The cowl looks great doubled over and scrunched – or if you’re in a silly mood like designer Tori Gurbisz, wear it however you please. Very “Cat in the Hat,” Tori. You’ll definitely turn heads.
Luscious, right? Well, we also did a long version, for those who like to loop their cowls around.
This version uses one skein of Deluxe Worsted wool as a backdrop for the variegated Bamboo Bloom. We chose a more subdued color palette for this combo. The large version is the same height as the small, but twice as long. Here are the stats! FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Height: 15¼”
Circumference: 61”
Needles: US Size 11 (8 mm) 32” circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle
We’re loving this pattern and are having a great time with other color combinations as well. Here’s one that features two hanks of Bamboo Bloom Handpaints in 311 Bonsai and two skeins of Wisdom Yarns Poems in 602 Bruges.
The pattern is a simple linen stitch that you can easily master. In the coming days, we’ll be sharing other color combinations in this rewarding pattern.
We love going to LYSes and getting feedback on yarn and designs. That’s what we were doing when we brought a Bamboo Bloom Handpaints cowl around to local shops to get their take. Like us, they fell in love with it.
This is the Hanasaku Cowl, designed by Tori Gurbisz. Hanasaku means “bloom” in Japanese. With its bursts of color the name seemed apt. We were going to hold off on releasing this until Spring, but we just could’t wait. Besides, winter is a great time for this burst of color.
It’s available in both large and small versions – the small version is pictured above. As pictured, the pattern calls for:
MATERIALS
Small
Wisdom Yarns Poems (100% wool; 50g/109 yds)
• 601 Arles (MC) – 1 skein
Universal Yarn Bamboo Bloom Handpaints (48% rayon from bamboo, 44% wool, 8% acrylic; 100g/154 yds)
• 313 Kanji (CC) – 1 skein
Needles: US Size 11 (8 mm) 24” circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle
This pattern is only available at your LYS. The experts there can download it for you and help you put together the perfect color combo. It’s a simple knit, made in the round. If you can work a knit stitch and use a circular needle, you can create this cowl.
We’ll feature the longer version in another blog post.
Sometimes you just want to make something fun and quick, you know? Inside Job fits the bill.
This basic hat flies by in our Uptown Bulky anti-pilling acrylic yarn (87yds/100g). It’s worked from the bottom up in the round, with US Size 11 (8mm) needles for the ribbing and US Size 13 (9mm) needles for the brim. Top it with a cute pompom, and voila!
What makes this hat a little different is that it’s worked in reverse stockinette. The plain striping shows on the inside, and the more intricate patterning shows on the exterior. Hence the name “Inside Job.”
Self-striping yarn looks so cute in baby knits! It’s a great way to add color without complicating the design. Adore Colors is a great choice for this, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s a soft, machine washable blend of our anti-pilling acrylic and superwash merino. Lucky baby. Well, not just baby – this jacket is sized up to 6 years.
Work the cardi from the bottom up in one piece until you get to the yoke. Sleeves are worked flat to the yoke. Then join the sleeves and the body and work upward. You’ll want three or four buttons, depending on size. There’s one button hidden under the collar, so you can fasten it closed around the neck in case of really cold weather.
We hope you enjoy this cute little jacket – and that you and yours stay warm!
So cute! This little envelope purse is made in Fibra Natura Java (219yds/100g), a 100% hemp yarn. Fast-growing and vegan, hemp is a natural fiber that’s easy on the environment. It works beautifully in this quick-to-knit project.
The clutch is worked flat, then seams, edging, and a button loop are added in single crochet. No lining is needed.
We hope you enjoy this stylish little free project.
Even though we’re in the depths of winter, that doesn’t mean things have to be drab and bleak. This Chevron Wrap is a colorful delight, and the selection of Uptown is a good one. With 60+ colors, Uptown Worsted anti-pilling acrylic is a great choice for mixing and matching stripes for whatever palette pleases you. As pictured, this features four of our brand new colors for Spring:
This is an easy knit. It’s a two-row repeat with only one color per row. The stitch repeat is a piece of cake – knit a few, increase, knit a few, decrease. The centered decreases create the columns of stitches that rise into the next color.
Wouldn’t this also look lovely widened, as a colorful home decor throw?
You’ve got everyone else covered for the holidays, but what do YOU want?
Did you get a gift certificate to your LYS? Need something to point to for that well-meaning relative? You know the one – they want to do right, but then they panic and get you a bunch of random skeins from a grab bag. Sure, it’s the thought that counts, but when you say “you shouldn’t have!” maybe you’d rather not mean it. It’s so much easier to point at a color kit and discreetly clear your throat.
This set shows why we love self-patterning Uptown Tapestry so much. A basic knit turns colorful so easily!
This is a cute little 3-skein set. A classic kid cardi, with hat and booties.
The cardi is knit in one piece from the bottom up. If you want to get sleeves and each bootie to match, you’ll want to find the same place in the patterning on your balls. Of course, babies look awfully cute in hand-knits, matching or not.
We hope you enjoy this cute little set. Happy knitting!
Today, I have another tutorial involving a crochet hook to go along with our In Transit e-book. The Trade Street Cowls and Hat pattern uses contrasting applied crochet lines to create vertical stripes. The lines are added to the purl columns in the finished pieces.
The Trade Street Hat and Cowls feature an applied crochet stripe. No carrying colors on the back side! The pattern comes with both long and short versions of the cowl.
It can be a lot of fun choosing the color for the applied crochet lines, and there are a few options, depending on the look you would like to create. Using a solid color in Uptown Bulky that also appears in the Main Color produces a plaid-like effect. With Classic Shades Big Time as the Contrasting Color, there are a ton of options – choose a highly contrasting section of the color repeat to make the stripes pop, use a section that is neutral or similar to the Main Color for more subtle stripes or choose a section with quicker color changes for gradient stripes.
Let’s get started!
Once you have finished and blocked your cowl or hat, you are ready to add the applied crochet lines.
Step 1: Holding yarn beneath work, insert crochet hook through the center of the first purl st in a column.
Step 2: Pull a loop of yarn through to the front of the work.
Step 3: Insert hook through the next st up in the same purl column, pull a loop of yarn through to the front of the work (2 loops on hook), pull the second loop through the first loop (1 loop on hook); repeat along entire column.
Step 4: When entire column is complete, break yarn, leaving a 3 to 4 inch tail and pull through last loop.
Step 5: Pull tail to wrong side and weave in ends.
Keep going until all of the purl columns have applied crochet lines.
Will you go for subtle or bold stripes on your Trade Street Cowls and Hat?
The entire four-color set takes two skeins of the gray, plus one skein of each other color in Deluxe Worsted 100% wool (220yds/100g).
