Magic, folks. It was magic that finally made me rip out a pair of half knit socks that I was never going to finish. Okay, it was really a handy little gadget that cranks out i-cord like nobody’s business, the Embellish Knit. Clark’s Third Law says that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I know how knitting works and I understand how this machine works but it still seems like magic to me. Yarn goes in and seconds later, i-cord comes out in a fraction of the time it would take me to knit. Let’s just call it the magic of engineering and technical know-how.

One of the first ideas I had for the yarn when I decided to rip out the socks was to use it for an i-cord garland. Only I didn’t want to spend the rest of the year knitting i-cord. So, the yarn stayed partially socks until I broke down and bought the Embellish Knit to make i-cord for another project. The practice yarn that came with the package went through first. Cranking that little bit yarn into i-cord was all it took for the hunk of plastic and metal in my hands to become magic.

The yarn that was partially socks quickly went back to just being yarn before I doubled up the strands and started feeding them through the gadget. Thick, cushy i-cord started flowing out. About an hour later, there was about 40 feet (12.2 meters) of i-cord instead of 219 yards of fingering weight yarn. I don’t even want to think about how long it would have taken me knit all that by hand.

If you need to knit yards and yards of i-cord, spare your hands and your time and just get this gadget. Absolutely worth it.

The i-cord gets to do garland duty once I figure out where to hang it Until then, I’ll just drape it artfully over a chair. Don’t want to put it away just yet.