This is part 5 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
Meet your new best friends: the Snowfolk (pattern link)! Agnes, Dorothy, and Maureen are a trio of knitters made from Deluxe Worsted. I love this yarn because it’s great for so many things – garments, accessories, home decor – you name it, Deluxe Worsted has you covered! This group of frosty friends is a joy to make, and you’ll have plenty of yarn to make more than three. We encourage you to have fun customizing your very own wintry knitting circle!
Maureen (left), Agnes (center) and Dorothy (right).
Snowfolk is a collaboration between Amy (our amazing creative director) and myself (Rachel – Amy told me to add that I am also amazing). Between the three snowpeople we designed and the collaboration involved in this pattern (not to mention by our entire team who have made this collection possible), I started thinking about knitting in the company of others. I asked some of my colleagues what their favorite things about knitting with others are.
Dorothy is chatty at times and gets a bit carried away at her knitting group. As a result, she inadvertently adds some length to her knitting! She doesn’t mind, though. After all, what’s more snuggly than a scarf wrapped several times around your neck?
Here is what Amy had to say:
“I travel to a lot of knitting shows, and so I find myself knitting amongst strangers (or friends) quite often at these events. I love how this one thing that we have in common paves the way for such a strong bond between people. I have made many dear friends through knitting.”
Agnes wearing her colorwork hat. Stranded knitting is her favorite technique and she believes no hat should go without a pom pom. If she’s not knitting her hands are freezing! The muff solves the problem for her!
Heather told me:
“My weekly knitting group is a great way to decompress. I can share my worries with sympathetic people while also doing something soothing. Dropping in my with local knitting group has brought me lifelong friends – and a cat when a knitting buddy needed to move!”
Maureen: maker of shawls. She also hates having cold ears, so her ear flap hat is the perfect accessory.
Most of the time I’m someone who revels in knitting at home in the company of my pets, but there is something so nice about knitting with friends or seeing someone you don’t know knitting in public. That commonality often creates an instant bond. I love visiting my local yarn shop to catch up with the owner and her employee as I pass stitches from one needle to the other. Once or twice a year I treasure the moments when I can join one of my dearest friends in person to gush about what we’ve been knitting. A great friend who lives nearby joins me each week to knit and chat. If I’m honest, I don’t accomplish much when knitting with others! I may get through a few rows, but spending that time with those I care about while doing something we love is what’s truly special.
What do you love about knitting with others? Do you have a weekly knitting circle? Maybe you love attending shows. We’d love to hear about it!
Remember, you can find Series 2 of the 12 Days of Winter Kit patterns on Ravelry.
This is part 1 in a 12 part series highlighting designs from our 12 Days of Winter, Series 2 Edition.
We can hardly believe it’s already November. Knitting season is in full swing. Our needles and hooks are full of warm and woolly goodness. We’re preparing for the holidays – working tirelessly on special projects for friends and family. Here at Universal Yarn, we’ve also been working hard to create the second annual installment of a beautiful collection of wintry kits to welcome the season. So, at long last, we’re able to reveal the first of twelve special kits. Say hello to the 12 Days of Winter 2018 Collection!
I’m a big fan of stranded colorwork. It may take a backseat to knitting cables, but for some reason, I simply cannot resist a good pair of colorwork socks. The Mistletoes socks combine self-striping Adore Colors and Adore for a visually striking effect.
Notice the changes in color for the colorwork portions. That effect is created by Adore Colors.
Despite the beauty of stranded colorwork, many knitters find themselves intimidated. Like everything else in knitting, once you’ve done it you realize how simple it really is. If you haven’t done colorwork before I want to empower you to get your feet wet – if you have, I want to encourage you to learn a bit more! Let’s get down to it! I’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you along the way.
Get comfortable with charts. This is something else that can intimidate knitters, but it’s essential for colorwork. I’d actually argue that colorwork is an excellent introduction to reading charts since you’re usually only looking at colors. Last year I included some tips and tricks for understanding charts. You can find the full post here (link).
Manage your yarn. Managing your yarn well when knitting colorwork can make the process so much more enjoyable. I recommend keeping each ball of yarn on a separate side to prevent unnecessary, annoying twists and tangles.
Notice one ball is placed on the left and one is placed on the right. This prevents them from twisting around one another.
Taking care of tension. This is probably the most important aspect of stranded knitting. To achieve the results you want, your tension should be even. Why? Floats. Since you’re carrying two strands of yarn across the back of your work, one of the yarns will always be “on hold” while you work stitches with the other color.
The right and wrong sides of the work. Notice the floats of yarn on the wrong side. They’re quite pretty!
If your floats are too tight, the fabric will pucker. Puckered fabric is considerably less elastic and will appear a bit bumpy – taking away from the beautiful patterning you worked so hard on. Not to worry, though! There are ways to ensure that your floats are even and not too tight. I’m personally a pretty tight knitter, so I use these techniques, too.
Use larger needles. First things first: swatch, swatch, swatch! Once you do, you’ll realize that your gauge in stockinette stitch is different than your gauge in stranded knitting. To combat the difference, changing needles helps a lot. Expect to use needles that are one to two sizes larger for stranded portions of your knitting. Most patterns, including the Mistletoes, will direct you to do this. However; that’s not always the case. Keep this in mind whenever you’re knitting colorwork.
Turn your work inside-out. This is exactly what it sounds like. By turning your work inside-out, your floats will be facing you while you’re knitting. It doesn’t change the actual knitting at all, but it’s a simple way to manage your floats. By carrying your floats on the outside, you’re allowing them a bit more room. This trick is simple, easy, and effective.
Notice the right side is on the inside of the round.
Notice that the wrong side of the fabric is facing outward.
Gently stretch your work. Chances are that you’ll sometimes have a stitch that’s a bit odd – perhaps a bit too tight or a bit too loose. You can rectify the issue by occasionally stopping to give the fabric a gentle stretch. Don’t be overzealous as that can cause stitches to get more uneven. A little goes a long way.
Gently stretch the work downward.Gently stretch the work horizontally.
Manually even out oddball stitches. Like I’ve mentioned above, there are instances where a stitch looks a bit wonky. If a gentle stretch doesn’t help you can manually pick the stitches around it to try and even things out.
Oh no! Look at this awful little stitch! It’s far too tight and hidden by the surrounding stitches. Good thing you can work some magic!Insert your needle behind the right leg and then the left leg of the naughty stitch.Once you’ve picked up both legs, gently tug on the stitch – give it a little wiggle.The naughty stitch has realized the error of its ways! You can now see the stitch very well and it looks lovely alongside its friends. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
Block it out! Blocking is magic. The process evens out stitches, so when you finish your work be sure to block it! Once the yarn blooms it will fill up any negative space in your fabric allowing your colorwork to shine! Just be sure to follow the care instructions on your yarn label so that you don’t unintentionally damage the fabric. Side note: we have a post to help you understand yarn labels, too. Find it here (link).
Look how pretty and even the colorwork is after blocking.
That’s it! I hope these tips and tricks will help you as you knit the Mistletoes or any stranded colorwork. Remember, you can find Series 2 of the 12 Days of Winter Kit patterns on Ravelry.
Perhaps my favorite collection we’ve released for fall so far is Light & Shadow. It’s a collection of gorgeous, incredibly wearable patterns knit in anti-pilling Uptown DK.
A lot goes into planning our pattern collections, and it’s always so exciting to see designs develop. Amy and I begin with a mood board. Then we move on to creating rough sketches. You can see a few of mine from our recent collections below:
From left to right: Small Pleasures using Bella Cash, Vibrance in Lace using Finn, and Light and Shadow using Uptown DK.
Naturally not every sketch makes the final collection. Amy and I work on numerous ideas separately, then we meet to share our ideas, select the designs that will be a part of the collection, and choose colors. Then we get hard to work on making these ideas a reality.
So, which designs made the final cut for Light & Shadow?
I have three designs in the collection. First up: Crossroads.
If I had to choose a favorite, this might be it. This design started with a bold cable from Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook. I didn’t want to just slap the pattern onto a sweater. I opted for a relaxed, cozy fit with drop shoulders, garter ridges, a split hem, and understated bishop sleeves.
The sleeves sit at bracelet length on our fantastic model, Jarin, however; it’s super simple to lengthen them as the shaping occurs just before the cuff.
I wanted to create the perfect, infinitely wearable turtleneck. I know not everyone loves turtlenecks, but I sure do! Northbound was initially imagined as a proposal for a print magazine before I started working at Universal. I loved it, so I held onto the idea – the Light and Shadow collection seemed to be a perfect match.
Northbound has some of my favorite design elements: set-in sleeves, saddle shoulders, seed stitch, and cables. If you love a simple design with thoughtful details, this pattern is for you.
My final design is perhaps the most unique: Topography.
Topography features sculptural welts that move diagonally across the sleeves. The effect is simpler to construct than you might expect.
The sleeves feature traveling twisted stitches that are used as a guide to creating the welts. After you’ve knit the sleeves, stitches are picked up stitches along the legs of the twisted stitches. Then you simply knit and graft. Easy-peasy. Not a fan of the welts? Just stick with the twisted stitches and you have a simple wardrobe staple.
If you’re looking for a last-minute but thoughtful Father’s Day gift, you’re in luck. Today we’re sharing the Father’s Day Tie. This necktie takes just 36 grams of Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash!
I talk to my dad at least two or three times a week. He’s one of my best friends, and I feel so lucky for that. On top of that, my husband (and hesitant but equally gracious model for these photos) is a pretty fantastic dad to our dogs and cats. Yep – I am totally the kind of person who sees their pets as a ridiculously special part of my family.
Anyway, as we well know, Father’s Day celebrates all the great father figures out there. Yep, father figures – because it’s so important to recognize those that have played that role in our lives, regardless of a biological relationship. Whether that’s a spouse, friend, dad (or dog dad!), it’s important to take a moment to say thank you.
The Father’s Day Tie is knit flat primarily in linen stitch and features a spine of slipped stitches down the center. Paired with Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash, this accessory elevates an otherwise casual look. So what are you waiting for? Grab your needles and yarn and get started! You can find the pattern here (link).
You might remember that back in October I introduced the first post about my adventures in naturally dyeing our Superwash Merino Worsted Weight yarn. In that post (link), I gushed about how much I love the warm hues of autumn. Well, it’s spring now – though it certainly feels like summer here in Charlotte. That means it’s time to play with some yarns that are a bit more warm-weather friendly.
Today I’m using our soft and silky Universal Yarn Ready to Dye Merino Silk Sport Weight. It’s a gorgeous sportweight yarn with enough silk to make it appropriate for garments and accessories to throw over your shoulders on summer nights.
Whenever possible, I like to harvest dyes from the plants growing in and around my yard. I can choose what to grow, and there are endless ways I can experiment. Natural dyeing is, without a doubt, full of surprises, and you’ll understand what I mean when you see the results of my adventure with azalea dye.
I have a few azalea shrubs around my house. Just weeks ago they were full of brilliant pink blossoms, but now they’ve dried. I was plucking some weeds from my herb garden when it hit me: I have so many dried blossoms! Why not try to dye with them?
I grabbed a freezer bag and stuffed them full of the dried blossoms. Side note: If you use a freezer bag like I did (why didn’t I just grab a bowl?!), remember to simply rinse it and re-use it!
After collected my blossoms, I weighed them. I took into consideration the weight of the bag and ended up with approximately 37g. I could have collected more – I barely put a dent in my shrubs!
For today’s tutorial you’ll need:
1 skein of Universal Yarn Ready to Dye Merino Silk Sport Weight
Approximately 30-40g of dried azalea blossoms
Alum – you can find this in the baking/spices section of your grocery store.
Two stainless-steel pots that you don’t plan to use for cooking – I purchased mine for a few dollars at a thrift store.
Tongs – they don’t need to be stainless steel but choose some that you won’t use for cooking.
A kitchen scale – I can’t recommend this one enough. Although it isn’t essential, if you’re a knitter, you should have one! It’s useful for much more than dyeing.
Measuring cups/tablespoon
White distilled vinegar
Salt
Water
Step 1: Create a mordant and soak your yarn. You can find specific instructions for creating a mordant in my first post (link here). If you’ve been following along and have a jar of mordant already, simply reuse the solution.
Step 2: While your yarn is soaking, prepare your dyebath.
Fill your stainless-steel pot with enough water to allow your yarn to flow freely.
Dissolve 1 tbsp of salt into the water.
Pour ½ cup of vinegar into the water – salt and vinegar help to brighten the dye.
Add your azalea blossoms and use the tongs to stir the pot.
Bring to a simmer over your stovetop. Allow simmering for 30 minutes to an hour.
Lower the temperature so that the water is just under a simmer. If you want a specific temperature, you’ll want the water to be about 190 degrees F.
You can see that the dyebath turned into a rosy color.
Step 3: Remove your yarn from the mordant bath, gently squeezing the excess mordant from the yarn.
Step 4: Carefully place your yarn into the dyebath.
Step 5: Allow the yarn to soak in the dyebath for about an hour. Turn off the heat and set the pot aside. Do not remove the yarn yet.
Step 6: Allow the yarn to cool in the dyebath – I let mine cool overnight.
Step 7: Remove your yarn and rinse thoroughly. I recommend stepping outside and giving it a few vigorous shakes to remove the remaining plant matter.
Before I reveal the yarn, I want to take a moment to emphasize how surprising natural dyeing can be. As you can see, the color of the dyebath was initially pretty pink. After about an hour it looked much more like a silvery-purple. I was really excited about those results. Even when the water cooled it remained a deep purple.
So, you might imagine my surprise when I discovered that my azalea dye turned into this…
Isn’t it the loveliest shade of green? I’m over the moon about the results of this dye experiment, and I’m sure I’ll be using azaleas for dyeing again soon. The transformation is pretty stunning.
For the last installment of our blog series on our 12 Days of Winter Kit Collection, we’re unveiling the Twining Vines Cowl. Twining Vinesfeatures Amphora. It is a perfect yarn for colorwork because its gorgeous halo blends the fibers together seamlessly. The effect is almost like an impressionist painting.
In addition to carrying two colors throughout this pattern, you’ll also need to trap your floats. It’s simpler than you might think. This tutorial is useful for any stranded project. If you’d like a closer look at the images, simply click on them.
Notice the large number of white stitches between the blue stitches. This is an area you’ll want to “trap” or “catch” your float to prevent any snagging.Begin by knitting across your row as usual. Continue until you reach the section that requires trapping a float. Usually, an area that requires trapping floats will have more than five stitches.As a rule of thumb, I trap my floats every five stitches. I’ve knit across four stitches, and I will trap my float on the fifth stitch.Simply place your non-working yarn over the right-hand needle, but do not knit with it.Wrap your working yarn around the right-hand needle to knit. Make sure your non-working yarn (the blue yarn) is over the needle and the working yarn (the white yarn).Begin to knit the stitch. Notice how I’m holding the blue yarn. It is still above the white yarn, but it is not wrapped around the right-hand needle. Take care not to pull the non-working (blue) yarn through the stitch. Knit the stitch. As you can see, the blue yarn is still at the back of the work. You can continue knitting as usual after this. That’s really how simple it is!When you peek at the wrong side of your work, you’ll be able to see where you trapped the float. Notice the blue bump in the middle of the white stitches? That is where I’ve trapped the blue yarn underneath the white yarn.
Just like that, we’ve released all 12 of the patterns featured in our 12 Days of Winter Collection. We sincerely hope you’ve been enjoying our blog series highlighting each pattern. You can find the Twining Vines kit on our website here.
Now that you’ve seen them all, I’d also like to emphasize that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. What better way to show your support for your local yarn shop than by stopping by to pick up one of our kits on Small Business Saturday?
What are some things that come to mind when you think of winter? Seeing your breath in the cool air? Staying warm at home as snow falls softly to the ground? Building snowmen and coming inside to a cup of warm cocoa? Whatever you envision on a cold winter’s day, Tundra is sure to keep you warm.
Tundra is cabled hat that captures the look of icy winter days, yet keeps you snug and warm. It features all-over cables that begin at the cuff and are carried into the crown shaping.
If ever there was a yarn meant to be coupled with cables, Dona would be that yarn. It has impeccable stitch definition, which is perfect for the interlocking twists and turns of cabled fabric. The Tundra hat combines simple, but beautiful cables with the plump and incredibly soft Dona.
Like each kit in the 12 Days of Winter Collection, the Tundra Kit comes in a giftable package. Perhaps you’re the knitter doing the gifting (isn’t the act of knitting a gift to yourself anyway?)–great news–this pattern is sized baby through adult, so it’s perfect for anyone special in your life.
By the way, I’d be remiss not to mention that today is also Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. I hope your day is full of delicious food, laughter among loved ones, and some comfort knitting while you recover from all of that feasting!
You can find the kit for Tundra on our website here.
The Pine View scarf is a perfect winter accessory. It’s large, warm, and has an excellent amount of squish because it’s knit in our Deluxe Chunky.
This pattern only uses charts, but don’t let that intimidate you! The stitches are not at all complicated. You’ll get a nice rest at the center of the scarf, too. Personally, I prefer charts over written instructions because I’m a visual person. Charts enable you to see the stitches before you create them.
With that said, some charts can seem overwhelming. You might feel as though you’re getting lost in the grid full of symbols. Fear not, because I’d like to share some helpful tips and tricks for reading charts.
1. Familiarize yourself with symbols.
Take time to review the key and ensure you understand what each symbol means.
2. Flat or in the round?
Is the pattern flat or in the round? When you knit in the round, charts are read from right to left on every row. Pine View is knit flat, meaning that on right side rows you’ll read right to left, and on wrong side rows you’ll read left to right.
Charts that are knit flat have numbers on both the right and left sides. Charts knit in the round only have numbers on the right side.
3. Stay on track!
Highlighters – Don’t cross out rows—you want to be able to go back and read previous rows in case you make a mistake. And, if you’re like me, you will make mistakes! I probably use highlighters most frequently. Simply highlight the rows you’ve completed, and read from the row above.
Washi Tape – For those who prefer not to see previous rows at all, washi tape is a great solution. It can easily be removed from the paper, so you can hide previous rows and simply peel back the tape to see them.
Stitch markers – For charts that have repeats, use stitch markers. It honestly makes a world of difference. A mistake is less likely to offset the entire row if you’re using stitch markers between each repeat.
You can find this pattern, Day 6 of our 12 Days of Winter collection here.
Today we’re introducing the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten Set. The neutral set is incredibly wearable for men and women alike. Personally, I love working with undyed wool. It is rustic in appearance and goes with nearly anything. While I’m a lover of color, I equally adore the natural shades of wool. You can see more of our Deluxe Worsted Naturals collection here.
This set features all over cables and a contrasting cuff. I wanted to give this set a professional finish, so I used the long-tail tubular cast-on method.
I can easily recall a time when I felt intimidated by the Tubular cast-on method. Like many things in knitting (and in life), we often perceive new things to be more challenging than they really are. This cast-on method is one of those things. If you look at the Nutmeg set, you’ll notice that the 1×1 Ribbing seems to run seamlessly from the right side to the wrong side. Notice the lack of a cast-on edge in the photo below. You can’t tell where it was cast-on. That is the beauty of a tubular cast-on.
It takes more time than most other methods and it feels a bit fiddly at first, but it’s well worth it. It’s by far my favorite method when I’m using 1×1 Rib.
If you’d like a closer look at each photo, simply click it.
To begin, place your yarn over the needle, leave a long tail as you would with a traditional long-tail cast on. You can use a slip knot, however; I do not so that the cast-on stitches are as invisible as possible.Hold your yarn in place with your index finger. Separate your tail and working yarn with your thumb and your index finger. You’ll do the same way you would for a regular long-tail cast-on.Notice that I’m tensioning my yarn the same way that I would for a regular long-tail cast on.Working from front to back, bring your needle under the yarn around your thumb.Bring the needle up through the center.Working from front to back, bring the needle over the yarn around your index finger and dip underneath it, then underneath the yarn around your thumb.Correct the tension in your yarn. You now have two stitches. Notice how there is not a bump across that stitch? This will be a knit stitch.
The motion for a purl stitch mirrors the knit stitch.
Working from front to back, bring the needle over the yarn around your index finger, dipping below it and bringing the needle back through the center.Working from back to front, bring the needle over the yarn around your thumb, dipping below it and then below the yarn around your index finger.Correct your tension. Notice that this stitch has a purl bump. This is a purl stitch.
Continue in this manner, alternating between knit and purl stitches until you have the required number of stitches.
Notice the difference between the knit stitches and the purl stitches.
Once you have the correct number of stitches, carefully turn your work. I highly recommend using your index finger to hold the last stitch you cast on in place. Now you’ll begin working the first foundation row.
Once you’ve turned your work, grab your working yarn and slip the first stitch purlwise with your yarn in front.Bring your yarn to the back.Knit the next stitch through the back loop. This will untwist the knit stitch.
Continue to slip the purl stitches with your yarn in front and knit the knit stitches through the back loop to the end of your work. Turn your work. Now you’ll begin the second foundation row.
Just as in the previous row, slip the purl stitches purlwise with yarn in front.Knit the knit stitches normally–there is no need to knit them through the back loop because these stitches should no longer be twisted.
Repeat the last two steps to the end of the row
On the next row, simply work in K1, P1 ribbing by purling the purl stitches and knitting the knit stitches.
This is what your finished cast on should look like.
Once you’ve finished casting on, you can join your work in the round (as would be the case for the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten Set). There will be a small space you’ll want to seam. Typically I do this just before weaving my tail into the project.
This method works for projects that are knit flat or in the round. It gives your projects such a neat finish. It’s also much more stretchy than a traditional long tail cast-on.
You can find the link to the Nutmeg Hat and Mitten set here.
Over the next 12 days, we’re releasing a series of kits designed by the Universal Yarn Design Team. It’s a cozy, wintry collection of accessories that make perfect gifts–for yourself and your loved ones. To accompany the kits, we’d like to share a blog post each day. This series will highlight special aspects of each pattern and include inspiration, tips, tricks, and a few tutorials. For Day 1, we’re introducing the Blue Spruce Socks in Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved evergreens and conifers. I’m not sure if it’s because of their fragrant needles and bark, or if it’s because their beautiful colors brought me joy during long and endlessly grey winters. Whatever the reason—I’ve always been drawn to them, so it’s no surprise that I designed the Blue Spruce Socks for our 12 Days of Winter collection.
These socks are warm, cozy, and a joy to knit. If you aren’t a fan of stranded colorwork, don’t fret! The Blue Spruce motif is achieved through slipped stitches. One color is carried at a time and only the stitches requiring the working yarn are knit—the rest are simply slipped purlwise. It requires twice as many rows, but the overall effect is very similar to the appearance of stranded knitting.
In addition to colorwork, the small details make this project ever so special. It features a 1×1 Twisted Rib cuff and an Eye of Partridge heel. My favorite detail is the slip-stitch stripe just before the contrasting-color toes.
You can find this kit, Day 1 of our 12 Days of Winter collection here.
