Throwback Thursday – Bethany

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT Bethany

Today, we have Bethany!  Originally this was a “pay” pattern, but we’ve released it into the wild as a free pattern and bring it to you today to enjoy.

First stitched in Fibra Natura Cottonwood, this would make a great cover-up in either Bamboo Pop or Little Bird, which would provide great drape for this piece.  You might also try Uptown Baby Sport anti-pilling acrylic.  Uptown Baby Sport’s palette features some very sweet pastels, and at 361 yards per ball you’d only need three balls to make the smallest size.

In this traditional knit-flat cardi, the easy lace pattern is featured on both front and back.  A great lacy sweater to start now and have ready when the first chill creeps back into the air.

Happy knitting!

Ladies Who Lunch

Do you think I just came up with that out of the clear blue sky? Ladies Who Lunch? Nope, not me; but I love it! This is the title of the scarf project for this week’s weaving Wednesday, taken from Jane Patrick and Stephanie Flynn Sokolov’s book, Woven Scarves, 26 Inspired Designs for the Rigid Heddle Loom.

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If you haven’t seen this book, I’m here to tell you it is inspiring, creative, and full of beautiful scarves all woven on rigid heddle looms. As I was deciding on a project for the blog and happened upon the Ladies Who Lunch scarf, I knew we had two yarns that would be just perfect: Felicity, a shiny ladder yarn with a unique a luscious wool slub; and Whisper Lace, the sweetest wool/silk laceweight yarn in our Fibra Natura line.

I don’t want to give away too many details since this is a pattern in a book. But here are some in progress photos.

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In order to direct-warp to the loom I altered the warping plan slightly. Suzy, my yellow lab, may or may not approve of this plan. It’s hard to tell with her sometimes. I typically clamp my Cricket to a bench while I’m weaving. Here, this bench is in front of the door to my weaving/sewing/yarn room, blocking Suzy from entering. For this, she absolutely does not approve.

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While warping the Whisper Lace (dark gray yarn), I left empty slots where I would later attach the Felicity (ladder yarn).

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Yes, Suzy, it’s almost time to un-dog-block the door.

I’m pretty sure I said some unfair things about plain weave a couple/few blog posts ago. We had started out with a couple of simple projects and I was all raring to learn new tricks. But you know, plain weave doesn’t have to be “plain”. With some simple color changes and interesting yarn choices, it can be anything but “plain”! I am so sorry plain weave, I never meant to hurt your feelings.

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As you can see, this is really just plain weave plaid. But with the textural difference between the  two yarns, this piece of weaving is really fun!

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We’ve been working with machine washable cottons over the last few projects which has been nice! But this scarf is on the delicate side and required a gentle handwashing. After tying some simple fringe and said washing, ta-da:

Whisper Lace Felicity scarf on blog

Incidentally, Heather Hill who does most of the blogging around here also does most of our in-house photography. She’s responsible for making things look super-awesome. Thanks Heather!

Whisper Lace Felicity scarf with balls blog

 

The scarf pictured took just one ball of Felicity 02 Autumn’s End and one ball of  Whisper Lace 111 Charcoal. The price is right, and the weaving is fast.

See you next time with some more speedy weaving, color-shading style!

 

Free Pattern Friday – Swoop Tee

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Bamboo Glam Swoop Tee final_blog

Today, we feature the Swoop Tee in Bamboo Glam.

Bamboo Glam 3-shot hi-res_cutout_RavBamboo Glam is brand new for us, although as you can tell from the model we’ve already gotten some advance samples and have had a blast working with it.  It’s 96% bamboo with 4% glitter for just the right amount of glam.  Our full stock is due to arrive any time now and we can’t wait!

Bamboo Glam Swoop Tee detailThis top is constructed in a bit of an unusual way.  First the mesh sleeve saddles are knit sideways.  Then stitches are picked up off the sides of the saddles and the back and front are worked down. They’re joined after a couple of inches and the body is worked in the round down to the hem.

The “Swoop” lace is on both the front and the back of the tee.

What a great warm-weather project!

Happy knitting!

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday – Set Sail Top

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT Set Sail Top

Today, a perfect fit for summer – the Set Sail Top.  Originally knit in our Links cotton, we’re recommending Cotton Supreme DK (100g/230yds).  This is a particularly economical substitution – while it would have taken 20 balls of Links to make the largest size of this top, you could knit it with just 4 balls each of two colors in Cotton Supreme DK.  Score!

Set Sail Top DetailThis top is knit flat and stitched up, then the neck trim is crocheted and whipstitched to the neckline.  Presto – a cool and breezy cotton top perfect for warmer weather.

We hope you enjoy this light and fun multi-craft project.

Happy knitting!

 

Afghan Knitalong – Block Ten

Block Ten is live!

10 Carousel block_blogSo colorful!  Block Ten “Carousel” builds on the same center-out technique we learned in Block Nine “Best Buds.”  I love how Amy picked three colors for her block with high contrast – it’s so vivid!

Amy shares another video with us, this one on knitting in the round using one long circular and the “magic loop” method as opposed to DPNs (double-pointed needles).

This is the method I personally use for most of my socks and projects in the round.  For a small square like this, there’s not necessarily an advantage to circular vs. double-pointed needles, it’s all a matter of personal preference.  Give them both a try and see which one works best for you!

We have a bonus video as well, on weaving in ends to eliminate those pesky pointy corners, using last week’s block as an example.

Enjoy this second chance to knit from the center out.  We’ll be back again in a couple of weeks with our next technique!

Free Pattern Friday – Pathways Vest in Cotton Supreme

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Pathways Vest Cotton Supreme front view blog

Today, we share the Pathways Vest by Amy Gunderson.

Pathways Vest Cotton Supreme side view blogI love this vest.  It combines so many different elements.  The scarf-like front can be worn straight or draped.  The ribbed back with its open expanse at the shoulders is dramatic and airy.  And Cotton Supreme 100% cotton gives the whole piece a lovely drape.

Pathways Vest Cotton Supreme back view blogThe piece is knitted flat.  The pattern includes a schematic and a picture of the vest laid out to make it easier to visualize exactly what’s going on with this piece.  It seems complex, but it’s simple once you see it all put together.

We hope you take the time to knit something stylish for yourself.  You deserve it!

Happy knitting!

Pathways Vest Cotton Supreme front view wrapped blog

 

Throwback Thursday – Ultraviolet Stole

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT Ultraviolet Stole

Something for the crocheters today!  The Ultraviolet Stole was originally designed for Endurance Sock, an offering from our Wisdom Yarns line.  Fortunately, we have a number of great yarns in the Wisdom family that would still work great with this pattern!

Saki Silk three balls B_100My personal favorite would be Saki Silk (100g/440yds), a merino/nylon/silk blend with a great sheen.  The yardage is about the same as Endurance Sock, so this would be an easy three-ball project.

If you wanted to venture outside the Wisdom family, Infusion Handpaints (100g/291yds) would be another good choice.

Regardless, there’s a lot to love about a gigantic loopy stole that’s a simple five-row repeat.  A big project that won’t tax your brain – excellent material to crochet while chatting with friends!

Feeling Loopy

Here in North Carolina, the high daily temperature has been pretty steady around 95 for weeks now. Just the thought of wool makes me sweat. Last time on our weaving feature, I showed how successful even a novice like me can be weaving little hand towels with our Garden 10 cotton yarn. Today, I’m continuing the cotton trend with a different yarn, Cotton Supreme. Cotton Supreme is  a worsted weight, super-soft cotton, awesome for knitting, crochet, and weaving alike.

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I’ve been itching to try out some other techniques from the Weaver’s Idea Book, and decided on “loops”. Jane has a great little tutorial on making loops, or pile in your weaving.  But first I had to decide how these loops might be functional in a piece of weaving. I decided that in Cotton Supreme, an all-over loops pattern would feel really great on the face as a washcloth, or could also work well as a dusting cloth.

To start, I made a few calcuations. The suggested sett for a worsted weight yarn is 8 epi. I decided to warp on a 10 dent reed instead, ensuring an extra sturdy piece of fabric. If I’m going to be using this for face scrubbing or dusting, I want to be sure it’s plenty solid.

I decided to aim for a finished size of 9″ square, not including fringe, so I warped 91/2″ wide, assuming a 1/2″ shrinkage. At 10 epi x 95 ends, that’s a requirement of just 53 yards of Cotton Supreme. It occurred to me that I could make at least 2 washcloths at this size from just 2 skeins!

I also planned to have fringe not only at either end, but also at the sides. For this, I needed a couple of floating warps, something for the weft yarn to pass around creating extra length for the side fringe. I could have gone about this a couple of different ways. Because I did not plan on tying my fringe, I wanted to keep the side loops intact throughout the woven piece. For each floating warp, I tied a piece of strong cotton (leftover Garden 10 from our last project!) around the back beam, and then passed it through the outermost slot on each side of the heddle. When I tied the warp onto the front beam, I also tied on the floating warps.

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After a few picks with scrap yarn, I was all set to weave loops. Every time I made a pass with my shuttle, I was sure to go around those floating warp threads to catch extra yarn for my side fringe.

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As you can see for the first washcloth, I used color 611 Turquoise for the warp, and then coordinating 617 Seafoam for warp. For the second, I reversed the colors. Because of the loops, more yarn is required for weft than warp, but 2 skeins of yarn was plenty for these 2 washcloths. My pattern was 2 picks of plain weave, 1 row of loops. Although a little tedious, the loops came easier every time I worked a row of them. For the second washcloth, I decided to do 3 picks of plain weave between rows of loops so I could be doing the loops coming from the right hand side of the work every time, rather than having to get up every few rows to work a down-heddle row of loops.

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At the beginning, end and sides of the piece, I added hemstitching to keep the fringe in place.

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This project went so quickly! After completing each piece, I simply cut it from the loom. The hemstitching held things in place until I made it over to my sewing machine. For extra insurance that all those edges stayed in place, I did a simple zig-zag stitch around the perimeter.

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A rotary cutter and cutting mat made for easy and even trimming of fringe:

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I really like the texture on the backside of the weaving too!

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After sewing and trimming fringe, the washcloths took a trip through the washing machine and dryer. As with most weaving projects, these really came to life after washing! They didn’t shrink in width, but shrank in height by about 1/2″. The loops kind of settled into place and the pieces softened up even more.

Cotton Supreme Washcloths closeup_blog

At this sett, 10 epi, a bigger version of these would make an excellent bathroom rug. Or made to the right size, this same fabric could work really well as a cover for one of those hardwood floor brooms.

Cotton Supreme Washcloths_blog

What else could loops work well for? I’d love to hear your ideas!

Join me next time for a lightweight summer scarf project!

 

Sunday Swatch – Cirrus Cotton

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Cirrus Cotton.

SS Cirrus Cotton_blog

I know, we just did Free Pattern Friday in Cirrus Cotton (50g/109yds), but I found it inspirational!  The multis and the solids in this light and fuzzy yarn coordinate so well that it got me thinking about color work.  A baby blanket in a bulky and soft yarn seems like a good combo.

Based on this color selection, I’m thinking about a landscape – a variegated green grass with a blue sky and creamy clouds.  Maybe add a yellow sun with an embroidered face for extra charm.  Something bright and sunny for the nursery!

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Ladder Scarf in Cirrus Cotton

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Ladder Scarf Cirrus Cotton wrapped blog

When is it okay to drop a stitch?  When you’re making today’s free pattern, the one ball Ladder Scarf in Cirrus Cotton!

Ladder Scarf Cirrus Cotton blogCirrus Cotton (50g/109yds) is a soft, fuzzy cotton with a unique construction that makes it downy soft.  Its extreme “touchability” makes it a favorite for baby projects, but we love it for grownup crochet and knit garments, too.

In this pattern, working some stitches through the back loop locks them into place, so that when the stitches are dropped to create the horizontal ladders, the scarf keeps its structure.  Drop those stitches without fear!

Happy knitting!