Author: Rachel Brockman

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Light & Shadow: Design Highlights

Perhaps my favorite collection we’ve released for fall so far is Light & Shadow. It’s a collection of gorgeous, incredibly wearable patterns knit in anti-pilling Uptown DK.

Universal Yarn Uptown DK

A lot goes into planning our pattern collections, and it’s always so exciting to see designs develop. Amy and I begin with a mood board. Then we move on to creating rough sketches. You can see a few of mine from our recent collections below:

From left to right: Small Pleasures using Bella Cash, Vibrance in Lace using Finn, and Light and Shadow using Uptown DK.

Naturally not every sketch makes the final collection. Amy and I work on numerous ideas separately, then we meet to share our ideas, select the designs that will be a part of the collection, and choose colors. Then we get hard to work on making these ideas a reality.

So, which designs made the final cut for Light & Shadow?

I have three designs in the collection. First up: Crossroads.

Universal Yarn Uptown DK

If I had to choose a favorite, this might be it. This design started with a bold cable from Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook. I didn’t want to just slap the pattern onto a sweater. I opted for a relaxed, cozy fit with drop shoulders, garter ridges, a split hem, and understated bishop sleeves.

The sleeves sit at bracelet length on our fantastic model, Jarin, however; it’s super simple to lengthen them as the shaping occurs just before the cuff.

Next, we have Northbound.

I wanted to create the perfect, infinitely wearable turtleneck. I know not everyone loves turtlenecks, but I sure do! Northbound was initially imagined as a proposal for a print magazine before I started working at Universal. I loved it, so I held onto the idea – the Light and Shadow collection seemed to be a perfect match.

Northbound has some of my favorite design elements: set-in sleeves, saddle shoulders, seed stitch, and cables. If you love a simple design with thoughtful details, this pattern is for you.

My final design is perhaps the most unique: Topography.

Topography features sculptural welts that move diagonally across the sleeves. The effect is simpler to construct than you might expect.

The sleeves feature traveling twisted stitches that are used as a guide to creating the welts. After you’ve knit the sleeves, stitches are picked up stitches along the legs of the twisted stitches. Then you simply knit and graft. Easy-peasy. Not a fan of the welts? Just stick with the twisted stitches and you have a simple wardrobe staple.

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Father’s Day Tie

If you’re looking for a last-minute but thoughtful Father’s Day gift, you’re in luck. Today we’re sharing the Father’s Day Tie. This necktie takes just 36 grams of Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash! 

Universal Yarn Deluxe DK Tweed

I talk to my dad at least two or three times a week. He’s one of my best friends, and I feel so lucky for that. On top of that, my husband (and hesitant but equally gracious model for these photos) is a pretty fantastic dad to our dogs and cats. Yep – I am totally the kind of person who sees their pets as a ridiculously special part of my family.

Anyway, as we well know, Father’s Day celebrates all the great father figures out there. Yep, father figures – because it’s so important to recognize those that have played that role in our lives, regardless of a biological relationship. Whether that’s a spouse, friend, dad (or dog dad!), it’s important to take a moment to say thank you.

The Father’s Day Tie is knit flat primarily in linen stitch and features a spine of slipped stitches down the center. Paired with Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash, this accessory elevates an otherwise casual look. So what are you waiting for? Grab your needles and yarn and get started! You can find the pattern here (link).

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Natural Dye Series: Azaleas

Yarn dyed green

You might remember that back in October I introduced the first post about my adventures in naturally dyeing our Superwash Merino Worsted Weight yarn. In that post (link), I gushed about how much I love the warm hues of autumn. Well, it’s spring now – though it certainly feels like summer here in Charlotte. That means it’s time to play with some yarns that are a bit more warm-weather friendly.

Today I’m using our soft and silky Universal Yarn Ready to Dye Merino Silk Sport Weight. It’s a gorgeous sportweight yarn with enough silk to make it appropriate for garments and accessories to throw over your shoulders on summer nights.

Whenever possible, I like to harvest dyes from the plants growing in and around my yard. I can choose what to grow, and there are endless ways I can experiment. Natural dyeing is, without a doubt, full of surprises, and you’ll understand what I mean when you see the results of my adventure with azalea dye.

I have a few azalea shrubs around my house. Just weeks ago they were full of brilliant pink blossoms, but now they’ve dried. I was plucking some weeds from my herb garden when it hit me: I have so many dried blossoms! Why not try to dye with them?

I grabbed a freezer bag and stuffed them full of the dried blossoms. Side note: If you use a freezer bag like I did (why didn’t I just grab a bowl?!), remember to simply rinse it and re-use it!

After collected my blossoms, I weighed them. I took into consideration the weight of the bag and ended up with approximately 37g. I could have collected more – I barely put a dent in my shrubs!

For today’s tutorial you’ll need:

  • 1 skein of Universal Yarn Ready to Dye Merino Silk Sport Weight
  • Approximately 30-40g of dried azalea blossoms
  • Alum – you can find this in the baking/spices section of your grocery store.
  • Two stainless-steel pots that you don’t plan to use for cooking – I purchased mine for a few dollars at a thrift store.
  • Tongs – they don’t need to be stainless steel but choose some that you won’t use for cooking.
  • A kitchen scale – I can’t recommend this one enough. Although it isn’t essential, if you’re a knitter, you should have one! It’s useful for much more than dyeing.
  • Measuring cups/tablespoon
  • White distilled vinegar
  • Salt
  • Water

Step 1: Create a mordant and soak your yarn.  You can find specific instructions for creating a mordant in my first post (link here). If you’ve been following along and have a jar of mordant already, simply reuse the solution.

Step 2: While your yarn is soaking, prepare your dyebath.

  • Fill your stainless-steel pot with enough water to allow your yarn to flow freely.
  • Dissolve 1 tbsp of salt into the water.
  • Pour ½ cup of vinegar into the water – salt and vinegar help to brighten the dye.
  • Add your azalea blossoms and use the tongs to stir the pot.
  • Bring to a simmer over your stovetop. Allow simmering for 30 minutes to an hour.
  • Lower the temperature so that the water is just under a simmer. If you want a specific temperature, you’ll want the water to be about 190 degrees F.

You can see that the dyebath turned into a rosy color.

Step 3: Remove your yarn from the mordant bath, gently squeezing the excess mordant from the yarn.

Step 4: Carefully place your yarn into the dyebath.

Step 5: Allow the yarn to soak in the dyebath for about an hour. Turn off the heat and set the pot aside. Do not remove the yarn yet.

Step 6: Allow the yarn to cool in the dyebath – I let mine cool overnight.

Step 7: Remove your yarn and rinse thoroughly. I recommend stepping outside and giving it a few vigorous shakes to remove the remaining plant matter.

Before I reveal the yarn, I want to take a moment to emphasize how surprising natural dyeing can be. As you can see, the color of the dyebath was initially pretty pink. After about an hour it looked much more like a silvery-purple. I was really excited about those results. Even when the water cooled it remained a deep purple.

So, you might imagine my surprise when I discovered that my azalea dye turned into this…

Universal Yarn Ready to Dye Collection

Isn’t it the loveliest shade of green? I’m over the moon about the results of this dye experiment, and I’m sure I’ll be using azaleas for dyeing again soon. The transformation is pretty stunning.

Before and After dyeing with Ready to Dye yarn

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Free Pattern Friday – Reversible Cable Blanket

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Reversible Cable Blanket in Major (pattern link here).

If you’re like me, you love cables. Cables are especially exciting when the fabric is reversible. Yep, the Reversible Cable Blanket really is reversible (did you think we were kidding with that name?).

The backbone of this pattern simply is K2, P2 Rib framed by a border of garter stitch. Every 8 rows two sets of K2, P2 stitches are crossed, creating an elegant cable and reversible fabric. That’s really all there is to this pattern!

Cables, glorious cables!

Major is a perfect medium for this pattern. It’s quick to knit, incredibly soft, and easy to care for. Major is a bulky weight, 100% acrylic yarn that comes in a generously sized 200-gram ball. There are many beautiful, self-shading colors of Major ranging from perfect pastels to bold, vibrant beauties, and no-nonsense neutrals. It’s no wonder that this yarn is a customer favorite.

Better yet, this pattern is written in two sizes: a baby blanket and throw blanket size. Make one as a gift and another to keep for yourself. After all, you surely deserve to cuddle up to a squishy, cabled blanket.

Have a wonderful, craft-filled weekend!

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What are we working on?

When I decided to write a blog post today I was planning to focus on my Seamless Leaves pullover, but as I was taking photos, an idea popped into my head – why not share what everyone around the office is working on? I moseyed around the office asking our team about what they’re working on and whether I could take a few quick photos of their projects. Sadly, Yonca and Amy are out today (they surely deserve it after a busy weekend at Stitches West), so their own projects aren’t included.

First up: Seamless Leaves

W

Cottonwood is one of my favorite yarns. It’s eco-friendly and has so many beautiful colors to choose from.

I love so many of the projects in the new collection, Arboretum, featuring projects by the one and only Amy Gunderson using Fibra Natura Cottonwood. Each pattern in the Arboretum ebook is extremely wearable and tempting to cast on, especially when the temperature has been lingering in the 60s and 70s in North Carolina.  I decided that I needed to cast on a Seamless Leaves pullover for myself, and I wanted a basic, black version. Because of my inclination to knit things in deeply saturated colors (especially warm colors), I just don’t have enough neutral garments in my wardrobe. This project is my perfect solution.

I love the lightweight fabric created by Cottonwood. It’s wonderfully smooth and even with stitch definition that makes the raglan details on this pattern shine.

Even unblocked and worked in such a dark color, these details look great thanks to Cottonwood’s superb stitch definition.

Our sales team seems to be having an affair with two-at-a-time socks, toe-up socks.

Left: Krista’s socks in Pix, Right: Katie’s socks in Allegro

Here’s what Krista had to say about her project:

“I’m always working on a pair of socks.  Always.  For this project, I am using one of my favorite yarns, Pix, in the Paisley print.  They’re a plain vanilla pair (nothing but stockinette) using a basic short row heel.  I love how Pix works up in patterns as I’m knitting. This yarn makes a simple project very fun. Socks are perfect on-the-go knitting to keep in my bag.”

Here’s what Katie had to say about her beautiful WIP:

“I enjoy making socks, but I have Second Sock Syndrome and never learned how to do two-at-a-time socks.  Krista helped me with the cast-on and now I am loving it! I was even able to just knit at my daughter’s choir concert last night and didn’t mess up.  Woohoo; progress! I love the elasticity of Allegro. I am using the color Grape Sonata. I decided to do ribbing over the arch instead of just stockinette stitch because I love my store-bought socks with the ribbing on the foot.  We’ll see how it turns out!”

I’m sure they’re going to be perfect! If you’re also a sock knitter, you might be interested in one of our free sock patterns like this one, this one, or this one.

Finally, our social-media extraordinaire (and quite frankly, everything-extraordinaire!), Heather, showed me a deliciously squishy hat knit up in Poems Silk in the Baffin Island colorway. She told me she enjoys a simple hat project when she’s knitting at the movie theater. I have to say, this is always something that impresses me. Whenever I bring knitting to the theater I have the tendency to drop the occasional stitch or insert an unwanted yarn-over. Serious props to those of you who are successful in your endeavors in low-light knitting! Heather’s hat is looking great and we can’t wait to see the finished version.

That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed a little glimpse into some of our projects! We’d love to share more soon.

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Be Mine: Free Pattern and Tutorial

Whether you love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day will be here in about a week. What better way to prepare than by knitting yourself (or someone else who is sweet) a shawl? We’ve got you covered – to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’re offering the Be Mine Shawl for free!

You could ask anyone in the office and they would probably tell you that I have an unrelenting sweet tooth. It is just so difficult for me to turn down sugary sweet snacks. What does this have to do with our Valentine’s freebie? Well, the inspiration for the Be Mine Shawl came from conversation heart candies. (In case you were wondering, I prefer the white, wintergreen flavored hearts.)

Be Mine is a triangular shawl comprised mostly of garter stitch. It is knit in Fibra Natura Papyrus, a yarn with a luxurious blend of cotton and silk. This yarn is velvety soft and creates a beautifully drapey fabric.

After working the body of the shawl, three bold stripes featuring a lace heart motif are worked to create a lovely border. Small, brightly colored stripes break up the lace sections. Finally, the shawl is finished with a delicate crochet-picot edging. (By the way, back in December Amy posted a tutorial on a Crochet Picot Edging here, but please note that instead of entirely skipping a stitch between picots as directed in the tutorial, you will instead work a slip stitch in the stitch between picots.)

You can find this gorgeous shawl pin by Jul Designs here.


Because Be Mine uses garter stitch, it’s nice to have a beautiful, elastic bind off. As a bit of a tight knitter, I like to use the Suspended Bind-off whenever I want a neat, elastic edge. I highly recommend this technique for this shawl design, and I call for it in the pattern. The method is nearly as simple as your standard bind off. It really just involves holding onto a stitch just a moment longer. If that sounds confusing, don’t worry, because I’ll show you exactly what I mean.

Begin as you would when using a standard bind off by knitting the first two stitches.

Step 1: Slip the first stitch you knit onto the left-hand handle.
Step 2: Do not drop this stitch. Instead, pass this stitch over the second stitch on the right-hand needle as you normally would when binding off, except keep that first stitch “suspended” on your left-hand needle.
Step 3: Next, knit the second stitch on the left-hand needle (note: leave the stitch from the previous step suspended). 
Step 4: Now you will slide the stitch you’ve just knit into and the suspended stitch (outlined above) off of the left-hand needle.
Repeat Steps 1-4 until you have two stitches remaining on your right-hand needles. Finish by binding off these stitches as usual.
Ta-da! You now have a neat, elastic bound-off edge.
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Day 12 of Winter

For the last installment of our blog series on our 12 Days of Winter Kit Collection, we’re unveiling the Twining Vines Cowl.  Twining Vines features Amphora. It is a perfect yarn for colorwork because its gorgeous halo blends the fibers together seamlessly. The effect is almost like an impressionist painting.

In addition to carrying two colors throughout this pattern, you’ll also need to trap your floats. It’s simpler than you might think. This tutorial is useful for any stranded project. If you’d like a closer look at the images, simply click on them.

Notice the large number of white stitches between the blue stitches. This is an area you’ll want to “trap” or “catch” your float to prevent any snagging.
Begin by knitting across your row as usual. Continue until you reach the section that requires trapping a float. Usually, an area that requires trapping floats will have more than five stitches.
As a rule of thumb, I trap my floats every five stitches. I’ve knit across four stitches, and I will trap my float on the fifth stitch.
Simply place your non-working yarn over the right-hand needle, but do not knit with it.
Wrap your working yarn around the right-hand needle to knit. Make sure your non-working yarn (the blue yarn) is over the needle and the working yarn (the white yarn).
Begin to knit the stitch. Notice how I’m holding the blue yarn. It is still above the white yarn, but it is not wrapped around the right-hand needle. Take care not to pull the non-working  (blue) yarn through the stitch. 
Knit the stitch. As you can see, the blue yarn is still at the back of the work. You can continue knitting as usual after this. That’s really how simple it is!
When you peek at the wrong side of your work, you’ll be able to see where you trapped the float. Notice the blue bump in the middle of the white stitches? That is where I’ve trapped the blue yarn underneath the white yarn.

Just like that, we’ve released all 12 of the patterns featured in our 12 Days of Winter Collection. We sincerely hope you’ve been enjoying our blog series highlighting each pattern. You can find the Twining Vines kit on our website here.

Now that you’ve seen them all, I’d also like to emphasize that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. What better way to show your support for your local yarn shop than by stopping by to pick up one of our kits on Small Business Saturday?

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Day 11 of Winter

What are some things that come to mind when you think of winter? Seeing your breath in the cool air? Staying warm at home as snow falls softly to the ground? Building snowmen and coming inside to a cup of warm cocoa? Whatever you envision on a cold winter’s day, Tundra is sure to keep you warm.

Tundra is cabled hat that captures the look of icy winter days, yet keeps you snug and warm. It features all-over cables that begin at the cuff and are carried into the crown shaping.

If ever there was a yarn meant to be coupled with cables, Dona would be that yarn. It has impeccable stitch definition, which is perfect for the interlocking twists and turns of cabled fabric. The Tundra hat combines simple, but beautiful cables with the plump and incredibly soft Dona.

Like each kit in the 12 Days of Winter Collection, the Tundra Kit comes in a giftable package. Perhaps you’re the knitter doing the gifting (isn’t the act of knitting a gift to yourself anyway?)–great news–this pattern is sized baby through adult, so it’s perfect for anyone special in your life.

By the way, I’d be remiss not to mention that today is also Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. I hope your day is full of delicious food, laughter among loved ones, and some comfort knitting while you recover from all of that feasting!

You can find the kit for Tundra on our website here.

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Day 6 of Winter

The Pine View scarf is a perfect winter accessory. It’s large, warm, and has an excellent amount of squish because it’s knit in our Deluxe Chunky.

This pattern only uses charts, but don’t let that intimidate you! The stitches are not at all complicated. You’ll get a nice rest at the center of the scarf, too. Personally, I prefer charts over written instructions because I’m a visual person. Charts enable you to see the stitches before you create them.

With that said, some charts can seem overwhelming. You might feel as though you’re getting lost in the grid full of symbols. Fear not, because I’d like to share some helpful tips and tricks for reading charts.

1. Familiarize yourself with symbols.

Take time to review the key and ensure you understand what  each symbol means.

2. Flat or in the round?

Is the pattern flat or in the round? When you knit in the round, charts are read from right to left on every row. Pine View is knit flat, meaning that on right side rows you’ll read right to left, and on wrong side rows you’ll read left to right.

Charts that are knit flat have numbers on both the right and left sides. Charts knit in the round only have numbers on the right side.

3. Stay on track!

Highlighters – Don’t cross out rows—you want to be able to go back and read previous rows in case you make a mistake. And, if you’re like me, you will make mistakes! I probably use highlighters most frequently. Simply highlight the rows you’ve completed, and read from the row above.

Washi Tape – For those who prefer not to see previous rows at all, washi tape is a great solution. It can easily be removed from the paper, so you can hide previous rows and simply peel back the tape to see them.

Stitch markers – For charts that have repeats, use stitch markers. It honestly makes a world of difference. A mistake is less likely to offset the entire row if you’re using stitch markers between each repeat.

You can find this pattern, Day 6 of our 12 Days of Winter collection here.

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Day 5 of Winter

Today we’re introducing the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten Set. The neutral set is incredibly wearable for men and women alike. Personally, I love working with undyed wool. It is rustic in appearance and goes with nearly anything. While I’m a lover of color, I equally adore the natural shades of wool. You can see more of our Deluxe Worsted Naturals collection here.

This set features all over cables and a contrasting cuff. I wanted to give this set a professional finish, so I used the long-tail tubular cast-on method.

I can easily recall a time when I felt intimidated by the Tubular cast-on method. Like many things in knitting (and in life), we often perceive new things to be more challenging than they really are. This cast-on method is one of those things. If you look at the Nutmeg set, you’ll notice that the 1×1 Ribbing seems to run seamlessly from the right side to the wrong side. Notice the lack of a cast-on edge in the photo below. You can’t tell where it was cast-on. That is the beauty of a tubular cast-on.

It takes more time than most other methods and it feels a bit fiddly at first, but it’s well worth it. It’s by far my favorite method when I’m using 1×1 Rib.

If you’d like a closer look at each photo, simply click it.

To begin, place your yarn over the needle, leave a long tail as you would with a traditional long-tail cast on. You can use a slip knot, however; I do not so that the cast-on stitches are as invisible as possible.
Hold your yarn in place with your index finger.

Separate your tail and working yarn with your thumb and your index finger. You’ll do the same way you would for a regular long-tail cast-on.
Notice that I’m tensioning my yarn the same way that I would for a regular long-tail cast on.
Working from front to back, bring your needle under the yarn around your thumb.
Bring the needle up through the center.
Working from front to back, bring the needle over the yarn around your index finger and dip underneath it, then underneath the yarn around your thumb.
Correct the tension in your yarn. You now have two stitches. Notice how there is not a bump across that stitch? This will be a knit stitch.

The motion for a purl stitch mirrors the knit stitch.

Working from front to back, bring the needle over the yarn around your index finger, dipping below it and bringing the needle back through the center.
Working from back to front, bring the needle over the yarn around your thumb, dipping below it and then below the yarn around your index finger.
Correct your tension. Notice that this stitch has a purl bump. This is a purl stitch.

Continue in this manner, alternating between knit and purl stitches until you have the required number of stitches.

Notice the difference between the knit stitches and the purl stitches.

Once you have the correct number of stitches, carefully turn your work. I highly recommend using your index finger to hold the last stitch you cast on in place. Now you’ll begin working the first foundation row.

Once you’ve turned your work, grab your working yarn and slip the first stitch purlwise with your yarn in front.
Bring your yarn to the back.
Knit the next stitch through the back loop. This will untwist the knit stitch.

Continue to slip the purl stitches with your yarn in front and knit the knit stitches through the back loop to the end of your work. Turn your work. Now you’ll begin the second foundation row.

Just as in the previous row, slip the purl stitches purlwise with yarn in front.
Knit the knit stitches normally–there is no need to knit them through the back loop because these stitches should no longer be twisted.

Repeat the last two steps to the end of the row

On the next row, simply work in K1, P1 ribbing by purling the purl stitches and knitting the knit stitches.

This is what your finished cast on should look like.

Once you’ve finished casting on, you can join your work in the round (as would be the case for the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten Set). There will be a small space you’ll want to seam. Typically I do this just before weaving my tail into the project.

This method works for projects that are knit flat or in the round. It gives your projects such a neat finish. It’s also much more stretchy than a traditional long tail cast-on.

You can find the link to the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten set here.