The weather here can’t decide what it wants to do. One minute it’s Spring, the next it’s Summer. We need something that will straddle the line.
The Cassia Cardigan is a geat layering piece over a tee.
Knit this piece flat in three pieces – the back, and each half of the front. Then seam and add the solid border (shown in Good Earth cotton/linen).
Although the stitch pattern for this cardi is simple, you’ll still want to pay attention. The detailed decreases that makes this such a striking piece occur at different rates in different places. We’d recommend a read-through before starting to ensure smooth sailing later on. Actually, we always recommend that, but we’re sometimes guilty of diving in first and winging it. It’s just human nature when you have a beautiful project ready to go.
I’m a big fan of one-color brioche, but I had never done two-color brioche before tackling Rachel Brockman’s Sweet Little Cowl in Cottonwood. I don’t know why I thought it was going to be hard. It’s not. Rachel shares another brioche pattern here, this one knitted flat.
The great thing about the Nebula Stole is that it’s reversible – it’ll look stunning with either side facing out, which opens up a world of possibilities in styling.
I’ll tell you, we’re lucky to have found designer Rachel Brockman. Here, she has created a practical and cute little notions pouch in Good Earth cotton/linen blend.
The pouch is worked in two separate rectangles which are seamed together. Then add the zipper, and voila!
The orange sections are a 10-stitch repeat that’s charted in the pattern. For those who loved last week’s Spring Stripe Rug but wanted some practice on tapestry crochet first, this is a great little project that uses the same technique.
We hope you have an awesome weekend. Now I’m off to fix up a little Springtime Citrus Cooler – the Citrus Pouch gave me a craving!
Don’t you love it when cute and practical meet? The cute: this striped sweater with its nautical feel, sized from 3 months to 4 years.
Work it in the round up to the armholes, then divide it for shaping. Near the end, you’ll add the ribbed buttonbands at the arms for a nice finish.
The practical: that buttonband! I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to get a wiggly baby’s head through a neckhole, but it’s kind of like… well… I’m just going to leave this here.
Yep, that’s about right.
As a parent, I’m also delighted by the choice of Bella Cash for this. The yarn is machine washable, but with its cashmere content it’s also baby-shower-worthy. Its palette has a good range of pastels and other kid-friendly tones, too.
All in all, this pullover gets the knitter/mom seal of approval. Now if you’ll pardon me, I have to go watch some more cat videos. It just never gets old.
There’s just something magical about Spring. It’s hard to resist the call of the outdoors when the first blooms are poking up. It always puts us in mind of growing things, including the little people in our lives.
Enter the Sakura Dress.
This lightweight raglan-style piece is sized from newborn to 4 years. Worked in the round from the bottom up, this sweet little knit uses one of my favorite warm-weather yarns, Bamboo Pop, in two coordinating colors, 215 Soothe and 125 Darling Pink. I’m already thinking of what other colors might work – maybe light green with variegated 209 Jungle Life? Or a lavender with purple? These are the tough decisions, folks!
An easy-to-memorize lace pattern in a single skein of soft, shimmering Alpaculence creates a beautiful, lightweight cowl that can easily be dressed up or down.
Be aware: the cowl shown took 92 grams of a 100 gram ball. Be sure your gauge is correct to prevent the possibility of running out of yarn! Swatching in advance can prevent trouble at the finish.
If you’re like me, you love cables. Cables are especially exciting when the fabric is reversible. Yep, the Reversible Cable Blanket really is reversible (did you think we were kidding with that name?).
The backbone of this pattern simply is K2, P2 Rib framed by a border of garter stitch. Every 8 rows two sets of K2, P2 stitches are crossed, creating an elegant cable and reversible fabric. That’s really all there is to this pattern!
Cables, glorious cables!
Major is a perfect medium for this pattern. It’s quick to knit, incredibly soft, and easy to care for. Major is a bulky weight, 100% acrylic yarn that comes in a generously sized 200-gram ball. There are many beautiful, self-shading colors of Major ranging from perfect pastels to bold, vibrant beauties, and no-nonsense neutrals. It’s no wonder that this yarn is a customer favorite.
Better yet, this pattern is written in two sizes: a baby blanket and throw blanket size. Make one as a gift and another to keep for yourself. After all, you surely deserve to cuddle up to a squishy, cabled blanket.
Look at how simple that is. This is exactly the kind of pattern that I would have loved as a beginner, and that I still love when I want to make something beautiful and not look away from binge-watching Jessica Jones.
Because it’s dropped stitches on a larger needle (US size 10 1/2), this pattern makes the yarn go a long way. One ball of Whisper Lace wool/silk for the solid bands, two balls of self-striping Cotton Supreme Batik for the wider variegated stripes.
Because the fabric is so loose and drapey, it scrunches up effortlessly – hence the name Scruncher Scarf. Here it is in an alternate colorway, folded in half and wrapped for an accessory that straddles “skinny” and “full.”
Obviously, this would be a great one to experiment with, colorwise. I’ll bet your LYS could put together some fantastic color combos.
Sized from 3 months to 2 years, this clever cardi uses machine washable Little Bird and its self-striping sibling Little Bird Colors to easily create a bright little jacket for baby.
The front and back are knit flat, as are the sleeves. Then, they’re seamed together.
Add the edging, and your favorite buttons, and you’re ready to go.
Though we like to celebrate Pi Day with a slice of cherry here at the office, that’s not actually what this math holiday is all about. But I will take any excuse to eat pie. Not that I need an excuse.
But seriously, Pi day is the annual recognizing of the awesome constant number we know as Pi, and that is recognized by this Greek symbol: π. Pi is approximately 3.14, and is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (the length around the entire outer edge of a circle) and the diameter (the width of a circle).
I am a pretty big math geek. Math is logical, useful in so many facets of life, and it never lets you down. Pi is especially cool because it helps to solve the mystery of the unknown. For example, by knowing the formula for pi, and, say, the diameter of a circle, you can calculate the circumference of said circle.
As a knitting designer, I have relied upon Pi on many occasions. Here are a few examples:
The semicircle shawl in Deluxe Worsted begins with a sideways, short-row lower edge, and is then worked upward from there. In order to make a half circle shape considering all of the other aspects of this piece, I applied my love of Pi and magic was made.
Perhaps the most common and well know way of shaping a circular shawl is called the Pi method. Developed by knitting genius Elizabeth Zimmermann, this shape is worked from the center outward and involves only a handful of increase rounds. The basic principle involves doubling the stitch count as the diameter of the circle increases. Typically, a pi constructed piece of knitting begins with 9 stitches, doubles to 18 on round 3, doubles to 36 on round 7, up to 72 stitches on round 13, and so on.
The Burst blanket is purely pi knitting. There are just 6 increase rounds in the entire thing, allowing you to focus solely on the repeating stitch patterns.
