Tag: knit

Posted on

Free Pattern Friday – Tamara Triangle

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Tamara Triangle in Papyrus (pattern link here).

There’s a sweet story behind today’s sweet design, so I’m going to let designer Rachel Brockman tell it in her own words.

“The Tamara Triangle is named after a dear friend of mine – one who inspired me to learn to knit (and one who has been pining for an oversized shawl).

“As such, this pattern goes out to all of the people in our lives who have inspired and encouraged the craft of knitting – whether it’s a family member, a friend, a local yarn shop, or yourself – I think we can all agree that it’s great to reflect and feel grateful for those influences. ”

The shawl is worked from the top down in cotton/silk Papyrus, beginning with a garter tab cast-on. Most of the shawl is worked in stockinette stitch, making it excellent for a knit night with friends.

The edging requires a bit more concentration, as the lace is worked on the right and wrong sides of the work. Fear not, though, the pattern is a repeat of just six rows. As a bonus, the lace is aesthetically reversible. If you prefer the look of reverse stockinette, flip it around.

We hope you have an excellent weekend, and find time to connect with old friends.

Happy crafting!

Posted on

Free Pattern – Fleurette Lace Pullover

Summertime can be a tough time for a needlecrafter.  It’s hot, and a big project can weigh heavy in your lap, but you don’t want to put down the yarn.  Fortunately, there’s always cotton!

Woman outdoors wearing cknitted cream lace pullover in Cotton Supreme DK.

To beat the heat, try the Fleurette Lace Pullover in Cotton Supreme DK (pattern link here).

Sized Small to 3X, this raglan-sleeved pullover features waist shaping, and is knitted from the bottom up in pieces. It’s quite stylish with a contrasting tank underneath.  This is a nice three season piece.

Closeup of lace pattern in knitted Fleurette Lace Pullover

The lace pattern is both written and charted, and covers front and back.  It calls for Cotton Supreme DK, the lighterweight version of our popular Cotton Supreme DK.  It’s very pretty as shown in a natural 702 Ecru, but there are a lot of ways to go with this one.  Maybe a pretty pastel?

Five pastel hanks of Cotton Supreme DK with a blossoming cherry branch

Or go dark, with something light showing through beneath?

Hank of Navy Cotton Supreme DK yarn

We hope you stay cool, and keep on crafting.  Have a great day!

Posted on

Small Pleasures – Blue Oak Shawl

A couple of weeks ago, I very briefly mentioned our new e-book, Small Pleasures.  It’s a set of designs using what is fast becoming a favorite, Bella Cash.

e-book cover titled Small Pleasures showing hands wearing blue knitted fingerless mitts

This collection is perfect for me, because I am all about the accessories.  I like instant gratification, and I’m always paranoid that I’m going to get to the end of a sweater and I will have miscalculated somewhere and it won’t fit. Not that this has ever happened to me.  Ahem.

But let us not dwell on the failures of the past, let us move on to newer and more beautiful things – namely, my new shawl obsession, Blue Oak.

Woman in woods wearing blue and gray knit shawl

I asked designer Rachel Brockman about this, and she kindly shared her original swatch and concept.

pink and white knitted swatch on wooden background

“It all started with my playing with slip stitches and stripes, but wanting it to have a little something special. I’m a sucker for triangular shawls, too. They are easy to wear and soothing to knit. It was never my plan to make this in pink and white, as shown in my swatch – but I think it gets my design through quite well and I was thrilled about the final results.”

Blue Oak Tree

Rachel’s concept for the edge lace was inspired by the Blue Oak tree. The triangular shape of the shawl itself mirrors that.

Woman walking away down wooded lane wearing knitted shawl

Soothing indeed.

Woman looking at camera while holding edges of her worn Blue Oak Shawl

It sits nicely on the shoulders worn loose to the front…

…and is long enough to wrap for other styling options as well.

The grain pattern in this top-down piece is just a 4-row 2-stitch repeat.  I cast on for this yesterday and knitted a bit, and it only took about five rows after the garter tab before I didn’t have to think about it any more.

Peach and dark purple balls of Bella Cash yarn and knitted slip stitch swatch
Colors: 122 Amethyst and 119 Apricot.

Lace border of knitted Blue Oak shawl

The pattern is broken up by a band of contrasting color in the middle and in the ending lace.  Everything in the pattern is written and charted, except the grain pattern, which needs no chart.

Rachel offers some Bella Cash color suggestions:

“My choices for a personal project would have to be 126 Forest combined with 106 Oat or 116 Sage, as used in the sample. Of course, there is always 121 Cabernet and 124 Mustard (shown) if you’re feeling the Gryffindor love!”

Well, now I’m not sure whether to keep going with what I’ve got, or maybe go Ravenclaw blue. Decisions, decisions.

The Blue Oak Shawl is available on Ravelry as a single pattern, or as part of e-book Small Pleasures.  This won’t be the last time we talk about this e-book.  I’m a sock fiend, and there’s a pair in there I’m dying to cast on for.

Happy crafting!

Closeup of texture on knitted Blue Oak Shawl

Posted on

Vibrance in Lace – Flow Cardi

This summer, I’ve been looking for just the right piece to wear over a tank or short sleeves, to go with a kicky spring-toned skirt that I bought on impulse.  I didn’t have to look far – Rachel Brockman delivered the perfect design in the Flow Cardi.

woman wearing knitted loose light green cardigan

The design is part of our new Vibrance in Lace e-book of patterns for new yarn Finn.  For me, this works perfectly because it’s loose and airy, and if I’m going to wear a skirt (rare for me!) then I definitely want to be comfortable.

The six-row lace repeat isn’t hard to keep track of.  Worked flat in pieces from the bottom up, you’ll be making the sleeves at the same time as the body, casting on and binding off to create the dolman sleeve shape.

The model here is wearing a Medium/Large, which gives her a generous 20″ of ease.  The pattern is sized from XS to 4X.

Looks great open, or fastened with a pin or closure.  I like the use of Finn for this pattern – its alpaca content provides a soft halo, which gives a touch of blur to the edges of the lace and softens the look even further.

I’ve made my swatch.  I can’t wait to cast on.

Posted on

Free Pattern Friday – Playtime Blankie

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Knitted baby blanket with dry Cheerios spilled on it

Today, the Playtime Blankie in Bella Chenille Multi (pattern link).

This soft, squeezable square 38″ x 38″ blanket is perfect for tender-skinned babies.

Square white speckled baby blanket knit in Bella Chenille.

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.

White blue and orange speckled baby blanket fabric knit in Bella Chenille
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.

Corner of knitted chenille baby blanket

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!

Gray and red balls of Bella Chenille yarn.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Happy crafting!

Posted on

Free Pattern – Halfway Home Shawl

When we launch a new yarn, as we did this year with Finn, we also publish free patterns made in that yarn so that crafters can have instant inspiration.  Halfway Home was one of several published this Spring that never got their day on the blog.  Time to fix that!

Woman looking over shoulder wearing purple knit lace shawl

This is Amy Gunderson’s Halfway Home Shawl in Finn (pattern link).

Violet shawl knitted in Finn yarn.

It’s lovely worn, but I also had to take a picture of it here in the studio just to show its striking shape.

Woman outdoors wearing garter stitch and lace knit shawl

The corner that the model is holding is the starting point for this slightly oblong shawl.  It begins with just 7 stitches. Five Herringbone Lace Columns grow out of the left side of the shawl and are continued up to the top edge.

Young woman modeling knitted triangular purple shawl

Increases occur only at the left side of the piece, creating a right triangle shape. The lace pattern is an easy-to-memorize 4-row repeat.

Two balls of Finn yarn from Universal Yarn

We use Finn, a blend of acrylic, superwash merino, and enough alpaca to give it a bit of a halo.  It’s a nice touch of luxury.

Detail closeup of purple shawl crafted in Universal Yarn Finn

It’s easy to customize size in this shawl, as most of the body is maintained in garter stitch. Just be sure to reserve enough yarn for the final 10 rows of garter stitch and you’re good!

Have a great week – and happy crafting!

Posted on

Free Pattern Friday – Cora Crop

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Smiling woman wearing light blue knitted Cora Crop tee in Bamboo Pop yarn

Today, the Cora Crop in Bamboo Pop (pattern link).

Well, if this isn’t perfect for summer, I don’t know what is.

Rear view of cabled Cora Crop knit in Bamboo Pop yarn

This is a surprisingly simple knit with no shaping.  The cable is centered front and back.

Rear view of woman in cabled Bamboo Pop tee

Front, back, and sleeves are knit flat from the bottom up. 3×3 ribbing is a great detail at the edges and shoulders.

Closeup of seam at shoulder of knitted top

Shoulders are joined with a three-needle bind-off for stability in this seam, also ensuring that the ribbing pattern lines up perfectly.

Detail of sleeve on light blue short sleeve knit pullover

Bamboo Pop, a bamboo/cotton blend that’s a favorite for lightweight projects, gives a bit of shine to the clean lines of this top.

Woman with hand on hip modeling knitted tee

We hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Happy crafting!

Posted on

Light & Shadow: Design Highlights

Perhaps my favorite collection we’ve released for fall so far is Light & Shadow. It’s a collection of gorgeous, incredibly wearable patterns knit in anti-pilling Uptown DK.

Universal Yarn Uptown DK

A lot goes into planning our pattern collections, and it’s always so exciting to see designs develop. Amy and I begin with a mood board. Then we move on to creating rough sketches. You can see a few of mine from our recent collections below:

From left to right: Small Pleasures using Bella Cash, Vibrance in Lace using Finn, and Light and Shadow using Uptown DK.

Naturally not every sketch makes the final collection. Amy and I work on numerous ideas separately, then we meet to share our ideas, select the designs that will be a part of the collection, and choose colors. Then we get hard to work on making these ideas a reality.

So, which designs made the final cut for Light & Shadow?

I have three designs in the collection. First up: Crossroads.

Universal Yarn Uptown DK

If I had to choose a favorite, this might be it. This design started with a bold cable from Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook. I didn’t want to just slap the pattern onto a sweater. I opted for a relaxed, cozy fit with drop shoulders, garter ridges, a split hem, and understated bishop sleeves.

The sleeves sit at bracelet length on our fantastic model, Jarin, however; it’s super simple to lengthen them as the shaping occurs just before the cuff.

Next, we have Northbound.

I wanted to create the perfect, infinitely wearable turtleneck. I know not everyone loves turtlenecks, but I sure do! Northbound was initially imagined as a proposal for a print magazine before I started working at Universal. I loved it, so I held onto the idea – the Light and Shadow collection seemed to be a perfect match.

Northbound has some of my favorite design elements: set-in sleeves, saddle shoulders, seed stitch, and cables. If you love a simple design with thoughtful details, this pattern is for you.

My final design is perhaps the most unique: Topography.

Topography features sculptural welts that move diagonally across the sleeves. The effect is simpler to construct than you might expect.

The sleeves feature traveling twisted stitches that are used as a guide to creating the welts. After you’ve knit the sleeves, stitches are picked up stitches along the legs of the twisted stitches. Then you simply knit and graft. Easy-peasy. Not a fan of the welts? Just stick with the twisted stitches and you have a simple wardrobe staple.