October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a moment to recognize the toll that this disease has taken, and continues to take. According to cancer.org, about 1 in 8 U.S. women and about 1 in 833 men will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetimes.
This means most of us know someone who has been affected. For me, it was my friend Pat. She was a fellow crafter, and a beautiful person. She had an easy smile and big laugh. I still miss her.
But while I miss my friend, I still take hope. She passed a long time ago, and survival rates for women over 50 have steadily increased every year since 2000. The increase is partly due to advances in treatment, and to greater awareness leading to early detection. We’d like to do our part to raise awareness by sharing this new design.
Rachel chose Cotton Supreme for this stunning stranded hat. Along with Cotton Supreme DK, it’s an approved yarn for chemo caps, because it’s very soft on sensitive scalps. Its machine washability also makes it a great choice, because if you’re dealing with cancer, or caring for someone affected, you may not want to spend your time and energy handwashing. We love Rachel’s choice of three harmonious shades of pink: 628 Super Pink (A), 510 Magenta (B), and 512 Hot Pink (C). They work very well together!
Because there have been so many advances in the field of breast cancer care, the guidelines for screening can be difficult to keep up with. Personally, I take this as a hopeful sign that we continue to improve our understanding day by day. To help you make your best decision, here is a pdf that the Centers for Disease Control has put together, sharing screening recommendations from six well-respected organizations, to help you decide what’s right for you.
Women of different ethnicities have different considerations as well. For instance, Black women have higher rates of breast cancer mortality in the USA, so a desire for earlier screening may play a role in your health care decisions. The bottom line is, we all need to stay educated, and to take control of our health.
Happy crafting, friends. We wish you good health for many years to come.
Why did we pick Seastar? Because today is the birthday of the designer, Aubrey Busek, and we think of her as the bright star on our design team! We also press Aubrey into service as a model sometimes, as with these free crocheted Ribbon Mitts in Kingston Tweed. Work it, Aubrey!
Seastar appeared earlier this year in the Seaside Supreme collection, and it really shows off Aubrey’s design sensibilities. It’s fun, upbeat, modern, and has great little details. Aubrey’s choice to echo the star’s color on the edging really pulls this design together.
The choice of soft, 100% cotton, worsted weight Cotton Supreme gives the top great breathability, and makes it very wearable for warm weather!
Seastar is sized from XS to 5X, and it includes options for short and long sleeves, for even more flexibility. We’re delighted to be able to offer this beauty for free this weekend!
To get Seastar free, use the buy it now or add to cart links on the Ravelry pattern page. Then enter coupon code FLASH where you see the “use a coupon code” links that appear during purchase.
Aubrey Busek’s Seastar shown with Rachel Brockman’s Yawl.
It’s World Ocean Day! The ocean is our planet’s life source. Covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, our oceans produce more than half of the world’s oxygen, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and are home to at least a million species, though we don’t really know the true number. We can all agree that a resource so vital to our well-being should be cared for and celebrated. So, in honor of World Ocean Day, we’re sharing some sen-sea-tional patterns inspired by our oceans and a few tips on simple actions you can take to help preserve this precious resource.
Seastar in Cotton Supreme
Did you know that sea stars can live up to 35 years? Amazing! These colorful invertebrates are one of the most recognizable sea creatures, so it’s no surprise that so many designers have created patterns inspired by them. In fact, we have three super cute patterns where starfish are the star of the show.
Our own Aubrey Busek took inspiration from these aquatic creatures when she designed Seastar (pattern link) for our Seaside Supreme ebook. This graphic sweater is a statement knit featuring intarsia and lace. It is knit using our popular Cotton Supreme yarn. I love that this pattern is written with both long and short sleeve options, making it easier to personalize.
As fiber artists, we have the power to create many long-lasting, durable items that are inherently less wasteful. For example, that handmade sweater is destined to last much longer than any sweater you buy in a department store. It’s an heirloom piece that you can wear for years and pass down, minimizing some of the waste created by fast fashion. Is there a sweater in your wardrobe you don’t wear often anymore, or perhaps that doesn’t fit the way you imagined? Instead of taking that sweater to the thrift store, consider unraveling it and recycling the yarn for another project. You can even make dryer balls from old sweaters and non-superwash yarn, like our Deluxe Worsted.
If you want something a little more whimsical that’s a nice complement to your collection of seashells, consider making the cute and free Seahorse and Starfish set (pattern link) by Michele Wilcox. Like Seastar, this pattern uses Cotton Supreme. One skein will take you very far with this pattern. I think it would be adorable to string several of them together to create a garland or mobile to decorate your home, reminding you of the ocean even if you live far from it!
Looking for a cute scrubby pattern for yourself or a loved one? Look no further than the Starfish and Shell patterns (link) by Rico Design using Creative Bubble. This yarn is perfect for creating scrubbies that are more durable and eco-friendly than disposable rags or sponges. They work as well for scrubbing your countertops as they will for exfoiliating your skin. Plus, your little one will love these projects as bath toys!
Narwhal & Seal from the Ricorumi Wild Wild Animals book.
I’ve always been fascinated by the Arctic. It amazes me that life can exist in parts of the world so frigid and seemingly barren. Yet, some creatures have evolved to be perfectly equipped to brave the harsh climate. With a knack for creating charming patterns, Rico Design pays homage to polar-dwelling seals and narwhals in the Wild Wild Animals pattern book (link). Both of these crochet amigurumi projects use Ricorumi Cotton DK. The Narwhal pattern is even available as a kit! Eco-conscious tip: instead of using poly-fil for your stuffed animal projects, try using scrap yarns and fabric instead!
The Betta Swetta Set
One of my favorite books as a young child was The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. This cute storybook about sharing mesmerized me with its beautiful illustrations. Perhaps thanks to that book, I’ve always been excited to spot a fish in any body of water and had a fishtank of my own growing up. I still love visiting the aquarium to marvel at their colors, shapes, and sizes. With that inspiration in mind, I designed the free Betta Swetta Set (pattern link) in Adore. This duo was inspired by all of the fishies in the ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean, as seen on a rainy November day at Daytona Beach. If you want to learn more about World Ocean Day, you can explore the website here (link).
Many of the species these patterns celebrate are threatened, and it’s our responsibility to do what we can to preserve the health of the ocean. You can create reusable bags for carrying the grocery items that will allow you to say “goodbye” to plastic bags for good. As I mentioned earlier, many of the handmade washcloths, towels, and other home items are more durable than store-bought or disposable options. Plus, you probably have the skills to mend your handmade items (and store-bought items) on your own, making them last even longer! If you’re looking for more inspiration, don’t miss my recent blog post about our most eco-friendly yarns and accompanying patterns.
I hope you’re feeling inspired to honor the ocean today, and every day! Do you have any tips you’d like to share on how to make your crafting more environmentally friendly? Do you have a favorite type of project that helps eliminate waste? We’d love to know!
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, the Watermelon Blanket in Cotton Supreme (pattern link here).
Simple and sweet are the words that apply to this charming little throw.
It’s an easy knit on size US8 (5mm) needles, in a quickly memorized stitch pattern. Machine washable Cotton Supreme makes it super practical, too!
Cotton Supreme 510 Magenta and 607 Blush
There are a lot of ways you can go with the colors for this pattern. If you choose not to stick with watermelon, tone on tone to match someone’s nursery would be a nice choice.
We hope you enjoy this soft, calming blanket. Have a safe and pleasant weekend!
Happy crafting!
Happy Halloween to all you ghoulies and ghosties out there! We’re not sure what’s better: a large bag filled with candy of all kinds, or a fun crafting project to get us in the holiday spirit. Sadly, we can’t provide you candy via the web, but this Halloween, we have plenty of fun crafting projects to offer! So park your broom, sit a spell, and decide which project to start working on today.
We want all the candy!
To hold all of that aforementioned delicious candy, we have the Neon Pumpkin and Skull Baskets in Uptown Worsted (pattern link here)! Though these baskets are knitted in soft yarn, they feature a ‘magical’ plastic needlepoint canvas inside to keep their shape for many Halloweens to come (and all those candy grabbing hands)! We know you’ll enjoy the whimsical Fair Isle patterns on these as much as we do.
Spooky and stunning in Uptown DK
Next up, for a fun adult costume idea, we have the Batcape in Uptown DK (pattern link here). Throw this on with a black or red dress, some fangs, a little fake blood, and you have an instant Vampire costume! The chevron pattern is gorgeous to knit up, and it has a red contrast I-Cord bind off. You could always wear this with a winter outfit for an edgy-cool everyday look too. ‘Ve vant’ you to knit this pretty cape!
Bleep-Bloop
Everyone loves aliens and monsters right? We certainly do. Halloween is the perfect time to work up a fun creature inspired project. For kids, we have the Bleep Bloop Sweater in Cotton Supreme (pattern link here) which is an adorable alien-themed hoodie that can double as a great costume! This is from our Stellar Supreme collection, so if you’re a fan of outer space-inspired patterns, that is the one for you.
Do the Monster Mash!
For the whole family, we have Clarice, Chunk, and Clyde in Uptown Worsted! These monster hats are adorably fun to crochet and make a great last-minute costume.
Candy corn- love or hate it?
Want a Halloween colored item, but not into the whole costume thing? Try the Crochet Color Pooling Scarf in Uptown Worsted Spirit Stripes color MVP. This yarn is also perfect for team color projects!
‘Boooooooooooooook’ -Winifred Sanderson
In the realm of books, we have 50 Knitted Gifts for Year Round Giving . This is a collection of patterns for every holiday on your list, and the Halloween offering sure doesn’t disappoint. Feel like making a felted trick-or-treat bag? Check. Boot Warmers? Check. This one has you covered for Halloween and all the holidays beyond.
Spiderweb Boot Toppers (Ravelry link here)
Felted Trick or Treat Bag (Ravelry link here)
Hopefully, this has given you all the inspiration to start working on some whimsical and spooky projects for Halloween or any day of the year you choose to enjoy these! Now, kick back with your crafting and your candy corn and start watching Hocus Pocus.
Happy Halloween!
Last week we released an exciting new ebook – Stellar Supreme – a collection of patterns in the Cotton Supreme family. The ebook features six new patterns for future space explorers. We’ve been so excited about this collection because of its galactic theme.
Blast-Off Tee
Just take a look at Blast-Off: a colorwork yoke tee worked up in Cotton Supreme Seaspray and Cotton Supreme DK. Vibrant rockets are featured on a “starry” background.
Bleep-Bloop
Or how about the in-house favorite: Bleep-Bloop. This alien-hoodie is so much fun. Crocheted using Cotton Supreme, this zippered sweater serves as a costume as much as everyday wear. The structure of this design is pretty basic, but the applied eyes, ears, and horn really make this piece by Amy Gunderson special.
Spectral Throw
Amy and I always wanted to include some home-decor to the collection. Stellar Supreme features one crochet and one knit blanket. The Spectral Throw nods to astronomy and plays with the electromagnetic spectrum.
Galactic Blanket
Nebula Skirt
This little skirt incorporates slip-stitches at the hem to create alternating rows of stars. An elastic waistband gives the Nebula Skirt a professional finish. The Nebula Skirt uses both Cotton Supreme DK and Cotton Supreme DK Seaspray.
Starfall Tank
Finally, we have Starfall. A tank-top knit in Cotton Supreme featuring cute shoulder ties. The lace hem was inspired by the movement of falling stars.
So, which one of these delightful patterns will be the next thing on your needles? We hope you love the new collection as much as we do! You can find the entire collection on our website (link) and on Ravelry (link).
Happy crafting!
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, the Picot Sundress in Cotton Supreme Batik (pattern link here).
We’ve been having a good time recently looking through the pattern archives and finding cute designs that we think should be shared more widely. This adorable piece originally published in Cotton Supreme Book 2: Summer Supreme is one of them!
Self-striping Cotton Supreme Batik makes this dress great for summertime. Front and back are knit separately to keep the stripes nice and wide, but if you wanted much narrower stripes you could always modify this to be worked in the round.
As a bonus, this tea rose applique crocheted in Cotton Supreme is included in the free pattern! We put this on a pin back for the photo. Wouldn’t it look cute on a barrette or headband?
We hope you have a fantastic weekend, full of green growing things and joy. Happy crafting!
Friends, we’re deeply touched by everybody who has contacted us to be sure we’re okay. Why wouldn’t we be okay, you may ask?
Right now it’s beautiful outside, but it’s going to be a long weekend. On the work front, we’re preparing early – there WILL be a Free Pattern Friday (and it’s gorgeous) – and we’re battening down all the hatches. On the home front, it’s time to get ready:
All of that said, Charlotte is in as good a shape as it’s possible to be. We’ve had a bit to prepare. Our water system is very reliable, our local breweries are stocking up (on water, people!), and we’ve got plenty of emergency personnel on standby. Our office plans to stay open for regular business, but if things look dicey, we’ll put staff safety first. And a memo was sent this morning to clean out the office fridge, just in case!
And again, we are moved by everyone who has checked in. So, here’s a thank you.
Go to the pattern page on Ravelry (here’s a link), and enter coupon code NAVIGATE by using the  “use a coupon code” links that appear during purchase.
This pattern is part of Beach House, a collection of five designs to knit in Cotton Supreme and Cotton Supreme Batik. Amy Gunderson cleverly used self-striping Cotton Supreme Batik to create the rays coming from the center along the garter stitch portion.
This is a good three-season project, and the name.. well, the name is just perfect, as we navigate this storm.
An important crafter’s tip for those of us who may be without electricity for a while – print anything you want to work on now, while you can!
Look, I know it’s September, but here in the South we still have hot and humid days where the great outdoors looks like a melting Dali painting. True story: I once saw my cousin get stuck in an overheated parking lot when her high heels sank into liquefying asphalt, like a very fashionable mastodon caught in a tar pit. For this reason, I’m not giving up on summertime projects yet. Luckily, we have a really great selection of cottons, and some fabulous free patterns!
This cute top is sized from 1-10 years, and features a solid Cotton Supreme body with Cotton Supreme Batik for the stripes and the anchors on the sleeves.
The original black and white Cotton Supreme Batik has been retired, but there are some nice options available. What about this in a different shade of blue, with 41 Navy Salute (below) for the detailing?
Actually, since Cotton Supreme and Cotton Supreme Batik have exactly the same gauge, you could choose to go solid for both, or striped for both – there are a lot of options here!
This one’s quite similar to the Little Sailor – the differences are, a smaller needle for the ribbing (my edges tend to flare if I don’t do this!), and a different design on the sleeve. I like these two interpretations of what is essentially the same pattern because it shows what a difference the details make!
Team Cap all the way.
You can see how this could also become a fantastic superhero costume if you shifted that star onto the chest and made the design in red, white, and blue. Who wouldn’t want a tiny Captain America pullover?
Don’t get me wrong, we’re gearing up for Fall and winter. There are some great designs in the works. But as long as we’ve got some cute things to make, maybe it’s not so bad for summer to hang around a little longer.
How’s your summer going? Are you still looking for that perfect project that will be satisfying to make but not stifle you in the heat?
Voila! Amy Gunderson’s Mars Tee! Crocheted in the round from the bottom up, this beauty is sized from XS to 4X, with shaping that starts out a little bigger at the base, for those of us with a bigger… um… base. The point is, this is comfortable and cool.
Double-crocheting three together makes cute little eyelets without making the fabric too lacey-loose.
From personal experience, I can tell you that the Cotton Supreme family is easy on the hands to use. Go with either the called-for Cotton Supreme DK Seaspray, or try solid Cotton Supreme DK. How cute would this look striped?
Cotton Supreme DK Seaspray
We hope you have a great weekend, with lots of time for you to take care of yourself.
 “use a coupon code” links that appear during purchase.
