Sunday Swatch – Page 2 – Universal Yarn Creative Network

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Classic Shades

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Classic Shades (197yds/100g).

Above, the start of a basic multi-directional scarf on size 8 needles in the founding member of our Classic Shades family of yarns. Classic Shades is a wildly popular yarn, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s got a very affordable price for its generous 197 yards – three balls easily makes Yumiko Alexander’s stunning Arizona Sunset cowl, double-wrapped in the picture at right.

Classic Shades is an acrylic/wool blend in a silky soft single. Durable and machine washable, it’s a great choice for those wanting a self-shading yarn with knockout color.

May 11, 2014May 11, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Superwool

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Superwool.

Superwool is one of those yarns that you touch, then you pause and squeeze because you can’t quite believe what you’re feeling. Superwool is super stretchy! It’s an acrylic/nylon blend that’s specially spun to provide a lot of give. Frankly, as, shall we say, a “substantial” knitter I am delighted to find a yarn that’s going to be kind to my curves – especially a super bulky one that knits up quickly.

This swatch is a cable taken from the Lava Flow Cowl pictured at right, a one ball pattern that’s part of our free Quick Cowls e-book. It works up very quickly on size 17 needles. I knitted this swatch in a coffee shop and foolishly left my cable needle at home, so I wound up using a Sharpie magic marker to hold my stitches. I felt quite resourceful.

If I hadn’t had my tools, I still could have made a quick project – this yarn works great for arm-knitting. It’s simple to make this 50″ long “Supercowl” using just your hands and one skein. Superwool’s elasticity makes it a natural fit for arm-knitting. It’s very easy to move the yarn over your wrists.

I just might unravel this swatch and use it to teach my daughter how to arm-knit. What a fun project in a fun yarn!

May 4, 2014May 4, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Little Bird Colors

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Little Bird Colors.

This is color 203. With a name like “Grass Stain” it just had to come outdoors to play.

Little Bird Colors, like its sibling Little Bird, is a smooth machine-washable 100% acrylic with a cottony feel. This yarn glided along my needles with ease. Little Bird Colors comes 344 yards per 100g, so this swatch barely made a dent in the ball.

The stitch used is the same as in the free pattern Little Dreamer Pullover at right. This baby and toddler sweater was designed for Little Bird solids, and I was curious as to how it would look with the stripes of Little Bird Color. Answer – great! The swatch was knitted to the same dimensions as the smallest size of the sweater – 61 stitches wide, with five rows of twisted rib on a US Size 3 needle and the body knitted on a slightly larger US Size 4. I’m tempted to keep going, since baby shower season is upon us and it’s always a good idea to have a spare gift on hand.

For those curious as to what the back side of this slip stitch rib looks like, it’s even and smooth, as you can see.

This was also excellent practice in slip stitch – the next Afghan Knitalong block releases on May 12th and features this technique, so it was a good time to brush up.

We hope you spend a little time outdoors among green and growing things today. Happy knitting!

April 27, 2014April 27, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Classic Shades Big Time

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Classic Shades Big Time.

Classic Shades Big Time is part of our popular Classic Shades family of yarns. As the name implies, it’s the same wool/acrylic blend as Classic Shades, but BIG. These were knit on a US size 11(8mm) needle, and you could easily go up to a US13.

Although this is a bulky yarn, the pattern is actually taken from the scrap sock yarn blanket at Luann’s Loose Threads. Cast on 31 and follow the instructions for a single mitered square.

I had planned to do just one, but it went so fast I wanted to keep going!

To hook two squares together as in the larger picture above, I finished one square and left my last stitch (upper right purple corner in the picture at right) on the needle, then did an e-loop cast on of an additional 15 stitches. I knitted back across the stitches I had cast on, then picked up and knitted 15 stitches along the edge of the square I had just finished. With 31 stitches on the needle I followed the directions for another square. It would have been just as easy to line up the direction that the rows went by binding off that final stitch, then picking up along a different edge and starting a new square.

There are a lot of applications for these mitered squares. Can’t you imagine a row of these for a scarf, or several strips or blocks for an afghan? The color changes would be striking! One 150g ball of Classic Shades Big Time will make five 6 1/2″ square blocks on a size 11 needle.

If you’re looking for something on even bigger needles, how about the free Skyscraper Shawl at right? Two balls of Classic Shades Big Time on a size 15 needle – instant gratification!

We hope your week is filled with big, beautiful things!

April 20, 2014April 20, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Cotton Supreme DK

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Cotton Supreme DK.

Ah, Spring. Time to plant the garden, spruce up the house, and experiment with cooler fabrics. Hence the paint job on the fence – and today’s Sunday Swatch.

Cotton Supreme DK is a lighter weight version of our favorite worsted weight Cotton Supreme. It knits up nicely on a US Size 5 or 6 needle.

The Cotton Supreme family isn’t tiring on the hands as some cottons can be – I knitted the Sea Breeze top shown at right for my daughter out of Cotton Supreme and would happily do it again.

This design is part of Yumiko Alexander’s Warm Earth Book 3, which until recently was only available in print. We’re delighted to release the book and its patterns for sale as digital downloads from Ravelry and Craftsy. Yumiko’s patterns are always a pleasure to make, and we look forward to sharing more of them with you electronically.

If you’re looking for something free, there’s always the popular Fleurette Lace Pullover designed for Cotton Supreme DK. Long sleeved but lacy on both front and back, it’s perfect for this time of year.

Happy knitting!

April 13, 2014April 13, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Uptown Worsted

Sunday Swatch is in Uptown Worsted.

Sunday Swatch will look very familiar to those of you who are joining us for the Afghan Knitalong. I thought I’d try Square Two, the “Do The Wave” block in different colors than my original color choice, just for kicks.

Why different colors? Well, we now have not one, not two, but THREE different people at Universal Yarn working on the Rocky Shore colorway selection.

Once again, all their blocks are different. But still – sometimes you want to mix things up a bit.

There’s something else different about the colorful block. It contains a noticeable mistake. The pattern itself is just fine, it’s just that I wasn’t paying close attention as I worked. So the choice before me was whether to unravel or to keep going.

These blocks are meant to be a learning experience, so that’s how I approached the decision. When I look at the finished afghan, do I need it to be perfect? Or will I enjoy looking at it and thinking about about the experience of making it?

In the end, I decided to let it go. It will be one block among many, so it probably won’t stand out. I’ll let this block be a lesson in accepting imperfection.

We’ll be back next week with block number three in our Afghan Knitalong. See you then!

April 6, 2014April 6, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Polaris

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Polaris, color 71009 Libra.

Polaris is a champion of our Rozetti Yarns line. It’s a lightweight yarn with a lovely, soft halo. Sequins are spaced along its length, and I’m here to tell you that the sequins stay where they are. This is a sturdy yarn.

How do I know? Coming home from work a few days ago, I made it all the way into the house before I felt a tug coming from my purse. I walked back outside and saw what no needlecrafter wants to see.

Sunday Swatch was still in the car. I was not.

Fearing the worst, I opened the door.

Whew! It was a good day to go with circular needles instead of straights – the cable was fine, but if it had been a straight needle it surely would have snapped.

The yarn itself withstood being slammed in the car door and dragged across the driveway with absolutely no ill effects. If a cat has nine lives, how many does this swatch have?

This stitch pattern is taken from the Snowflower Scarf pictured at right, a free three-ball pattern in Polaris on our website. Pretty!

Polaris is a yarn that we love so much we’re adding new colors this Fall. I look forward to using this yarn to make more projects – all tucked safely away from car doors.

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Infusion Handpaints

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Infusion Handpaints.

Infusion Handpaints is a 50/50 blend of acrylic and superwash merino wool, a good combination of softness and durability.

I picked some bright colors today to chase away the winter blahs. Wouldn’t these be great for a machine washable children’s garment? Of course, if you want something more grownup you could try the Painted Wings Shawlette shown at right, a nice single skein project.

This stitch pattern on the sock swatch uses the same yarn-crossing principle as the smocked stitch on our Jubilation Kettle Dye sample a couple of weeks ago, but it’s even easier. It goes like so, over a multiple of four:

Round 1: Knit.

Round 2: *K2, with yarn in front slip 2 purlwise* over round.

Round 3: Knit.

Round 4: *With yarn in front slip 2 purlwise, k2* over round.

It’s good “on the go” knitting since it’s so easy to memorize. This sample is 56 stitches on a US Size 2 needle, so the rest of the sock should go pretty quickly. The Infusion Handpaints page has a couple of socks patterns using size 3 needles and a 48 stitch leg for even more instant gratification.

We’re fans of this yarn here in the office, and we have good things in the works for it – stay tuned for more details!

March 23, 2014March 23, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Poems Socks

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Poems Socks.

You’ll have to forgive the beat-up appearance of the ball. This one’s been in my personal stash for a while, pressed into service for testing out quite a few stitch patterns. Today it’s being used in the Crocus Scarf originally from Interweave Crochet Magazine, Spring 2007. I’m happy to see that they’ve re-published it and it’s now free with registration on the Crochet Me site. I’m always up for a good free pattern.

I used it here in a lengthwise scarf to show the advantage of Poems Socks’ gradual color shifts over long distances. It’s easy to achieve sweeping bands of color organically without having to change yarns. And since there are 459 yards per ball of Poems Socks, I’m done with the scarf (minus blocking) and still have half a ball left. It’s a pretty pattern – maybe I should just keep going and see how far one ball can go!

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014

Sunday Swatch – Poems Forte

Today’s swatch is in Poems Forte.

I say “swatch” but it seems to have turned into a scarf. I cast on at my local knit night and with all the good conversation and company, my little swatch ran away from me. I found myself at the end of the ball, wondering where the time had gone. And no wonder – on 10mm(US15) needles, this yarn knits up quickly.

This 12-stitch swatch used one ball of Poems Forte (colorway 1003 English Garden) and turned out to be 5 inches wide and 50 inches long – the 90 yards of super bulky wool went a long way.

This is a yarn I’ve been wanting to work with for a while. Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton uses Poems Forte in her popular design Camilla from Wisdom Book 4: Poems Windfall. I love the way she uses a system of yarn overs to create a fabric that is both thick and airy. What a lovely texture.

While poking around on Ravelry, I also stumbled across this gorgeous cowl knitted by raveler Miller1218. She modified the Swirling Cowl, a super-superbulky design to work on size 13 needles with less than a ball of Poems Forte in color 1007 Bursa, and the result is fabulous. This would be great to knock out at the next knit night. Based on experience, I know it’ll go quickly.