You’ve got everyone else covered for the holidays, but what do YOU want?
Did you get a gift certificate to your LYS? Need something to point to for that well-meaning relative? You know the one – they want to do right, but then they panic and get you a bunch of random skeins from a grab bag. Sure, it’s the thought that counts, but when you say “you shouldn’t have!” maybe you’d rather not mean it. It’s so much easier to point at a color kit and discreetly clear your throat.
This set shows why we love self-patterning Uptown Tapestry so much. A basic knit turns colorful so easily!
This is a cute little 3-skein set. A classic kid cardi, with hat and booties.
The cardi is knit in one piece from the bottom up. If you want to get sleeves and each bootie to match, you’ll want to find the same place in the patterning on your balls. Of course, babies look awfully cute in hand-knits, matching or not.
We hope you enjoy this cute little set. Happy knitting!
The Summit Scarf from our Colorful Commute e-book features triple knotted fringe. It is an easy way to add a lot of visual interest to your project. It may look complicated, but it’s really quite simple and doesn’t take much more time or effort than plain fringe. Today I’ll show you how to do it!
Step 1: Begin as you normally would when adding fringe to a project, for this scarf I cut 21” strands of yarn. Then, holding two strands together as one, I attached groups of fringe to the edge of the scarf, about one group every other stitch.
Step 2: Take half of one group of fringe knot together with half of next group of fringe 1” below first row of knots. I did not split the first and last groups of fringe.
Step 3: Repeat for another row of knots. To finish, trim fringe evenly.
That’s all there is to it! You can keep adding more rows of knots to create some really amazing and intricate looking fringe, use longer strands of yarn when increasing the number of knotted rows. Beads can be placed above the knots (or even in place of the knots) to add some sparkle – there are so many possibilities.
This is the perfect time of year to highlight one of our most holly jolly colorways, 607 Zenith in Classic Shades Metallic. We’ve previously shown off this color, in this 2014 blog post with a knitted project, shown below.
Red, dark ash, green, and some silver sparkle. Love this yarn! The Bruges Noel Shawl is a triangular shawl that is worked sideways from one tip to the other. The stitches used are traditional crochet Bruges lace, constructed with strips of double crochet and connected with chain spaces. This shawl is worked in one piece. At 84″ (7 feet) long, this is a great shawl to wrap around yourself and show off. It’s a fun crochet project with the right amount of sparkle.
If bling isn’t your thing, this would work up at exactly the same gauge in self-shading Classic Shades, which has the same fiber content without the metallic strand. But if ever there were a time of year to sparkle a little, this is it.
Today, I have another tutorial involving a crochet hook to go along with our In Transit e-book. The Trade Street Cowls and Hat pattern uses contrasting applied crochet lines to create vertical stripes. The lines are added to the purl columns in the finished pieces.
The Trade Street Hat and Cowls feature an applied crochet stripe. No carrying colors on the back side! The pattern comes with both long and short versions of the cowl.
It can be a lot of fun choosing the color for the applied crochet lines, and there are a few options, depending on the look you would like to create. Using a solid color in Uptown Bulky that also appears in the Main Color produces a plaid-like effect. With Classic Shades Big Time as the Contrasting Color, there are a ton of options – choose a highly contrasting section of the color repeat to make the stripes pop, use a section that is neutral or similar to the Main Color for more subtle stripes or choose a section with quicker color changes for gradient stripes.
Let’s get started!
Once you have finished and blocked your cowl or hat, you are ready to add the applied crochet lines.
Step 1: Holding yarn beneath work, insert crochet hook through the center of the first purl st in a column.
Step 2: Pull a loop of yarn through to the front of the work.
Step 3: Insert hook through the next st up in the same purl column, pull a loop of yarn through to the front of the work (2 loops on hook), pull the second loop through the first loop (1 loop on hook); repeat along entire column.
Step 4: When entire column is complete, break yarn, leaving a 3 to 4 inch tail and pull through last loop.
Step 5: Pull tail to wrong side and weave in ends.
Keep going until all of the purl columns have applied crochet lines.
Will you go for subtle or bold stripes on your Trade Street Cowls and Hat?
It’s made with one ball each of two colors in Uptown Bulky Amplify, a super soft anti-pilling acrylic with lots of bounce.
Knit it up on size 13 (9mm) needles, alternating balls to create the colorful striping. It’s super-easy. Just work straight garter stitch, then sew the ends together. You can wrap this baby up to four times around your neck. Just decide how much “squoosh” you want.
We hope you enjoy this thick and quick simple project in one of our most squishable yarns.
Did you enjoy Thanksgiving? Ready to snuggle up under a warm blanket? We’ve got you covered (no pun intended).
The Lilypad Afghan is composed of strips of join-as-you-go hexagons in four colors of big, beautiful Major (328yds/200g). On a US Size J/10 (6 mm) hook, it zips along fairly quickly.
The pattern is written, charted, and contains a schematic showing just how it all comes together. A satisfying and cozy project!
We hope you’re having a great holiday, and that you remember to show your LYS some love on Small Business Saturday.
Have you seen the New Bern Cowl and wondered how I created that faux cable look? Today, I’ll show you how, step by step!
It is a very simple technique, but brace yourself knitters…it does involve a crochet hook! Don’t worry though, if you can do a simple chain, you can do this.
Pretty easy, right? I can’t wait for you to try it out on your very own New Bern Cowl!
The Trade Street Hat and Cowls feature an applied crochet stripe. No carrying colors on the back side! The pattern comes with both long and short versions of the cowl.
Designer Tori Gurbisz suggests trying a contrasting color of solid Uptown Bulky for the stripe.
Wrap it around or wear it long. It’s your choice.
So easy! The New Bern Cowl calls for just two balls of Big Time and a US Size 15 (10mm) needle.
The vertical stitch in the New Burn Cowl is simple. Drop the stitch and pull it back up the column with a crochet hook.
The rib stitch is so stretchy and comfy that no buttonholes are required. The buttons nest neatly through the stitches.
You’ll want to keep the Kings Drive Shawl by the door so you can always have it handy when you go out. So pretty!
A central spine of shells provides a focal point for the Kings Drive Shawl.
Designer Amy Gunderson gave this shawl an light crescent shape so that it sits easily on the shoulders.
Wear the Kings Drive Shawl however you like – it always looks great.
Is there anything more perfect for entrelac than self-shading yarn?
Work the Euclid Scarf in one piece from end to end on US Size 15 (10mm) needles.
After finishing the body, add edging and decorative i-cord loops for the perfect final touch.
Stripes and lace? The mix works together beautifully in Tori Gurbisz’s Camden Wrap.
Knit the 70″ Camden Wrap in one long piece with bias shaping.
Wear the Camden Wrap long, toss it over a shoulder, or wrap up. Very versatile!
The Caldwell Poncho is worked in four identical strips that are joined with a crochet slip-stitch seam.
Wear this piece buttoned as a poncho or loose as a wrap. Your choice!
How Autumn-y are these colors? We’ve featured a lot of designs for our popular bulky yarn Major (328yds/200g) using pastels and bluish tones (the Pineapple Peacock Shawl is a favorite) but these more southwestern, earthy tones of color 113 Santa Fe fit the Double Cable Poncho well.
The poncho is made as two rectangles which are them sewn together, long end to short end. A twisted fringe is added to finish it off.
If you haven’t tried twisted fringe before, it’s really easy. Amy Gunderson’s got a short video to show you just how to do it.
It’s actually rather meditative, which is always a great quality in a crafting project.
We hope you have an excellent weekend. Happy knitting!
