I Sampled!

Crafting is often a lesson in patience, right? In knit and crochet projects, we’re always told to “gauge swatch” before beginning a project, particularly one where we’d actually like the item to fit. It can be a drag, but is also very worth it when the piece turns out just as we want it to.

Weaving is no different. Except in weaving, we call it “sampling” instead of “swatching.” You may remember the felted scarf I wove a couple of months ago using regular Deluxe and Deluxe DK Superwash. I was pretty happy with the finished project, but there were some aspects I wasn’t crazy about.  No surprise, this was something I just dove into without first sampling.

Semi-felted Scarf_blog

Of any project to start on without first swatching or sampling, a scarf is probably the safest. I mean, it’s a scarf! It can really be any size or shape we want it to be. And my felted pucker scarf fit just fine. But one thing I didn’t like was that the regular Deluxe, the part of the scarf the felted in the washing machine, was a little thick for my taste. I had warped and woven that portion with 2 strands next to each other.

I wondered, if I use just a single strand of wool, will it felt to itself, not having that other strand next to it to adhere and shrink with? To answer my own question, instead of committing to an entire big scarf, I decided to make a small sample.

For my sample, I warped my Cricket using an 8-dent reed, Infusion Handpaints color 110 Ruby Mine, and Deluxe Chunky in 91904 Pomegranate Heather. As a side note, I love love love this color of Deluxe so much, I did a cabled sweater (free pattern!) last year out of it.

Again, I did a plain weave structure and wove in the same order I warped: 1 pick of Deluxe, 8 picks of Infusion Handpaints.

Inprogress_1

 

Instead of starting and stopping the Deluxe after each stripe, I tried something new.  I wove my pick, then I pulled out a long loop at the side. After the felting process, I knew I would be able to simply cut off those loops, thereby avoiding any unnecessary bulk.

Here it is off the loom, nice and drapy:

OfftheLoom

Here we are after one cycle in the washing machine on cold:

After1Cycle

It was somewhat felted, but not quite enough for my taste. I put it through another full cycle on cold, and it was perfect!

Here it is after the felted loops and fringe were trimmed:

sampler

I’m very happy with my experiment! As you can see, the single strand of Deluxe felted beautifully with no problem. I really love the resulting texture. And the variegation of the Infusion really makes for a complex looking piece that was, in fact, super simple to weave!

The piece was comprised of 82 ends, was 10 1/4″ wide on the loom, and shrank to 6 1/2″ wide, or by about 1/3.  I have definite plans to weave an entire scarf following this sample, probably with these same colors. I’m also lusting after Infusion Handpaints 115 Gray Matters and 112 Hydro Power. Perhaps I’ll just have to make all 3!

Infusion HP 112 Hydro Power hi-res Infusion HP 115 Gray Matters hi-res

 

 

Knitspiration – The Knitting Lesson

Looking for a new project?  How about a little knitspiration?

The Knitting Lesson by Eugene de Blaas
The Knitting Lesson by Eugene de Blaas
Deluxe Worsted
Deluxe Worsted
Southwest Suns in Good Earth
Backstage Sweater in Mohair Mountain
Flowering Herb Scarf in Llamalini
Rosette Messenger Bag in Deluxe Worsted

 

Wall Hanging 1_crop
Wall Candy in Deluxe Worsted

 

What would you make in these colors?

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Totem Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Jubilation Fringed Scarf wrapped blog

Today, the Totem Scarf in Jubilation Kettle Dye Worsted.

Jubilation Fringed Scarf long B blogI love the way the variable length bands of daisy stitch are broken up by rows of garter to keep things interesting.  It’s a good technique for helping make sure the pattern isn’t overwhelmed by variegated Jubilation Kettle Dye (shown here in color 101 Rejoice).  Jubilation is a pretty yarn, and it works in harmony with the pattern here.

Happy knitting!

 

Throwback Thursday – Santa Hat

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT_Santa Hat_blog

Today, the Holiday Santa Hat by Michael del Vecchio!

Originally designed for Classic Worsted Holiday, this would look great in any worsted weight yarn.  Naturally you’re not limited to red and white – be a psychedelic Santa if you want! – but we do have recommendations in our solid color worsted weight yarns.

Uptown Worsted has 312 Racecar Red and 302 White Glow.

Deluxe Worsted has 3691 Christmas Red and 12270 Natural.

Deluxe Worsted Superwash has 738 Christmas Red and 728 Pulp.

This pattern is designed to be knit flat, handy for those who aren’t comfortable with circular needles.

I love Michael’s use of bobbles in this pattern to give texture.  Make a provisional cast-on and knit the bobbled brim, then attach the red to the cast-on edge and knit the rest of the hat.  A festive pom-pom finishes it off.  I’m still backed up on my holiday knitting, so I might just use a Luxury Fur Pom-Pom to save time rather than making my own.

Wishing you a festive holiday season – and happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Frog Hoodie

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Bella Chenille Frog Hoodie wide blog

Today, a great project to leap into the new year with.  The Frog Hoodie in Bella Chenille!

Bella Chenille (131yds/100g) is a fuzzy polyester chenille that’s very soft and easy to work with.  I used this for a Sunday Swatch a while back, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that it machine washes well.  This is a great yarn choice for a kid project.

Knit the sleeves in the round and put them aside, then work the body and attach the sleeves.  Work upward to the neck and hood, then add the frog eyes.  The coordinating buttons are nice and big for little hands to fasten.

Happy knitting!

 

Throwback Thursday – Felted Polar Bear

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT_Felted Polar Bear_Deluxe Worsted_blogToday, the Felted Polar Bear by Michele Wilcox.

We were inspired to release today’s pattern by a note in Vogue Knitting’s latest KnitNews e-mail.  They polled the staff to see what they were gift knitting, and one responded, “I’m hurriedly knitting a toy with Universal Yarn’s Deluxe Worsted wool, for a new baby in my family—he was adopted, so I didn’t have much notice!”

That combined with the adorable knitted cat in Cotton Supreme Batik that a customer sent to us via Facebook got us thinking about stuffed animals.  And as usual, Michele Wilcox comes through!

The Felted Polar Bear was originally part of a pattern collection for Shepherd’s Own, which is now discontinued.  However, it looks perfect in Deluxe Worsted color 40001, Cream Undyed Natural.  There are a number of undyed Deluxe Worsted Natural colors that would work if you wanted a traditional teddy rather than a polar bear.

This bear is made in pieces and stitched together, then lightly felted to make it a little more fuzzy and snuggly.  Sew on an appropriately adorable expression and stuff it, and you have a squeezable friend to cozy up to.  Too cute.

We wish you beary happy knitting!

 

Poof! Done!

Bamboo Bloom Handpaints is a unique and lovely yarn. It’s a customer favorite and is just so pretty on the hank:

BBH skein pic Tarik_web

A blend of wool and rayon from bamboo, this is one of those yarns that doesn’t need much in the way of fancy stitches or weaves. Its innate beauty does all the work! It’s a thick-thin yarn with tufts of soft wool here and there.

BBH 320 Dragon web BBH 321 Miko web BBH 319 Forest Light web BBH 318 Emperor web BBH 317 Sensei_WEB BBH 313_Kanji_web

We also just updated the palette with some scrumptious new colorways. We have some really nice one skein knit patterns for cowls, including this Persephone Cowl.

The beauty of this simple cowl is that all you do is knit until you come to one of those tufts of wool. At that point, you work a dropped stitch by yarning over which enhances the tufts. I wanted to try a similar technique, but with weaving.

First, I set out to warp my loom. For the warp, I chose Little Bird in color 113 Shoe Polish. I opted for this yarn partly because I wanted a light yarn that would allow the Bamboo Bloom to shine, and partly for its strength (100% microfiber acrylic). For this project I used a 10″ Cricket and the only reed size I have for this loom is a 12 dent. I knew I didn’t want the scarf to be too dense, so I threaded only half the slots/holes, making it 6 ends per inch.

The weave structure is simple plain weave. The fun happens whenever the tufts of wool appear.  First I pass the shuttle through the shed, and then lightly beat.

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See where the thick wool slub is? I just used my fingers to pull up a little loop through the warp threads.

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Then I pulled up 3 more little loops, and then beat again to hold everything in place.

 

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It’s as simple as that! You’ll notice that the wool slub extends beyond both sides of the 4 loops.  In order to avoid stacking the loops, I pulled them up sooner or later after the slub began so that a staggered effect happened. Just a little extra extra action makes this plain weave scarf more interesting to weave and to wear!

And now, dear friends, it’s learning time. My weaving project did not happen without incident. I don’t know where my head was while warping, but this was not my best warping job ever.

I made one crucial mistake: the paper I used to roll onto the back roller was not quite wide enough, so a few of my warp threads slipped outside the paper and had tension that was very different than the others. I really didn’t even notice the problem I was about until about halfway into my scarf.

It began with a single warp thread that was much looser than the others. To combat this problem, I wrapped a double pointed needle around this thread behind the reed to even out the tension. Every time I advanced the warp, I would have to re-position the dpn.

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Then, after a few more inches of weaving, many of the surrounding threads were showing to be too loose. I inserted my pick-up stick underneath these threads to make the tension consistent with the rest of the warp.

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These are just a couple of the tricks I’ve used to combat my  occasional poor warping skills.  If you have any tips, I’d love to hear about them!

Oh yes, and the reward for sticking with it all is this:

Bamboo Bloom woven scarf 2042 blogBamboo Bloom woven scarf 2051 closeup blog

And here’s what the back (loop-less) side looks like:

Bamboo Bloom woven scarf 2049 blog

I used about half the 100g skein of Little Bird for the warp, and one skein of Bamboo Bloom Handpaints #315 Cherry Blossom.  I’m thinking these will make great last-minute gifts for a few special women on my list.

 

 

 

Afghan Knitalong – Block Twenty

Block 20 is live!

20 Bee Mine with title blogIt’s our final block and we’re going out with a bang.  Bee Mine uses traditional honeybee lace for its center panel.  What a sweet pattern!  A mix of yarn overs and dropped stitches creates the gentle symmetrical column in the center of the block.  Amy Gunderson shares a video on the technique.

So pretty!  Wouldn’t this look lovely on a scarf or along the outside of a sleeve?

That’s 20 blocks – are we done?  Yes and no.  We’ll be back after the first of the year to talk about assembling the whole afghan.  I’m going to take that time to finish up a few stragglers and start laying out my squares to see how I want them to look.

Happy knitting!

 

Free Pattern Friday – Insulate Cardigan

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Insulate Cardigan_blogToday, the Insulate Cardigan in Superwool.

Insulate Cardigan back blogYesterday on the blog we were talking about how slowly knitting could go with tiny needles and tiny yarn.  This, on the other hand, could not go faster.  The cardigan is actually knit as one rectangle.  That’s it.  Knits and purls, worked straight from end to end, then folded and seamed, creating this neat swallowtail hem.  If you’re looking for a quick and easy project, we’ve got you covered.

Insulate Cardigan mannequin_blogSuperwool (100g/66yds) is a super-bulky, springy wool blend that stretches and moves with you.  This is a great project to wrap yourself up in, nice and cozy.

Our sales manager Yonca designed and knitted this cardigan, and we passed it around the office modeling it.  Our accounting manager tried it on upside down, and guess what – it still looked great!  Here it is “upside down” on a mannequin.  Pretty versatile for one long rectangle.

Happy knitting!

 

 

Throwback Thursday – Knitted Motor Scarf

It’s Throwback Thursday!

TT Motor Scarf

Today, we’re throwing way back.  A century back.  Let’s look at the Knitted Motor Scarf from 1909.

I love to look at old craft magazines for inspiration.  This week, I turned to a special Christmas edition of the December 1909 Woman’s Home Companion and decided to try one of their gift suggestions.

Womens Home Companion Dec 1909 Gifts
Hey, $1.75 for a pair of shoes is a really good deal.

The photos aren’t that great, what with it being near the dawn of the 20th century, so it’s hard to see exactly what’s the finished objects look like.  But smack in the middle of the page is a picture of “A Knitted Motor Scarf for the Man With an Automobile.”  Well, I know a man with an automobile, so that sounds like a winner to me.

First obstacle in the pattern: “made of motor silk in a medium shade of gray.”  I have no idea what motor silk is, and for once Google has failed me.  If any of you know what motor silk is, please write in.  I’m dying to find out.

However, what I do have is Saki Bamboo (230yds/50g).  This is a blend of superwash wool, nylon, and rayon from bamboo.  The bamboo should provide a good silky sheen and the nylon will give the durability that my giftee will need when he’s out on the open road in his Model T.  I’m always happy to have a chance to knit with Saki Bamboo – it’s very smooth and even, and has a medium gray (Color 211 Steel Grey) that should fit the bill nicely.

Second obstacle: “worked loosely with a pair of No. 12 steel knitting- needles, or for a tight knitter, a pair of fine bone knitting-needles.”  Here, the internet does not fail me.  Fibergypsy’s site says that No. 12 needles back then would translate to 2.25mm/US Size 1 needles today.  Great, perfect for my Saki Bamboo!  There’s no gauge given, but I decided to cast on and hope for the best.

So I started to knit.  And knit.  And knit.  Actually, I’m quite enjoying this pattern, but… it’s 60 stitches wide on tiny needles.  How the heck was someone receiving this magazine in winter supposed to obtain motor silk (?) and find time to knit this before Christmas?  Don’t get me wrong, this is a good pattern, but given all the other knitting I have to do, I probably will not be polishing this off in the next 21 days.

Motor Scarf with page blog

Nonetheless, it’s rather elegant and quite easy!  The dice pattern is fully reversible, an excellent choice for a scarf.  So we’ve written it up in modern terms and shared it, along with the original version.  Please enjoy the Knitted Motor Scarf by Helen Marvin from the December 1909 Woman’s Home Companion.  The magazine was originally 15 cents, but the pattern is free to you.

Happy knitting!