"Named after fashion designer Betsey Johnson, known for her flashy, fun clothing shapes and lots of color, this messenger bag is knitted from handspun, hand-dyed yarn using a simple provisional cast-on with nonfelting yarn."
Betsey Bag
"This pattern is very simple, but hankers for really interesting yarn to make
it pop and a daring personality to wear
it afterwards.”
Grow Hat
“This colorful scarf has 'broken cable' motifs
worked in handspun yarn.
It is a great example of
how to showcase small quantities of handspun/
hand-dyed yarn.”
Broken Cable Keyhole Scarf
"The tea cozy is worked
from the top down, with
the hole for the teapot
spout cut open after the mammoth has been felted."
Mammoth Tea Cozy
Table of Contents
Introduction
Fiber 101 for Knitters
Spindles
Wheels
Getting Started
Handspun from a Knitter’s Perspective
Color and Other Embellishments
What to do With All That Yarn
Garter Scarf 1
Garter Scarf 2
Faux Fair Isle Raglans – These sweater patterns are infinitely adjustable to suit a wide range of sizes and yarns.
Profile: Symeon North
Pippi Socks – These socks are made with yarn spun from Falklands wool and knitted on size 5 needles.
Profile: Angela Ho
Pythagoras Headband – Named after the mathematician, this headband is a great way to use up tiny bits of handspun.
Laurabelle Swedish Heart Shrug – This shrug is faux entrelac – actual basketweave created by weaving narrow knitted strips for the diamond shaped back panel and cuffs.
Profile: Holly Klump
Betsey Bag – This bag’s side panels flare out like a tulle skirt, giving you a top that’s easily closed and enough room at the bottom for all your stuff.
May Day Hat – Named after the celebration rife with maypoles, this hat is meant to look like the flower crowns (blomkrans) traditionally worn in young girls’ hair.
Profile: Birkeland Brothers Wool
Broken Cable Keyhole Scarf – This colorful scarf has “broken cable” motifs and is a great example of how to showcase small quantities of handspun/hand-dyed yarn.
Power Station Hat – This is a very simple hat with an elegant look, thanks to overtwisted “energized” singles that cause the stockinette stitches to angle in various directions. Download this project free!
Profile: Laura Jefferson and Sarah Dunham
Felted Mammoth Tea Cozy – This felted tea cozy can be customized to fit any teapot—but to get started you must first catch your mammoth.
Beauty School Dropout Pullover – Spin and ply a sport-weight yarn from hairdresser’s coloring supplies. Hairdressers use loosely coiled unspun fiber to protect the face from dyes and perm liquids.
Profile: Catherine Goodwin
Profile: Hatchtown Spindles
Mojave Socks – These socks are knitted from the toe up and allow you to try the sock on as you go to double check the fit.
Profile: Elaine Evans
Orangina Scarf – This versatile scarf suits any amount of handspun. Wrap it lacy or wrap it fluffy. The stay-closed, stay-put button closure allows you to raid your vintage button stash.
Copper Moose Shawl – This shawl uses simple yet elegant construction techniques and its soft natural brown color is flattering to almost anyone.
Profile: Crystal Canning
Grow Hat – Although this hat is very simple, it needs texture, it needs wooly pieces flying out on all sides, and it needs someone with a daring personality to wear it afterwards.
Profile: Lexi Boeger
Star Wristlets – These wristlets are light and airy, nice and warm. They don’t take a lot of yarn to make and can be worn year round.
Profile: Jonathan and Sheila Bosworth
Firecracker Hat – This hat offers a great way to use up some handspun or other precious scraps of yarn. Experiment with your yarn of choice and personal gauge…this pattern is very flexible.
Chillicothe – So named because the loops around the neck look like the Native American serpent mounds near that city in southern Ohio.
Profile: Lynne Vogel
Mind’s Eye Hat – This is Shannon’s favorite hat to knit, year after year, because it is so infinitely variable depending on the yarns used.
