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How-to: Make a Custom Card Game // WHISKEY PIT!

May 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

For those of you who don’t know, my husband is turning 30 on Monday, and I’m throwing him a bourbon-themed shin-dig that week to celebrate. Check out the invites if you missed them. This party’s going to have everything an aging ;) Southern boy could want: a bourbon bar, three kinds of bourbon pie, a great venue (a hip pie shop in Chicago), veggie and beef jerkey, biscuits, beer, and yes, a butter bar. I can’t wait for this party and to share pictures with you all!

I spent Memorial Day weekend designing and printing a custom, whiskey-themed version of one of my husband’s and my favorite party card games. No, we’re not talking about Apples to Apples – we’re talking about PIT!!! The weirdest and somehow most awesome card game in the universe. We first heard about in the 1999 TV show Freaks and Geeks. Sorry for those of you who aren’t TV fanatics out there, please bear with me. :) There was a family game night episode of the show (read episode highlights here or here) in which the main characters’ parents try to get their kids excited about playing Pit, and they don’t totally go for it right away. Here’s why…

The concept behind Pit, a game that’s over 100 years old, is that you and your friends are trading stocks, and you have to “corner the market” on a specific commodity by trading equal numbers of cards with fellow players. The first person to corner the market and ring a bell on the center of the table wins the point value listed on the commodity’s card. The higher value the commodity, the more points it’s worth. The person with the most points wins in the end. Traditionally, the commodities traded have been grains, but more recent editions of the games feature precious metals.

So when you describe this game in words, it doesn’t sound like the most fun you’ve ever had at a party, right? The kids on Freaks and Geeks are totally with you. Really, though. Trust me. This game is the best. You can get it used online for really cheap if you’re curious enough to try it out.

To make a version of the game in which you’re trading something a little funner than grains or gold, it’s easy. These directions can be applied to customizing other favorite games like Uno or Skip-Bo.

Supplies

graphic design software or better drawing skills than I possess

printer

card stock/heavy paper

scissors and/or paper cutter

in-home laminator

accessories your game requires (in my case, a bell)

Directions Tips/Pointers for creating your own game

The standard size for playing cards is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. I created a new project file in my software with that size to create my cards.

If you’re not a trained artist or graphic designer, don’t be afraid to draw your ideas out ahead of time. I crudely drew what I wanted my cards to look like ahead of time, and that helped save a lot of hair-pulling when I designed the cards.

Do your research! I spent a chunk of time making sure I knew for sure how many cards of each type were needed to create my take on Pit. I needed 9 cards each of eight different types of whiskey, and I made sure to sit down with my husband, the birthday boy, to get his preferences for the kinds of whiskey he wanted featured on his cards. It turns out, he had very specific ideas on the subject – good thing I checked!

Consider using a template. Since my game required printing two-sided, I had to carefully line up my card fronts and backs to avoid chopping my designs up.

You can get an in-home laminator for as low as $20. I cut my cards out of just the paper first, and I will soon laminate them. I didn’t want my pictures to end up so shiny you wouldn’t be able to see them, but since this game will be played at a food and booze-centric event, I think laminating seems like an obvious next step.

My whiskey take on Pit!

Since all of the commodities featured in this game and the game concept and rules are all copyrighted, I can’t make Whiskey Pit available for download. Instead, I opted to share my idea, and I encourage you all to try to make themed games of your own. Husband and I had a BLAST conceptualizing this game for his party.

Filed Under: How-to, Parties Tagged With: bell, bourbon, buffalo trace, cards, diy, eagle rare, make it your own, maker's mark, old grand-dad, pappy van winkle's, pit, wall street trading, whiskey, wild turkey

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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