Another month has come and gone, meaning it’s Flash Pattern Friday! This weekend, we are thrilled to share with you the Feathered Vest, designed by Rachel Brockman. Knit in Minou, this trendy piece, is highly affordable and fun to make. Let’s learn more about this sweater vest!
The Feathered Vest is an elegant knit featuring stockinette stitch throughout, and a contrast color at the neck and hemline for some added pop. The fuzzy texture of Minou makes the Feathered Vest a wardrobe staple for crisp fall morning, as it can be worn as a layering piece or by itself on a warmer day.
Minou is a blend of 40% baby alpaca, 8% merino wool, and 52% nylon that is soft to the touch. Check out inspiring garment and accessory patterns in our Soft Simplicity E-Book, including the Feathered Vest. Shake up the hues for your sweater vest by browsing the eight Italian-spun color options available in Minou!
To get the Feathered Vest for free, use the “buy it now” or “add to cart” links on the Ravelry pattern page. Then enter the coupon code “FLASH” where you see the “use coupon code” link that appears during purchase. This offer runs through Sunday, July 30th.
This weekend is the best time to stock up on Minou! This beautiful eyelash yarn is over 50% off through Sunday. Due to the gorgeous fluffy texture of Minou, we recommend simple stitches to allow the yarn to stand out! The sophisticated color palette of Minou would make it a fun option for anything from sweaters to slippers. Stash this beauty today before these savings expire!
As you make your way to the coast of North Carolina, you might endeavor to a small town just north of Jacksonville. Richlands, North Carolina, to be exact. It may not be a bustling town, but there’s more than enough reason to stay if you’re a fiber artist. The Tail Spinner is our featured local yarn shop for July, and we can’t wait for you to learn more about the owner, Linda, and her store!
What are you waiting for? Let’s head inside The Tail Spinner!
When growing up, shop owner Linda Davis’s father told her she was “born to the needle”. She recalls the days of “sitting in front of the TV in 1973, and a PBS show came on with Elizabeth Zimmerman”. So it’s no coincidence we are now talking about her local yarn shop.
As Linda was preparing to open her shop by taking community college classes in business, she was demonstrating spinning from one of her Angora rabbits at the State Fair. One young lad was fascinated by this and began calling Linda the “tail spinner,” the rest is history. Since 2005, The Tail Spinner has been the destination for fiber artists in Richlands and beyond.
Throughout her time of ownership, Linda says the greatest joy of running the shop is seeing those finished projects! It’s an answer we hear often, and it shouldn’t be a surprise. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a customer leave with a skein of yarn and come back with a beautiful creation.
A beautiful shawl in ColorburstCustomer-favorite Bamboo PopSilky smooth Magnolia
The Tail Spinner has a variety of unique yarns, including some favorites from Universal Yarn, like Bamboo Pop, Colorburst, and more! Linda notes that shopping for a curated collection of fibers for her store is challenging due to the options available. “One of my biggest challenges, though, is not to buy every yarn I see and touch!” Relying on customer opinions is what she has decided to lean into, and that has certainly paid off.
The Tail Spinner is a great place for those who love to weave!
We are pleased to say The Tail Spinner has participated in Universal Yarn’s Trunk Show Program. These trunk shows allow shops to get pattern samples to show off at their store. “I’ve hosted at least two or more trunk shows per year, and customers love to see yarns in finished projects.”
We are so excited The Tail Spinner let us learn more about their one-of-a-kind store. It’s truly a pleasure of ours to see the way each and every yarn shop provides a community to fiber artists everywhere.
The Tail Spinner does offer shipping, so head to their website and shop your favorite yarns from Universal Yarn today!
If you’re looking for a delightful knit, we have some good news for you this Free Pattern Friday! The Wildflower Tee, designed by Rachel Brockman, is now available to download on our website. This stunning, floral-inspired t-shirt is the perfect knitting project for the season. Let’s learn why you need to add this beauty to your queue!
There’s no better way to beat the heat than with Cotton Supreme Speckles, consisting of 100% cotton fibers. Each hank is packed with exciting hues, ready to burst off of your finished garments and accessories. Reverse stockinette stitch gives this tee a touch of texture and a smooth look and feel. The edges of this tee are made of ribbing, and the top is detailed with a thoughtful, folded neckband for a finished look.
The sample shown uses the color 1004 Pastel Pop, but our Cotton Supreme Speckles yarn has six total colorways to choose from. The pattern includes sizing for XS through 5X with adjusted yarn recommendations for each size. Shop your favorite color of Speckles and get started on your newest tee today!
If you are a fan of Cotton Supreme, then Cotton Supreme Speckles is for you! It’s the same worsted-weight, 100% cotton base with speckled hues throughout each hank. This yarn is perfect for a plethora of projects like baby garments and accessories, t-shirts, blankets, and more. Shop today and save 20% off Speckles through Sunday!
Accessorize your home in style this Free Pattern Friday with the Scallop Placemats and Coasters. Designed by Afifa Sayeed, this set of accessories uses environmentally-friendly Clean Cotton, and with our buy two get one free offer, you’re going to want to knit one for you and one for a friend! Let’s learn more about this week’s new pattern.
Clean Cotton’s blend of 85% recycled cotton and 15% recycled polyester makes it a staple yarn for homewares and summer accessories due to its durability and ideal texture for washcloths and dishcloths. The Scallop Placemats and Coasters are knit in the round from the center out with stunning spiral shaping and a loopy I-cord bind-off that creates the scalloped edge. The coasters have a diameter of 5″, and the placemats have a diameter of 12″.
This design is mesmerizing, and it’s easy to customize your hues with Clean Cotton’s 21 available solid color options. Knit yourself a set of placemats and coasters in an oceanic shade with 116 Bluebell, or go bright and bold with 107 Tiger Lily!
This weekend is the perfect time to stock up on Clean Cotton! With our buy two get one free offer, you can make a variety of exciting projects for less. Check out all of the Clean Cotton designs on Ravelry for more inspiration.
Looking for a three-skein project to make? Try the Fresh Air Washcloths (middle image), perfect for your kitchen or bathroom. To receive the buy two, get one free offer, add three or more skeins of Clean Cotton to your cart, and the price of one skein for each group of three will be deducted at checkout.
Make sure to share all of your Clean Cotton creations with us by using the #universalyarn on Instagram!
Hello fiber friends! Sometimes the best summer projects are small, portable, and made with plant fibers. Sure, garments and accessories are always fun projects, but there is something so satisfying about making adorable amigurumi, and that’s our focus for today. If you love the classic Ricorumi DK mini skeins, you’ll love what we have in store. Let’s look at the cute and creative projects made possible with Ricorumi Spin Spin DK. You’re in for a treat!
First, let’s talk about the yarn. We first brought Spin Spin DK to our offerings in the Fall ’22 season, with it receiving lots of love over the past year. And why not? This DK-weight yarn creates beautiful gradient marls of color. From rich tonals to soft neutrals and multicolor rainbows (see 018 Classic Rainbow above), there is something for everyone and every project.
Like the original Ricorumi DK, Spin Spin DK is a 100% cotton yarn. It features five plies for a smooth, round yarn that boasts amazing stitch definition. The suggested gauge is the same for both yarns, but note that Spin Spin DK comes in a 50 gram/126 yard cake rather than a 25-gram/62.80 yard center-pull mini skein. The larger put-up allows a full repeat of the color gradient in each ball. These two yarns are an excellent match for one another, and you can easily use both in the same project (more on that later!). Both yarns were designed with crochet amigurumi projects in mind, and we have some fabulous patterns available that showcase the yarns wonderfully.
Fans of the recently released movie, Elemental will love the charming book, Element Heads. (By the way, if you haven’t seen this endearing movie yet, I highly recommend it!) This book covers the four elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Each amigurumi has several variations on the theme.
Variations of the theme of elements, from the book Element Heads, featuring Ricorumi Spin Spin DK.
In this book, you’ll find whimsical clouds, rainbows, mountains, mushrooms, trees, flames, and even planets! Immerse yourself in a magical world of wonders with these cuties. Personally, I’m itching to make Mother Earth and her Friends or the Colorful Fire Dance figurine. This set would be an excellent gift for any nature lover or child with aspirations protect the amazing world we live in.
Another personal favorite of mine is the Fresh Friends collection. The cute crops are the perfect complement to your summer garden. This book features cheerful patterns for cherries and berries, peas and peppers, lemons and leeks, and more! Each pattern demonstrates the magic of Ricorumi Spin Spin DK’s colorful gradients. The rosy cheeks and sweet smiles make these characters so irresistible.
Sweet Pea and Aubergine from the book Fresh Friends, featuring Ricorumi Spin Spin DK.
Several of these patterns also utilize the original Ricorumi DK for the greenery decorating their little heads. It’s a great demonstration of how the two yarns work so well together. As you can see, the single crochet stitches look crisp and inviting. These patterns do suggest specific colors, but with such extensive color palettes available, it’s easy to put your spin on your Fresh Friends!
A few examples of how customizable the patterns are in the book Crochet Your Face, featuring Ricorumi Spin Spin DK.
What would your face look like? Would you create a crochet caricature of yourself, or get wacky and create something entirely new? Whatever you choose, we know you’ll enjoy the mix and match nature of this book, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
That’s it for our spotlight on Ricorumi Spin Spin DK and the corresponding pattern books. Before I let you go, I should note that each of these books are print-only and a beautiful addition to your bookshelf. They also make a great gift for a fellow crafty friend! Which book would you snag first? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to share your projects with us on social media! Use our hashtag #universalyarn on Instagram so we can see and share your work!
Fridays are often filled with fun and excitement, and we know the main reason why: Free Pattern Friday! Today’s free pattern is the Split Back Tee in our Filly yarn.
The Split Back Tee in Filly color 102 Kite
Designed by Rachel Brockman, the Split Back Tee is cool and cute, perfect for summer days. With an all over textured pattern, this top is a great choice for knitters of all skill levels. I’m a big fan of knitting patterns that are relaxing and easy to work on while you watch television or spend time with friends. This tee is exactly that. Once you’ve memorized the stitch pattern, everything else is smooth sailing!
The split back design is perfect for showing off a fun layering piece underneath, and gives the overall piece a modern silhouette. Don’t fret about the construction, it is easier than you think! You’ll start by knitting the individual front and two back pieces, then after seaming the shoulders, you’ll overlap the back pieces per the pattern instructions, and finish up by creating the sleeves and neck band! This tee would be a wonderful pattern choice for someone who is working on getting comfortable with different types of construction elements in knit garments.
Split Back Tee in Filly color 102 Kite
Our Filly yarn is a unique blend of 46% cotton, 33% superwash merino, 12% polyamide, and 9% pbt. Although this is a yarn that was designed with socks in mind, the fiber content makes it an excellent choice for garments and accessories too!
Self-shading yarns like Filly are perfect for simple silhouettes and stitch patterns. The yarn does the colorwork for you, so you can focus on the knitting! Wear the Split Back Tee on your next vacation, or just out to lunch with your fiber friends.
Which color of Filly would you use to make the Split Back Tee? I think I’d choose 101 Bloom.
Don’t forget to share your projects with us on social media! Use our hashtag #universalyarn on Instagram so that we can see and share your work!
