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I don't know whether you're the same but I've always been disappointed with the fit of an afterthought heel. I think this is because I have a very high instep and the heel just isn't deep enough. I'm going to talk a bit about "maths and fit" in this first section, but if you're looking for the tutorial on how to put in your afterthought heel then just slide down to the bottom. Afterthought heel fit I played about with the maths a bit to see why they don't work for me. My heel diagonal is about 30cm [11 7/8"]. You'd expect to have a bit of negative ease around the heel diagonal - 10 -15% is a good range - so I want it to be somewhere between 25.6 - 27cm [10.1 -10.7"] in circumference.  If I were to work a basic afterthought heel, that outside measurement would be about 12.5cm [5"] (I worked out this number by counting the rows in the afterthought heel and multiply by 2; plus the width of the final kitchener stitches) plus half of ...

So your pattern tells you to increase at both ends of the row, but it fails to tell you how. There are quite a number of different ways to create increases in knitting and some will suit different situations better than others. Today I'm going to talk about one of the lifted increases - make one left or right.  Make one left (m1l) and make one right (m1r) are mirror images of each other, so are perfect when you need to make two increases on the same row. If you want to see the details of the swatch below, just scroll to the bottom of the post. Benefits Blend into the knitting more than a lot of other increases Don't create large holes under the stitch, so are neater They are mirrored versions, so look good worked in pairs Downsides Can be a little tricky (tight) to work sometimes but does gets easier with practice As it's a lifted increase, they pull up the stitches from below, which can cause distortion Other increases can be faster to work  Here's the video tutorial b...

Another new pattern is released today. Meet Ammil. Ammil is an airy and wintery shawl, made using mohair lace yarn and edged in clear beads reminiscent of ice crystals. Written in multiple sizes, so you can choose the perfect size for your yarn. The beading is optional but they do add a little bit of weight to the edge, which makes the shawl drape beautifully. Ammil was, originally, released for A Good Yarn's Christmas Eve Box. Since the cold winter season and crystal sparkles were the main focus of the design, I named it Ammil, which means "the thin film of ice that lacquers all leaves, twigs and blades of grass when a freeze follows a partial thaw". My preference for wearing crescent shawls is bandana-style around the neck but you can always wear it in the traditional style around the shoulders. Ammil uses Rowan Kidsilk Haze, which is a mohair and silk mix. There are a range of sizes that uses either 2 or 3 balls of Kidsilk Haze. For an introductory discount, use AMMIL...

Field & Lea is inspired by nature and includes inspiration such as dandelions, bluebells and fields. Colour and texture are the core part of Field & Lea. The mood board below was the inspiration that I was working to. It uses two strands of 4ply / fingering marled together throughout, which allows the colours to play a big part in the design. You could easily use stash yarn and your creativity to knit your own. The pattern was designed, originally, for a mystery KAL with A Good Yarn, Cleethorpes , so it is separated into 4 distinct parts. The yarn is two strands of 4ply held together, which creates fun, marled colours but you could easily swap this for a worsted weight yarn, if you prefer. There's a lot of knit and purl texture involved, so it's a simple enough knit but the changing patterns and use of colour means that you don't get bored.  There are a couple of interesting but relatively simple texture techniques in the pattern and there are several video tutori...

There are many different techniques for working in the round. One of my favourite techniques is magic loop. Benefits Less joins than DPNs, so less ladders Ladders are less likely to happen The needles are attached to each other, so you can't lose one down the side of a train seat! You just need to ask my friend, Julie, about that one! If the stitch count changes, then nothing needs to change with the needles. Unlike using small circulars or DPNs As the stitches are split in half, this lends itself particularly well to socks, mitts etc. For example, the heel stays on one half and the instep stitches on the other, none of the stitches need to be put on holders or moved about For the same reason, you don't need to use as many stitch markers as the ends of the needles mark the natural halfway points Just move the knitting onto the cables and there's no chance of losing any stitches when it's in your bag You don't get DPNs stuck up your sleeve! Downsides Can take a bit o...