One Stick, Two Stick...Kits to knit or crochet

Reported by Heather Voinski

I found these kits by One Stick, Two Stick in my local craft store and I really fell in love with them. There are several kits to choose from including wallets, bracelets, and hats. All of their projects are designed for both knit and crochet, and come with 2 sets of instructions. Think of the possibilities if all kits or patterns came this way. It would be simply wonderful for those of us that only do one or the other!

Most impressive to me about One stick, Two Stick is that their kits are designed to create and share. Their kits contain extra yarn and directions to create a second item that can be given as a gift to a friend or donated. They even provided a gift card and donation information to make sharing easy.

Crocheting is something that has been in my family for generations. As a little girl, my mother taught me to single crochet, and I used to watch her and my grandmother crochet. When I got older, I taught myself more stitches and have found that crocheting is something that relaxes me almost instantly.

I chose this cute kit to make a felted Sushi Wallet in burgundy:

The kit I chose came packaged in a cute sushi container that could also double as a cute gift box for gift giving.

Included in the instructions are several different options for making the sushi wallet. I originally was going to go with the middle one but changed my mind at the last minute and went with my own design for arranging the little sushis.

The first step to making this wallet was to crochet all of the pieces. I consider myself to be a beginner to intermediate crochet-er and this kit was very VERY simple for me. I stitched the main wallet and 8 little sushis.

The next step was to felt all of the pieces. Following the directions given, I stood watch over my washer and watched all my little wallet pieces felt themselves.

According to the directions, the main piece of the wallet was to be felted until it looked like the picture on the instructions, or until the widest part of the top of it measured 7 to 7 1/2 inches. I stood watch over it and had to take it out several times to measure the opening. This to me was the hardest part of making it because I have never felted anything before and wasn't sure just how much it would continue to shrink. I went through 3 cycles until it looked like the picture. The little sushi pieces took longer to felt (they have a smaller surface area) and had to be done twice as long.

After they were felted, I rinsed them by hand and laid them flat to dry. I used some straight pins on the little sushis and pinned their edges flat.

Next, I sewed the little sushi's to the front and stitched the zipper in place. This was also very simple. This is the first time I have ever sewed a zipper and it worked out to be very easy with these direction.

The last step was to sew the tassel part of the wallet. Two sushi pieces sewn together and a small crocheted chain later I was done. I am very happy with the results of this wallet. I have already put it to good use as a holder for my Nintendo DS. It fits perfectly, and there is enough room for all of my games.

Pros:

• Simple clear instructions
• Great for both knitters and crocheters
• Cute projects to choose from
• Extra yarn and gift tag for easy gift giving or sharing

Cons:

• Hmmmm.....I am really trying to think of one
• The varied time it would take to felt the pieces. But this can be resolved with practice and a bit more patience than I have :)
• Waiting for the pieces to dry (told you I have no patience...LOL).

I would definitely do another one of these kits. In fact, I have already purchase this one to make some girlfriend bracelets to share:

Has anyone ever made one of these? We love to hear from our readers. Please feel free to comment on your experiences with these kits. It would be really great to also know how the knitting instructions are for these.