family. I’m curious, do you crochet too?

Alison: 7:30
I used to crochet. I would say my crochet skills are rusty at best. I don’t know. Like, I definitely crocheted and knit kind of simultaneously for a long time. And then one day I just realized, like, I haven’t picked up my crochet hook in maybe a year.

Brittany: 7:48
Yeah?

Alison: 7:50
Yeah. I’m going to have to dig it out. I know. I know. And there’s so many projects that I see and I’m like, oh, that’s crochet. Like, and I kind of just, you know, put it at the back of my mind, like, oh, maybe one day, but I think it’s time now. I do miss certain parts of—

Brittany: 8:04
Yeah. Yeah. One of the things I love about being like bi-stitual is—I know it’s such a funny word. I feel weird saying it—but it’s fun because you really don’t have any limitations in terms of like, if you see something that you like somewhere, you don’t have to say, “Oh, well, that’s knit. I don’t know how to knit, so I could never make that.” It kind of gives you the ability to really do whatever you want. Yeah.

Alison: 8:31
You’re convincing me. It’s time to dust off the crochet hooks.

Brittany: 8:37
Well, good. Mission accomplished. So fast forward into today. What does your life and your business look like now?

Alison: 8:47
I’ve been transitioning from, like, you know, finished goods to the pattern world and kind of like workshop world where I create online content for other people or for myself. And yeah, I do less finished products, which kind of makes me sad, but gives my wrists a break.

Yes. And I think it’s like it rejuvenated the creative process for me. And I really enjoy creating things more than I enjoy making things—the same, you know, black hat over and over again. So that’s where I’m at these days.

Brittany: 9:26
Yeah that was one of the things that actually kind of steered me away from finished goods too and even still to this day I will do just about anything to avoid making the same thing twice. Right? You know, one right after the other.

If there’s some time in between or maybe a project in between, that’s a different story. But I typically do find that I lose my crojo—or all of these words today. Yeah, that’s great. I tend to kind of lose some of that motivation if I have to make the same thing twice or I kind of lose that passion.

So it’s cool that you were able to maybe recognize that that wasn’t fueling you at that moment and you were able to pivot into something that did get your creativity flowing again.

Alison: 10:11
Yeah, and I definitely—I do love the part of knitting that for me is kind of mindless. So if I have made something over and over again, I kind of like that also from time to time. To just, you know, sit down, I know exactly what I’m doing, my mind kind of flips off and I can just meditate or do whatever I need to do and I’m still doing something productive.

So I do like making finished goods. But, you know, everyone has their limit.

Brittany: 10:41
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Making like 12 or 25 of the same thing—yeah, it’s probably outside of my comfort zone.

Alison: 10:47
Yes.

Brittany: 10:48
So again, I commend those who are able to do that and who love to do that. There’s definitely a need for it. Yeah, for sure. So from what I’ve discovered, you really enjoy making blankets.

Alison: 11:00
I do. I love making blankets.

Brittany: 11:02
And that’s so fun because I love making blankets myself too, but it’s almost a love-hate relationship, if I can be completely honest. Because as you know, they take a ton of time, they take a ton of yarn, and by the end of it, especially if you’re working on a deadline, your hands are achy, your wrists are sore.

Alison: 11:30
Yeah for sure.

Brittany: 11:30
Yeah, that’s a struggle that a lot of people go through, I think. So I’m curious to learn what it is about blanket making that inspires you most.

Alison: 11:41
Well, I fell in love with the idea of making blankets when I received a handmade quilt as a gift from my grandmother. I was really young. And that blanket followed me through most of my childhood. I used it in my bedroom while I was in university. I still have it today, like in my closet, because it’s seen better days. It’s well loved.

But that really inspired me. Like at the time I was a kid, maybe I didn’t appreciate it, but as I got older, there was like this homemade piece that kind of followed me throughout different homes and transitions in my life. And it had so many memories attached to it.

And I just clicked that I fell in love with this blanket. And I know it’s not really about the blanket. But whenever I make a blanket, especially for a customer, that’s what I think of. I’m like, oh, they’re going to appreciate this so much more than just, you know, a hat or a scarf that in a year or two, they’re going to forget about. Like, I just feel like I hope that my customers use their blankets forever like I do. And I don’t know. That’s why I like making them.

Brittany: 12:47
Yeah, I love that. I love for people to hear that story that’s attached to it. Maybe just as a gentle reminder that, you know, yeah, it does take a lot of time and effort and all the things that I mentioned earlier. But I feel like the result is—I don’t want to say so much more worth it—but I think it has the potential to really be impactful on somebody’s life, the recipient that receives it.

Alison: 13:15
Yeah. And I mean, for me, there’s nothing more comforting or cozier than just crawling under your favorite blanket. Whenever you have a bad day or a good day or anything, it’s just the most comforting feeling.

So I think of the end result as I’m making my blankets. You know, sometimes on hour 10 of the same pattern, I’m like crying a little on the inside. But at the same time, I don’t know, like there’s such a high payoff at the end when you cast off.

Brittany: 13:44
Yeah. And I can’t help but think, too, I mean, we mentioned that it takes a lot of time. And I’m thinking in terms of crochet because that’s just kind of where my mind naturally goes. But knitting generally takes more time than crochet does just because the stitches are shorter.

Alison: 14:02
So I never even thought. Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. Yeah. I make a lot of chunky blankets, so they take, I think, less time than people think, but they still make very impressive statement pieces in any room.

So I think that there are ways to cut down on your time if that’s your main priority. I think for a personal project, my answer is always like, Who cares how much time it takes? Like, this is something that you want to make and you’re going to love. And, you know, you’re going to think about how you made it every time you use it.

So for me, that argument, like if it’s a personal project, I don’t know. I try and let that go and just enjoy the process. And I hope that others do that, too. But, yeah, if you’re making blankets for customers or if you want to open a shop or anything like that, then time is definitely something you have to prioritize.

Brittany: 14:55
Yeah. Yeah. I love how you gave us some tips for staying motivated there. I know that’s another frequently asked question is how do you stay motivated to work on the same project for so many hours?

And I really do think it goes down to the process and the end result. And I feel like you’ll be more likely to enjoy the process if you don’t limit your time, like you don’t limit yourself on when it can be finished. So give yourself a deadline.

But also, if you’re making it for the right reason, too, I think if you’re making it as a gift for somebody and that person is very special to you, then the process will be more meaningful than if you said yes to something that maybe you shouldn’t have said yes at the time.

Alison: 15:44
Yeah, totally. That is like my number one tip for getting out of a yarn slump or a knitting slump is to make something for someone you love because—or, you know, like find a fiber that reminds you of someone you love and work on a project with it or even to make something for yourself.

I mean, I can go months without making anything for myself and pouring all of my creative energy into making things for other people, and that is draining as well because I like to represent what I make and make stuff that I want to wear.

Brittany: 16:20
Yeah, I can totally relate. I tend to like to have a personal project. And for me recently, it’s actually been my KnitCrate subscription. I receive that every month and I kind of deem that as my personal project.

It’s something I don’t have to think about. It comes in the mail. I’ve got the pattern. I’ve got the yarn and I can just enjoy the craft.

Alison: 16:42
Yeah, that’s super fun. That’s great. That’s like—I did, I know this is off topic, but I did meal planning for a while where they send you your food and you just cook it.

Oh, yeah. And that was like life changing for me.

Brittany: 16:54
Yeah, that is such a big topic for me too. I am big into meal planning and nutrition and that sort of thing. It’s something I definitely don’t talk about on any of my channels. But yeah, I could totally relate to the fun and excitement that goes into that. Yeah, for sure.

All right, back to yarn. Yes, back to yarn. And I’m trying to think if there are any other tips that I have in terms of staying motivated. Are there any other things that you could add to maybe help somebody get through that slump?

Alison: 17:27
Sometimes I go to a yarn shop and I have like no ideas in mind and no, like, especially while I’m making, you know, planning patterns and doing things that I have to be careful with my yarn, you know, like what I buy and who has access to it and will this be a pattern other people can knit kind of like all over North America or is it too niche or whatever.

And I get like wrapped up in my head about that stuff, so sometimes I just go to a yarn shop and I pick a fiber that like I’ve never seen before and probably no one else will ever be able to find it. Yeah. And that kind of sparks some creativity and I get to design something like, you know, for me or for a gift or whatever.

And I don’t know, I find it special because like, I don’t know if I’ll ever find it again.

Brittany: 18:15
Yeah. And it makes that project even that more special too. Yeah. I totally love the idea of trying something completely brand new to kind of give yourself that spark again.

Alison: 18:27
Yeah. And usually that sparks other things because, you know, if I’m working with a new fiber, I’ll make something. And then naturally my mind goes to like, how can I adapt this so other people can make it too?

Brittany: 18:38
If I like the project.

Alison: 18:40
Yes. Yes.

Brittany: 18:42
Now, the other thing that comes to mind with making blankets is the type of, like, the time of year that somebody is making it. I hear a lot of people actually say that they don’t knit or crochet very much in the summer because it’s warmer.

And if they do, they’re typically working on smaller projects or projects with lighter weight yarn or cotton yarn or something like that. And even if they are making blankets, they’re doing it in components. They might be making squares or hexagons or something along those lines.

But from what I’ve seen with like your patterns and the items that you have in your shop, they seem to be wonderful blankets for like the cozy months, fall and winter and that sort of thing.

So I feel like you’ve figured something out that people need to hear because, I mean, my main objective is to keep people crocheting and happy and excited about fiber arts all year long. And this is one of those things, topics that I really have a hard time addressing, you know?

Alison: 19:45
I totally agree. And I kind of, in like the very early days of my Etsy shop, I felt the same way. Like, oh, people are not going to be interested in this type of project in the summer. And I need to diversify.

So I started doing things like… with lighter materials, cottons, or even, like, with flannel border and calling them campfire blankets or festival throws and stuff like that. And I thought it was, like, a really creative, fun thing.

And it turns out it wasn’t. And people were not so interested. And my patterns and finished goods I kept selling were my very chunky wool blankets. So I just think that… Definitely during the summer, it’s my patterns that are more popular.

And I think it’s because it’s such a, like, if you’re going to make a blanket, it is a huge time investment. And maybe you have more time in the summer to, you know, work on a project the whole time. Like maybe you have maybe you’re taking vacation for two weeks at a cottage or I don’t know.

And you want to bring like a substantial project with you. I think it’s such a great time, actually, of year to make something that you can enjoy when it’s a bit colder.

Brittany: 20:56
Yeah, I agree. And that was the point that came to mind, too. I always find that in the fall or in the winter, I’m like, man, I wish I would have made a blanket in the summer so I could curl up with it right now. But usually I’m starting those projects in those months.

But I do try to make it a point to make at least one afghan a year. And this year, gosh, I think this year I’ve made two afghans.

Ooh, that’s great. Peanut butter powder, well, peanut powder, and some oatmeal, and I’ll use frozen fruit. So what I was doing when I was working on this afghan is I would go make myself a frozen fruit smoothie. And that always makes me cold, no matter if it’s 90 degrees outside, I’m always cold.

And so I was using the afghan to keep me warm while I was being healthy and drinking my frozen smoothie. It worked out really well.

Alison: 22:21
Nice. Yeah, I love that. I also have found use with my knitted blankets in the summer as a replacement for like my thick winter duvet on my bed.

Yeah, I find because like, you know, I don’t know. My duvet is quite thick. I live in Canada. It’s very cold. But in the summer, it’s nice to have a lighter blanket, so I’ll often swap it out for something that I’ve made.

So I find use for blankets all year round. I don’t think that they’re a strictly winter thing.

Brittany: 22:54
Yeah, I would completely agree with that. I think we can enjoy our craft any time of the year. It really is just when you have the time for it and when you have the motivation for it.

And if you’re just not motivated to do it in the summer, I think the bottom line is that’s perfectly fine. But if there’s any stigma kind of associated with making blankets in the summer, I think it’s probably a personal preference.

Alison: 23:21
Yeah. And to be honest, I used to go through phases where the summer, I would slow down in the summer because I don’t love working with cottons and that’s just my personal preference.

And then finally it clicked and I was like, well, why am I trying to work with fibers I don’t love? I’m just going to continue working with what I love. And then I, you know, was able to continue producing things all year round.

And that was like a big revelation for me. Like, just make what you love all year round.

Brittany: 23:48
Yeah, it makes so much sense when you spell it out that way, because I’m sitting here thinking that I love the end result of a cotton project. And I’m okay to do smaller projects with cotton.

But I know what you mean about it being difficult to work with—for me, it’s hard on my fingers and I tend to—I guess I have a really weird crochet style that helps me control my gauge and my tension rather. And I use my fingernail to like help me with my yarn over and doing that repeatedly over and over like my nail starts to ache.

Interesting, and I guess I don’t experience it as much with acrylics and animal fibers because there’s more stretch to that yarn, but as you know cotton doesn’t give very much. So I can only work on it for short periods of time.

Although I would love—like one of my bucket list items is to use cotton and make a full-size afghan because that’s something that my husband loves so much. He loves to wrap up in a cotton blanket and I’m like, man, I just don’t know if I can do a whole blanket in cotton.

Alison: 24:56
Yeah. I mean, there are like cotton blends that I love, but like pure cotton, I find difficult to work with.

Brittany: 25:04
Yeah. So this is a good segue into the next frequently asked question is fiber types and blankets. Is there a better option or is it just whatever?

Alison: 25:18
I personally like fibers that are not super expensive for a blanket because you need a lot of it. And I also like fibers that are machine washable or easy to wash. You know, maybe 100% wool, cashmere, blah, blah, blah is going to be cozy, but then you go to wash it and it’s a nightmare.

And to be honest, I don’t wash my hats and scarves that often, but I wash my blankets pretty often. So I like to go for accessible fibers, choky yarns, yarns with mixes, yarns that I can wash. Nothing too fancy, to be honest. Yeah.

Brittany: 26:01
No, I agree with that too. Another thing I look for in a yarn for a blanket is something that doesn’t pill very much. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves, I guess. I’m kind of a perfectionist.

And if I spend so long on a project—this actually happened to me once—I spent a really long time on the afghan and I put it over the back of the couch and we didn’t really cuddle with it too much. For me, it was just something that looked pretty, something that decorated the room.

And over time from us kind of leaning on it, it started to pill and get sort of messy looking. And that was such a sad moment for me. That was really when I learned, it was back in the early days, I learned the importance of finding the right yarn for a project. And that yarn probably wasn’t the right yarn for that particular blanket.

Alison: 26:54
Yeah, I hear you. And maybe about a year ago or a little bit more, these huge roving yarns became super popular.

Alison: 27:04
Like the merino that’s kind of unspun. And I was lucky enough to be sent some, which is amazing. And I thought that they, you know, you see these beautiful pictures of afghans that people said like, oh, knit this with your arms in an hour. And I was really intrigued by it all.

And I also spent some time working on one. And within five minutes, it was like such a delicate fiber and it pilled all over. And I had no real way of washing it. It was huge. It was heavy. And they look beautiful. They’re like beautiful statement pieces in a home.

But it just kind of clicked for me. And I was like, oh, just because the fiber is, you know, like very expensive or exclusive doesn’t mean it’s the right fiber for—

Brittany: 27:47
Yeah, I love that you shared that, too, because those blankets are—I would say—are still pretty popular at the time. Yeah.

Alison: 27:04
Like the merino that’s kind of unspun. And I was lucky enough to be sent some, which is amazing. And I thought that they, you know, you see these beautiful pictures of afghans that people said like, oh, knit this with your arms in an hour. And I was really intrigued by it all.

And I also spent some time working on one. And within five minutes, it was like such a delicate fiber and it pilled all over. And I had no real way of washing it. It was huge. It was heavy. And they look beautiful. They’re like beautiful statement pieces in a home.

But it just kind of clicked for me. And I was like, oh, just because the fiber is, you know, like very expensive or exclusive doesn’t mean it’s the right fiber for the project. Yes, they’re beautiful. They’re very beautiful.

Brittany: 27:56
Yeah. And what has kept me from making one of those is the cost because, I mean, let’s be honest, if you look at some of those kits, they’re a couple hundred dollars. And for me, that’s just not practical.

But I’ve always admired them and I’ve always known in the back of my mind that it probably doesn’t take very long for it to kind of end up being a little frizzy.

Alison: 28:18
Yeah, even as you’re working with the fiber, it frizzes up. Like, that’s just the natural, you know, tendency of that fiber. But I quickly realized, like, oh, yeah, just because it’s more expensive doesn’t mean it’s great.

Especially for blankets, something that you’re going to use and, you know, manipulate with your hands and you’re going to wear clothes. Like, I don’t know, if you’re wearing jeans and you sit down in your blanket and stuff like that, like… Yeah, it has to be a sturdy fiber.

Brittany: 28:47
Yeah, it does. And that brings up another point too. I’m thinking about roving yarns because that really is one of my favorite types of yarns. I mean, I love plied yarn. I think there’s a great place for it.

But for me, there’s just a special place in my heart for roving yarns. I tend to like really be drawn to those. And I would say that after working with a lot of different types of roving yarns, that they are not created equal.

Some of them, you can work with them. I mean, there have been roving yarns—and granted, these are probably more of the high dollar yarns—where I’ve worked an entire project and decided that it wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted it to. I was able to frog it and it was completely fine. You couldn’t even tell that it had been worked up other than the fact that it was kind of curly.

And then there’s other roving yarns where you start ripping it out and then it just causes like a huge headache. So are there any, any types of, well, do you have any experience, I guess, with using roving yarn and making blankets?

Alison: 29:53
I actually just finished a, um, blanket using, I guess it’s roving yarn. It’s not plied at all. Um, so it is a roving yarn, but it’s kind of like a sturdier roving. Like maybe, I don’t know what they did, but it was with the, um, Mary Wool by We Are Knitters.

Oh yeah. And I really enjoyed it. I didn’t think I would enjoy it because I’ve had some, you know, sketchy experiences with roving yarn in the past. But I did enjoy it. So I do agree with you that it’s not all created equal.

But I was really hesitant to do that project because, yeah, I just like thought it would completely fall apart. And it didn’t. So I was happy.

Brittany: 30:32
Yeah, that’s really great. I didn’t mention the yarn that I was using is Malabrigo. It was their Merino worsted line. And yeah, I think you pay like, I think I paid like $20 for a hank and it was for a small, it was just a hat project. Right.

And I was able to rock it and it was completely fine. So I guess probably the big tip here would be if you’re not sure about it, maybe you work up a swatch and—well, try frogging it, one, because probably at some point you’re going to make a mistake and you’re going to have to know if those stitches are going to come out easily.

And then work up a finished swatch and maybe even clean it, rub it, just kind of put it through its paces to see if it’s going to hold up after you put all of that time into.

Alison: 31:24
Yeah. And I do think… Like all yarns over time have some, you know, like give to them where they look loved at the end of their use. And I think that that’s okay. Like it doesn’t have to always look like you just, you know, cast off and like it’s beautiful. That’s okay.

But I recently started using like a yarn defuzzer kind of—like a, it looks like a razor. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s made by this company called Gleaner and it gives your knitted projects like a second life.

And I was kind of like, oh, you know, like just because it starts to look ratty doesn’t mean that I have to, you know, be upset with the yarn or throw it out. There is a way to bring your projects back to life.

But some of my stuff that has a little give to it and a little like you know, ball-y texture to it, I still love and I still wear.

Brittany: 32:21
Yeah, I think it gives it that much more character. Yeah. So tell me about some different blanket styles. And I think we complement each other well here because you can speak to the knitting and I can speak to the crochet of maybe different ways that you can make a blanket, what would be good for different skill levels.

So beginner crocheters, beginner knitters might… find this method a little bit easier and so on?

Alison: 32:49
I think beginners, my take-home advice for all beginners is if you’re making a big project like a blanket, use the chunkiest yarn you want or can with like a big gauge and big needles because it is a project that’s going to take you a long time.

And if you’re a beginner, you’re probably going to make mistakes and take it out and start again. And, you know, it’s a long process to make such a big project.

So if you use a chunky yarn, then you’ll be able to see the fruits of your labor more quickly with like a simple texture because, you know, the chunky yarns and the big needles, you don’t need that much frill. Like the beauty is kind of in the plushness of it. Yeah.

So I would do a simple texture like a seed stitch or, you know, some sort of ribbed texture or something really simple.

Brittany: 33:42
Even the garter stitch has some really wonderful texture too.

Alison: 33:46
Yeah. And I’ve seen people do like just, you know, a stockinette stitch with a garter border. And it looks fabulous. It looks really beautiful. So I don’t think you need to overcomplicate it when it comes to a beginner blanket.

Brittany: 33:59
My advice for a beginner knitter, based purely on my own experience here, is back in the day, I set out to make a blanket. Now, granted, it was a baby blanket, which is more manageable. But I was a sheer beginner. I knew absolutely nothing.

And I think my biggest mistake was not finding a pattern. So I just tried to wing it on my own and I didn’t know how much yarn was required and I knew nothing. So I got one ball of yarn. Okay. And… It was dye-lotted, by the way, and the blanket is now striped to this day because the dye-lots were different, as I learned.

Oh, no. That one skein was not enough for a full baby blanket. But the other thing that I didn’t realize is the length of the needles, too. I probably should have been using… circular needles—something that was longer—because I wanted to just make like basically one big square of garter stitch and I guess in my mind I didn’t feel like I needed a pattern for that because it was so simple but it was it was those little details—the needle size and not knowing how much yarn to get—that ultimately had me frog it like five or six times and then I completely gave up on it and I gave up on knitting for like several years after that.

Oh, no. That’s so sad. Yes. So fortunately, I came back to it. I couldn’t just let that be the end all be all to me and knitting. And I love it now. It’s so much fun. I couldn’t imagine had I not, like a world had I not picked up those needles again.

But I would definitely say even if it feels like a simple thing, simple design, see if you can find a pattern just to avoid those little hiccups that you might have along the way.

Alison: 35:58
Yeah and I think your point about the needles is actually a very good point. I really like this that you brought it up because I think that circular needles are extremely intimidating to beginners and they just shouldn’t be.

They’re like—I think that everyone, I just, I don’t even know why they still make straight needles to be honest. Like everyone should just use circular needles all the time and then you’ll be able to make whatever projects you want on the same pair of needles that you’ve always learned to knit on.

It will be so much less intimidating. So I just, yeah, if you’re a beginner and you’re still working on straight needles, like take the leap. It’s not hard. It’s way easier.

Brittany: 36:37
Definitely. Yeah, I definitely agree with the circular needles being nothing to fear once you see how they work.

And for beginner crocheters, I would say a lot of the same tips apply here. Whereas even if a design… seems really simple and straightforward it’s probably better especially if it’s your first just to try to find a pattern so you know the yarn requirements you know exactly how many chains to make for the size that you’re making you know the hook size and you don’t have to guess at any of that stuff so you’re going to be more successful I think because as a beginner of anything really there’s a learning curve And there’s mistakes that are going to be made.

And inevitably, those mistakes are going to make you feel a little bit bad about yourself or your ability to be able to do that thing. Yeah.

Alison: 37:36
And I do think with blankets, they’re like deceivingly easy looking, but there is a side A and a side B to your project, which, you know, some projects don’t have, like if you start learning to knit and you’re knitting a hat or something, there’s no side A and B.

So it can be very misleading to just look at a project and say, like, I could do that without thinking about it, at least.

Brittany: 38:03
Yeah, that’s a very good point. There are a lot of stitches out there that aren’t reversible, so it’s going to look completely different on one side than the other. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. So what about… Maybe some intermediate level patterns or styles. What comes to mind for that with knitting?

Alison: 38:23
I would say anything with cables would be like an intermediate advanced knit project in my mind. And cables are really, I mean, they’re easier than they look, but they’re very impressive looking. Yeah. And yeah, I think that that’s like it is different from the front and back. So you have to pay attention as you’re knitting and there’s different like rows that, you know, you have to cable on certain rows and not cable on other rows and blah, blah, blah.

So I think that those would be like the next step to grab your attention as you’re working on a blanket project.

Brittany: 39:00
Yeah, and I would say the same for crochet too. Getting into cables is a nice challenging next step.

Alison: 39:08
Yeah, and anything that adds detail to your project. Maybe it’s simple. Maybe it’s a pom-pom on the ends or a fringe border or something like that. But usually beginners will just do the project itself.

And then I would say the next step is thinking about how you’re going to finish it. You could do special bind-offs and different textures, more advanced textures like cabling.

Brittany: 39:35
Yeah. The other thing that comes to mind too is… maybe something that’s not one piece. Like I knew in knitting, you can do, you can knit a bunch of squares and put them together.

And then there’s like the 10 stitch blanket style where you kind of go around and that sort of thing. I can imagine those might be pretty good for, for somebody who’s a little bit more experienced and looking for more of a challenge.

Alison: 40:02
Yeah, for sure. Definitely.

Brittany: 40:06
Cool. So, I mean, really, it seems so black and white. It’s like a one piece or it’s multiple pieces put together, but there’s so many different ways that you can use those things and create your own piece.

What about for somebody who is interested in designing a blanket? Would you have any tips for somebody who’s creating their own pattern or testing the gauge or the yarn or anything like that?

Alison: 40:36
I would say do your research and make sure it’s not out there already. That’s a big one. But just play around with it. I mean, there’s always something new to bring to the table.

I think that at the beginning for me, like if I look back, some of my biggest mistakes were definitely with gauge and like… I’m losing my words, but how many like skeins and yards you would need for a project.

I think that’s really hard to imagine at the beginning. And you see patterns out there. I did my research and I would see patterns that said like, you need five skeins. And I said like, well, that seems really small for a blanket. Yeah. But then… And I would like make the blanket and end up with a pretty small blanket.

So I think really just knowing what you want your finished result to look like and don’t be afraid to frog it because that’s all part of it.

Brittany: 41:36
Yeah, definitely. And I love how you brought up gauge too because blanket making seems like one of those things where gauge may not be that important. I mean, we know that it’s super important for sizing for like garments and that sort of thing.

And I think at least it’s my tendency to be a little bit more relaxed about my gauges and that sort of thing when it comes to blankets.

Alison: 42:00
Yeah, for sure. But then you might end up with like a tiny baby size blanket when you expected a big afghan.

Brittany: 42:07
Yeah. And you know, that’s the clear difference, I think, between knitting and crochet is one of the most challenging things that I had to face and learn when transitioning from being a crochet designer and a knit designer.

Because as you cast on the stitches, it might feel or look like it’s going to be a certain width. And then after you knit a few rows, it like mysteriously grows. Yeah, it doubles. Yes, that totally tripped me up.

Do you have any tips? I mean, even for me, because I’m still figuring that part out as to like, how do you know how much it’s going to grow?

Alison: 42:47
I think that the more dense your yarn and the bigger your needles, in my experience, I don’t have like, you know, the perfect answer. But in my experience, the bigger your yarn and the bigger your needles, the more stretch it has.

When you’re knitting with like tiny needles and, you know, a cotton yarn like we talked about that doesn’t stretch, then you’ll have less stretch. But definitely for blankets, they seem to grow like they seem to double. Your cast on row just stretches.

Brittany: 43:16
Yeah, that was my big problem with that baby blanket I was making for my nephew. I think I bought the 14 inch needles, which were the longest needles that were available at the time.

And I knew that I would have to kind of squish it on the needles a little bit, but I didn’t understand. I didn’t even know that was going to happen. So when I cast on my number, it got to the point where it was like a little wave, like a ruffle.

And I was like, oh, I couldn’t knit with it anymore after that. So that was an unfortunate challenge because I had to frog all of that. Oh,

Alison: 43:55
yeah.

Brittany: 43:56
That definitely makes sense. Yes. So on the flip side, crochet, you really don’t have that problem because as you’re making your foundation chain, it kind of is what it is.

The only variability that you’ll experience is just in that turning chain. And usually your pattern will account for that, but it’s minuscule. It’s a half inch to an inch that it might vary depending on the stitch that you’re using.

And so that’s why I’m always… I guess I am an advocate to learn how to crochet before knitting just because I feel like there are less of those little things that can potentially come up if you don’t have somebody to guide and show you exactly what it’s going to do.

Alison: 44:39
Makes sense.

Brittany: 44:44
Yeah, so the last thing I want to cover here is another one of those questions that I hear over and over, and it’s definitely worth mentioning again. is tips for somebody who just kind of wants to wing it. They just want to do their own thing.

Obviously for me in the early days, it didn’t work out. I mean, I did learn from those experiences, but a project was not at the other side of that learning experience.

So I know a lot of people struggle with this, knowing how much to cast on or knowing how many foundation chains to create. Can you share any tips with us that you use when you’re going through your designs or even if you’re just making a blanket for

Alison: 45:28
Sure. My first tip, and it’s kind of an annoying tip because everyone knows they should do this and no one wants to, is just to gauge everything. Because, yeah, if you knit a small swatch, then you can figure out how many stitches per inch you have.

And then you can decide, like, how big you want your finished project. And I’ve really never regretted swatching out a project. Like, I’ve definitely regretted not doing it because I’m halfway through the project and I, you know, don’t like what’s happening.

But I’ve never regretted spending 10 minutes swatching it out. It really doesn’t take that long. Yeah. My go-to cast-on number is about 60 stitches, depending on my needle size and my yarn size, like for a really chunky blanket.

But yeah, I wouldn’t just go out and cast on 60 stitches. I would really… Gauge it.

Brittany: 46:25
Yeah, especially in knitting because we’ve already learned that it’s going to increase. For sure. And length is going to change.

So to kind of break it down step by step, what do you do when you gauge? Like if nobody really understands what that means, can you maybe give me your steps?

Alison: 46:46
Of course. So I cast on the, like, I don’t know, 12 stitches. in the fiber that I’m going to use on the size needles I’m going to use, or that I think I want to use.

And I knit a little swatch, like a square. Usually I just knit in plain stockinette stitch, even though maybe my finished garment is not going to be only stockinette, which is probably not the best advice, but that’s what I do.

And then I cast off, and my biggest tip for gauge is that I, for my swatch is that I block my swatch. And a lot of people don’t do that. It is an extra step. It’s quite annoying.

But if you’re going to block your finished garment, then you really should block your gauge swatch. It makes perfect sense to me. And then I’ll decide, is this the result I want, is it too loose?

You know, sometimes like I’m knit with a needle size that I think is going to work and then it ends up being kind of like holey in the middle and I don’t like it. It’s not dense enough. So I redo the swatch with a smaller needle size and I just play around until I get what I like.

Brittany: 47:54
Yeah. So you’re kind of just going for a particular look or feel. So you make the swatch, you block it. Then what do you do next?

Alison: 48:04
Then I usually count how many stitches are in an inch. And then I could decide how many I need to cast on to get the dimensions of the project I want in the end.

Brittany: 48:14
So you’re counting in both directions, right? You’re counting the number of stitches and the number of rows to kind of get two measurements. Exactly,

Alison: 48:23
Yeah. I’m like less concerned with the number of rows. It is very concerning because you want to know how many… Gains of yarn or yards you need. But you can always keep going up when you knit. Like you can always add on. Yeah. As long as your dye lots match. But you can’t cast on more. Like you can’t make the garment wider. So that’s really your… your priority is getting the width of what you want first.

Brittany: 48:49
Yes. Yes. So then you think in your mind, and honestly, what I do, I tend to go to the internet and find just a general chart for different blanket sizes. You can find them for from like security blanket all the way up to a king sized blanket. And it gives you those dimensions.

So you would look at the width of whatever blanket that you want to create and look at that in terms of inches. And then you relate that to your swatch and how many stitches per inch. And then from there, the math is pretty simple. You’re just doing a quick calculation. And that tells you exactly what your cast on number should be.

Exactly. It’s one of those things that it sounds super intimidating, especially hearing it. I think if somebody were to show you, it may click a little bit easier. But honestly, doing it for yourself, that’s when it clicked for me.

Alison: 49:43
Mm hmm. And I think it’s an extra step that it’s quite tedious, like it’s annoying. It’s just, you know, you really just want to cast on and get started on your project and you’re all excited and you have to do this before. So that’s, I think, the thing that, you know, holds people back from swatching out their their gauges and everything.

Brittany: 50:04
Yeah.

Alison: 50:04
And I totally get that feeling. But like I said at the beginning, there’s nothing I regret more than being halfway through a project and saying like, wow, I really don’t like this.

Brittany: 50:13
Yes, yes. And I can relate that to a pretty recent personal experience here. I’m working on a design. And I started using a larger hook than I probably would for that particular type of yarn. It’s just a worst weight cotton. And I picked a bigger hook. I was using a six and a half because I did want it to be very flowy and have a nice drape.

Now granted, this isn’t a blanket that I was working on. It’s actually something you would wear. So that’s why the drape was important to me. I worked up, I didn’t gauge first. I will mention, I will confess. I thought that it was going to be right. And even somebody like me, who’s been doing it for so long, I don’t always practice what I preach. But I’m always willing to share why you should do these things because when I don’t do them, I genuinely regret it.

So I worked up a full skein and a half and I was holding it up and looking at it and I was just not happy with it. I felt like it was too… loose for the stitch pattern that I was using so I was using a loose stitch pattern combined with a bigger hook and it was just too lacy and that really wasn’t the look I was going for so I ripped it out and started over.

At the end of the day it’s not a huge deal but there’s definitely a learning experience that comes out of that. That it’s pretty evident the importance of gauge when knitting just because of the width variability but I guess we tend to be more flexible with crochet because you get what you get. When you’re working that first few rows, that foundation chain, it’s not really going to change that much throughout that process. And so it’s easy for us to avoid doing what we know we should do.

Alison: 52:12
Yeah, well, it’s easy for knitters to do that too, I think. It’s definitely like a very tedious thing, but… I’ve never regretted it. So that’s my take home advice. Yes.

Brittany: 52:22
And that’s great advice. I love how you put it that way. Yeah, exactly.

Well, Alison, it has been an absolute pleasure chatting with you today. I’m so glad that we were able to capture some of your inspiration and wisdom for blanket making, because we know it’s one of those topics that it’s one of those projects that it can be a bear for people to take on. It can be like, oh, I don’t want to do that because it’s so much time or so much yarn. And it’s refreshing to be able to chat with somebody and hear why it’s the thing that fuels them.

Alison: 52:57
That’s very nice. And I’m so honored to have been on your podcast. I love it. I listen to it every week.

Brittany: 53:03
Oh, that’s awesome. That warms my heart. I love to hear that.

Well, I definitely want to give people a chance to connect with you. So where would you send them online? Best place to get in touch with you?

Alison: 53:14
So Instagram, for sure. It’s at lareservedesign. And this will all be in the show notes, so you guys can find me. But Instagram, Etsy, you can email me, my website. Honestly, I’m pretty out there.

Brittany: 53:30
Yeah, that’s great. And you’re definitely one of those people who is very approachable and very responsive. Yeah. Yeah, that’s kind.

Yeah, so like she said, we’ll have all that information in the show notes for you to get in touch with her. And just thank you again. It’s been such a pleasure.

Thanks, Brittany. I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful for that little reminder, the motivation that will fuel us through big projects like this. Is the end result, the person that we’re creating it for, and the legacy that that time investment, that that cost investment is going to provide.

So thank you, Alison, so much for sharing this with us today. I know you’re listening to the show and it was an absolute pleasure chatting with you and connecting with you. Thank you so much for your time.

Now, Alison and I did mention a couple of resources throughout our chat, and you can find all of that information on the show notes page. So you don’t actually have to memorize anything that we talk about. Just head over to bhookedcrochet.com/session066. You can find a little outline of what we covered here today, some of the resources, and where you can get connected with Alison online — on her website and on her Instagram page.

And as always, I appreciate you so much for tuning in today. I also want to thank our sponsor Yarnspirations for providing us with a 20% off discount. This is the final day — I want to just stress that one more time — if you can save 20%, then why not, right?

So all you have to do is go to yarnspirations.com, fill up your cart with the yarn that your little heart desires, as long as the total is $40 or more. When you enter the coupon code BHOOKEDPOD at checkout, then you’ll save 20% off that entire order.

Once again, if you’re listening to this in real time, the day this episode airs, May 31st, 2018, this is the final day to have access to that coupon code. And me organizing a coupon code like that really is just one of my ways of saying thank you for tuning into the show week after week.

I briefly teased what we’re gonna be talking about next month, the month of June in 2018. I’m gonna focus all on amigurumi. I’ve got some really amazing guests lined up. Some people that we’ve had on the show before and some brand new people too. So you definitely want to make sure you’re subscribed to the BHooked podcast.

If you haven’t done so already, just go ahead and pull your device out of your pocket, hit the subscribe button, and then you’ll know that you’ll always be inspired week after week with some of the amazing guests that I bring on the show.

It really is a pleasure to not only connect with people in the industry, but also to share their knowledge with you in this really cool platform, this audio platform that you and I both love so much.

That’ll do it for today. Thank you again. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy hooking, and I’ll see you next week. Bye-bye.