#WIP Fair Isle Brooch Designs

Just a quick post today to share some Fair Isle #WIP. It's been a really busy week, but I'm pleased that I've finished some new Fair Isle brooch designs that are now on their way to a new stockist (more on this soon). I really enjoy seeing the process through from colouring the initial Fair Isle design on knitter's graph paper, to hand knitting the pieces in lovely two ply British wool. You can find similar pieces in my Etsy shop, with more new designs coming soon too!

Have a lovely Sunday!

How To Knit... How To Choose Yarn and Needles

Welcome to the second part in my How To Knit series- How To Choose Your Yarn and Needles! When you're first starting out learning to knit, the huge choice of yarn and needles to be found at your local yarn shop or one of the huge online retailers can be daunting. It can be difficult to know what to choose, so I've put together some handy tips to help make your choices simpler and leave more time for you to get knitting!

First things first...

Choose Your Yarn

Pick a yarn that you like the look and feel of. What you choose, be it a wool, cotton, acrylic or anything in between, the material and choice of thickness is entirely up to you. Many people start with a double knit, but go for super chunky if this appeals to you. The wool shop is your oyster! Whatever thickness you decide on,  I would recommend choosing a smooth yarn in a bright or light colour, to make your stitches clearer when you start experimenting. It can be hard to see your stitches when using a textured yarn and better to perfect your stitches now and move on to hassle free knitting with the fluffy and furry yarns later!

The thickness of yarn is often referred to as the "weight" of yarn

Choose your needles

Once you've chosen your yarn, choose your needles to match your weight of yarn. In general, the thinnest needles are matched with thin yarn and likewise the thickest needles are matched with the thickest yarn. To give you an idea of what size you should use, the ball band around your yarn will usually give you a suggested needle size to use with that particular yarn. Use this suggested size to begin with as you learn. As you continue on your knitting journey you may need to adjust the needle size according to your tension (I will explain this further in a future post).

In terms of the material your needles are made from, there are a huge variety available made from everything from plastic, metal, bamboo, various woods and even carbon fibre. Again, your choice here depends on personal preference and you may like to try several types as you are learning. Personally I love bamboo needles as they are light, smooth and warm to use (although I do tend to use metal needles for my finer knitting as I know I'll end up breaking or bending fine bamboo needles!)

Knitting needles come in a variety of lengths to accommodate different amounts of stitches, depending on the project you're working on

Suggested needle sizes for yarn weights

Sometimes the weight of a particular yarn is not immediately obvious, for example some patterns may not specify a particular yarn but only give a needle size. Here are some yarn weights with their suggested needle sizes

3 ply- 2-2.75mm

4 ply- 2.75-3.25mm

Double Knit- 3.25-4mm

Aran- 5-5.5mm

Chunky- 6-7mm

Super Chunky- 8-10mm

I really hope this post helps you if you want to learn to knit and I hope you have fun picking your yarn and needles! Look out for the next post in the series where I'll be sharing how to cast on

On Instagram In January

With January now coming to an end, 2016 is now well and truly underway. It's been a busy month, here's a look at what I've been up to through my Instagram photos...

Happy New Year! Knitting this sparked some ideas for new products featuring lettering, watch this space!

One of my Harris Tweed Button Brooches all packaged and ready to be sent to its new home

I was chuffed when a lovely customer got in touch to ask me to design a Fair Isle necklace as a gift for her friend, using her choice of colours. I love making custom orders!

New colours in beautiful Fenella British wool, which I'm currently knitting into Fair Isle jewellery designs

Zandra Rhodes said you should always wear what you make and I try to wear something I've made everyday. I often wear a group of my brooches together because I can never choose which colour to wear!

The weather in January has been a strange mix of warm, freezing, wind and rain, but there were signs of Spring on our walk around Hyde Hall 

Nelson sleeping, which is his favourite pastime. Love those toes!

Knitting new Shetland Wool Fair Isle jewellery pieces, coming to my Etsy Shop soon!

Working on a How To with hot chocolate and marshmallow fuel. It's been so cold, I've enjoyed the excuse to drink more hot choc!

Nelson's other favourite pastime is "helping" by sitting on whatever it is I'm trying to do!

Tiny Clanger! I knitted her for my little niece and she was so pleased. I'd like to make one for myself to keep as a mascot!

We don't take many pictures of ourselves but I've decided we should take more for posterity! This is Mr Writer and I all wrapped up for a Wintery walk. This was also a good chance to snap a pic of him wearing his Winter clothes. I really feel the cold but he won't wear his Winter coat and hat unless it's below 5 degrees!

I've been making more of my Swarovski Crystal and Freshwater Pearl "Half Moon" necklaces, incorporating beads from broken jewellery. I haven't managed to add any to my Etsy Shop before I've sold them, so this is a goal for the new year!

I'm working on some new Harris Tweed Button Brooches in Spring shades of pale pink, lilac and blue. Coming to my Etsy Shop soon!

Nelson doing more "helping" while I was taking photos for an upcoming How To!

And gate crashing while I was taking photos on a chair by the window, He stayed like this for the rest of the day. It's a cat's life hey?!

If you would like to have a glimpse of what I get up to behind the scenes at Louise Dawson Design, you can follow me on Instagram here. I'd love to follow you too!

What did you get up to in January?

Small Project Challenge

In January 2015 I set myself the task of completing one small craft project (separate to my textile jewellery) a month, as a way to combat my growing list of unfinished projects- I called it "The Small Project Challenge." Sadly, I didn't manage to complete one project each month like I intended- life got very busy, but I'm pleased to say I completed six projects and I'd like to share them with you today. Although I didn't complete the challenge as I wanted to, the projects that I did make reminded me that it's nice to make things for myself and to keep trying new things. So, here is what I made...

Knitting in the round- Bobble Hat

I wanted to try knitting in the round on a circular needle as this was something I hadn't tried before. I was really pleased with my first attempt and this hat is still keeping my ears warm now! I love the pom pom too

Flo-Jo Knicker Making Kit

I was searching for craft kits to try and I discovered the Flo-Jo Knicker Making Kit! These were so much fun to make and a lot simpler than I thought they would be. I really must make time to make some more, I really enjoyed making them

Crochet Face Pads

I really don't like waste and so the fact that I was using disposable cotton wool pads for applying my cleanser and toner didn't feel right to me. That's how I came up with the idea to make these crochet face pads, which I could throw in the wash and re-use, plus also giving me the opportunity to practice my crochet skills (I'm still learning). 

Lined Vintage Suitcases

I was chuffed to discover these vintage suitcases and set myself the challenge to line them to use to display my brooches

Crystal Clay Ring

I'd been wanting to with Crystal Clay for some time, so when I spotted some in a bead shop I knew that would be my next Small Project Challenge! In the end, I wasn't really happy with the ring I made, but I was pleased I tried the Crystal Clay and I'd definitely like to experiment with it more

Fair Isle Knitted Baby Hat

Having taught myself Fair Isle knitting for my jewellery making, I wanted to practice Fair Isle on a larger scale, so I made this little slouchy baby hat for a friend who had a baby boy in November. This was a great project for practicing Fair Isle on a larger scale, although I had SO MANY ends to sew in! 

I won't be trying to complete a project for the Small Project Challenge every month in 2016, but I will still continue to share my "non-work" projects.

Have you set yourself a similar challenge and how did you get on? I'd love to hear about it! Share in the comments below

How To... Hand Coloured, Embroidered Gift Tags

I never seem to have gift tags when I need them so I often make my own and this has inspired my latest How To! As always, I have designed this How To with thrift in mind- you just need basic materials that you probably already have in your craft stash. This is a really simple idea that will bring a lovely handmade touch to your gift wrapping. Also, If you enjoy the trend for adult colouring, this is the how to for you! Happy crafting, here's how to make them...

1) You will need

Swing tags (or make your own using spare cardboard), drawing pencil, coloured pencils, hole piercing tool/a needle if you don't have one, sewing needle, embroidery thread, scissors

2) Draw your design on to the swing tag. The world is your oyster here in terms of designs and colours, just bare in mind you will need to make holes and stitch around them, so a bolder and less intricate design would be best. I have been given some seventies style fabric so the designs on this inspired my gift tag designs!

3) Choose your colours and colour in your design. You could use felt tip pens rather than coloured pencils if you wanted a bolder look

My lovely pencil roll was made by my friend Karen, check out her Facebook page at Karen Felt Sew Crafty

4) Use the hole piercing tool or needle to pierce stitching holes along the outline of your design. I have found it easier to make one row of holes and embroider this row before moving on to make holes for the next row, as this can mean you need to make less holes.

When I first made these tags I didn't pierce holes before starting to stitch and I found it difficult to bring the needle up in the right place every time

5) Stitch the outlines of your designs in embroidery thread. I chose to use four strands of embroidery thread but you might like to use more or less depending on the look you are going for. I've just used a simple back stitch here, but again, if you would like to use other embroidery stitches, go for it!

6) Stick some plain paper or card onto the back of your tags to hide the stitching and there you have it, very simple but effective gift tags to add a handmade touch to your gift wrapping!

If you try this How To I'd love to see your gift tags,share in the comments below!

New Etsy Shop Products #WIP

Here is a sneak peek at some new work in progress jewellery pieces that I'm working on at the moment, coming soon to my Etsy Shop!

Working on new hand knitted Fair Isle Necklaces, hand knitted in Shetland wool and knitted to my own designs. I really need to stock up as my Fair Isle jewellery was popular over Christmas time- thank you if you bought a piece from my shop, it makes me so happy to think that there are people out there wearing my designs

A custom order I made for a lovely customer using her choice of colours. I love receiving custom orders- if you'd like me to make something just for you, visit my Etsy Shop, click "Request Custom Order" and I'd be very happy to design something for you

Something a little different... I have an obsession with Swarovski Crystals and I love making jewellery with them just as much as I enjoy wearing them. I'm working on some Swarovski necklaces and rings that I'd like to add to my Etsy Shop as occasion wear. Watch this space!

I've also been making what I call "Half Moon Necklaces," embellished with Swarovski Crystals, Freshwater Pearls, Mother of Pearl and glass beads upcycled from broken jewellery, but they've never made it to my Etsy Shop, so this new year I'm determined to change that! They would make lovely occasion wear-  I can make them in most colours so they are ideal for accessorizing your wedding/party outfit, but look just as lovely worn with your favourite jumper (how I can often be found wearing mine!) Watch this space on this one!

Are there any pieces you'd like to see me stock in my Etsy Shop? I'm always open to suggestions and I'd love to know what you think, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Knitting Project- Tiny Clanger

The Clangers are back and my three year old niece loves them, and this inspired my latest knitting project! I bought the Clangers book which shows you how to make all of the characters (I'd love to make the Soup Dragon next!) and how to make their planet (they live on a moon like planet far away in space, in case you were wondering!) and I've knitted her Tiny Clanger, as she is her favourite character.

Although I haven't made many toys and I found the sewing up the hardest part, I really enjoyed working on something a bit different- ooh and knitting in lovely King Cole Baby Alpaca DK. The pattern is very clever too, it's all worked in one piece apart from the arms and ears. I hope my niece loves her- I think they are so sweet I'd quite like to make one for myself!

What are you knitting at the moment? Share your projects in the comments, I'd love to see what you are working on!