Free Pattern Friday – Stripe-o-saurus

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, Stripe-o-saurus in Bamboo Pop (pattern link here).

This is a great example of how the right yarn can make a project really pop – no pun intended.

Striped green toddler pullover knitted in Bamboo Pop
“Rawr! I would knit this myself but my arms are too short.”

This Bamboo Pop pullover has two wide bands of color, broken by a single row knitted in the coordinating accent color used at the edges.  Without that thin line, it’s just not quite the same.

Blue toy dinosaur standing next to shoulder of green children's knit pullover
“Rawr! I can’t pick up stitches.  I can’t pick up anything!”

This sweater is worked flat from the bottom up and seamed. Neck edging stitches are picked up and worked in the round. A circular needle is used to work the body because there are times in which stitches will need to be slipped to the other end of the needle during the stripes (for that single line of color).

“Rawr! Maybe you could make me a tiny cape?”

Oh, good grief. Excuse me, I need to go knit something for a tiny blue dinosaur.

We hope you let your inner child out this weekend.

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Fresco Cardigan

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Fresco Cardigan in Adore and Adore Colors (pattern link here).

Love colorwork but not Fair isle? This one’s for you!

Rachel Brockman used self-striping Adore Colors to do the heavy lifting in the body and sleeve stripes.  Then she used mosaic knitting in solid Adore to create the design around the waist.  Only one color is used per row.  The design appears by slipping stitches in different colors, and voila!

close up of mosaic-knit slip stitch pattern in Adore and Adore Colors yarns
Beautiful.

We hope you enjoy this lovely bit of Fall-to-come.

Happy crafting!

Free Pattern Friday – Cherish Baby Blanket

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Striped Blanket hi-res A

Today, the Cherish Baby Blanket in Uptown DK Colors.

We’re in a kid frame of mind today!  We recently saw these Blinky Bears knitted by Joan and shared by Yarn Cloud in Virginia.

Yarn Cloud Petra Bietsch Blinky Bears by Joan

They’re knitted in Uptown Worsted Tapestry (180yds/100g).  Joan made a different bear for every grand kid so there wouldn’t be any arguments.  Is that a great idea or what?  The pattern is a Yarn Cloud exclusive by Pietra Bietsch and is available on Ravelry at this link.

Striped Blanket detail hi-resWe love these little guys and gals.  We’re also happy to share this extremely simple pattern in Uptown DK Colors (273yds/100g), which also uses the yarn’s color shifts to good advantage.  The Cherish Baby Blanket is a very easy four-row repeat perfect for beginners.  The self-striping yarn makes the color changes, so there’s no juggling multiple balls and there’s less weaving in ends.  A garter stitch border at the edges and a few rows of straight knitting at the top and bottom help keep it from curling.

We’re big fans of self-patterning and self-striping yarns for times when you want to add a little pizzazz to your work without having to fiddle with bobbins.  For instance, take a look at the Zig to the Zag Tee.

Zig to the Zag Tee_Craftsy_square_300dpi

Solid Uptown DK in 132 Night and Uptown DK Colors in 70319 Jubilee are alternated to make a very modern kid’s tee where the self-striping yarn automatically shifts through red and pink bands – one less thing for the knitter to worry about.  They can just concentrate on making a standout top for some little fashionista.

We hope you enjoy the free Cherish Baby Blanket, and think about unique ways you can use self-striping and self-patterning yarns.

Have a great weekend, and happy knitting!

 

Free Pattern Friday – Beachhouse Tank

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

BeachhouseTank_hires

Today, the Beachhouse Tank in Good Earth Adorn and Good Earth Solids.

http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-refreshment-sweet-basil-90805
This is the life.

I love this tank.  I can easily imagine myself sitting on a dock, wearing sandals and linen pants with with this top, sipping a lemonade while gazing out at the water through oversized sunglasses.  Maybe I’ll wear a Yashi sunhat, too.  Bliss.

(Have you tried adding basil to lemonade?  Sooo good, and we’re coming in to the season for fresh basil.  Here’s a recipe if you want to give it a try.)

BeachhouseTank_back_blogThe pattern calls for Good Earth Adorn (MC) and Good Earth Solids (CC), both cotton/linen blends that come 170 yards to the hank.  It’s a great yarn for summer, and perfect for this drapey A-line top.

Laurel Murphy’s design is worked in pieces and seamed. The straps are knit on the front piece only and then seamed to the back bind-off edge, as shown here.

We hope you have a relaxing and refreshing weekend, finding an opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and breathe deeply.

Happy knitting!

 

Sunday Swatch – Saki Bamboo

Today’s Sunday Swatch is in Saki Bamboo color 101 Crayon Box.

Saki-Bamboo-Multi-Sunday-Swatch-blog-1024x678B

Saki Bamboo is a soft machine washable blend of superwash merino, rayon from bamboo, and a little nylon for extra durability.  I love how crisply this yarn stripes up.

I picked this yarn because there’s a project I’ve been wanting to start, and Saki Bamboo seemed like the perfect fit.  The Mystik Spiral socks use short rows to create a diagonal band across the foot and leg of a sock, ideal for a strong self-striping yarn.  Sure enough, it’s looking pretty great.

Saki Bamboo 1_blog

I’m delighted with how well the stripes are turning out, and how soft the bamboo content makes these socks.  This is definitely going to be  the project I keep in my purse on vacation this year.

Happy knitting!