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Hands Occupied

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

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Summer Events

June 4, 2019 Leave a Comment

Summer Events 2019 - Find out what's happening in the Hands Occupied Studio & beyond this summer! It's the season for Worldwide Knit in Public Day, sunny crafternoons, and stitching away warm evenings.
I never said I was sane.

Folks, it’s June, and I’ve been busy planning a season of fun activities in the Hands Occupied Studio, online, and beyond! There’s so much to tell you about today – Worldwide Knit in Public Day, The Handmade Business Summit, craft meetups – let’s get to it! 😊

Worldwide Knit in Public Day – June 8

Instead of hosting my own thing this year, I decided it would be fun to attend the Worldwide Knit in Public Day event at the main branch of Chicago Public Library (Harold Washington Library Center) just as a regular patron. My friend and former colleague put together a SUPER fun event in the library’s Maker Lab, so consider this blurb my way of elevating it! Here’s what you need to know:

Join us on our first annual World Wide Knit in Public Day celebration! Seating will be available throughout the library for knitters and other fiber artists as well as a special drop-in DIY stitch marker program and raffle in the Art & Music department on the 8th floor. Full details available here.

Worldwide Knit in Public Week at handsoccupied.com

The Handmade Business Summit – June 8 & 9

Coming up this weekend is something fun and new for me – I’m a panelist for The Handmade Business Summit! (Affiliate link – see policy here.) Over the years, I’ve been somewhat open about my struggles with anxiety, particularly how it made me into the crafter I am today. For those of you reading this who are also professional crafters or are thinking of starting your own handmade business, anxiety – and Imposter Syndrome – are very real. In my section of The Handmade Business Summit (affiliate link), I dig into strategies I use to cope with anxiety as a professional Craft Designer, particularly how I challenge myself to grow when my brain is my own worst enemy. If you sign up on this page (again, affiliate link), you can attend the Summit for free. In addition to my insights about mental health and business, there are 12 other handmade businesspeople sharing lots of tips on social media marketing, securing sponsors, Etsy, blogging, productivity and more.

I try not to be too pluggy around here, but sharing this is me trying to not self-sabotage and share a cool project that I can hardly believe I’m a part of (imposter syndrome, ahem)! This really is a pretty amazing collection of folks, most of whom are in the yarn world, and if you’ve considered what it might be like to run your own business, there’s a lot of good information to be learned. Sign up here. (Affiliate link.)

Heidi Gustad on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome at The Handmade Business Summit
Look at me, so professional! Learn more & sign up here. (affiliate link)

Craft Nights Continue

Since it’s proven to be one of my favorite chill nights of the week, Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. will continue to be our regular Craft Night in the Hands Occupied Studio. Bring your own snacks & bring your own crafts (so far we’ve had knitting, sewing, crochet, & quilting represented!). Events are posted to Facebook in case you like to see reminders on that platform. RSVP here.

Take a look inside the new Hands Occupied Studio in Chicago, learn about when it's open to the public, and share your ideas for workshops and events you'd like to see in the new space! #handsoccupiedstudio
My favorite picture from the Hands Occupied Studio warming in February!

By popular demand – Weekend Crafternoons in the Hands Occupied Studio!

Last but not least, I’m finally making good on my promise to the many folks who have reached out about being unable to attend our Wednesday Craft Nights. Whether your a suburbanite, out-of-towner, student attending classes or work nights, I’m hoping you can make it to our Sunday Crafternoons!

Unlike Craft Night, which is a weekly event, Crafternoons are going to be four hours instead of three, and they’ll take place the last Sunday of the month. The first Crafternoon is Sunday, June 30 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Hands Occupied Studio, 3323 W Diversey Ave. # 1. You can RSVP for the June Crafternoon on Facebook, and drop-ins are welcome!

Feel free to bring any craft you want to work on, and if you want to bring your sewing machine or other special equipment, feel free! If your craft is especially messy, just email/message me a heads up (heidi-at-handsoccupied-dot-com), and we’ll come up with a plan. And by plan, I probably mean tarp. 😉 Can’t wait to see you all there!

Filed Under: Workshops & Events Tagged With: chicago craft events, craft night, crafternoon, hands occupied studio

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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Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

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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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