Free Pattern Friday – Chevron Wrap

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Chevron Wrap in Uptown Worsted.

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:

chevronwrap1_uptownworstedhires• 358 Pale Orchid (MC) – 2 skeins
• 360 Midnight (CC1) – 1 skein
• 361 Olive (CC2) – 1 skein
• 359 Pink Punch (CC3) – 1 skein

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?

We hope you enjoy this pleasant project.

Happy knitting

Dona Color Kits – Blue Color Shift Hat and Mitts

You’ve got everyone else covered for the holidays, but what do YOU want?

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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.

Continue reading “Dona Color Kits – Blue Color Shift Hat and Mitts”

Free Pattern Friday – Munchkin Set

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Munchkin Set in Uptown Worsted Tapestry.

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.

uw-tapestry-baby-booties-squareThe 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!

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Trade Street Cowls and Hat – Applied Crochet Lines

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.
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.

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Step 2: Pull a loop of yarn through to the front of the work.

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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.

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Step 4: When entire column is complete, break yarn, leaving a 3 to 4 inch tail and pull through last loop.

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Step 5: Pull tail to wrong side and weave in ends.

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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?

 

 

 

Free Pattern Friday – Squoosh Cowl

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Squoosh Cowl in Uptown Bulky Amplify.

 

Squoosh!

 

Squoosh!!

 

SQUOOOOSH!!!

 

The Squoosh Cowl lives up to its name.

squooshcowl2_uptownbulkyamplify_blogIt’s made with one ball each of two colors in Uptown Bulky Amplify, a super soft anti-pilling acrylic with lots of bounce.

Knit it up on size 13 (9mm) needles, alternating balls to create the colorful striping.  It’s super-easy.  Just work straight garter stitch, then sew the ends together.  You can wrap this baby up to four times around your neck.  Just decide how much “squoosh” you want.

We hope you enjoy this thick and quick simple project in one of our most squishable yarns.

Happy knitting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Double Cable Poncho

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Double Cable Poncho in Major.

How Autumn-y are these colors?  We’ve featured a lot of designs for our popular bulky yarn Major (328yds/200g) using pastels and bluish tones (the Pineapple Peacock Shawl is a favorite) but these more southwestern, earthy tones of color 113 Santa Fe fit the Double Cable Poncho well.

The poncho is made as two rectangles which are them sewn together, long end to short end.  A twisted fringe is added to finish it off.

If you haven’t tried twisted fringe before, it’s really easy.  Amy Gunderson’s got a short video to show you just how to do it.

It’s actually rather meditative, which is always a great quality in a crafting project.

We hope you have an excellent weekend.  Happy knitting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Checked Hat and Scarf

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Checked Hat and Scarf in Uptown Worsted and Uptown Worsted Mist.

In Little Women, Meg called November “the most disagreeable month in the whole year.”  I’m inclined to disagree, though I will grant that the invention of electric heat makes it a lot easier these days.   In fact, let’s add modern appliances like the washer and dryer, which make it a lot easier to do laundry without risking frostbite.

checked-mist-scarf-and-hat-detail_blogAll of which brings us to today’s pattern.  The Checked Hat and Scarf are an easy four-row repeat, worked flat for the scarf and in the round for the hat.  We used Uptown Worsted and Uptown Worsted Mist (180yds/100g), both of which are machine washable and stand up well to wear, as well as being the softest acrylic I personally have used.

On frosty mornings, it’s a pleasure to wrap up warm in a hand-knitted set.  It’s a luxury to return home, red-nosed, and shed layers, tossing them to the side without worrying about having to handwash them later.

We hope you enjoy what November has to offer – and then warm up again with more crafting in a cozy room.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Ambling Cardigan

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Ambling Cardigan in Deluxe Worsted Tweed Superwash.

A few days ago, a friend of mine in New York State worried that he might not appreciate his upcoming trip to the Florida Keys because it was still so warm where he was.  Today, it’s snowing there.  I think it’s safe to say that sweater weather has settled in.

deluxe-worsted-tweed-409-raisin-ball-shot-ccToday we present the Ambling Cardigan.  Ambling, because this would be the perfect thing for a relaxed stroll just after the frost has burned off in the morning.  Deluxe Worsted Tweed Superwash gives it a rustic look in keeping with that feeling of outdoors in Autumn.

dw-tweed-ambling-cardigan-alternate-blogFor the record, we have swatched this yarn here in the office, thrown it in the washing machine and dryer, and had it come out just fine with its tweedy bits intact.

This cardigan is sized from XS to 3X.  The body is worked in one piece from the bottom up, and is then separated for raglan shaping.  Sleeves are worked flat.

We hope you find time to crunch through some leaves this weekend.

Happy knitting!

 

Just for you – Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

If you’re a good little crafter, you’re already busy making your holiday gifts.  Or you could be more like me and have the best intentions, but then somehow it’s the last minute and you’ve knocked out an emergency pair of Felted Scuffles and are frantically drying them with a hair dryer.

Somehow it seems that every year, one thing is true:  in all the confusion, I never wind up knitting for myself.

Not this year.

Kristin Hansen's Garden Metallic Lacy Knits

Ever since this gorgeous book of Kristin Hansen knitted lace for Garden Metallic came out, I’ve had my eye on… well, on all of the patterns.  I had the pleasure of helping prepare the garments for this photo shoot. Touching each delicate masterpiece was enough to make me fall in love.  The one that sets my pulse racing, though, is the Midnight Sun Shawl, perhaps because it shares a name with one of my favorite songs.

https://youtu.be/pr5x7ivORUU?t=2m50s

Fetch my wrap, dear. The night is young and so are we.

The printed book is now also an e-book, as well as individual patterns.  So this year, I’m going to myself something beautiful.  I’m telling myself there’s still time this season, although realistically, I know myself and it will probably be next year before this sees the light of day.  And I have nowhere to wear something this glamorous – but I have faith that if I make it, then the opportunity will present itself.  Or perhaps I’ll be more likely to make my own opportunity.

If you’d like a lovely length of lace to call your own, don’t wait until everything else is done.  It never will be.  Do it now, just for you.

You’re worth it.

Happy knitting!

Free Pattern Friday – Cozy Cardi

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

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Today, the Cozy Cardi in Major.

We’ve had a lot of fun with Major this week…

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Bad Amy! Bad!

…but our week of Major is drawing to a close.  Don’t worry, though – we’ve already got more designs in the works.  There’s a poncho that I’m just dying to try out, plus – well, you’ll see.  But for today, we share this sweet little 1-2 ball hooded baby cardi.

major-cozy-cardi-detail-blogWork the fronts and the hood in one piece side to side.  Then work the sleeves and attach, make the lower hem, and add a crochet edge and three little loops to accommodate your cutest buttons.  There’s an included schematic to show you how the whole thing folds together.  It’s a quick and cute pattern without a lot of frills.  Let the yarn do the work while you take the praise.

We’d love to hear – what kind of things would you like to see in this self-striping bulky yarn?  We’ve got some ideas in the works, but there’s always room for more!

Happy crafting!