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!

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!

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!

Free Pattern Friday – Little Hoodie

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Gray knitted child-sized hoodie on black background

Today, the Little Hoodie in Bella Cash (pattern link).

We love a classic with a twist.  This hoodie is constructed traditionally, in pieces and seamed, but two things make it special: one, the balanced panels on front and back – the ssk and k2tog on right and left panels add a nice symmetry – and two, the yarn.

Back side of knit gray child hoodie

We’re big fans of Bella Cash (230yds/50g).  Its softness and machine washability make it perfect not just for baby garments, but also for adult projects and accessories.  (In fact, in a bit of a coincidence, we released our newest pattern collection today – Small Pleasures, featuring 7 knit accessories in Bella Cash.)

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

We’ll be talking more about these beauties in the days to come.  For now, back to today’s free pattern!

Gray children's hoodie knitted in Bella Cash yarn

We’ve sized this from 0-10 years, so you might choose to go with the classic pastels…

or something a little bolder.

Whatever you choose to do, we hope you have a great time knitting this fun hoodie.

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Double Square Pillow

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Tan, light blue, white, and light green mitered square pillow

Today, the Double Square Pillow in Uptown DK Magix (pattern link here).

Many of our LYSes feature an extended family of crafts.  We love seeing the embroidery, weaving, and quilting that’s going on out there.  And it was with quilting in mind that we created the mitered square Double Square Pillow.

Mitered square pillow knit in Uptown DK Magix yarn

Self-patterning Uptown DK Magix adds a modern look with the splash of color changes, while the strong diagonal line of the centered double decreases look like crosshatch quilted lines. You can try planning the color changes specifically to correspond with each mitered square, but we think it’s more fun to just let the colors land where they will. In the sample shown, no care was given to color placement of the Magix color changes.

Tan knitted pillow showing button closure

Solid Uptown DK in stockinette backs the pillow, fastened with buttons for easy removal.  A lovely, easy-care home decor project.

Detail of knit mitered square knitting pattern on pillow

We hope you have an excellent and relaxing weekend.

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Oasis Blanket

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Gray blanket crocheted in Adore yarn with colored granny squares

Today, the Oasis Blanket crocheted in Adore (pattern link here).

The Oasis Blanket gets its name from the bursts of color set into the gray background.

Detail of colored squares in gray crochet background of baby blanket

Each one is an oasis.

Blue, green, and pink granny squares in crochet Oasis Blanket

Worked in Adore (273yds/100g), a soft blend of superwash merino and anti-pilling acrylic, it’s a great piece that’s soft enough for babies but sturdy enough to stand up to the washing machine.

Oasis Blanket draped over chair

Each motif is worked separately, making this a very portable project.  It also makes it easy to adjust the size on this 31″ x 31″ blanket as you wish – add another row of squares or take one away as needed.

Gray crochet blanket draped over chair back

We hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Happy crafting!

Folded gray, pink, green, and blue blanket crocheted in Oasis with lace border

Independence Day Giveaway!

Happy Independence Day, y’all!

We came in to the office today feeling patriotic and decided to share the love! From now until the end of July 5th, get a free Little Patriot top from Ravelry with code HAPPY4TH with no spaces. (Pattern link here)

Enter the code where you see the  “use a coupon code” links that appear during purchase.

This is such a cute Bamboo Pop pattern, isn’t it?  Sized 1-12 years, it works for both the little and not-so-little patriot in your life.

You know what makes it even cuter? It’s from an e-book of Bamboo Pop Kid designs… with a matching FREE e-book of doll designs!

Sized to fit 18″ dolls, these are quick tops in Bamboo Pop to use up your odds and ends after knitting the kid projects.

Matching kid and doll?  Too cute!

We’ll be closed for the 4th of July on Wednesday.  Have a safe and happy Independence Day.

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Tidal Shawl

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Variegated blue shawl knit in Little Bird and Little Bird Colors yarn

Today, the Tidal Shawl in Little Bird and Little Bird Colors (pattern link).

Shawl knitting in the summertime? Yes, please.

rear view of triangular knitted blue striped shawl

We hate to give up an entire category of projects, just because the temperature’s risen a little.  That’s what makes Little Bird and Little Bird Colors great for this project.  They’re 100% microfiber acrylic, so you won’t overheat with the project in your lap while knitting.

Close up of eyelet stitch pattern in knitted Little Bird shawl

The Tidal Shawl uses one solid color and one self-striping, for a nicely coordinated feel.  A textured stitch is combined with little eyelets for a texture that lets individual stitches of the solids and stripes show through each other – a nice blending of colors.

Woman's hands holding edge of shawl knitted with i-cord bind-off

Work it top-down, and finish with a neat i-cord bind-off.  Presto.  A gorgeous shawl you can wear year-round.

I love the blues that give the Tidal Shawl its name, but you might like something different.  Maybe a Sunshine Shawl?

103 Angel Peach
208 Twirl

Or a Blues and Berries Shawl?

109 Peacock
202 Harmonize

There are boundless possibilities.

Happy crafting!

woman laughing wearing knitted blue shawl