The 52″ Whirlpool Throw is crocheted with two balls each of two shades of Major (328yds/200g), colors 115 Stonewall and 114 Coastal. Start at the center with an adjustable ring and work out, alternating colors every row.
This is not a difficult pattern, being primarily double crochet, but the results are dramatic. There are quite a few color combos you could choose. I like 101 Verdant and 102 Underwater for a green “fairy ring” kind of feel. It’s hard to go wrong.
Did you enjoy Thanksgiving? Ready to snuggle up under a warm blanket? We’ve got you covered (no pun intended).
The Lilypad Afghan is composed of strips of join-as-you-go hexagons in four colors of big, beautiful Major (328yds/200g). On a US Size J/10 (6 mm) hook, it zips along fairly quickly.
The pattern is written, charted, and contains a schematic showing just how it all comes together. A satisfying and cozy project!
We hope you’re having a great holiday, and that you remember to show your LYS some love on Small Business Saturday.
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.
Major 117 GraphiteMajor 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?
Cute, right? I love this creative use of self-striping yarn. You start each square at the center, then work your way out to the edge. It ensures that each square will coordinate, but still be different than its neighbor. Despite being a larger piece, this is a great carry-along knit because each square is worked separately and then pieced together.
The pattern calls for two of our newest yarns, Adore and its companion Adore Colors (273yds/100g), a DK-weight blend of soft superwash merino and acrylic that’s perfect for projects like this, that you’ll probably find yourself tossing in the washing machine sometime.
Also on my list to try in Adore Colors: the Beachcomber Blanket pictured at right. It makes such clever use of individual panels stitched together, to be sure those color repeats stay nice and long, rather than thinning out of the width of a blanket.
No matter your plans for the weekend, we hope you take some time to make something beautiful, just for you.
We are so, so lucky to work with so many amazing LYSes. Case in point: we can enjoy the talents of Alice Gossette and Kat Koeller of The Thankful Ewe in New Bremen, Ohio. This dynamic duo have appeared here before, with the free Summer Shawl in Bamboo Pop. They’ve graciously shared this design with us as well.
It’s called the Corner to Corner Throw because it’s crocheted… wait for it… corner to corner! We love how they coordinated Classic Shades 731 Natural Glow with solid Uptown Worsted in 328 Dijon for the fringe. It’s a great choice that takes the throw up a notch.
Working corner to corner means that the bands of color change height as the rows lengthen and shorten, an excellent use of self-striping yarn. It’s a simple way to give even more interest to an already striking pattern.
We hope you find time to work on something beautiful this weekend, either for yourself or for someone you love.
We’re very excited about Fibra Natura Java (219yds/100g), our new 100% hemp yarn. This is a perfect application for it too – it works great for home decor projects.
This is the first Free Pattern Friday we’ve done in this yarn, although we do have a few free patterns in Java that haven’t yet been highlighted. Have you seen the Crochet Baskets at right? Love ’em!
These cloths are designed to be basic samplers for those who are just getting their feet wet (no pun intended). The cloth in color 104 Pistachio, right, uses increases and decreases, but the other four are strictly knit and purl.
All are written and charted, so they do double duty for those who want to try out reading charts without the risk of losing a stitch in a big lace project. My reason for knitting them is simpler: the cloths are just plain pretty!
We hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day holiday.
Sugar Drops indeed – what a sweet pattern! Just one color per row in machine washable Little Bird (344yds/100g), knitted flat (obviously). A blend of left and right crosses plus dropped stitches create an interesting texture that’s not too technically taxing. Pick up stitches along the long edges and add the garter stitch border.
Enjoy the weekend – and if you can, make something beautiful!
and various other animal friends that couldn’t be bothered to pose for us. That love of animals is why we want to draw attention to World Spay Day – and to share a free pattern.
Today, we have a great use of color in a very simple design. Two complementary colors of Classic Shades Metallic (100g/175yds) are used in this basic but colorful quilt.
Each square is knit individually, then stitched together in an eye-pleasing way. A diagram is provided in the pattern for easy assembly.
It’s unusual to find a four foot long blanket that’s such perfect on-the-go knitting, but the small size of the individual squares (4 1/2″ along each side) makes it easy to knock out a piece of the quilt wherever you are.
This could also be a fun group project that could include all levels of knitter – get together with your friends for a quilting bee to gab and knit individual squares, and sew them together. Begin at one corner of the square, increase to the middle, switch colors, then decrease and bind off in the opposite corner. Toss your square on the pile, take a sip of wine, and start up another one.
Other great choices of yarn for this would be self-shading Poems wool and regular Classic Shades. There are nearly limitless color combinations.
Ho ho ho! Have you been very good? A little bit good? Well, Knitting Santa says you’ve been good enough, so we offer this holiday sock/stocking pattern as a gift!
812 Yule Time, with its classic red, white, and green color scheme, is used in the popular free Elfkin set for sizes 6 months to 6 years at right. We’re also partial to color 806 Emerald, which has a lovely blue spruce feel to it that fits right in under the tree.
These socks are worsted weight, knitted on US size 6(4mm) double-pointed needles. As you can see, they’re small enough to fit as socks great for sliding across the floor to see what Santa left you. They also include a small crochet loop so you’re free to hang them as stockings if you wish. We use size 6 needles for a tight fabric so no little gifts fall through the holes.
Knitted toe-up with a Turkish heel, one ball of Tapestry and one ball of Uptown Worsted 302 White Glow for the heels and toes ought to do it for small sizes. If your feet are longer than 9″, consider grabbing an extra ball of Tapestry. This handy guide to foot sizes from the Craft Yarn Council may be helpful in estimating, although I wear a US women’s size 8 1/2 or 9 with 9 1/2″ long feet and these socks fit me just fine.
We hope you have a great weekend of crafting and good times.
