It’s Free Pattern Friday!
Today, the Chasing Vines Cowl in Cotton True Sport.
We’ve had a recent rush of rain here, and everything is green and growing and glorious. I was reminded of this again when looking at these photos from Jonas Farms, home to many a happy horse here in North Carolina.
Their hay fields ready to be cut…
Hay fields at Jonas Farms, May 2016
And after more than a thousand bales have been put up.
“Last stack of over 1000 bales picked up in two days.”
Breathe deep, and imagine the glorious smell of cut grass, times infinity. You can’t help but think of green and growing things.
Enter the Chasing Vines Cowl.
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This one is actually my design, and it started as an experiment. I was curious to see how the stripes in Uptown DK Colors (273yds/100g) would work in a really long row. The answer – great!
This could not be easier. There are actually two possible ways of knitting this one-skein cowl.
One is as written in the pattern: cast on an even number (192), place a marker, join for knitting in the round, and then alternate rounds of *k1, p1* and *p1, k1*. Bind off after 5″, or whatever width floats your boat.
The other, which you may find even simpler, is to cast on an odd number (191), join for knitting in the round, and then just *k1, p1* continuously around until the piece is as wide as you want it to be.
I had enough yarn left over to do a few more color repeats, had I chosen to keep going. This would be a great project for a beginner, or for anyone who wants something they can pick up and set down without worrying about where they are in the pattern.
We hope you have a relaxing weekend, with plenty of time to work on the project of your choice.
Recently we received a new color in Bamboo Bloom Handpaints, our limited edition color 323 Hashi. I grabbed a hank to swatch with, but of course once I started swatching I realized I needed to make something. This yarn is just so pretty!
This cowl uses a popular technique for Bamboo Bloom. It’s the same technique we used a few years ago in our Bloomin’ Hat and Scarf set. We’ve also seen it in some great independent designs like the STASH Lounge’s Simple Rules Cowl and the lovely cowl from NC yarn shop The Tail Spinner shown at right (great addition of a solid at the edge). You can find some fabulous one-ball hats, scarves, and cowls using Bamboo Bloom’s unique texture on Ravelry.
The technique? As you come to the thin parts of the yarn on your left hand needle, knit them. As you come to the thick parts of the yarn on your left hand needle, purl them. It sounds very “internet” to say “just one simple trick!” but it’s true. That one simple trick makes the color really pop.
It seems to be a technique that many of the creative minds at local yarn shops came up with independently that’s spread like wildfire. And no wonder – it’s a great easy way to get a lot of pizzazz without a lot of effort.
Here at Universal, this yarn has turned the heads of some of our newer knitters, like graphic designer Jannie. She learned to purl just so she could make this cowl. Way to go, Jannie!
We hope you add a little pizzazz to your life this weekend.
This yarn is a favorite around the office for its lovely heathering and soft feel. The blend of luxury fibers gives it a rich depth. And it’s well suited to this design, which I love for many reasons – not the least because it’s reversible.
What look like cables are really faux-cables. No cable needle required. Wear it long or wrap it for warmth – Llamalini is quite toasty!
We hope you craft something luxurious and wonderful this holiday. Whether it’s for you or someone else, the process itself is such a joy.
Everybody calm? Good. Let’s stay relaxed, because there’s still plenty of time to knit some lovely gifts for the holidays. This week, let’s focus on quick and chunky knits. Fortunately, we have an entire free e-book devoted to exactly this kind of pattern.
Quick Cowls collects five patterns in bulky weight yarns that look good and work up quickly.
The Get To the Point Cowl in Classic Shades Frenzy is always popular when we send it out for trunk shows. In fact, it’s on the road again this month for a showing at Bourgee Boutique in Claremont, CA. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and see it. Variegated Classic Shades Frenzy does the heavy lifting in making a striking design. Just one ball on US Size 11 (8mm) needles does the trick.
The Ethereal Lace Cowl is a lovely soft lace pattern that gets you a lot of bang for your buck. One ball of Mohair Mountain (660yds per ball) will make five cowls on US Size 11 (8mm) needles. That’s a lot of gifts from just one ball. The pattern is both written and charted, so pick whatever you’re comfortable with.
The Everyone Likes Stripes cowl is another that knits up quickly on size 11 (8mm) needles. With more than 120 colors of the called-for Deluxe Chunky 100% wool, this is a very easy piece to customize for your giftee. This is also one that I would have to put away after knitting because otherwise I’d keep it for myself.
Hairpin! This technique isn’t used as often as it should be! The Hairpin Lace Cowl uses one skein of Bamboo Bloom Handpaints for the vibrant variegated stripes and one skein of Deluxe Chunky for the solid center and edge. Unusual and beautiful.
Finally, the Lava Flow Cowl uses just one skein of Superwool on size 17 needles. We call it Superwool because it’s super stretchy. This is a warm and soft cowl with a lot of “sproing” to it. I’ve made this one myself – it’s a very fast and satisfying knit.
Breathe in… breathe out… we’re calm, right? Let’s all keep knitting and we’ll all get to the holidays together in great shape.
Today, the Crinkle Cowl in Whisper Lace and Cotton Gold.
This is a great example of how bringing two different things together can result in something spectacular. Light and airy Whisper Lace is a laceweight wool/silk blend from our Fibra Natura line of natural luxury fibers. It’s a great choice for delicate, light projects.
Pair that with sequined Cotton Gold from our Rozetti line and you’ve got the perfect amount of bling to turn a light confection into a glamorous accessory perfect for party season.
Knit it flat on size 5 needles, work the light shaping to help it sit gracefully on your shoulders, then seam it up. Next step: be prepared to answer the sea of “where did you get that?” admiration with “What, this? I made it myself.”
As much as I love this in black, I’m wondering how it would look in Whisper Lace 113 Tango and Cotton Gold 1092. More to the point, I’m wondering how I would look rolling up to the office holiday party in a black jacket with this draped artfully around my neck.
Black’s a classic, but don’t limit yourself. You do you!
Today we’re featuring Snowlander, a design created by Linda Davis, who owns the fabulous LYS Tail Spinner in Richlands, NC.
Linda says, “Since the cowl seems to be a big thing from the Outlander series on Starz, I thought about doing one that was a little more classy. I used two skeins of Ariana and one skein of Bamboo Glam held together to do the pictured cowl. I’m calling it Snowlander.
I made a 5-stitch I-cord with the leftover Bamboo Glam, put on a pendant, and grafted the ends together to use as a neck piece. It can be worn with the cowl or alone.”
Tail Spinner is in Eastern NC, not that from from the ocean, making Linda’s choice of focal point for the pendant even more fitting. I can see quite a few options for the pendant and the cowl, together or apart.
As a fantasy fan, I’ve been looking for another show to add to my lineup. If Outlander is inspiring gorgeous designs like this, I’m adding it to my queue tonight – and keeping my needles nearby.
Today, a “pay” pattern set free! Michael del Vecchio’s Goldfish School Cowl appears in Bamboo Bloom Book 1: Backyard Blooms. When we brought it to a knitting retreat the participants were so taken with it that we decided it should be released into the wild.
Michael has wisely used a simple pattern to let the yarn shine. A basic 1×1 rib looks very striking in the thick/thin matte/shiny Bamboo Bloom Handpaints.
We’re glad that last weekend’s knitters were so enthusiastic. They were right. This pattern needs to be shared!
Thanks for your hospitality, Baskets of Yarn. And keep knitting!
We just got a new yarn in, and as so often happens, we got super excited and had to make something new! Ariana (100g/91yds) is a unique yarn. It’s a kind of a mesh tube made of bamboo with a squishy polyamide filling. Based just on the pictures I’d seen, I knew it would have excellent stitch definition, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so soft to the touch. I’m always up for a bulky-weight squeezable yarn!
The pattern is both written and charted, and works up quickly on US size 10 needles (size 9 for the hat). Maybe my “to knit” list is getting too long, but I don’t care, this is getting added. There’s always room for a super-soft hat and cowl!
Today, we share the Garter Rib Cowl. Originally designed for Cashmere Fleur de Lys, this pattern would provide plenty of style in any worsted weight yarn, particularly one with a bit of spring to it.
I’ve got some Deluxe Worsted left over from my 30 Day Sweater KAL project, and this looks like the perfect project for it. A simple two-row repeat on size 9 needles sounds like a great break from back-to-school insanity. Let’s all knit and relax!
