Universal Yarn Creative Network – Page 95

September 19, 2014

Free Pattern Friday – Wall Candy

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Understated and elegant! Wall Candy is a straightforward knit packaged in a unique way.

Four strands of Deluxe Worsted 100% wool are knitted into a 10×10 stockinette square. Thick wire is run around the edges, then the square is framed. Don’t worry, the pattern contains directions and pictures showing how to attach the frame. If you’ve ever run blocking wire through the edge of a shawl, you can do this. If you haven’t… it’s time to learn!

Although this pattern is written for Deluxe Worsted, I’m looking back over some of my Sunday Swatches to see what else I might have suitable for framing. Maybe some Nettle Lana? Hmmm…

Universal Yarn offers many thanks to Suzy, the Sweetest Dog in the World for her kind hospitality on this photo shoot. Who’s a good dog, Suzy? You are!

Happy knitting, friends!

September 18, 2014

Throwback Thursday – Stuffed Hound

It’s Throwback Thursday!

Awww! Such a cute little puppy! The Stuffed Hound was originally made in Classic Chunky with a print for the belly and feet. We’re recommending Deluxe Chunky as the new choice. I love this selection not just because it’s a sturdy but soft wool, but because there are 120+ colors. You could make your little wiener dog in any color of the rainbow. Match a real life pooch or create a whimsical little buddy that’s one of a kind!

The Stuffed Hound is knitted sideways. Knit a front and back leg, then proceed around the body to knit the other legs. Make the underside similarly, then knit the ears, tail, and other bits and pieces. Knitting those parts separately gives you many opportunities to switch up colors. How about a patchwork pup? Or one different ear?

We hope you have a great time knitting a new four-legged friend!

September 17, 2014September 17, 2014

Sequins and Shading

We’re in an off week with our usual every-other Wednesday Weaving schedule. But Denise over at Schacht posted a really terrific article on weaving with shading yarn, in particular, our Classic Shades Sequins Lite, and I couldn’t resist sharing.

You may remember our very first Weaving Wednesday post a few months ago where I did a scarf in Sequins Lite. But what I didn’t talk about was how to wind your shuttles for weaving. Be sure to check out Denise’s post to find out how.

See you next week for the continuation of Katie’s amazing plaid blanket!

September 17, 2014September 17, 2014

Deluxe Superwash – Fall Classics

New for Fall!

Deluxe Worsted Superwash and Deluxe DK Superwash have been so popular (just look at those crocheted slippers!) that we have released an e-book of all-new patterns specifically designed for those yarns.

Deluxe Superwash: Fall Classics features six projects from the simple to the sublime, each one satisfying to knit as the weather cools down.

There are lace panel projects like Moth Wing and Pebbled Path…

…and cozy projects like Trail Wanderer and Split Rail.

(Split Rail would look great as a men’s sweater too, don’t you think?)

One of the patterns, the Scarf Cardigan and Bow Hat at right, uses a nifty technique to create its turned hem. If you haven’t done a provisional cast-on before, it’s a great tool to put into your knitting toolbox. It’s very easy and it creates a neat stockinette hem that doesn’t roll up.

Amy Gunderson demonstrates the technique in this video. Take it away, Amy!

See? You’re just making a basic crochet chain, then treating the back loop like a row of stitches. Then “unzip” the crochet chain when you’re ready to pick those stitches back up.

Here’s a close-up of the brim of the hat from the Scarf Cardi set. Work a few knitted rows, then a purl row at the point where the brim will fold over, then make a few more knit rows. Pick the cast-on edge back up, fold it at the purl row, and knit the live edge and cast-on edge together. Voila, a non-rolling stockinette edge!

There are a variety of ways you can use this technique. I’m using it myself at the arm of a sweater in Deluxe DK Superwash (Cookie A’s Katrina Rib). When I’m ready to add the sleeves, I’ll pick up from those stitches for an invisible join with no bulky seam.

I’m almost done with this sweater, and I think the next thing on my list may be the Seashells Hoodie from this e-book. I love knitting in the round, and I could use something light for the turn of the season.

The Fall Classics e-book is available from both Ravelry and Craftsy, and the patterns are also available individually. We hope you enjoy picking up a new project as the weather turns.

Happy Knitting!

September 16, 2014September 18, 2014

Crochet Slippers – 1, 2, 3…Win!

Win a magazine and yarn! Keep reading!

One of the many fun parts of my job here at Universal Yarn is getting to see all the new projects about to go live in magazines. Not long ago I received an email and photo from the folks at Crochet! Magazine letting us know about an adorable pair of slippers made in our Deluxe Worsted Superwash yarn. This project is the Lucy Slippers by the talented Dora Ohrenstein.

This particular issue of Crochet! is jam-packed with tons of great projects. We’re so proud to have our yarn featured in such a cute, wearable item! I was so excited about these slippers that I wanted to do a small crochet along here in the office. Katie in customer service (you may know her for her recent weaving obsession) is also an avid crocheter. She was happy to participate!

Katie decided to do her pair in the same yarn used in original Lucy, but opted to mix things up by using several different colors. She chose 709, 710, and 731. After skimming the pattern and construction, I decided these would look great in one of our self-shading yarns. Poems was my yarn of choice, in color 584 Aurora.

We’re partnering with Crochet! magazine to bring you a great gift, either for yourself or a loved one. We’re right on the tip of the beginning of gift-crocheting season, right? All you have to do is answer this question in the comments:

Who would you make the Lucy slippers for, and why?

One lucky winner will receive a copy of the Winter Crochet Gifts in 1-2-3 issue of Crochet! Magazine, 2 balls of Poems and 2 balls of Deluxe Worsted Superwash in colors of her or his choosing. The cut-off for the contest is midnight, September 30. We can’t wait to hear your answers!

September 15, 2014

Afghan Knitalong – Block Fourteen

Block Fourteen is live!

Block two of our month of plaid! Where our last block used stripes raised above the fabric of the square, Block Fourteen “Well Plaid” creates lines of color flush with the rest of the square.

Amy Gunderson achieves this by working one vertical stitch in the row in reverse stockinette, then applying the contrasting color to the purled stitch using a crochet hook. It’s rather ingenious. The video shows how it’s achieved.

Neat, eh? It’s a bit like picking up one laddered stitch, except with an entirely new color of yarn. I love the way this looks!

As always, you can share your thoughts and work with us here, on Facebook, or in our Ravelry group. Check back in two weeks for a new technique and a new block!

September 12, 2014

Free Pattern Friday – Heavenly Henley

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

We’ve got a treat today! The Heavenly Henley by Emma Welford.

This is a great combination of solid Merino XF, a soft extra-fine merino, and Jubilation Kettle-Dye, also extra-fine merino but single-ply in a riot of bright colors. It’s a great way to use variegated yarn as a bold accent.

And speaking of accents, check out the back! I love this little detail. You could choose to include or omit it, depending on your taste.

Emma is a thoughtful designer, in that she considers the impact of the final piece as well as the process of knitting. If you haven’t seen her Convertible Cowl from our Poetry at Home e-book, take a gander.

This has been a popular garment because it’s so versatile. Like the Heavenly Henley, it’s a great use of multicolor yarn, in this case Poems 100% wool. We’re so happy to have the chance to work with Emma again.

Happy knitting, everyone!

September 11, 2014

Throwback Thursday – Ruffles and Ribbons

It’s Throwback Thursday!

Awww! Today’s Ruffles and Ribbons blanket was originally designed for Bella 4-ply, an acrylic/nylon blend. It’s a good choice since it’s machine washable, but we have a couple of even better yarns that fit the bill now.

We’re recommending either Little Bird (344yds/100g) or Uptown Baby Sport (361yds/100g) instead. Personally, I think I’d go with Uptown Baby Sport. Both are soft and would work nicely, but Baby Sport has just a little bit more loft, which I think would fit well for this project.

The yarn is held doubled for the body, which is knitted on 5mm/US8 needles. Then use just one strand of yarn and a US Size 4 circular needle for the ruffled edging. It’s a good means of getting different effects from the same yarn. Pretty adorable!

Happy knitting. We’ll see you tomorrow for Free Pattern Friday!

September 10, 2014September 12, 2014

Just Plaid

If you’ve been following along with our Uptown Afghan knitalong, you’ll know that we’re on a plaid kick ’round these parts. There are few patterns as timeless or versatile as plaid. Whether knit, woven, watercolored, or expressed in some other form, there’s a plaid out there for everyone.

With autumn approaching, I decided it was a great time to do another exercise in woven plaid. We’ve been doing lots of scarves and other smaller projects on the Cricket tabletop loom. But did you know it’s possible to make larger items like blankets on it? Natural-born weaver Katie agreed to take on this project.

To start, I picked out some skeins of Deluxe Worsted Superwash. We often have extra skeins here and there sitting around the office. To be conservative and use what we had, I picked the following 6 colors from our “honker” area:

Katie dutifully wove and blocked a swatch with the Superwash using an 8-dent reed, so we knew about how much take-up there would be in the finished pieces. Next I had to do a little math. I decided a 36″ x 50″ blanket would be a nice size for a couch, and could be done in 3 separate panels. A 14″ woven piece would shrink up to about 12″. 14″ of weaving on an 8-dent reed = about 112 ends.

From there, it was time to plan the actual plaid pattern. I often turn to a graphics program like Adobe Illustrator when planning designs, etc. But for this project, I decided to see what the internet had to offer in terms of apps. I was not disappointed! I came across this website: www.plaidmaker.com. I was able to customize a plaid pattern and mirror it, using any colors I chose, any number of strands per color, etc. It was super easy! I ended up transferring the pattern to Adobe Illustrator so I could easily make notes on how many ends per color, etc:

I also wanted to do a full mock-up of the finished blanket, just for fun:

The above mock-up represents 3 panels, each identical. One panel is woven following the same plaid in the warp. After doing some quick calculations, I determined Katie should be able to weave the entire blanket using 2 balls each of 728 Pulp & 729 Neutral Grey, and 1 ball each of 721 Honeysuckle, 709 Lime Tree, 705 Orangesicle, and 739 Turquoise. Who says plaid has to be boring! I ran the plan by Katie and got her approval.

Here are some in-progress pics from Katie:

Katie makes great use of the warping peg. I can’t say enough good things about the ease of direct-warping to the Cricket!

Katie shows off her hemstitching. She plans on finishing the blanket with a natural fringe.

And…panel 1 complete!

I really do find plaid fascinating. The way the colors blend can be entrancing, depending on whether a particular strand is crossing over another strand of the same color or a different color; it’s like an optical illusion.

Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks for a finished blanket, some how-to photos for sewing the panels together, and some beauty shots from Heather!

September 8, 2014September 8, 2014

Infuse Yourself

I’m pretty excited. Last week, we got our first shipment of Infusion Handpaints new colors here at our warehouse in Harrisburg, NC: Six brilliant shades to coordinate with existing colorways of Infusion.

I was quoted as saying, “Oh man, all I want to do is knit with this stuff for the next month. Nothing else.” Fortunately I’ve had some time to work with the new colors, but let’s face it, I still need to eat, sleep and work.

There are a lot of things I love about this yarn, not just the delightful colorways. It is machine washable. It’s sportweight, making it great for socks, garments, and accessories. It’s an all-around joy!

As you can see, the new colorways are tonal, meaning all the shades in each color are very close to one another and belong to the same color family. Each of these tonal colorways was designed specifically to coordinate with the earlier multis. Because it can be tough to pair colors with one another without having the benefit of having all the skeins with one in person, I’ve put together this handy guide. Each of the groupings below illustrates a multi (color numbers 101-109) along with the new tonal colors (color numbers 110-115) that have an exact match with one or more shades.

As you can see, each multi colorway has either 2 or 3 tonal colors that is a direct match. Here is an example of 103 But a Dream paired up with 110 Ruby Mine:

As you can see, this yarn has decided to be a sweater. The sleeve cuff here is worked in 110 in a simple broken rib pattern. The sleeve uses both 103 & 110, alternating every 2 rows. You can see the luscious blending that occurs, since both colorways share some of the same red tones.

Here’s a second example, this time using the same multi (103 But a Dream), but paired with a contrasting tonal color, 115 Gray Matters.

Here I’ve worked a shorter cuff in a slipped 1×1 rib, using just color 115. Again, I’ve striped 115 & 103, changing colors every 2 rows. As you can see, the striping is more pronounced. It would be even more so using more highly contrasting shades.

I haven’t decided which version to proceed with yet – I love them both! It really is like watching a watercolor painting grace the canvas right before my eyes while knitting.

The tonal colors work great all on their own, as seen here in the Razor’s Edge Shawlette:

Instead of using 2 tonals, I think this project would also look great worked using a multi in place of the gray, and sticking with a tonal color for the red.

And heck, the multis look great all on their own, too. Using a slipped stitch pattern, a classic method of “mixing” handpaint variegated yarn, this little vest would look adorable in any of the colorways.

Enjoy, I know I am!