Both yarns are a blend of fine merino superwash, cashmere, and nylon for strength. Bella Cash & Bella Cash Worsted are machine washable, so they’re perfect for gift and baby items. They’re soft with excellent stitch definition and are so pleasant to knit and crochet with. I am in love with both of these yarns and want all the sweaters knit out of them!
Bella Cash (sport weight) already has two great pattern collections out.
We blogged about kids collection Writing on the Wallhere. It’s a collection of whimsical knits for little people.
Small Pleasures is an ebook with small accessory projects perfect for such a soft yarn that begs to be worn against the skin.
I sent crochet maven Ellen Gormley some Bella Cash Worsted to play with and she made this wonderful video. She has some really nice insights about the yarn and lots of interesting things to say. Check it out!
We are busy working on patterns for Bella Cash Worsted which will be released in the coming weeks. Right now, we have the Cayuga Cowl, made with just two skeins. And it’s a free pattern on our website!
Knit from the top down, this cowl can be worn and styled in a variety of ways. It’s a quick knit for yourself or as a gift. Cue giveaway time!
Here are the details:
This is a contest for two lucky winners that will each receive 2 skeins of Bella Cash Worsted
To enter, leave a comment on this blog post letting us know what you think you’d make with your winnings
Entries will close in one week, Wednesday, October 31 at 12 pm (noon) EST, so you must leave your comment by that time
We’re big fans of science holidays here at Universal Yarn (see Pi Day). After all, next to pure creativity, math is the foundation for knitwear design. Stitch counts, gauge, garment grading, angles, shaping: all of these things and more rely on basic and advanced calculations in order to achieve desired results in knitting.
I have loved math for as long as I can remember, decades before I learned to knit. It was such a comfort with its logical wizardry. I learned that there may be more than one way to tackle any given problem. But in the end, whatever the road taken to get there, math problems have solutions and formulas and satisfying conclusions.
Enter: Mole Day. In addition to being a cute/ugly insectivore, a mole refers to a unit of measurement, Avogadro’s number which is 6.02 x 10^23. (Read more about the history of this here) While I have never applied this to a knitting pattern, this number is forever seared into my memory thanks to a very catchy jingle I learned in my high school chemistry class. It goes a little something like:
“Let’s roll out the barrels in 1993 To celebrate a very special part of chemistry Avogadro would be proud if he had only heard Six point oh two times ten! To the twenty third”
Yes, I have just dated myself. But anyway, back in 1993 at 6:02 am on October 23rd, those of us who were total geeks (and looking for extra credit, I’m sure) showed up for some mole day festivities in our chem lab. The song is much more fun with the jingle that goes along with it, but I’d like to spare you from my singing voice.
There are many other songs out there devoted to mole day. I should know – I just spent 15 minutes out of my work day listening to them! Here’s one of my favorites:
I’d also like to turn our attention back to the fuzzy variety of mole which has been the inspiration for a whole slew of adorable knit and crochet creatures. My favorite is Eugene Mole designed by Paola Navarro (pattern link):
Look at that little shovel!
Molly Mole designed by Debi Birkin is cute as can be (pattern link):
Digital magazines I Like Knitting and I Like Crochet are giving away our beautiful yarn to make projects from their October issues. Yes, that’s right: FREE yarn!
The Mew and Me Sweater is worked mostly in Tunisian crochet, with sideways ribbed edges. It looks knit, but it’s not. Crocheters – this one’s for you!
Done in three different shades of Deluxe DK Superwash, it works up quickly. The yarn is machine washable, so there are no worries if your little one gets a little Halloween chocolate on it. You can head over to I Like Crochet to enter: LINK
October means we’re heading into scarf season, and the Blaire Reversible Scarf doesn’t disappoint.
This knit scarf begins and ends with reversible cables that grow in and out of ribbing, and it looks great on both sides. Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash adds a bit of rustic texture and interest without distracting from the stitch pattern. This project would make a great gift, too!
Most knit and crochet garment patterns contain a super helpful thing in them called a schematic. Every garment pattern we release contains one of these. If an accessory has a unique construction, we’ll add one there, as well. A good schematic should at minimum incorporate these elements:
measurements for most, if not all, lengths/widths/circumference, etc of the item
be drawn to proportionally to scale (of course, as garments get larger in size, these proportions will change. I personally draw my schematics based on the smallest size)
show a single line drawing/piece for a seamless garment, or separate pieces for a seamed garment, or some combination of the two, depending on construction
bonus points for arrows or indications of what direction the various pieces are worked
I’ve had a few recent conversations with knitters who either completely ignored the schematic in a pattern, or were unsure about how to interpret the measurements and other details in them. With this uncertainty, things either went awry, or they lacked the confidence to feel like they were on the right track with their projects.
Right here, right now, I very passionately would like to clear some things up about the Mighty Schematic.
It might be a little overwhelming at first with so many numbers and arrows and lines. But each of those things has a reason for being there, and it’s to help!
First, let’s take a look at the arrows on the drawing. At the very bottom edge, there are two arrows pointing upward. These arrows indicate the direction of knitting. It means you will knit the two front pieces separately to start. And see how they’re joined with a solid line at the neck? At this point you will join the two sides, and knit the back downward in one piece.
Likewise – see the sleeve with the arrow on it? This indicates that stitches are picked up along the side of the body, and the sleeve is knit outward from there.
The pattern notes are another place in a pattern where you can pick up helpful information about the construction of the item. It’s a good idea to read through these in addition to consulting the schematic.
I’m not going to name names (ah-Krista-em), but one of the folks in customer service is knitting this project in Bamboo Pop, and came to me with concerns a couple of months ago. In fairness, there is a lot going on in this schematic. But the issue Krista was having wasn’t particularly with the construction, as it’s clear from the pattern and pattern notes itself how the construction works.
Krista is a petite thing, so she’s making the small size, which has a finished bust of about 35″. Her concern was that as she was working on her back piece, it was measuring 24″ after casting on. This could be a valid concern – after all, 2 x 24″ would make for a whopping 48″ cardigan which would be much too large for Krista.
She measured gauge and was spot-on, so it wasn’t making sense why her stitches measured so wide on the needle. The detail that eluded Krista: this cardigan is A-line, which means it is wider at the hem than it is at the bust line.
That wide line that’s circled up there – that is the measurement of the back at the cast-on edge. We know this because the line travels the full width of the back. The shorter line below it is the back width at the bust, which is 6″ less wide. Krista had not consulted the schematic, hence her panic. Once we took a look and I assured her she was on the right track, everything went swimmingly. And I can’t wait to see her FO!
If you take a close look at the stitch patterns on this tee, you can probably figure out that it’s knit sideways. And if not, no worries – the pattern notes tell you so.
Additionally, the schematic shows exactly how your piece of knitting should look as you’re going along. You start by casting on with a sleeve, which is that rectangle at the bottom (and top) of the above schematic, knitting for 3″, and then casting on more stitches for the front and back of the sweater. The solid horizontal line indicates that this garment is knit in two pieces, and we can see that each piece is identical.
The solid vertical line right in the center is where each half is split for the neck. If you’re knitting along with this project, it might not make sense to split your piece right in the middle and knit the two sides separately. But with the help of the schematic, it helps to make sense of instructions that might not otherwise.
This is a garter stitch shawl, worked modularly. The knitting itself is not difficult, but without a diagram or schematic, it could be confusing to know where to pick up stitches for successive sections.
This drawing is really more of a diagram than a full-on schematic with numbers and things, but I wanted to include it anyway because it illustrates the construction of the piece.
In conclusion: Please don’t forget to look at your schematic! It is there to help, and it wants you to successfully knit your garment.
Do you have any other questions about schematics not mentioned above? Have a frustrating experience of your own about a schematic? I’d love to hear from you!
Just a quick shout-out to our winners of our Unity Giveaway, Susan and Patty. Congratulations, ladies!
Your delicious skeins of Unity are en route to you this very moment. Enjoy!
Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment and learn a little more about this scrumptious yarn. We will certainly be having more contests in the future. Be sure to subscribe to our blog for updates so you don’t miss out on the next one!
Last year we introduced a very special yarn called Unity, along with its patterned counterpart, Unity Beyond.
Unity/Unity Beyond is made up of linen, cotton, bamboo, and wool. Man, I love a good blend, especially when it’s the best of both plant and animal worlds, as is the case with Unity. This yarn is bursting with character. Let me give you a closer look:
Color 204 Boardwalk
The bamboo, wool, and cotton are combed together and twisted, and a fine strand of linen is wrapped around. The strand is just a bit thick and thin, but subtly so. In the Unity Beyond colorways, the dye is printed on just one side of the yarn giving an organic, washed out appearance.
This collection was photographed just blocks from our office here in Charlotte at an old-timey general store called Davis General Merchandise. The owner, Silas, kindly allowed us to shoot around the grounds to take advantage of the aged, rich texture of the building materials. Our own Rachel Brockman did the photography, so every shot is through the knitter’s eye.
All patterns can be purchased via Ravelry as individual downloads or together as an ebook. (Ravelry link)
And that brings me to our giveaway! Crochet expert Ellen Gormley released a swatching video featuring Unity Beyond. I work with our yarns every day, so it’s always interesting to me to hear another’s take on our products. Ellen does not disappoint! You can see her video here: (link video)
And if you’re interested in brushing up on some crochet techniques, follow Ellen’s youtube channel. She has lots of instructional videos.
But back to free yarn! Here are the details:
Two lucky crafters will win the Atacama Scarf pattern and the yarn to make it with (3 skeins of Unity Beyond!)
For a chance to win, leave us a comment on this post. Keeping in line with our Unity theme and Ellen’s commentary about why one might like to work with a yarn like this that has such rich character, in your comment, tell me something unique about yourself
Leave this comment before Monday, July 3, 12 pm EST
Winners will be announced on July 4
Eligible for US crafters only (no offense, international peeps!)
And that’s it! Craft on, and keep on doing whatever it is that makes you, you!
You may have heard that Mother’s Day is nearly upon us. It’s kind of hard not to know, as commercialized as this holiday has become over the years. But mothers do need to be celebrated so truly I’m glad for the reminder as the day approaches.
Over the years I’ve given a wide variety of gifts to my mom for this special day. I usually try to give her something handmade, because she’s my mom, and I know she appreciates the thought behind it. At this point in her life, I can think of all kinds of things she doesn’t really need. She doesn’t need a scarf or a hat or a sweater. She doesn’t need knick-knacks or other little trifles, though I’m sure I could find something that would amuse her. What she does treasure are memories.
I decided to make her a little something to hold these memories, and settled on a small woven pouch. My life is so busy it’s tough to find a spare moment. Weaving goes so quickly, especially on a rigid heddle, so this made it easy to decide how I would make the pouch.
For anyone wanting to duplicate this, here are the specs for my piece of woven fabric:
Sett: 10 epi/10 dent reed
Weaving width: 14″ (though I didn’t end up using the full width of my fabric in the pouch. You could easily get away with less width, depending on your desired finished pouch size)
I warped with Unity Beyond, using the direct method.
I then wove about 3 inches of plain weave with #109 Natural, switched to #107 Purple Fog until the last bit of warp, and then finished out with 3 inches of #109 Natural.
I cut my fabric from the loom, finished the ends with a machine zig-zag, and then washed and pressed my fabric.
For the pouch pattern, I roughly followed this very simple tutorial: (link). If you’re not super comfortable sewing, this would be a great project for you. And if you’re more experienced, this will be a total breeze.
Before getting to the sewing part, I had decided that I wanted to add a little personal touch. I had a little ball of Cotton Supreme in my stash that coordinated well, and decided on a little heart. My embroidery skills are quite rudimentary, so use your imagination to come up with something better than this!
One thing to keep in mind with handwoven fabric, is that your weaving will likely want to come apart if you cut into it. Handwoven fabric, especially using handknitting yarns, does not have as high a thread count as commercial fabric on a bolt. Before cutting into my fabric, I used a fusible interfacing which I just ironed onto the back side of the fabric. The interfacing has an adhesive which helps to secure the fibers in the yarn.
After doing this, I cut out two pieces from my woven fabric 7″ x 9″. I also cut two lining pieces from some stash fabric (an old pillowcase, actually!) also 7″ x 9″.
At this point, I followed the tutorial that I mentioned above (here it is again: (link) And voila, just a short time later, I had a pouch:
In the papercrafting section at my local store, I found some pretty watercolor looking paper in a cardstock weight that coordinated with the colors of my yarn. I cut some pieces that were about 3″ x 4″. I spent some time one evening writing down positive memories about my mom, one memory per card. It was fun and quite therapeutic.
One memory was: “when you threw up after riding the tilt-a-whirl at the fair”
I think my mom will enjoy reading through these, perhaps being reminded of things she’s forgotten or things she never thought I noticed.
Whether you’re a parent or a child, I hope this Mother’s Day is a good one for you!
Greetings, yarn enthusiasts! Some of you may have seen our newly rebranded Universal Yarn label. It looks a little something like this:
Snazzy.
And this:
Though our label style has changed (for the better, amiright?), the same very useful information about each yarn can still be found on the label.
Let’s go over how to read one of our labels step by step:
First, let’s take the front side. This is what you will probably see if you encounter the yarn as it’s sitting on the shelf in your local yarn store.
Part of my job is to take customer service calls regarding pattern issues, or sometimes folks with yarn questions. Often when I ask a knitter what the name of the yarn she/he is working with, they are not able to answer.
The name of the yarn will always be the most prominent text on the front of our label, and the same is true with most other companies. Knowing the name of the yarn is helpful in many ways, not the least of which is logging onto Ravelry and seeing what fabulous projects other people are making with that particular yarn.
Next, we’re going to explore the real meat and potatoes of a yarn label, section by section. Here’s what the back side of our labels look like:
So most of the things on your label are actually pretty important, though I understand if your eyes might glaze over at the wall of text.
Let’s take the first line:
I think the first two are pretty self-explanatory – how big is your ball and how long is the yarn. The thickness or yarn weight, in this case medium/4, refers to a standardized system of classifying yarn thickness. There is a great reference page over at the CYC (Craft Yarn Council) that has a table (link) of all yarn weights and their corresponding gauges, recommended hook and needle sizes.
When we add a new yarn and are determining what yarn weight to assign to it, I always consult this table when doing so. The yarn weight is determined by gauge, not yardage. One example of this might be Classic Shades (which is the label we are examining) vs our Deluxe Worsted, another medium/4 weight yarn.
Both yarns are listed as worsted weight, yet Deluxe Worsted contains 220 yards/100g while Classic Shades contains only 200 yards/100g. Because both yarns produce a gauge that falls within a 4-weight category, they are both classified as such.
If you take a look at that table over at the CYC, you’ll see that a 4-weight yarn has a knit gauge range of 16-20 stitches over 4 inches. Classic Shades, with 18 stitches/4″ falls right in the center of that range. You might hear people sometimes refer to a “heavy worsted” or “light worsted”. What these people are referring to is gauge. If a worsted weight yarn produces 16 stitches/4″, then it would be considered a heavy worsted.
Next:
Again, this is pretty self-explanatory: what’s in your yarn. Most of the words on our label are “3T”, or have been translated into three languages. Our yarn is distributed throughout North America, including Spanish-speaking Mexico and French-speaking parts of Canada.
And then, a topic about which I am quite passionate, particularly when having knitting discussions with my office mates (translation: I am a gauge Nazi):
It is standard to talk about gauge, or number of stitches over 4″ or 10 cm. It is important to know approximately what gauge your yarn can get if you’re substituting yarn in a pattern. This is something I could write a book on, or at least a blog post. And I will. But for now, let’s just say that it’s very pertinent information.
Something to remember about gauge listed on a label is that we’re talking hand knitting, folks. When a new yarn is born, a person, usually me here at Universal, has sat down with a ball of yarn and a pair of needles or a crochet hook, and has made a gauge swatch. With their hands. It is not an exact science!
If I like the resulting fabric from my swatch, it becomes the recommended gauge. If it’s too dense or too loose, I change needle size and start again.
I consider myself to be “average” when it comes to tension. But I do want to remind you that your gauge is unique. With the same size needles and yarn, you may get a different gauge than me. To achieve the same gauge, you may need to go up or down a needle/hook size.
Next up:
Also very important – how to wash your newly created masterpiece. All knit and crochet items can be washed, it’s just a matter of how. Some fibers shouldn’t be machine washed because the agitation would be too much for them. Others can be machine washed, but to err on the side of caution, we might recommend air drying instead of using a machine.
Some companies use text care instructions and symbols, or just one or the other. If those little symbols are like a foreign language to you, just google it! (yarn care symbols Google search result here)
I know a lot of knitters who are reluctant to throw any handmade item into the washing machine. Personally, I machine wash with abandon. I do it whenever possible, and I do it frequently as I own a lot of knitwear! Lace is another story – most lace I will hand wash, regardless of fiber. But I digress.
We’re on the home stretch here. We just have a couple more things to cover:
There’s not much to add here. It is a requirement for products to list country of origin. In case you’re curious, our yarn is manufactured specifically in Bursa, Turkey which is about a two-hour drive south of Istanbul. And it’s beautiful there!
And last:
Any given colorway of your yarn should have a name, and hopefully it’s an interesting one. That can be a fun part of this job – naming colors. This color will usually also have a number associated with it, and also a lot number.
Lot numbers can be important if you happen to run out of yarn in your project and need to buy more. Some yarns can vary from dye lot to dye lot, so if you need to buy more, be sure to get the same dye lot if possible.
If you’ve been unsure about yarn labels before, I hope this has made things clearer. Have another question? Let me know!
There are so many things to love about Easter: dip-dyed eggs, the first blooms of the year, chocolate filled baskets. And really, Easter candy is the best seasonal candy of the year as far as I’m concerned. But for me, the overwhelming bunny imagery is my favorite part of this spring holiday.
I had a pet bunny as a child named Fuzzy. What can I say? Toddlers are not always great at naming things. But Fuzzy was a great bunny. She hopped around the house, snuggled, and got along great with our dog, Fluffy (do you see a trend in pet naming here?). As a young adult, I had a mini lop bunny named Emma and even managed to litter-box train her.
I gave just one of my bunnies a floppy ear. Customize these and make them your own!
Bunny Got Back socks (pattern link) are my homage to Easter and to my dear departed pet bunnies. They are knit toe-up and it’s easy to customize foot length. I kept them anklet length in order to add useless but adorable pom-poms to the back, but you could easily keep on knitting for taller socks.
I thank Rachel Brockman for her superb foot modeling skills, and Heather Hill for her masterful flavor text at the beginning of the pattern:
I! Like! Warm! Toes and I cannot lie!
You other knitters can’t deny!
When you go toe up with a little short cuff
And a cottontail full of fluff…
BUNNY GOT BACK!
This pair is knit in one of our newer yarns, sport weight Bella Cash. It works wonderfully for socks. Bella Cash is a blend of washable fine merino, cashmere (mmmm), and nylon for strength and elasticity. We’ve been mostly using this yarn in kid projects, but I see sweaters in my future and definitely more socks using this scrumptious blend.
I hope you enjoy this gift for spring. Happy Easter!
Though we like to celebrate Pi Day with a slice of cherry here at the office, that’s not actually what this math holiday is all about. But I will take any excuse to eat pie. Not that I need an excuse.
But seriously, Pi day is the annual recognizing of the awesome constant number we know as Pi, and that is recognized by this Greek symbol: π. Pi is approximately 3.14, and is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (the length around the entire outer edge of a circle) and the diameter (the width of a circle).
I am a pretty big math geek. Math is logical, useful in so many facets of life, and it never lets you down. Pi is especially cool because it helps to solve the mystery of the unknown. For example, by knowing the formula for pi, and, say, the diameter of a circle, you can calculate the circumference of said circle.
As a knitting designer, I have relied upon Pi on many occasions. Here are a few examples:
The semicircle shawl in Deluxe Worsted begins with a sideways, short-row lower edge, and is then worked upward from there. In order to make a half circle shape considering all of the other aspects of this piece, I applied my love of Pi and magic was made.
Perhaps the most common and well know way of shaping a circular shawl is called the Pi method. Developed by knitting genius Elizabeth Zimmermann, this shape is worked from the center outward and involves only a handful of increase rounds. The basic principle involves doubling the stitch count as the diameter of the circle increases. Typically, a pi constructed piece of knitting begins with 9 stitches, doubles to 18 on round 3, doubles to 36 on round 7, up to 72 stitches on round 13, and so on.
The Burst blanket is purely pi knitting. There are just 6 increase rounds in the entire thing, allowing you to focus solely on the repeating stitch patterns.
