Moving to a New Knitting Yarn Location

Janz Patch is moving to a new location - please click here to continue reading the new blogs. Happy Knitting!

Knit or Crochet a Scarf with Mesh Yarns

Let me tell you what I know about mesh yarns. I've knitted with 3 different types of Moda Vera brand scarf yarns - Honeycomb (similar to Panda Sashay), Fishnet (similar to Patons Allure) and Rosie Mesh. You will need no more than 1 ball to make a scarf - even a long one - and I usually work on 5-6 stitches. If it's your first time (and if you haven't got a friend who could show you) I would suggest you watch a You Tube video of someone knitting one - that's how I learnt and I certainly wouldn't have picked it up from the directions on the ball band (which didn't seem to make any sense to me whatsoever). Once you get the hang of it - it's fine - it just feels like you're knitting backwards and I stuck one needle between my legs at the beginning - you'll understand what I mean when you try it. I haven't tried with a crochet hook as yet though I would think that might be easier somehow. If I sit in front of the TV - I can knit one in a night. My thoughts ... The open weave is more coarse but easier to knit with, and the fishnet type is softer but a bit trickier to master.  So my recommendation is probably start with the open type and get the hang of it and then try the fishnet to compare.  Check out my eBay store for the different types of ruffle mesh scarf yarn available along with a few hand made items in the sub-heading of Scarves.

Summertime Yarns

If you like to knit and crochet all through the Summer months, check out the lovely cotton and linen yarns available at Janz Patch .

Several colours available.

Check out these yarns and many more on offer at Janz-Patch
Reasonable prices and friendly service.

Knitting Needle Sizes

Most knitters will have loads of needles in drawers, knitting tubes, bags with unfinished items.  Some pairs will be from days long ago or maybe you picked up a pair at the local Op shop.  Perhaps you've found a great pattern in the bottom of a cupboard or it's a US pattern and the needle size required just doesn't seem to match what's in your collection?  Here's a helpful chart which compares Imperial, Metric and US sizes:

Reasonable prices and friendly service at janz-patch (knitting & crochet yarn, pattern books, craft magazines & books, cellophane bags and more)

Knitting & Crochet abbreviations ... what does that mean?

Have you ever picked up a knitting or crochet pattern and thought – is this in another language? Abbreviations are abundant in pattern books and usually there is a key to all the abbreviations somewhere in the book. But what happens if you’ve grabbed a pattern out of a magazine or the rest of the book is missing? Maybe someone copied a pattern for you.


Well, here are a few of the more common abbreviations I found on the Cleckheaton website – need more just click here.

ch=chain
dc=double crochet
dtr=double treble
dec=decrease, decreasing
garter st=every row knit
htr=half treble
inc=increase, increasing
K=Knit
‘M1’=make 1 - pick up loop which lies before next st, place on left hand needle and knit into back of loop
P=Purl
psso=pass slipped st over
sl st=slip st
sp/s=space/s
st/s=stitch/es
stocking st=1 row knit, 1 row purl
tbl=through back of loop
tog=together
tr=treble
yfwd=yarn forward - bring yarn under needle, then over into knitting position again, making a st
yoh=yarn over hook; yon=yarn over needle - take yarn over top of needle into knitting position, making a st
Base (Foundation) chain=the length of chain made at the beginning of a piece of crochet as a basis for constructing the fabric.
Turning chain=one, or more chains, depending upon the length of stitch required, worked at the beginning of a row.

Reasonable prices and friendly service at janz-patch (knitting & crochet yarn, pattern books, craft magazines & books, cellophane bags and more).


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Is it Knitting time again?

Now that the nights in Melbourne are getting colder it’s time to get out your stash ... of knitting yarn I mean ... and see where your last project ended up. At my place I have a half knitted dog jumper, I need to sew off the ends of a baby’s cot cover, finish the edging on a lovely baby’s shawl and start sorting out the half finished balls to see what would look good for a scarf this year.

One of the most popular knitting yarns for a scarf is the ever-lasting feather yarn. Judging by the stock and huge colour range I see in stores, it’s still very popular. You do need to be careful though, some are rather scratchy and you certainly don’t want that in a scarf. I usually choose Moda Vera’s Flurry because it has a silky texture and some great colours. To keep the shape of the scarf I often work one strand of feather yarn and one strand of 8ply. It takes a while to get used to the two strands but after a while your fingers just seem to work it out. Of course, there are hundreds of different textured yarns you can use and the results are only limited by your own imagination.

Reasonable prices and friendly service at janz-patch. (knitting & crochet yarn, pattern books, craft magazines & books, cellophane bags and more)

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Determining the Ply of your Knitting Yarn

If you have some yarn and you don’t know what ply or weight it is, you can work it out by wrapping some of the yarn around a ruler and then counting the number of wraps it takes to cover one inch (2.5cm), however, this does not work with mohair or fuzzy type yarns.

Reasonable prices and friendly service at Janz Patch. (knitting & crochet yarn, pattern books, craft magazines & books, cellophane bags and more).

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