Election Day, Patriotic Fervor, Red White and Blue by the Yin-Yang Knitter

Crocheted American Flag Afghan

Amidst the patriotic fervor of Election Day [although what with early voting it’s really been Election Month], I wanted to share some of my favorite red, white, and blue-themed projects seen on knitting blogs and websites. As a charity knitter, I’m an enthusiast for patterns like these which designers offer for free. (Click on the photos to visit the source sites.)

The flag-style afghan above is crocheted, but I’m flexible. I think it’s beautiful, and it looks great draped on the couch, but somehow wrapping my cold feet in it just wouldn’t feel right to me. Oops. Sorry about the pun.

How about a ”hackysack” for the kids? That’s a great crocheted star.

Stars and Stripes Hackey Sack

I’ve limited myself to five photos, but I did like these:

Felted Patriotic Hot Pads

Get cozy in a flag decorated sweater.

Flag Sweater, Pattern Available

I can’t resist including a picture of me wearing a sweater I made 30+ years ago for my brother. I have no idea what happened to the pattern for this, but I asked for it back with the intention of “reverse-engineering” it sometime. It was made in 70’s acrylics or it might look better than it does…but then who know how my brother might have mistreated it had it been wool. It IS hard to kill acrylics. Wish I’d thought to wear it when I voted early!

Diane Gerlach, the Yin-Yang Knitter in her very own flag sweater
(OK, so she gave it to her brother...)

For your feet, some colorful socks:

Patriotism on your feet...

And my favorite things to knit, hats:

USA Knit Hat

The troops for whom I frequently knit as part of The Ships Project are very fond of patriotic-themed hats. These are some of hats I’ve sent:

Hats Knit by Diane Gerlach for the Ships Project

Get out and vote if you haven’t already. However it turns out, we all own it for the next four years, so it’s important that we each do our part to push things in the direction we want it to go. A few years ago, my city of about 90,000 people elected a mayor by just ONE VOTE, and that was with a recount, reminding us all here that each of our votes does indeed count.

Citizens of the United States of America:
Vote!

Election Day, Patriotic Fervor, Red White and Blue by the Yin-Yang Knitter

More Fun with Prairie Points!

What's a prairie point? Well, you take a square piece of fabric, fold it in half diagonally, do it once again, then bring the edges in to the middle. Sew it down. Repeat and make a long, long string of them. Now you can add these points on to anything, just as you would a trim.

In "Prairie Points Madness" I described how I became enamored with this folding technique. I'm back at it! I finished a couple of cuffs and hats (one sold before I could photograph it) and will have more ready soon. The pieces shown here are now listed on Etsy. Click on the images to go to the listings.

The photos below show cuffs that use prairie points. The same cuff is shown twice, flat and closed. They remind me a bit of Victorian accessories and are sure to get some attention when worn!

A friend of mine gave me a box full of rayon and linen strips that had been cut into rectangles. I imagine someone was going to make a bunch of quilts with them, which I might do, too, but I really like how the fabric looks when it is folded into these points. The sheen and shape resemble necktie tips, don't they?


Quilters often use small prairie points to decorate quilt edges. Many people do not follow the last step I mentioned of folding the edges in, preferring to have a simple triangle instead. This makes it lighter and saves on fabric. They can also be inserted slightly into each other, creating a layered triangular look, which is also very nice. If you decide to experiment with the technique I am showing here, know that the more layers you sew on, the heavier the piece will become.


I love how this hat turned out! Imagine a forest fairy darting around with it. Wouldn't it look great with a kilt? The inside is lined with black velvet, making it soft and warm.
Have you used prairie points in anything you have made? I would love to hear about how other people are using them and I'll make sure to post more photos when I have new things made.

More Fun with Prairie Points!