Are you excited that Friday is finally here? We are, too! Today, we have a cozy surprise for you. The Cabled Cushion Cover, designed by Ashley Jane McIntyre, is our featured free pattern this Friday, and we know you’ll love it. From classy cables to velvety soft yarn, let’s learn more!
Using Bella Chenille, the Cabled Cushion Cover is even softer than it looks! This single-ply yarn is 100% polyester in a super bulky weight, which means it’s perfect for homeware projects like this one. In order to make this cushion cover, you will crochet three pieces and then seam them together. The front piece is square-shaped, while the two back pieces are rectangles.
The two rectangular pieces overlap so that you can have an insert for a cushion. The front piece is where you get to show off your crochet skills! With cables worked down the center, this cushion cover provides a beautiful look you can show off in your home. This project calls for four skeins of Bella Chenille, so this weekend’s savings are right on time!
Bella Chenille is Buy THREE, Get ONE FREE! That means 25% off! This 100% polyester yarn is perfect for many projects, including stuffed animals, amigurumi, blankets, and more! With a wide selection of hues, you can pick your favorite and get started on your next project. Check out all of our free patterns for Bella Chenille at this link. Our Buy THREE, Get ONE FREE offer for Bella Chenille is available through Sunday, September 17th!
This offer is only available when you buy FOUR skeins or more. You must add a quantity of four or more skeins of Bella Chenille to your cart. The discount for one skein will be automatically deducted at checkout for each quantity of four skeins.
As a yarn company, we would not be where we are today without the support of the local yarn stores who stock our products on their shelves. From humble beginnings, we now have over 800 local yarn store retailers around the world who carry our yarns. The support these shops give to our company is amazing, and we want to spread the love back to them as much as possible. On social media, we consistently feature projects from local yarn shops and share our retailers, but we wanted to dig a little deeper and get to know some of these wonderful shops and owners even better. Today, we continue our initiative to interview some of our local yarn store retailers to learn a little more about them, their shops, and what keeps business going.
Store Front of Yarnatopia in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – home of A LOT of yarn
It’s a happy anniversary for the folks at Yarnatopia in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. October 1st of this year marked 6 years of being open for the local yarn shop. Tricia Perkins is the owner of this fine yarn store, and we are delighted that Universal Yarn is on her shelves. We got the chance to interview her and ask her more about the one-of-a-kind Yarnatopia. Read below to learn more about one of the best yarn shops in Oklahoma!
Yarnatopia Owner Tricia Perkins with Bamboo Pop in the background
Every yarn store has a different story and reason for how it came about. We don’t always get to see the behind-the-scenes, but we can promise you that not every single day is easy. During the interview, Tricia explained to us why she decided to open her store.
While the shelves inside Yarnatopia may contain hundreds of different yarn skeins and colors, the community is what makes this place so special. Owner Tricia Perkins and her co-worker Mary have been through their share of struggles, but Tricia says that it has only made their community stronger. When tragedy strikes, we look to the people around us to lift our heads and support us. While she was coping with the loss of loved ones, customers would come into Yarnatopia just to be there for Tricia throughout the day. She has dubbed the support of her customers, ‘The Tricia Train’, and they continue to come into the shop every week. During the interview, Tricia explained to us why opening a shop was one of her best decisions, as it created the base for one of the most supportive communities she has ever known.
Interior of the Yarnatopia with many WIPs and cozy chairs for knitting and crocheting
Another one of the great joys about owning a yarn shop is, well, the yarn! When asked about the most popular fiber content/weight at her store, Tricia said, “Fingering weight, they like the fingering weight.” This is no surprise due to the warm climate in Oklahoma. It’s no wonder some of the most popular yarns at her store are Bamboo Pop and Bamboo Pop Sock! These yarns are highly versatile and great for wearable projects for all ages. Tricia goes on to mention fingering weight is very well-liked because “You can make socks and you can make shawls.” These two yarn options are excellent for those types of projects! As you can see below, her shelves are stocked with these wonderful yarns!
Variety of Bamboo Pop yarn at YarnatopiaVariety of Bamboo Pop Sock and Bamboo Pop Sock Solids at Yarnatopia
Other favorites that Tricia mentioned include Clean Cotton and Bella Chenille. She claims that her customers create many different home projects with Clean Cotton, which this yarn is perfect for! Bella Chenille is a favorite amongst her customers for blankets, and who can blame them? This yarn is so soft and cozy as many of you already know!
Variety of Bella Chenille at YarnatopiaVariety of Clean Cotton and Clean Cotton Multi at Yarnatopia
Yarnatopia does a phenomenal job showing its support to its customers. As we know, consistent encouragement is so important when learning to knit or crochet. Their store has a rug where people stand to get a picture of their own finished project. “The Corner of Fame” is what they call it. This gives customers the opportunity to not only feel special about a project they completed but also, Tricia shares them on Yarnatopia’s social media accounts! Speaking of outreach, Yarnatopia has a knit group every Wednesday and Friday. Additionally, in the month of October, they are doing all kinds of fun sales and events for the store’s anniversary.
We greatly enjoyed talking with Yarnatopia’s owner! You can watch the entire interview below by clicking on the video! We hope you learn a lot about this great store, and who knows, maybe you’ll stop by if you ever find yourself in Oklahoma City!
Hi everyone! My name is Robert Ferrel, and I am a new employee here at Universal Yarn. In May of 2022, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Go Niners), and a week later I started my role here as the Social Media Marketing Assistant! In college, I majored in marketing and wanted the opportunity to grow my skill set and I have found that at UY.
Picture of me (Robert) in Uptown Charlotte (Photo Credit: Zachary Allred Photography)
I have greatly enjoyed my first few months here and have learned so much about the industry. Growing up, you never would have found me knitting or crocheting, and I didn’t know many people who did, but I have grown to appreciate the art. I have created content for so many yarns already, so it may be hard for me to pick just one as my favorite, so instead, I will list my top 3.
Clean Cotton is one of my favorite yarns here at UY. One of the things I love about this yarn is the fact that it is environmentally friendly, with the fiber contents being 85% recycled cotton and 15% recycled polyester. This yarn is very affordable and is perfect for making useful kitchen accessories. As a recent college graduate, the Mosaic Dish Towels and Fresh Air Washcloths can help keep my kitchen appliances clean… and maybe convince my mother that I am no longer an unorganized college kid. “Love you, mom.” It is great for any season because it is so versatile in the types of projects it can create, and there are plenty of colors to choose from, including neutral, but also some bolder and brighter colors.
Mosaic Dish Towels using Clean Cotton
Another favorite of mine here at Universal Yarn is Deluxe Stripes. I’m not going to lie, when I first saw the Deluxe Stripes skeins, I was a bit intimidated by all the different colors, but when worked up, this yarn created a lot of beautiful garments and accessories. I don’t have the patience to hand wash my clothes or accessories, so the fact that it is machine washable makes it much easier to care for. The 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon mix make it great for socks. The Deluxe Socks is a free pattern and if you’re anything like me, wearing socks around the house has become a must. With 9 different colorways available, it’s hard to pick what I want on my feet, but you can’t go wrong with any of these colors.
Deluxe Socks using Deluxe Stripes
Lastly, I will give a shout-out to Bella Chenille. This yarn has been my favorite from the time I started here. It is incredibly soft and there are 29 different solid colors to choose from. My favorite has to be 117 Red Apple because it literally reminds me of an apple, which is one of the most delicious fruits. There are plenty of fun patterns to try with Bella Chenille, but my favorite is Peanut Butter and Jelly. These stuffed bears are an excellent creation to have by your side day and night.
Peanut Butter and Jelly in Bella Chenille
I can’t help but feel blessed to be a part of the Universal Yarn team, and I look forward to learning more about yarn, knitting, crocheting, and everything in-between!
So super snuggly! This sweet knitted throw uses fuzzy Bella Chenille to create a texture it’s impossible to stop stroking.
Colors 126 Lapis (darker) and 128 Coastal (lighter)
Soft and plush, Bella Chenille is perfect not just for home decor and kid projects (hello, Peanut Butter and Jelly bears!), but for adult garments like the Roseate Cardigan, free on our site.
The throw uses intarsia for the color changes at the border. While you could use intarsia for the triangles, we’d recommend doing them in stranded knitting instead, to decrease the number of ends you’ll need to weave in.
Colors 119 Misty (lighter) and 118 Elephant (darker)
Now, as to colors. I absolutely love the original 126 Lapis and 128 Coastal that designer Rachel Brockman chose, because I’m all about cool tones. But you could also go monochrome, with 119 Misty and 118 Elephant shown above, for a low contrast palette. Make it more dramatic by swapping the darker gray for 112 Black, if that’s your vibe.
Colors 122 Amethyst (darker) and 124 Boysenberry (lighter)
Or embrace the rich, saturated nature of this yarn, and try the darker 122 Amethyst and lighter 124 Boysenberry. There are just so many beautiful options in Bella Chenille!
We hope you have a fantastic weekend, and that you find time to snuggle up – maybe with someone special!
Best bear buds! Peanut Butter and Jelly are crocheted in soft, snuggly Bella Chenille. They’re a full 12″ (30cm) tall – the perfect size for hugs!
Jelly has chosen to model his favorite top today, because it’s National Sweater Day, and Jelly is all about style.
The removable top is crocheted in colorful Deluxe Stripes, a worsted weight self-striping version of our popular Deluxe line. The sleeves are worked in the round, while the body is made flat and them seamed.
Peanut Butter, on the other hand, is going with bear arms today (get it?). Peanut Butter loves to joke around. In fact, here’s Peanut Butter’s favorite joke:
Q:What did the teddy bear say after dinner? A: I’m stuffed!
Oh, Peanut Butter!
Both bears make perfect pals for anyone who could use a friendly snuggle buddy.
We hope you have an amazing weekend, full of fun and laughter!
This is part 6 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, series 5 Edition.
There’s something about the winter season that immediately brings my mind to cuddly stuffed animal friends, perfect for gifting during the holidays. Last year for the 12 Days of Winter, I designed Coco, a bunny with a removable hat and scarf knit in our popular Uptown Worsted yarn. We recently released a new member of our Bella Chenille yarn family: Bella Chenille Big Glimmer. This slightly shimmery version of our Bella Chenille Big yarn immediately brought to mind the idea of a snowy stuffed animal for this year’s 12 Days of Winter kits. I quickly got to work designing, and soon enough, Marshmallow the polar bear was born.
Marshmallow says ‘Hello new bestie!’ – Knit using Bella Chenille Big Glimmer in color 601 Drift. Marshmallow’s sweater is knit in Bella Chenille colors 121 Indigo and 125 Oatmeal
Techniques you’ll explore in the Marshmallow pattern are:
Knitting small circumferences in the round
Increasing and decreasing often to create small 3-dimensional shapes
Embroidery
Casting on stitches and joining pieces after working
Designing a small (ish) item using such a chunky yarn like Bella Chenille Big Glimmer has its challenges indeed. Even more than that, chenille yarns can be a bit fiddly to work with, especially when you want things to look precise. So, I’ve decided to give you some tips for working with chenille yarns like our Bella Chenilleand Bella Chenille Big Glimmer, so that the process of making Marshmallow or any other chenille project is tons of fun!
Bella Chenille Big Glimmer skeins, and a chip shot so you can see the lovely metallic glimmers!
My first tip for working with chenille yarns would be to keep your gauge tight, to stop ‘worming’ and help prevent inconsistencies in the fabric. Worming happens when the strand of yarn coils back on itself, creating loose-looking loops in the fabric. For making a stuffed toy a tighter knit gauge is ideal, so that the finished friend is firm and well stuffed all around! Remember that the needle size listed on the yarn ball band is just a suggestion, and you should opt to use whatever needle size will achieve a gauge that matches what the pattern calls for. In Marshmallow’s case, gauge is very important. Not only will keeping a tight gauge aid in making the stitches look uniform and help prevent worming, but this pattern also uses nearly the entire skein of Bella Chenille Big Glimmer. So, you will need to be extra mindful while you work!
So cuddly!
It is no secret: chenille yarns fray. Once you cut the end of yarn, you will notice that the polyester fibers tend to want to come loose from the thread base. This can be frustrating, messy, and leave you with a less than ideal yarn tail for weaving in ends. My top tip for fixing this is to secure the end of the yarn with something that will stop the fraying! My favorite method for this is using a fabric sealant product like Fray Check, which I use very often when I am sewing fabrics that unravel easily. This liquid creates a coating on whatever it is applied to, preventing the fibers from being able to unravel. Make sure to use these types of products in a place with adequate ventilation, as they do tend to have smelly fumes, and let it dry completely before you work with it.
My next tip for working with chenille yarns is using the right type of needle. Everyone has preferences in types of needle materials, whether you like plastic needles, wooden needles, or metal. In my experience, mixing a plastic needle with a synthetic fuzzy yarn like chenille can result in difficulty sliding stitches, more ‘sticky’ feeling knitting, crampy hands, and hot, sweaty feeling yarn. A smooth wooden or slick metal needle is a more ideal choice for yarns like chenille. The stitches will glide much more easily as you work and be easier to manipulate. The Marshmallow pattern requires a consistent amount of increasing and decreasing as you go along to create the 3D shapes, so having a needle that easily works over 2 or more stitches at a time is necessary. Marshmallow is knit in the round, beginning with his legs. Whether you choose to use double pointed needles, or a magic loop method is entirely up to you! Magic loop is surprisingly easy to master, and we have a tutorial for it! Click this link to learn how to knit in the round using Magic Loop.
My final tip for working with chenille is using an angled tapestry needle with a large eye for embroidery and weaving in ends. I like these Tapestry needles from Clover for yarns like chenille. It’ll pass through the stitches more easily , you’ll be able to see the needle amidst all of the chenille fluff, and it’ll offer more control with the yarn and stuffing. Last year during the 12 Days of Winter, I made a video tutorial for embroidering Coco’s face. The same principles apply to Marshmallow, just on a more ‘jumbo’ scale. In fact, I used scrap Uptown Worsted yarn for Marshmallow’s face embroidery. Here is a link to the video where I give tips on embroidering a stuffed animal face.
Marshmallow just wants a hug!
There you have it – some of my top tips for working with chenille yarns! These aren’t the only tips and tricks, of course. The more you work with chenille yarns, you’ll discover what works best for you. If you have any other tips you’d like to share, feel free to leave them in the comments below, we’d love to hear!
Our exclusive 12 Days of Winter kits like Marshmallow can be purchased at local yarn store retailers near you. Each kit comes with the pattern, the yarn required to make it, a mini Universal Yarn project bag, and stitch marker. Use our store locator to find your nearest Universal Yarn retailer! Kits not in stock at your local yarn store? Ask about drop shipping – order through them, and we ship to you!
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, the Roseate Cardigan in Bella Chenille (pattern link here).
When people look at soft, plush yarns like Bella Chenille, they sometimes think they’re only suitable for babies. That’s a shame, because it overlooks real gems, like the free Lounge Pullover.
We’re delighted today to share another beautiful free pattern for adults in Bella Chenille, the Roseate Cardigan.
Designer Rachel Brockman uses eyelets to create a lovely texture, for an everyday cardigan that’s comfortable and stylish.
Sized from XS to 5X, this project knits up quickly on US size 10 (6mm) needles. It’s one of those pieces where you know just by looking at it exactly how soft it’s going to feel.
Absolutely delightful.
We hope you have a great weekend. Although our offices will be closed next Friday in observance of Thanksgiving, there will still be a Free Pattern Friday (yay!) Happy crafting!
New years bring a lot of good things with them. Things like resolutions, new knitting projects, and of course: Pantone’s Color of the Year.
Pantone researches trends in media, fashion, culture, entertainment, art, and more to forecast what color will be best for the coming year. This color decision will then trickle into products created in many industries like fashion, interiors, and yes, yarn! What is the color of the year, you ask? Well, it is 19-4052 – Classic Blue!
“Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. ” – Pantone.com
With a lot of things in nature being blue, and it’s inherent quality as a calming color, blue appeals to everyone. The shade chosen, Classic Blue, is a strong foundation color that is suggestive of the sky at dusk. As you can see with the yarns above, we have an abundance of blue to choose from in our yarn offerings, and plenty that mix blue with other stunning shades.
Some of our yarns that offer this rich blue shade are Bella Chenille in Indigo, and Fibra Natura Flax in Fierce Blue. Blue yarn for all seasons!Dona and Donnina, which are both 100% extrafine superwash merino wool yarn, offer great stitch definition have some fabulous blue shades. Below we’ve featured a couple of the patterns available in our Dona Color Kit – Blues.
The Color Shift Hat and Mittens from our Dona Kit in Blues The Staccato Shawl from our Dona Color Kit in Blues Deluxe Worsted and Deluxe Chunky are great staple yarns to stock up on for future projects throughout the year. Colbalt is the blue shade available that best matches the Pantone Classic Blue. The Switcback Cardigan (below) from our Deluxe Men Collection features gorgeous blue colorwork!
The Switchback Cardigan from our Deluxe Men Collection using Deluxe Worsted Major , Bamboo Bloom, and Uptown DK Colors are all yarns that have beautiful multi-colored blue shades. Any pattern you knit or crochet with these yarns is sure to be rich with color and texture.
Flying V crochet blanket using Uptown Worsted Luxor, our new mercerized Egyptian cotton yarn, is perfect for lightweight knit and crochet projects and comes in a wide array of colors including Royal Blue. Knit the Navona Wrap shown below and add a Color of the Year accessory to your closet!
The Navona Wrap in Luxor 105-02 Royal Blue
These are just some of the patterns we’ve designed that feature the Classic Blue shade. Remember, you can knit any pattern in any color you want! We hope you are just as excited as we are about the color of the year for 2020 and are ready to fill your stash with blue yarn. Happy knitting!
Blue yarn for everyone!
It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, the Lofty Rug in Bella Chenille (free pattern link here).
How cool is this? A member of our design team was inspired by the nifty bobble stitch seen in this tutorial at Kristen McDonnell’s Studio Knit, and immediately realized just how soft and springy it would be in plush Bella Chenille.
She was right. It’s soft and touchable, and just perfect for bare feet.
Personally, I’m always looking for new things to try, and this fits the bill. What an interesting tool to have in your repertoire! Here’s Kristen’s video of how to work this stitch. As Kristen says in the video, you’ll make a few mistakes at first. But it looks like you’ll have fun doing it!
We hope you keep a spring in your step this weekend.
Happy crafting!
This soft, squeezable square 38″ x 38″ blanket is perfect for tender-skinned babies.
I wish you could reach through the screen and feel how soft the Bella Chenille Multi is. The wrapped stitches give it just a little extra thickness and texture.
Pet me.
Tip: Because Bella Chenille is a bulky weight yarn, you may wish to securely sew down ends with matching sewing needle and thread. In our experience, the fabric is quite sturdy, so you should be fine just weaving in ends, but it’s another way to finish if you think your project might get a little tough love.
There are plenty of solid Bella Chenille options too, if you want to mix and match or give a different feel. Maybe “bold” is more your style. It’s up to you!
