All this talk about wool has me thinking of another great quality of this fiber (and other fibers that come from animals): the ability to felt. Felting is an easy way to give your knit articles a different look, and there are lots of different ways to do it depending on the equipment you have at your disposal:

• Felting by Hand
• Felting with a Top-Loading Washing Machine
• Felting with a Front-Loading Washing Machine

Also check out some felting tips and information on how to make a felted swatch to make your design of felted articles a little easier and more precise.

I'm a little obsessed with baby knits right now, for obvious reasons, and with winter coming on my little one needed a new hat in case we ever decide to leave the house again.

I came up with this adorable Sprout Hat, which is basically a plain Stockinette hat jazzed up with a picot edging and an I-cord topper with a super-cute leaf motif sprouting from the top.

This is a really easy knit for a new baby in your life and is sure to keep him or her warm and stylish all season long.

Welcome to another edition of Make it Merry, where talented crafters share their holiday how-to's.





Advent Candy Tree


Everyone loves counting down to the holidays...add candy to the mix and you've got a fun Advent calendar from Sherri Osborn for the whole family to enjoy.

Pumpkin Cross Stitch Pattern


Use a variegated floss to make a swirling pumpkin that would look great near the Thanksgiving table. Connie G. Barwick has the free pattern.

Knit Wreath Ornament


Scrap knitting makes for fun quick projects that are perfect for any skill level. Sarah E. White has the instructions for this cute wreath.

Miniature Glitter Houses


Snowy villages look great upon every mantle and tabletop. Lesley Shepherd has a free printable so you can make your own tiny houses.

Paper Bead Star Ornament


If you're looking for something a little different to do with your paper beads then take a look at this paper bead star. This project is simple to adapt in a wide variety of ways.

Rustic Pillar Candles


'Tis the season for running out to buy candles. David Fisher will show you how to make these festive pillar candles with the perfect finish.

Pear Diamonds Painted Card


This card has an intricate finish, but it is so easy to make. Tina Jones shows us how to create this colorful card from start to finish.

Christmas Apron Pattern


Just because you've got to bake cookies for the whole family doesn't mean you can't look fabulous! Phyllis Dobbs has created this adorable holiday apron, and she's got the free pattern just for you.

Flower Petal Ornament Cover


Sometimes those plain ornaments just need a little dressing up. Tammy Powley will show you how to use seed beads to create this unique ornament drapery.

Paint a Christmas Tree


Instead of paying a premium for a colored tree, Barbara Crews will show us how to paint your tree red to match the latest holiday trends.

Want to Join Make it Merry to show off your holiday crafts? We will showcase your crafts and recipes of all holiday traditions. Learn more.

Four years of legal wrangling between a French knit and crochet designer and the house of Chanel are set to be resolved next month. The designer, Carmen Colle, sued the fashion firm because she says it stole the design for a crocheted jacket that she had offered the company but it rejected. In the time since she filed the lawsuit, she says her work designing knits and crocheted clothes for Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier, among others, has dried up. Which is a shame, because her business, World Tricot, once employed 90 women, mostly immigrants looking for a new start in France. Colle has asked for 2.5 million Euros in damages; a ruling is expected December 11.

In other knitting news, if you're planning holiday knitting this year but haven't yet started you could probably use these tips for quick holiday knits. Bulky yarns, small projects and one-skein projects are all good ideas to save both time and money.

And on the charity beat, check out the story of knitters and bakers whipping up goodies to sell to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. This is a great idea for a way to support a charity without actually knitting items to be donated to that charity.

Wool yarn from my stash, (c) Sarah E. White.

Because this week is all about wool, I thought I'd share a collage of some of the odd balls of wool hanging out in my stash. Organizing leftovers by fiber content is a great way to get inspiration for new projects because you can easily see what colors and gauges of yarn would go together well. I'm thinking hard about a fall project using that yellow and orange yarn together, or maybe something with the blue and white. Throwing a bunch of yarn together this way is a great way to see connections you might not otherwise have noticed.

Share pictures from your stash or finished objects with About.com readers.

This week we're singing the praises of wool, so I wanted to know how you feel about this versatile fiber. I'm sure there are knitters out there who work in nothing (or almost nothing) but wool, feeling as Elizabeth Zimmermann did that there is really nothing better to put on your needles.

Of course on the other end of the spectrum are people who are allergic or sensitive to wool and aren't able to work with it at all (poor things!). I assume it's possible to be ambivalent about wool, though I can't imagine it, so if you fall into that camp, let us know why you're not passionate about wool in either direction.

Most knitters, at least those who are not allergic or sensitive, have a soft spot in their hearts (and hands!) for knitting with wool. More than just about any other fiber, wool is warm, comforting, easy to work with, fun to use in colorwork, interesting to combine with other fibers. If a knitter were required to work with just one fiber for the rest of his or her life, I'd wager many of us would pick wool (cashmere's great, but wool is much more practical).

Clara Parkes, for sure, is one in that number. Her new book, The Knitter's Book of Wool illustrates her enthusiasm for sheep fibers, highlighting more than two dozen different breeds of sheep and the qualities of their wool that makes them perfect for different knitting situations.

The book also has more than 20 patterns using different kinds of wool to their best advantage, helping knitters learn more about some breeds you might not have heard of before and taking your love and respect of wool to the next level.

It wouldn't be right to talk about knitting DVDs without mentioning the wonderful "Knitting Workshop" DVD from Schoolhouse Press, a six-hour companion to Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop book.

The DVD presents three lessons in four parts each, which take knitters from the basics of knitting and purling to designing and knitting colorful sweaters and working lace knitting.

The aim of the series is to give knitters confidence to try new things, to take control of their knitting and to forge ahead without fear. While the production of the series if very, very homemade, it's still immensely fun to watch and to feel like you're learning at the feet -- and from the needles -- of a true master of our craft.

It must be getting closer to the holidays, because just about every story about knitting I came across this week had to do with knitting for others.

There are Vancouver-area seniors knitting scarves for the needy, Massachusetts financial workers knitting chemo caps for kids, British knitters making teddy bears for poor children throughout the world, New York knitters knitting hats for babies (New Jersey knitters, too) and Omaha knitters making prayer shawls.

There's the story of a man who knits mittens so local kids won't be so cold on the way to school and a craft store chain that's sending more than 4,000 knit scarves to the troops thanks to the generosity of its customers. Keep knitting, everyone!

If you're a teen who'd like to learn how to knit but you don't know anyone who can help you (or if you know a young person you'd like to encourage to start knitting), "No Rules Knitting at the Teen Knit Cafe" could be a big help.


The DVD includes instruction on casting on, knitting, purling, binding off and fixing mistakes, as well as information on the basics of choosing yarn and needles.


Because it doesn't cover other basics like increasing and decreasing, it's of limited value to all but the newest knitters, but it may still present a way to get young people interested in knitting and help them learn the basics quickly.