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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Knitting with Disney… and Me!

October 20, 2021 Leave a Comment

The Magic Carpet Throw Blanket by Heidi Gustad can be found in the new Knitting with Disney book by Tanis Gray! (Insight editions, 2021)

You read that title right, folks! I have a new knitting design coming out in the brand new, official Knitting with Disney book. Mine is just one among dozens of awesome Disney-inspired projects in the collection, all brought together by the book’s publisher, Insight Editions, and its author Tanis Gray.

Knitting with Disney (knitting pattern book) by Tanis Gray 28 Official Patterns Inspired by Mickey Mouse, The Little Mermaid, and More!
The cover, so cute!

With more than a dozen published knitting titles under her belt, I was excited to have the opportunity to work with Tanis on a project like this! This project came about when things were kind of crazy last year (as if all of 2020 wasn’t “kind of crazy” 😆 ). When they reached out, the book was coming together, but they were looking for someone excited about designing an intarsia colorwork pattern, specifically a life-size take on the Magic Carpet from Aladdin. … Gulp, right?

But it turns out I’m a happy little weirdo when it comes to designing and working with intarsia, and I absolutely enjoyed brining this character to life. Every time you bind off a knitting project, there’s a little feeling of having created some magic (at least for me). But when I bound off a life-size take on the Magic Carpet, a sentient being y’all!, it really thought for a second I’d quite literally woven magic. It was a pretty rad feeling, even though this is actually how tired I looked after joining the final tassels to this project:

Heidi Gustad (Hands Occupied) after finishing the Magic Carpet Throw Blanket design and sample for Knitting with Disney (Insight Editions, 2021).

Like I said, I’m very proud to have been tasked with making the Magic Carpet into a usable, human-sized blanket, but I admit I was intimidated at the start. :) I sort of said yes to this project because I didn’t have anything else to loose, other than my fear of taking intarsia colorwork design concepts to the next level. I’d started to play with some of these design ideas in my Intarsia Mountain blanket (2018) & Faded Flare Wrap (2019), specifically making a somewhat reversible fabric using intarsia colorwork. So, for me, that meant using garter stitch primarily with intarsia, rather than the stockinette that is so often encountered. The Magic Carpet Throw is probably the fullest expression of this idea while still being knittable, and I really enjoyed the process of interpreting a rug animated by computers and drawing in knitting.

Peep my Magic Carpet Throw in the Knitting with Disney book trailer:

Preorder information and how to get bonus free pattern: Knitting with Disney

How to get your hands on the book, plus a discount and a bonus pattern!

Preorders are now open for Knitting with Disney, which will be released November 9, 2021. If you preorder the title, you can submit proof of purchase to get a free pattern not included in the book, the Simba Mittens. Here’s how it works:

  • You can buy Knitting with Disney from any retailer to get the free pattern, but you will get a 25% discount if you purchase at InsightEditions.com with the code DISNEYKNIT.
    • Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1647221803/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i7
    • Insight Editions’ website, use code DISNEYKNIT to get 25% off: https://insighteditions.com/pages/knittingwithdisney
  • Getting the free pattern:
    • After you’ve ordered the title, “register” it on this page to get the free pattern.
    • Everyone who registers their pre-order will be sent the free pattern on November 9, when the book is released.

It’s funny that I designed a knitted take on a magic rug for Knitting with Disney, because I’m also a designer of actual rugs, specifically latch hook and punch needle. While you wait for your Knitting with Disney preorders to come in next month, you should check out my book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker. It turns one TODAY: https://bit.ly/latch-hook-book.

For either book, shipping could be bananas because the world continues to be complicated, so I encourage anyone who wants a physical copy of either title by, let’s say, December 25 to hop on the preorder (or just plain order) train!

//

And one last thing: Catch me on the Stockinette Zombies Podcast this Sunday as part of the Knitting with Disney virtual launch party!

To celebrate the release of Knitting with Disney, the Stockinette Zombies podcast will be hosting a launch party Zoom call this Sunday, Oct. 24 at 3PM CST! Tanis Gray, the hosts of Stockinette Zombies, and several of us contributing designers will be there live to talk about the book, discuss our patterns, and have a yarny good time.

Find all launch party Zoom details here.

Filed Under: Knitting, My Work Elsewhere Tagged With: aladdin, heidi gustad, intarsia, knitting book, knitting with disney, magic carpet, magic carpet design, magic carpet throw, throw blanket

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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