Universal Yarn Creative Network
Inspiration By Design
This is part 12 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
Day 12 – can you believe it? Today we reveal the final installment of the Universal Yarn 12 Days of Winter Kit Collections – Series 2! Say hello to the Solstice Shawl.
Can I be honest? I am really proud of this design – in my opinion, it’s one of my best designs and I sincerely hope you love it.
This isn’t a very complicated design, but what I feel proud of is the balance of simplicity and intricacy in the piece. This shawl combines cables, stripes, and intarsia. It is worked from tip to tip, starting and finishing with the same number of stitches (just two!). Finally, it’s finished with a very simple contrast color border.
Part of what makes this project special is the yarn used: Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash. I love this yarn. It’s rustic and the tweedy nubs add interest to every type of pattern – from simple garter to cables, lace, and stranded colorwork. (If you need convincing, just take a look at the recent collection in this yarn, Rustic & Refined).
I’m keeping this post short and sweet, but before I sign off, thank you’s are in order! Like last year we had a really wonderful time putting this collection together. It is a team effort, for sure. So thanks to everyone on our team for putting in so much hard work! And thank you so much for supporting our company, your local yarn shops, and for following our posts for this collection. We appreciate it so much!
Remember, you can find the 12 Days of Winter Kit patterns on Ravelry.
This is part 9 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
Ornaments are meant to be special. Often they are passed down to us. Perhaps they’ve been collected from some treasured place, or maybe they are handmade. After all, what is more charming than lovingly made handmade items?
The Mosaic Ornaments pattern calls for 3 balls (1 of each color) of Deluxe DK Superwash. Though there are seven different mosaic designs included in the pattern, the yarn amounts are enough to make at least 40 ornaments. Quite a bargain, eh?
Each ornament begins by knitting the two sides separately. They are then joined with a three-needle I-Cord bind-off. Sound tough? It’s not, because I’m adding a step that takes this from a three-needle bind-off to just (the usual) two needles. Keep on reading to see how I like to do it!
What I haven’t shown in these images is that the first step is to pick up and knit stitches all the way around each square with the contrasting red color. So that’s where we are at now – stitches have been picked up around each square.
Next, place both pieces with their wrong sides facing together.
What I’m doing now is certainly not absolutely necessary, but I find it makes the process so much easier. With a separate double pointed needle (dpn), first I slide a stitch from the front needle onto the spare dpn.
Next, I slide a stitch from the back needle onto this same dpn.
Keep going, alternating front and back needles/stitches until all stitches from one front and back needle have been transferred to the spare.
Now that the stitches from both needles have been combined onto one needle, all we’re really doing is an I-Cord bind-off, but with one extra step.
Next, knit 1 (the first cast-on stitch), then k3tog tbl (knit three stitches together through the back loops). These three stitches are: the second cast-on stitch, a stitch from the prior front needle, and a stitch from the prior back needle. Slip the resulting 2 stitches back to the working left needle. Then: * K1, k3tog tbl, slip these 2 sts back to the left needle; rep from *
This baby 2-stitch I-Cord is works well to join the sides of the ornament and gives a nice finished look to the project, as well.
Remember, you can find the Series 2 12 Days of Winter patterns on Ravelry!
This is part 6 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter 2018 Collection.
My number one goal when designing a scarf is to make it look good on both sides. This can be quite challenging! Many/most cables have a definite unpleasant look to their wrong sided rows. Fair isle in a scarf is better done in the round because A) curling and B) floats. But simple knit/purl texture can be very nice on a scarf, and easy to work, too.
Echo Scarf (pattern link) is knit in Dona. Scrummy, scrumptious, buttery, and soft with amazing stitch definition: Dona. This scarf features a generous amount of ribbing at each end that flows directly into the texture and reversible cable patterning on the body of the scarf.
It may be difficult to tell from the photos, but the main stitch pattern is only an 8 row repeat. The patterning is also shown in the pattern in chart form and also written text. I am 100% a chart person, but I know that some knitters prefer text because their brains don’t always “click” with the way charts are presented. I’ll never pass up an opportunity to talk about chart reading because I believe they are so much easier (once you get the hang of them) to follow at a glance.
To illustrate, I’ve highlighted a few sections of the actual scarf below that correspond to the chart.
A blank square means to knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side, and represents stockinette stitch. A square with a dot inside it means to purl on the right side and knit on the wrong side, and represents reverse stockinette stitch.
The squares are visually conveying what the actual piece of knitting will look like. The blank squares which are stockinette look plain and smooth, just as they do in the finished piece. So the idea is that when you look at the chart and see this arrangement of symbols, you can know what stitches come next just at a glance.
As a reminder, whether you’re a chart or a word person, this pattern still has you covered. Remember, you can find Series 2 of the 12 Days of Winter Kit patterns on Ravelry.
This is part 2 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
Meet the Illusion Throw (pattern link)! Made using machine washable Uptown Worsted, this throw is squishy, resilient to pilling (perfect for everyday use!), and the perfect size to throw over your couch.
This graphic throw is inspired by one of my other favorite crafty things: quilting. Illusion Throw is definitely not like your grandmother’s quilt. Rather, it is a knitted interpretation of some beautiful modern and graphic quilts I’ve seen out there in the world.
I wanted to create a project easy enough for beginners (so no complicated shapes or shaping) but entertaining for more experienced knitters, too. The stitches themselves are easy – there is nothing more than knit and purl going on here.
The color changes – where white shifts to light gray and then to dark gray – this is achieved using the intarsia technique. I feel like intarsia sometimes has an unpleasant reputation, but it’s actually very simple to do. And there are only a few color changes on each row, so there is no need to have a thousand bobbins hanging off the back of your work.
To change colors with intarsia, all you’re doing is dropping the color you were using, picking up the new color behind the old one (to prevent any gaps or holes in your work) and knitting on. That’s it!
Remember, you can find Series 2 of the 12 Days of Winter Kits patterns on Ravelry.
Day 7 of Winter brings us the Slip Stitch Cowl in three chilly shades of Deluxe Worsted.
The pattern is written for the smaller size as shown, and also a large size, long enough to wrap around your neck twice. The yarn included in the kit is enough to knit either two small cowls, or one large. So – bonus!
The main body of the cowl is super-duper simple. The complex looking color pattern is just slipped stitches. Colors are changed every two rounds, and only one color is used per round. It hits that sweet spot of knitting where the pattern is just a bit more than stockinette – enough to keep you interested – but easy enough that you can work on it anywhere.
My favorite detail of this cowl is the picot edging along both edges. This could have been done with a knitted picot bind-off, but I chose to use a crochet picot instead. For me, it’s just less fiddly than doing its knit counterpart. Let’s learn how to do it!
If you need a little closer view on any of the following images, just click on it and it will open in a new browser window.
Repeat Steps 1-3 for the edging. So you’re going to be working [slip stitch, chain 3, slip stitch] into every other stitch along both edges of the cowl. No big deal, right?
Again, you can find the kit for this cowl on our website here (link). Here’s to learning new things!
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.
The motion for a purl stitch mirrors the knit stitch.
Continue in this manner, alternating between knit and purl stitches until you have the required number of 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.
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.
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.
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.
Day 4 of Winter brings us the matching Latticework Hat and Scarf set in washable Adore yarn.
Though there are some traditional 2×2 cable panels in both hat and scarf, most of the crossed stitches are actually twisted stitches. Right and left twist stitches are a way of crossing stitches that doesn’t require a cable needle. And with just a bit of confidence, 2×2 cables can be crossed without a needle, as well.
I love love love twisted stitches and use them frequently in designs. Through the magic of (simple) needle acrobatics, a lovely texture can be made across your knit fabric. These types of stitches were used a few years ago in our Uptown Afghan Knitalong. Here is the video showing how to do right and left twists.
Remember, each of our 12 Days of Winter projects come packaged in a very giftable bag tied with ribbon. So if you’re shopping for one of your knitting buddies, these might just fit the bill.
I have no plans of taking this off any time soon. It’s freezing in our office!