I have knit more sweaters than I can count, and I keep coming back to the same lesson: the yarn choice matters more than the pattern. The best yarn for knitting sweaters is a smooth, elastic worsted or DK-weight wool or wool blend, because wool’s natural crimp gives sweeters their shape memory. After testing 12 … Read more
I have knit more socks than I can count over the last decade, and the single question I get most often from new knitters is some version of “what’s the best sock yarn for knitters?” The honest answer is that the best sock yarn depends on what you want from your socks, how you plan … Read more
I still remember the first arm knit blanket I made. I was sitting on my living room floor with three skeins of yarn between my knees, my arms looped through stitches, and absolutely no idea what I was doing. By the time I pulled the finished blanket off my arms an hour later, I was … Read more
I still remember unboxing my first rigid heddle loom in my small apartment. I warped it on the kitchen table, wove a lopsided scarf over a weekend, and was hooked for life. That little loom opened the door to rigid heddle weaving, and I have been testing, comparing, and recommending these looms to students ever … Read more
I still remember unboxing my first floor loom in a tiny studio apartment — I had to move furniture twice just to make room for it. That was the day I learned that finding the best floor looms for handweaving isn’t only about the loom itself; it’s about matching the loom to your space, your … Read more
I still remember the day I set up my first table loom on the kitchen counter, wedged between the coffee pot and a stack of cookbooks. My partner walked in, looked at the warping board clamped to the counter, and asked if I’d finally lost it. That little Ashford did more for my weaving in … Read more
I picked up my first drop spindle on a whim at a fiber festival, dropped it about thirty times in an hour, and walked away hooked. That was five years and more than forty spindles ago. These days our team tests hand spinning tools the way a sommelier tests wine: across fiber types, against different … Read more
I still remember the first skein I tried to wind around the back of a kitchen chair. It tangled. It snapped. It ended up in a knotty mess that took me three hours to undo. That was the day I bought my first real niddy noddy, and I have not looked back since. A niddy … Read more
When I picked up my first latch hook kit three years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. The yarn tangled, my knots looked loose, and I almost gave up after the first row. Today, I’ve completed over 40 latch hook projects, and I can tell you that finding the right beginner kit … Read more
Finding the best rug hooking frames for beginners can feel overwhelming when you first start shopping. Frame prices range from $42 to $200, and every brand claims theirs is the easiest to use. After testing eight frames side by side for over 90 days, I learned that the right frame depends on your project size, … Read more