Spinning yarn can seem a daunting craft, requiring arcane tools and techniques, but the fundamentals are simple. It is about adding twist to fibre, which gives it the strength to not pull apart. Most preparations of fibre will require drafting – that is, continuously pulling the fibre so fewer strands (or staples) are twisted together to make a thinner yarn. Drafting and adding twist are all that are needed to make yarn. You might hear about woollen and worsted spinning, and the long- and short-draw methods associated with them. While interesting, and good to understand when improving you ..read more

Learning to spin yarn comes with a huge array of new jargon, and a lot of these terms relate to how the fibre is prepared. Whether animal or plant fibre, there is a variety of ways it can be processed from raw material into something you can spin into yarn. We’re going to look at some of the common formats available to hand spinners, what their characteristics are and the kind of spinning techniques they’re suitable for.  Woollen or worsted? First up, we need to talk briefly about woollen and worsted preparation. In fibre prep these terms mostly describe the alignment of the individual fi ..read more

Hi lovelies! Spring has sprung here in Berlin – as I am typing this (mid March), the buds on the chestnut tree out the window are a few days away from bursting, the forsythias are in full bloom, and our strawberry plants have started their comeback as well (leaves so far, but Aurin checks every day for berries :)). So it's no surprise at all that today's blog post is very much inspired by the sun and the warmer days to come! I have put together a sweet roundup of 6 joyful spring knitting patterns, all of which I'd love to have on my needles soon. (If someone can get me an extra day or two per ..read more

Hi lovelies! I kind of completely dropped the ball on putting FO posts out there, but as you all very kindly let me know through our "what do you want to read on the blog" survey, you actually really like them, so we have some catching up to do! We're starting with two FOs that have actually quite recently only been finished – if by recently we mean the end of 2023. They're both from Issue 10, and were both a delight to knit! Crystal Socks by Izabela Grzybek in woollentwine Ovis First up: One of the most fun socks I've knit in quite a while! I knew I wanted a pair of Crystal Socks in my sock ..read more

Hi lovelies! I am so delighted to welcome our second double-digit magazine issue into the Making Stories family: Issue 11, Seashore! Our Spring 2024 issue features 12 wonderful, layerable, delightful-to-knit patterns that are fabulous on beach days, a stroll through the park, or a day out with the kids. We also welcome Liza Laird with a beautiful poem about our relationship to the ocean to our pages. You can preorder Issue 11 now through us or one of our fabulous stockists – or you subscribe to the magazine which gives you 15% off Issues 11 and 12 and early access to our magazine yarns! Aigues ..read more

Hi lovelies! I adore a good color-changing yarn, so imagine my excitement when I found a non-superwash, 100% wool version (not so easy to come by)! Schoppelwolle's Zauberwolle comes in at 250 m / 273 yds per 100 g and knits up beautifully to a fingering-weight, sport-weight and DK gauge. It's fabulous on its own, and great combined with neutral solids! My top picks for yarns to go with Zauberwolle are BC Garn Semilla Melange, De Rerum Natura Ulysse and Holst Garn Supersoft. All three have a broad color range, so finding a matching or contrasting solid to your chosen color-changing yarn should ..read more

Hi lovelies, I can't believe it's that time of the year again – time to take stock, and reflect a little on what 2023 has brought to Making Stories. Another year (almost) in the books which means we're entering our 8th year in business soon. Which feels absolutely wild, even more so in a year that has seen so many small businesses, especially in the fiber world and in indie publishing, close their doors. (I'm so sad to see Pompom Magazine go!) I like sitting down with a good cup of coffee at some in December, and think through what the year has meant for us, and what has happened here at Makin ..read more

Hi lovelies! I hope you are well, and making a dent in your gift knitting (if you are gift knitting this year, that is!) I am back here today with something a little different: A question for you. Over the course of the last year, I took over writing most of our blog posts again, and while I love it very much, I also noticed that I tend to gravitate towards posts that I like to read – pattern inspiration posts, FO roundups, that sort of thing. Which is very much a deviation from where we originally started which was with lots of in-depth advice on knitting ("How to get gauge" is still an all-t ..read more

Hi lovelies! As I was finishing up Aurin's Joy Cardigan over the weekend, I started thinking about what I could cast on now that one of my current WIPs is almost done. And then it hit me - the holidays are just under two months away, and I have this dream of knitting a few sweaters for my nephews. Will I manage it in time? Who knows. But it would be nice to gift them the promised sweaters in time for the end of the year so that they actually get a little wear out of them still this winter! Are you already deep in gift knitting mode or, like me, just starting to plan? If the latter (or the form ..read more

Hi lovelies! To celebrate that Holst Garn Supersoft, an absolute rockstar when it comes to texture and colorwork, is back in the shop, we thought it would be fun to do a "Team Picks" pattern roundup! Each one of us picked a pattern they'd love to knit with Holst Garn Supersoft and the colorways they'd make it in. Ready? Here we go! Isabell: Lamina Sweater by Jennifer Brou | Holst Garn Supersoft in Tundra (MC) and Spring (CC) or Venetian (MC) and Brandy (CC) Isabell chose one of our star colorwork patterns of all time: Jennifer Brou's Lamina Sweater from Issue 5, also available as an individua ..read more