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    Friday Finds – Knitted I-Cords

    One of the simplest ways to teach knitting is to start with a knitted tube of yarn or i-cord. The i-cord was originally created by the late Elizabeth Zimmerman, knitting pioneer, who called it the idiot cord because anyone can knit one or i-cord for short. It really is quite an ingenious and very versatile piece of knitting. You’ll see i-cords used as ties and finished edges on knit garments; as belts and bag handles; with beads knit in as jewelry; and as decorative elements on home dec projects.  You can create an i-cord…

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    Friday Finds – Beading On a Loom

    We hope you’ve been following along this week to learn more about our new Beading Loom.  It’s available now, with a whole host of accessories.  We know many of our customers may not have beading skills yet, so we created a few kits to help you get started. Using a kit to try a new craft is a fun way to try it out and learn the process before creating your own designs.  A book by Carol Porter and Fran Ortmeyer is coming out later this summer with patterns and…

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    Watch Us Wednesday – Beading Loom

    We’re thrilled to share a bit more today about our Beading Loom. We created this introductory video to show you how to set up the loom and the types of projects you can create with it. The package contains illustrated instructions with more detail than we were able to include in our brief video. Just imagine the lovely pieces you can create with this fantastic new loom.

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    Make It Monday – Beading Loom Jewelry Trio

    We introduced a brand new product at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee this weekend. Our new Beading Loom is fully adjustable, allowing you to create beaded pieces of varying lengths using beads in a variety of shapes and sizes.   Here’s a link to instructions for creating this beautiful three piece jewelry set using the new Clover Beading Loom to show you how it works. We’ll be sharing more about this exciting new tool all this week. We’re thrilled to bring you more beading options. Do you use beads in your…

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    Friday Finds – Beaded Jewelry

    We hope you’ve enjoyed the posts this week featuring our French Knitter.  Many of you have shared with us how you first learned french knitting using a spool with finishing nails, and you can still make i-cords this way.  Our French Knitter has taken that craft to a new level by incorporating three interchangeable heads allowing you to incorporate different sized beads into your designs. It’s so easy and fun to create custom jewelry pieces this way. Here’s a few finds to further inspire your beaded jewelry making. Making Jewelry…

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    Watch Us Wednesday – French Knitter Jewelry

    We recently created a new video showing all the information you need to begin creating beaded jewelry using our French Knitter.  Carol Porter shows you how to cast on, cast off, and work beads into your design.  You won’t want to miss seeing her beautiful jewelry creations in the video.  She’s worked with everything from monofilament to leather for a wide variety of lovely designs.

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    Make It Monday – Beaded Jewelry

    Did you know you can make beaded jewelry with the French Knitter?  If you take a little extra time to string beads onto your thread before you start, it’s easy to work them into your design as you go along.  An Embroidery Stitching Tool Needle Threader makes the process quick and easy.  Download our inspiration sheet for more detailed instructions.  You can create many variations of this project by changing the fibers and beads you choose for your design.  Have you ever created jewelry with a french knitter?

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    Make it Monday – Bead Crocheted Necklace

    As the weather starts to warm up and scarves are being put away, it’s a perfect time to crochet beaded jewelry. Here is a fun new project to help you get started.  Create a beautiful beaded necklace with the Soft Touch Steel Crochet Hooks. Just think of all the wonderful jewelry pieces you could create for this coming spring season!