whisper lace – Universal Yarn Creative Network

April 15, 2022April 15, 2022

Free Pattern Friday – Norwood

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, Norwood knitted in Whisper Lace (pattern link here).

Rachel Brockman’s gorgeous Norwood was originally a pay-only pattern, but today we’re setting it forever free!

It was first published as part of the Lakeside Retreat collection of patterns designed in our Fibra Natura line of natural fiber yarns.

Rachel’s penchant for creating a simple, clean design and then adding a decorative twist is beautifully realized here. The majority of the body is a field of simple stockinette…

…with one side panel graced with decorative cables, lending a whole new dimension to the design.

The eight row cable repeat is both written and charted. Use what works best for you. You may notice something else about this pullover.

It’s very light! In luxurious laceweight wool/silk blend Whisper Lace, worked here on US3 / 3.25mm needles, Norwood is a perfect piece for those spring and fall days when the weather isn’t quite sure what it wants to do, or when you want to cut the chill of the breeze coming off the water. Rachel leans into that intention with graceful three-quarter length sleeves.

All together, Norwood is a beautiful, versatile design in a luxurious and surprisingly affordable yarn.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Happy crafting!

-Heather Hill

September 25, 2020September 25, 2020

Free Pattern Friday – Marley

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, Marley in Alaska and Whisper Lace (pattern link here). Isn’t this just beautiful?

Marley manages to be cozy, while still being delicate.

The hem is worked in Fibra Natura Whisper Lace, a blend of silk and superwash wool with a luminous sheen. To keep the body and hem in color harmony, the Whisper Lace is held with a strand of Rozetti Alaska, a lofty yarn with a lovely alpaca halo.

So soft. Soooo soft.

It’s just the thing if you’re looking for warmth without weight, all with immaculate style.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend. Happy crafting!

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020

Yarn Spotlight: Penna

Today, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at an upcoming design and gush about one of our lovely new yarns: Penna.

You might have noticed Penna pop up in your local yarn store recently. This lace-weight yarn is light as a feather, ridiculously soft, and has a beautiful halo. It is a blend of 50% baby Suri alpaca for a hazy effect, 28% extra fine merino for softness, and 22% nylon for strength. This yarn is a great alternative to laceweight mohair yarns, to which some people are more sensitive. The palette contains sixteen gorgeous colors.

Plume Cowl, shown in 111 Whisper, 112 Rose Kiss, & 113 Raspberry Tart.

One reason we brought this yarn in is because of its versatility. You can hold it as a single strand or as a carry-along with another yarn. If you’re holding it single, we recommend using a large needle for a loose, airy gauge. That’s what really makes this yarn shine. Take the Plume Cowl, for example. Knit at a gauge of 16 stitches over four inches with a suggested needle size of US 8 (5 mm), this accessory is like a cloud for your neck and shoulders. It’s as simple as can be – just seed stitch in the round, with a few color changes to create a nice gradient.

Penna in 113 Raspberry Tart placed on top of the Plume Cowl.

Personally, one thing I love about this yarn is that it pairs well with other yarns. I think it would look beautiful to add a halo to stash staples like Deluxe Worsted, but I wanted to see what Penna was like when held together with a self-shading or self-patterning yarn. We have quite a few of those, but the one that struck me as the most suitable match for Penna is Whisper Lace. Both yarns are so fine, the fabric they create together will still be lightweight. A blend of wool and silk, Whisper Lace is great for warmer weather and the transitional seasons – add the warmth and haze of baby Suri alpaca to that, and you can create perfect projects for autumn and winter.

That brings me to the original point of this post. I’m working on a design that pairs Whisper Lace and Penna. I’ve chosen Whisper Lace in 213 Cool Ripples – a blue and grey multi, with Penna in 110 Dovetail – a soft, warm grey. I love the way Penna and Whisper Lace are playing together. Solid-colored Penna softens the transitions from one color to the next in the Whisper Lace.

The beginnings of a crescent-shaped shawl knit in Whisper Lace and Penna.

You can see the humble beginning in the photo above. I decided a shawl would be the perfect project. Lately, I’ve been really into crescent-shaped shawls, so that is the shape I’ve chosen for this design. Four stitches are increased on each edge every right-side row, and two stitches are increased on each edge every wrong-side row. This is what creates the dramatic curve. I’m letting the yarn speak for itself here: nothing more than simple Stockinette stitch for most of the shawl. I plan to finish this project with an applied lace border. I’m undecided on whether I should use a solid, contrasting color for the border, or if I should stitch to stick to the pairing used throughout the rest of the shawl. Only time will tell, but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below.

Happy crafting!

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

Free Pattern Friday – Euphoric

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, Euphoric in Pix and Whisper Lace (pattern link here). There’s a lot going on here, but designer Amy Gunderson made it all work together.

Alternate colorway: Pix 103 Paisley, Whisper Lace 109 Amethyst

Eyelets, stockinette, and garter stripe…

Little “sproings” of fringe at the edges…

And a generous 70″ length, considering this takes just one ball each of Pix and Whisper Lace!

Plus, check out how the pattern changes 3/4 of the way across the row. This is a fun one to make and to wear!

Formerly part of e-book Happy Sock Shawls, we’re delighted to set Euphoric free today.

We hope you find something to feel euphoric about this weekend. Happy crafting!

March 23, 2018June 23, 2023

Free Pattern Friday – Scruncher Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Scruncher Scarf in Whisper Lace and Cotton Supreme Batik (pattern link here).

I. Love. This. Pattern.

Look at how simple that is. This is exactly the kind of pattern that I would have loved as a beginner, and that I still love when I want to make something beautiful and not look away from binge-watching Jessica Jones.

Because it’s dropped stitches on a larger needle (US size 10 1/2), this pattern makes the yarn go a long way. One ball of Whisper Lace wool/silk for the solid bands, two balls of self-striping Cotton Supreme Batik for the wider variegated stripes.

Because the fabric is so loose and drapey, it scrunches up effortlessly – hence the name Scruncher Scarf. Here it is in an alternate colorway, folded in half and wrapped for an accessory that straddles “skinny” and “full.”

Obviously, this would be a great one to experiment with, colorwise. I’ll bet your LYS could put together some fantastic color combos.

We hope you have an amazing weekend.

Happy crafting!

December 22, 2017December 22, 2017

Free Pattern Friday – Double Up Hat

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Double Up Hat in Amphora and Whisper Lace (pattern link here).

Remember the adorable baby in the Sunset Slouch?

Image of a small toddler wearing a multi-colored hat with a pompom on top — Awwww!

His mom Krista designed a hat for us this week! Krista works in Customer Service here, and this is her source of inspiration:

Image of a set of wire storage cubes filled with balls of yarn — Yes, we do work in paradise.

This is a small section of the big wall of sample balls that she sits next to in Customer Service. We keep these to send to magazines and shops who want to touch the yarn for themselves, but of course since we’re all crafters here we also eye them hungrily ourselves. It’s only natural that we sometimes look at them and think, “you know, these would go great together!”

The Double Up Hat combines brushed DK/light worsted Amphora and superfine Whisper Lace wool/lace blend to make this worsted weight hat with a subtle heathered look.

The two yarns together create a lovely halo effect.

I’ve been wondering how this would look with Whisper Lace in one of the more variegated tones. Let’s grab a selection from the Big Wall o’ Yarn to see.

Image of two gray balls of yarn resting on a black surface — Amphora 115 Castle and Whisper Lace 212 Stonework

I may have a new project to add to the queue.

Have an excellent weekend, everyone.

Happy crafting!

March 24, 2017

Free Pattern Friday – Augustine Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Augustine Scarf in Whisper Lace.

I was so excited to see this piece in our office. Fibra Natura Whisper Lace (440g/50yds) is one of my favorite yarns, and accessories like this, which are gorgeous but still very achievable to the novice lace knitter, are always welcome.

When the time came to photograph this, I brought a shawl pin from home. I picked up this JulDesigns shawl pin from an LYS here in Charlotte, and have been waiting for the perfect occasion to break it out. Jul’s designs are so beautiful, and I wanted to show what the right accessory can do for an already lovely garment.

We’re not affiliated with Jul. We just think her stuff is pretty.

But back to the scarf! The stitches are simple – knit, purl, yo, and ssk (slip, slip, knit). The 4-row pattern is written and charted. The scarf is knit on the bias, and once you’ve done a couple of repeats it’s easy to see what’s coming up next.

This is also a great example of what blocking can do for a scarf. Look at how wide it gets! There are plenty of options with a fabric this sheer. Spread it wide or gather it for a more casual look.

If you’re looking for something that’s simple but delicate, this is a great choice. We hope you enjoy it.

Happy knitting!

September 27, 2016

Guest Blogger: Dora Ohrenstein (and a Giveaway!)

Please help me in welcoming crochet maven and designer extraordinaire, Dora Ohrenstein to the Universal Yarn blog! Dora is the author of numerous crochet books, including her latest, “Top-Down Crochet Sweaters.”

I’m going to let Dora take it away, but I’ll be back at the end of the post with details on how you can win a copy of her new book plus yarn to make one of the gorgeous projects inside!

One of the constant themes in my new book, Top Down Crochet Sweaters, is the importance of choosing great yarns for crochet garments. We all know that crochet is sometimes compared unfavorably to knitting when it comes to garment-making. Why is that? Crochet stitches were born in the 19th century to imitate hand-made laces and were worked with very thin threads on slender hooks. As the 20th century unfolded, hobbyists turned increasingly to yarn, and some of the nuance of crochet, blown up to larger proportions, was lost. Of course crochet can look great even at a larger scale, but one has to choose pliable yarns, usually in weights thinner than worsted. My favorites are DK, sport and fingering weight yarns.

Today we have so many choices of yarn weights and fibers that one can make absolutely stunning crochet garments. Fibra Natura’s Infusion Handpaints is a great example of a DK that works beautifully in crochet. Its fibers are acrylic and wool, and in this case they have been spun to such perfection that the resulting yarn is as soft and supple as one could wish for. That’s why I chose it for the pullover called Zora from my book.

It uses simple double crochet clusters as the main stitch, adorned with vertical panels of more open lace. Increases are plotted throughout each row, rather than at raglan points, resulting in a yoke that ends with a smooth curve with no raglan points. Because of this, you can divide it up for body and sleeves in any way you like. It’s a great way to get the dimensions that work best for you.

I used another Universal Yarn, Whisper Lace for the garment called Rosina.

Here I wanted to feature a large lace pattern called Peacock Stitch. The size of the stitch pattern dictated the choice of a thinner yarn. I love how Whisper Lace looks with this stitch — it’s slight fuzziness lends a softness to the stitch pattern. To make a more solid fabric for the body I used double treble stitches so the garment works up suprisingly fast.

As the title implies, all the garments in my book are worked top down. If you’re inspired to get going on Zora or Rosina, please join me at my ravelry group for a CAL on this sweater and others from Top Down Crochet Sweaters. Here’s a link:

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/crochet-insider/topics

I think you’ll be very pleased with these fabulous Universal yarns, and how lovely a crochet sweater can be!

Thanks, Dora! This really is a beautiful book with extremely wearable garments inside. Want to win a copy? How about some yarn? We’ve teamed up with Dora to offer two lucky winners a copy of her new book, Top-Down Crochet Sweaters plus enough Whisper Lace or Infusion Handpaints to make Rosina or Zora (love those project names!).

Here’s how you can win:

Leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite thing to crochet is. Be sure to enter your email address so we have a way to contact you!
This offer is only open to US residents.
You have until Friday, October 7th at 12:00 am EST to leave a comment.
Two comments will be selected at random. Winners will be announced the following Monday back here on the blog.

September 24, 2016

Check out our knockers!

Greetings from Stitches Texas! We’re having a blast in booth 517, talking to crafters and, okay, maybe doing a little shopping of our own.

However, we want to share something else with you. While we’re at Stitches Texas, we’re showing our knockers to the world!

We speak, of course, of knitted knockers, which we made to support knittedknockers.org. It’s a great organization dedicated to providing knitted prostheses to women who have lost a breast to cancer. For this contest, each vote is one dollar, with proceeds benefitting the organization. It’s a creative way to help people in need.

We entered two pairs in the contest.

First, Sparkle Nation! Designed by Amy Gunderson, these use our 10th anniversary yarn, Universe. There’s a “best branding” category, so we made sure to brand these knockers.

Amy put a little “UY” at the base. We love these fancy sparkly numbers. Frankly, we’d put our knockers up against anybody else’s any day of the week.

But those aren’t the only pair we’ve got on display!

Designer Tori Gurbisz is new to our team, but has instantly fit right in with the Universal family. She designed a pair in Bamboo Pop, complete with frilly Whisper Lace lingerie.

Tori used her pair to make the point that every woman deserves to feel beautiful. The ribboned lace is symbolic of that.

If you’re at Stitches Texas and feel like judging peoples’ knockers, go by the wall and see what’s front and center. Our knockers could always use support, but however you vote, it’s all for a good cause. There are some truly bodacious entries and more than a handful really stand out and demand attention.

If you’re interested in helping, visit http://www.knittedknockers.org for patterns and more.

Happy knitting!

August 17, 2016

Color Pooling: Finishing with Twisted Fringe

Last time on Weaving Wednesday, I showed you how I warped for my Bamboo Pop color pool scarf. Over the last couple of weeks, I had a chance to do the actual weaving which went incredibly fast.

After weaving a few picks with scrap yarn, I did a bit of hemstitching with my weft yarn, Whisper Lace. I left a good 12″ before beginning this in order to have long enough ends to do my fringe. I did a simple plain weave throughout the entire scarf, beating with a light hand to give my finished scarf nice drape.

This scarf was a joy to weave. The motions and weaving were simple and the colors a delight to watch. Each time I advance the warp and a new section of color came into view, it gave me a little lift.

After hemstitching at the end of my scarf, I cut it free, leaving the beginning end still attached to the loom. I then trimmed all the fringe evenly, to about 11″.

Fringe is the easy and obvious way to go when ending a scarf. It eliminates the need for a hem. Fringe also adds a nice little bit of heft, allowing a scarf to hang nicely. An easy way to spruce up your fringe is to make it twisted. I’ve done this by hand before on a few projects, but it’s tedious and I don’t enjoy doing it. This time around, I decided to splurge and bought myself a battery operated fringe twister. Sometimes, you just need the right tool for the job.

See the two little prongs jutting out from the top of my tool? The item actually came with 4 prongs, but I removed 2 of them for this project.

Each of my stripe sections of the scarf is comprised of 8 strands. I’m making 2 twisted fringes for each stripe, so each fringe is made up of 4 strands. To use my fringe tool, I attached 2 strands to each prong.

I didn’t get a good photo of this step, but those little metal pieces in the top of the prongs will extend, grabbing onto the yarn, and then retract back down.

Next, I push the button on my tool into position 1, which twists each strand independently. To get consistent twist on all my fringe, I counted to 30, (sort of in rhythm to the noise of the tool) as the tool was spinning.

Once the strands are nice and twisty, I push my button down into position 2. This rotates the entire top of my tool in the opposite direction than the prongs rotated, twisting the strands around each other. During this step, I found that counting to 20 made a perfect balance of countertwist.

Then, release the ends of the yarn from the metal prongs and tie in an overhand knot. The twist stays twisted!

After I made all the twisted fringe on the final end of my scarf, I cut the beginning end from the loom. To keep this end of my scarf from moving around, I just set a heavy book on top.

After handwashing and laying flat to dry, I had myself a very colorful scarf!

My finished scarf, before fringe is 62″, and is about 78 ” with fringe. With one ball of each color of Bamboo Pop and 1 ball of Whisper Lace, I could have gone about 20-30% long if I had wanted.

I’m extremely happy with how this scarf turned out. It’s quite lightweight with amazing drape. It’s so very wearable. I could envision this in many different color combinations of our Bamboo Pop.

Join me next time for a lace weaving adventure with our anniversary namesake yarn, Universe!