Yarns – Page 15 – Universal Yarn Creative Network

February 11, 2017August 21, 2020

Allegro Back to Basics Socks

Everybody say hi to my dad.

As you may have guessed, it’s not a recent picture. However, he’s still got that youthful spirit and twinkle in his eye. He still has a wicked sense of humor. And he’s astonished (in a good way!) that his little tomboy grew up to be such a prolific knitter. What’s better, he appreciates my knitting.

We all know there’s nothing like crafting for someone who truly cherishes what we’ve made. Dad’s great about that. When I made him his first pair, he proclaimed they were “like butter” and that he never knew socks could feel that good. Obviously, this is someone knitworthy.

When we got our first shipment of Allegro, a no-wool sock yarn, I knew this is what I’d be using for his 2017 birthday. It’s so smooth! I chose color 803 Slate Minstrel.

Knitting in the grass in summertime. Bliss.

Although there’s no wool content, Allegro has a bounce to it that makes it perfect for socks. They stay up and keep their shape nicely. Allegro would also be great for any projects where wool allergies are a concern, or for those who simply want to avoid animal products.

As you can see, there was plenty in one ball to make a pair, and the striping matched pretty much perfectly. There’s enough left over that I could have extended the cuffs or made a larger size with no worries.

My go-to pattern is Back to Basic Socks, a free pattern on our website for a cuff-down heel flap sock. It goes fairly quickly and stands up well to wear. It’s also a great starting point for those who want to customize by adding, say, an eye-of-partridge heel or patterning along the leg. For Dad’s socks, though, I kept it basic. Ribbed leg, plain heel, nice and simple. I knew he’d appreciate them just as they were.

Dad’s birthday was at the end of January. Alas, I don’t have a picture of my dad with the socks, so please enjoy this picture of a previous birthday. Once again this year, he was delighted by his hand-knitted socks. And I am once again picking out yarn for his next pair.

We wish you joyful knitting for an appreciative audience.

(And happy birthday, Dad!)

October 20, 2016December 9, 2016

Just for you – Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

If you’re a good little crafter, you’re already busy making your holiday gifts. Or you could be more like me and have the best intentions, but then somehow it’s the last minute and you’ve knocked out an emergency pair of Felted Scuffles and are frantically drying them with a hair dryer.

Somehow it seems that every year, one thing is true: in all the confusion, I never wind up knitting for myself.

Not this year.

Ever since this gorgeous book of Kristin Hansen knitted lace for Garden Metallic came out, I’ve had my eye on… well, on all of the patterns. I had the pleasure of helping prepare the garments for this photo shoot. Touching each delicate masterpiece was enough to make me fall in love. The one that sets my pulse racing, though, is the Midnight Sun Shawl, perhaps because it shares a name with one of my favorite songs.

https://youtu.be/pr5x7ivORUU?t=2m50s

Fetch my wrap, dear. The night is young and so are we.

The printed book is now also an e-book, as well as individual patterns. So this year, I’m going to myself something beautiful. I’m telling myself there’s still time this season, although realistically, I know myself and it will probably be next year before this sees the light of day. And I have nowhere to wear something this glamorous – but I have faith that if I make it, then the opportunity will present itself. Or perhaps I’ll be more likely to make my own opportunity.

If you’d like a lovely length of lace to call your own, don’t wait until everything else is done. It never will be. Do it now, just for you.

Kristin Hansen’s Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

Peacock Feather Shawl – 4 balls Garden Metallic color 702-24

Moonlight Shawl – 4 balls Garden Metallic color 702-27

Midnight Sun – 4 balls Garden Metallic color 702-36

Midnight Sun – Fetch my wrap, dear. The night is young and so are we.

Falling Leaves Cardigan – 4-6 balls Garden Metallic color 702-21

Falling Leaves Cardigan – sized Small through 3X

Aurora Wrap – 4 balls Garden Metallic color 702-28

You’re worth it.

Happy knitting!

October 14, 2016July 18, 2022

Free Pattern Friday – Cozy Cardi

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Cozy Cardi in Major.

We’ve had a lot of fun with Major this week…

please-dont-eat-the-major — Bad Amy! Bad!

…but our week of Major is drawing to a close. Don’t worry, though – we’ve already got more designs in the works. There’s a poncho that I’m just dying to try out, plus – well, you’ll see. But for today, we share this sweet little 1-2 ball hooded baby cardi.

Work the fronts and the hood in one piece side to side. Then work the sleeves and attach, make the lower hem, and add a crochet edge and three little loops to accommodate your cutest buttons. There’s an included schematic to show you how the whole thing folds together. It’s a quick and cute pattern without a lot of frills. Let the yarn do the work while you take the praise.

We’d love to hear – what kind of things would you like to see in this self-striping bulky yarn? We’ve got some ideas in the works, but there’s always room for more!

Happy crafting!

October 13, 2016April 19, 2021

Free Pattern – Woven Sky Throw

Our Week of Major Patterns continues!

Today, the Woven Sky Throw in Major.

Entrelac is one of those techniques that seems tailor made for self-striping yarn like Major. Here’s it’s taken one step further by using two complementary colors.

Variegated gray yarn swatch — Major 117 Graphite

Variegated gray and blue yarn swatch — Major 104 Pebbles

The gray tones blend beautifully, making the blue a subtle contrast against the background. Is this a cloudy sky, or a clear night with the first bit of blue beginning to show? That’s for the viewer to decide.

There are a lot of ways you could go with this. Instead of gray and blue, how about gray and green for more of a stones-in-grass feel?

Variegated gray and green yarn swatch — Major 101 Verdant

It’s all up to you. Happy crafting!

Closeup of light blue and gray entrelac Woven Sky Throw fabric.

October 12, 2016

Free Pattern – Stonefall Poncho

What can make you look forward to hump day? The promise of a free pattern!

Today, the Stonefall Poncho in Major.
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that Major (200g/328yds) is a brand new big, bulky, beautiful yarn that we’re shipping to LYSes as we speak. It’s great for both knit and crochet projects, like the one-ball crochet Zeppelin Scarf at right.

Today’s offering is a bulky weight lacy poncho knit on size 10 needles. It’s worked flat in two pieces, then seamed at the shoulders. Pick up around the neck to finish it off.

This poncho calls for three balls of color 118, Silver Blush. It’s got a hint of pale peachy pink to set off the silver/gray of the darker bands. It reminds me of stones that surprise you with bands of color.

We hope you have a great day, and find a little inspiration in the world around you. Happy crafting!

October 11, 2016

Free Pattern – Inchworm Baby Blanket

The Week of Major Patterns continues!

Today, the Inchworm Baby Blanket in Major.

We love this design for the way it uses Major’s self-striping qualities. Two complementary colors, 103 Capri and 105 Aloe, are swapped every other row. Crochet two rows with A, then two with B, etcetera. There’s no need to cut colors, you can just carry them up the sides as you go.

This free pattern is written and charted. It’s a six-row repeat that’s easy to memorize. Pretty timely for those of us who need a jump start on making gifts!

Tune back in tomorrow for another Major pattern! Happy crafting!

October 10, 2016

A Week of Major Patterns!

Yes! Our new Major yarn (no pun intended) is here, and we’re shipping it off to LYSes as we speak! We love this yarn. It comes in a big, beautiful, squeezable skein. How big?

Peekaboo! — Amy shows she’s behind Major 100%.

Big. 200g/328yds of bulky self-striping goodness.

We love this yarn. We’ve already had a great time designing with it, as with the Pineapple Peacock Shawl at right. Two balls of Major on aUS Size K-10½ (6.5 mm) hook makes a really dramatic and satisfying piece.

But to really celebrate, we’re sharing a new free pattern in Major every day this week! Today: the Blue Heartstrings Pullover.

Knitted in pieces and seamed, this sweater features crossed cables are repeated on the front and back (back view shown at right).

The yarn quantity given is enough to complete the project for that particular size. However, if you want to be doubly sure to match the striping on the front/back and sleeves, you may wish to purchase an extra ball in order to start at the same place in the color patterning in the yarn ball.

Tune in tomorrow to see what’s next!

Happy crafting!

March 24, 2016

Spotlight on Yashi

With Spring coming, we want to highlight a great yarn for warm weather.

Yashi is 100% raffia. It has a papery but soft feel and works great for accessories and home decor. Yashi Iro is its multi-colored companion, dyed in shades that coordinate with the solids. Our Sales Director Yonca has made a video to tell us all about it.

In the video, she mentions Rick Mondragon’s Japanese Knot bag, which is now available as a free pattern on our website.

This was originally available for STITCHESWest attendees, and we’re very grateful to Knitting Universe for sharing it with us. By the way, if you haven’t been to a STITCHES show yet, put it on your to-do list. They’re a blast.

You can find the Japanese Knot Bag pattern at this link.

We hope you enjoy this fun free crochet pattern. Happy crafting!

February 9, 2016July 29, 2019

Wash Day!

We had a question come in recently that we want to address:

Q: “I know your Deluxe Superwash says you can machine wash and dry it, but can you really?”

A: Yes!

We know because we’ve done it ourselves. Take a look!

Continue reading “Wash Day!”

November 16, 2015July 18, 2022

It’s the Neck’s Big Thing!

From time to time, I see a pattern that makes me think, “Man, I wish I’d thought of that!” The Neck’s Big Thing is just such a project. Developed a few years ago by Shelley Brander of Loops Knitting in Tulsa, OK, this scarf transforms just one skein of special yarn into a wearable art piece.

Our dear friend Susan Whitmore who used to own Rainy Day Yarns in Pineville, just a hop-skip-and jump from our office here in Harrisburg, NC, introduced us all to the Neck’s Big Thing a couple of years ago at TNNA. Then, recently I saw someone making one of these fabulous designs again it was reminded of how great a gift-project this is. It’s got everything going for it:

quick to make
easy to knit (or crochet!)
requires just 1 skein of yarn
attractive

What is there not to love?

I whipped up a couple of NBTs the other day using two of our yarns that are just perfect for it: Classic Shades Big Time and Bamboo Bloom Handpaints.

The one on the left is Bamboo Bloom Handpaints in color 317 Sensei. I held the yarn double throughout and followed the pattern exactly, except I cast on 11 stitches instead of 5. I also cut the fringe longer, at about 80″.

The version on the right uses Classic Shades Big Time color 817 Natural Glow. As you can see, I was going for an autumn theme! I love how Heather styled these. This project looks cool with the fringe hanging free, braided, wrapped, and no doubt many other ways!

Though I later found out Shelley created a crochet version for the Neck’s Big Thing, I just kind of winged mine. For anyone interested, here is the pattern I came up with:

US Size N/15 (10 mm) hook

Ch 10. Sc in second ch from hook and each ch across, turn.

Row 1: Ch 1, sc in first sc, [tr in next sc, sc in next sc] across, turn.

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn.

Rep Rows 1-2, 9 more times. Fasten off. Attach fringe as for knit version.

I could see this project in many other stitch variations as well, both knit and crochet. Other yarns that would make great Neck’s Big Things are denims, Poems Chunky, and Poems Puzzle. It takes around 30 minutes to complete one of these – holiday gift-giving score!