Knit Stars, Dog Star, Strange Brew and the App!

What’s Knit Stars? The TLDR is that you should sign up for Season 9 NOW… sign up as an Early Bird, and get a sweet discount (use the code SHINE for $50 off), AND special events! Jump to more details.

But I wanna tell you a STORY, because when you’re a creator like Alexa and I are, it’s so joyful to look back and see the arc of your work, and the opportunities that cropped up and shaped your journey.

For the last couple years we’ve been working on a really BIG project – the Tin Can Knits app – which, at its core, is a new format for knitting patterns. If you haven’t tried the Tin Can Knits app yet (it’s free to download, and includes dozens of free patterns too!) then hop over to the App Store or Play Store and download it now to your phone or tablet!

Why an app? Because in the app, your knitting pattern is SIMPLE and customized – you see ONLY your size numbers, your units, your font size… and you can tap through (it always saves where you’re at) and add notes too! Your knitting projects sync between your phone and tablet, and are saved in the cloud! But this story isn’t about the amazing app features, it’s about how we came to creating the app in the first place…

Starry Beginning – an invitation to Knit Stars Season 2

But I wanna tell you, all stories start somewhere, and this story starts with a special collaboration we did back in 2017. We were invited to become one of Knit Star’s season 2 Stars, and Alexa and I were so excited! Now, we don’t do things ‘small’ – we wanted to put together a REALLY exciting course, and an exclusive pattern for the folk who took part in Knit Stars in season 2.

Alexa and I were both VERY excited about designing colourwork yoke sweaters, and so we thought we’d design a ‘recipe’ pattern, that would allow us to SHARE that passion with regular knitters. We figured almost everyone could knit a colourwork yoke, and we could provide the numbers and step-by-step instructions (and the math) to make that EASY for regular knitters. Sure, they LOOK super cool and fancy and complicated, but honestly?! One you’ve gotten started you realize it’s just a few colourwork patterns thrown onto a tube that increases (or decreases)!

A lot of hustle and pattern development later, we produce not one but TWO patterns for the Knit Stars season 2 buyers… the Strange Brew recipe pattern, AND the Dog Star sweater, which was an example of the kind of knit you could create if you simply followed Strange Brew, and picked a few colourwork patterns to chuck on the yoke!

Alexa had an EXCELLENT time working with Knit Stars to create her video series that teaches you… – and you can still access this beautifully put together course, if you get their subscription service! But what was very exciting for us is the direction that this collaboration gave to our work!

Journey to Iceland: We took Strange Brew even farther!

Strange Brew, when we developed it for Knit Stars, was only designed for in one gauge – DK weight. But immediately Alexa and I cast on yoke sweaters in other weights, and thought… this recipe would be EVEN more useful if we could add in other yarn weights (sock, DK, and worsted/aran weight), and make it both top-down AND bottom up. Strange Brew pattern became the heart and soul of our next collection – Strange Brew – and took us off to Iceland, to mash up a combined family vacation with frantically completing knits and shooting them amidst the breathtaking landscapes of glaciers, volcanoes, and every colour of moss!

You know, the Strange Brew recipe pattern has been our TOP seller, the most popular pattern we’ve created over the years! It’s SO much fun to follow it through and create your own unique colourwork yoke sweater.

From Strange Brew came our idea for the app. Alexa and I always wanna give you MORE: more sizes, yarn weights, and options. But we also love to keep patterns SIMPLE. It’s a challenge to do both at once! That’s why we developed our pattern app – it makes patterns easy to follow on your phone or tablet. You see only your size, the units and settings you prefer, and help is just a tap away.

How can we make this SIMPLE – the Tin Can Knits App!

We thought, there MUST be a better way. We’re all carrying these little computers around in our knitting bags, and we’re pinch-zooming to try to find the number that applies to our size of a pattern! Taking complex information, and making it SIMPLE and customized is something that we can DEFINITELY do with the power of computers and the internet.

So from the invitation that Knit Stars extended, back in 2017, the natural design progression of a very special recipe pattern has lead us to this new, exciting format, in the Tin Can Knits App!

Dog Star is now in the app!

We’ve JUST brought the improved Dog Star pattern into the Tin Can Knits app, so if you bought Knit Stars Season 2, or the Yarniverse monthly learning platform, or you already own the Dog Star pattern, you’re entitled to knit Dog Star, at no extra charge, in our excellent app format!

Knit Stars Season 9 – Permission to Shine – join as an early bird for a sweet discount!

If you’ve never tried Knit Stars, but are looking for the best online classes, with the hottest knitting designers around the globe, this is a very special experience! There’s a limited window to sign up as an Early Bird (which comes with a bunch of extra special content and early access to classes), so check it out today! These are very unique masterclasses and Shelley and the Knit Stars team bring heartfelt warmth to the community they create. They create a special space online for learners and knit lovers alike!

If you sign up today, with the coupon code SHINE, you’ll get $50 off the regular price, AND the Early Bird benefits. Sign up for Knit Stars Season 9 today!

~ Emily & Alexa