The Knitting Journal
Thoughtful articles to help you understand your knitting more deeply, develop your skills and explore your creativity. You’ll find practical techniques, pattern and design insights, project-planning ideas, and occasional reflections on creativity, wellbeing and the inspiration we find in the world around us.
Grow your craft, nurture your creativity
Filter By Categories: top tips & Tutorials / creativity & wellbeing /STUDIO INSIDER or browse all posts belowAutumn Knitting Reset: Get Ready for a Great New Knitting Season
Autumn is a great time for getting back into your knitting ahead of the cosy winter knits season
Knitting Yarn Overs: How to Work & Follow Instructions (yo, yfwd, yrn, yon etc)
Everything you need to know about yarn overs for following or writing patterns that use them.
Creative Dalliances: Why Play Isn’t Just for Kids
I’ve recently fallen in love with what I now call creative dalliances—low-stakes, guilt-free ventures into anything crafty or playful. For me, that’s meant a short series of creative writing workshops in the woods, followed by an acrylic painting class. Neither was about producing something polished—it was simply about having fun, getting messy, and being present.
Circular needles - what length should you use?
This post demystifies circular needles, how these are measured and what is the best length to use for your project.
Knit your way to 5 a day for Wellbeing
Eating 5 a day fruit and veg for our physical health is a familiar notion, but there is another type of 5 a day we should attend to. This takes care of our mental and emotional wellness, and knitting can be a big help.
Which Cast On Should I use?
Every knitter needs a basic repertoire of staple cast ons, and in this series of tutorials I’ve curated a selection of 7 workhorse cast ons that you’ll use time after time.
New: Greenfinch Mitts
Continuing on the birdy theme, the pattern for my new Greenfinch Mitts is out today!
NEW: Greenfinch Cowl
Inspired by birdsong and the promise of spring, the Greenfinch Cowl is the first of my Feathered Friends collection and it’s out today.
Self-Care: Celebrate your wins
Remembering to celebrate your victories too often gets overlooked, yet is an important element of self care.
Picot Cast Off Tutorial
Learning this picot cast off will add another string to your knitterly bow, and enable you to successfully add your own personal touch to projects, and get a great finish.
Recovering your knitting mojo.
In this post we’ll be looking at a number of ways to recover a loss of knitting mojo.
Reading Knitting Patterns Q&A - multiple sizes
Reading knitting patterns can be challenging and it only gets easier with practise, so don't feel intimidated. Even experienced knitters can find some instructions tricky to decipher…
Book Review: Knit Mitts by Kate Atherley
My review of this latest book offering from Kate Atherley.
How to Read Knitting Charts #1: The Basics
This post aims to help demystify knitting charts and equip you with the basics of how to read them.
Make it yours: Kitchen Garden Tunic
Simple ways to put you own stamp on your knits, using mu Kitchen Garden Tunic as an example.
Knit Nurse Pattern Reading Clinic #2: What’s the deal with parentheses and brackets ( ) [ ]?
What do all the brackets mean in knitting patterns? Parentheses and brackets - that's round ( ) and square [ ] brackets in plain speak - can be a source of great confusion for many knitters…