Welcome to Loose Threads

Hi there! I’m so glad you’re here!!

Welcome to Loose Threads, my little corner of the internet for making things, trying new hobbies, learning as I go, and occasionally getting way too invested in a project I started five minutes ago.

If you’ve been here for any amount of time, you’ll probably learn pretty quickly that I collect hobbies.

Yarn, fabric, paper, paint, embroidery, sewing, Cricut, knitting…

If it involves making something, there’s a very good chance I’ve either tried it or convinced myself I need to.

So I figured I needed a place to keep all of that.

That’s what Loose Threads is.

A place for projects, tutorials, mistakes, unfinished ideas, things I learned the hard way, and all the random creative rabbit holes I fall into.

And for the very first one, we’re talking about knitting.

So Apparently I Knit Now

This past month, I decided I wanted to learn how to knit.

Why?

Because I wanted to make socks.

Why socks?

No idea.

I just do things.

Naturally, you’d assume I started with a basic beginner sock pattern.

I did not.

I started with a sweater.

Because apparently going from zero to one hundred is much more my speed.

My sister Cheeks, who is an amazing crocheter and has now also become a knitter, had been making sweaters left and right and somehow convinced me I could make one too.

And honestly?

That was all the encouragement I needed.

We chose a Handmade by Florence sweater pattern, and it ended up being a really good beginner project. It was easy enough to follow without being boring, but still challenging enough that I actually felt like I was learning something.

And because I’m me, I also decided I didn’t need to buy new yarn.

Last year, I started the Sirdar Halloween Crochet Along blanket and made it about three-quarters of the way through before completely abandoning it.

So naturally, I had plenty of leftover yarn.

Orange.

Green.

Grey.

Purple.

Basically a very strong Halloween-meets-September situation.

And those became my sweater colors.

What I Actually Needed as a Beginner

One of the first things I noticed when learning to knit is that there are approximately one million things you can buy.

Which is both exciting and dangerous.

So after actually starting, these were the things I found genuinely useful:

🧶 Circular Needles

I started with an inexpensive set and ended up really liking the metal needles. Having different cord lengths was especially helpful depending on what part of the sweater I was working on.

🧶 Measuring Tape

Patterns love telling you to “knit until your work measures…” so this quickly became something I used constantly.

🧶 Small Scissors

Nothing fancy. Just a little pair you can keep nearby or toss into your project bag.

You will use them all the time.

🧶 Stitch Markers

Very important.

I personally prefer metal ones because I somehow managed to keep breaking the plastic ones.

And Now I’m Hooked

Knitting has been cozy, chaotic, frustrating, challenging, and weirdly calming all at the same time.

Which, honestly, feels like a pretty accurate description of most of my hobbies.

I started because I wanted to make socks.

I somehow ended up making a sweater first.

And now I’m already wondering what I should make next.

So welcome to Loose Threads.

There will probably be finished projects.

There will definitely be unfinished projects.

There will be mistakes.

And there will almost certainly be another hobby I absolutely did not need to start.

I’m glad you’re here.

Always a little crooked,

Angie 🧵