An Unoriginal But Good Hat

A recent FO - an Unorignal Hat made with Araucania Coliumo Multy. The colours i this yarn keep surprising me! I never know how beautifully they are going to work out, which is why I keep trying them. I'm working on a couple of hat patterns in other colourways, but I did publish a Long Mobius Cowl freebie pattern this week that employs the yarn.


Anyway, the pattern was fast & easy. The yarn also made it possible to cable without a cable hook - a technique not for the faint of heart, but the truly lazy.  ;-)

New FREE Knitting Pattern - Bulky Mobius Cowl!

We've written up the free knitting pattern for one of our latest store samples, the Bulky Mobius Cowl in Malabrigo Rasta!

Bulky Mobius Cowl

Free pattern by Haley Waxberg

The pattern is very simple, fast, and satisfying for time when you just need to produce something FAST. It is knit in the round using a really long circular needle and a nifty little cast on just for mobius knitting. To learn this easy new skill you can watch Cat Bohrdi’s great Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial on you tube. Cat’s instructions are clear and easy to follow and you’ll be an expert in no time!

Size 
S/M(M/L) 
tighter (looser) 
6.5” high unstretched 
Approx 13(14) inches long at bottom, lying flat

Materials 
1 skeins Malabrigo Rasta, 150g-82m, colour 853 
Abril 
10mm/36” circular needles 
1 Stitch Marker

Gauge 
8 sts & 21 rows = 4”/10cm in K3 rows, P3 rows rib

Techniques 
Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial by Cat Bohrdi on you tube: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4

DOWNLOAD HERE

New FREE Pattern - Cowl in Coliumo!

We've got a brand new free knitting pattern for you - our Long Mobius Cowl in Araucania Coliumo!

Long Mobius Cowl

Pattern by Haley Waxberg

The pattern is very simple, fast, and satisfying for time when you just need to produce something FAST. It is knit in the round using a really long circular needle and a nifty little cast on just for mobius knitting. To learn this easy new skill you can watch Cat Bohrdi’s great Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial on you tube. Cat’s instructions are clear and easy to follow and you’ll be an expert in no time!

Size 
Lying flat with mobius twist on top, measured across the 
middles, unstretched 
28” long x 5.25” wide

Materials 
2 skeins Araucania Coliumo Multi, 30% silk, 70% wool, 
100g-87m, colour 9 
8mm/36” (40” or 47” are also good) circular needles 
1 Stitch Marker

Gauge 
in knit 3 rows, purl 3 rows rib 
12 sts & 20 r = 4”/10cm

Techniques 
Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial by Cat Bohrdi on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4

DOWNLOAD HERE

Sideways Coliumo Hat

Next up .... a sideways, short-row hat in Araucania Coliumo Multi (colour 8). The yarn is working up really beautifully, but I knew that it would. I was going to pass on this colour until the sales rep showed me the swatch - this particular colour knitted up so beautifully!  So now I'm  making a sample so you can see how beautiful it is too. The colours are a little washed out in the photo, the purples are getting lost. Hopefully I'll have better light next time I take a pic of it. 

When I'm done I'll publish the pattern .... gotta make sure it works first! :-)

Addenda:

since i wrote this post i have ripped the project ad worked it up as a brand new pattern. i'll publish ASAP and i'll be available on the website.

Araucania Mobius Cowl

This one is another updated sample of the Long Mobius Cowl, this time in Auraucania Coliumo Multi. I made some modifications, including casting on fewer stitches and working in groups of 3 row ribs. See the Ravelry page for details, I managed to work it up with 2 skeins. 

The Coliumo worked up beautifully! It is really lofty and warm and the colour distribution is nice and consistent (although nothing knits up in seed stitch like the Misti Alpaca Chunky Handpaints). 

Twinkle Karate Sweater

We finished the Twinkle  Karate Sweater in record time! Not surprisingly, it works up on 20mm needles. It also only took 3 skeins of Cascade Magnum, and it's so nice and stretchy it can fit anyone. 

Malabrigo Rasta Cowl

This is the last mobius cowl - for now.  They are addictive little things for sure. This is a version of the Easy Mobius Cowl in Malabrigo Rasta.  I made some modifications because the yarn is a bit thicker than called for: used 10mm needles, cast on 50 sts, etc, etc ... click on the link to see all the details. I think I could have gotten away with 46 sts, but I have a little head and neck. 

The Rasta was beautiful, once again!  The colour is so beautifully stunning, the texture soft, and the bulk works so well for this little accessory. I managed to get the whole thing from 1 skein - go me!  :-)

By the way, the pattern will be available soon, I just have to so dome web stuff. If you can't wait the day, it's available on paper in the store: Knit-O-Matic.

Tweed Hat in the Works

Onwards and upwards! Next on my needles is a Hat in the Berroco Blackstone Tweed. The tweed seems to be very stretchy, so I'm using a pattern that was designed with it - The Sarah Beret above.  I like the leafiness without any lacy overkill. 

So far, so good, although I have modified the pattern to make it smaller - I only cast on 80 sts. Better safe than sorry. I spent the whole weekend fighting with the yarn and don't have it in me to make another gargantuan hat.  By the way, if you want to make something fitted using negative ease, this yarn is great!  I also started making my M1 increases without twisting, but I'm regretting that decision and will rip back to the band when I am done typing. Instead I'll change the M1 in the chart to a M1R & M1L. 

Cowlus Maximus

This week is the week of the cowl. This is one of my Missoni Long Mobius Cowl updated in Manos Del Urugay Maxima.  It turned out nice and big and cozy!  Now I just have to make one for myself and I'll be set!

New Pattern - Leaf Lace Shawlette

You've been asking for it and finally our Leaf Lace Shawlette pattern is live!  It only takes 1 skein of Casecade Eco+ Heathers, which is a very cost effective project at $20.50 a skein. Check it out on Ravelry, or come on over and try it on at the store! The pattern only costs $5.75 - that's only 38 cents per leaf!

Size

S/M (M/L)

Depth: Both sizes are 11”/25cm from neck to bottom edge

Length Neck Edge: approx 30(34)”

Length Bottom Edge: approx 78(88)”

Materials

1 skein Cascade Eco+, colour 2452, approx 350 (420)m of chunky weight yarn

6.0mm-24” circular needles

Small cable hook

7.5mm-29” circular needle (optional, for cast off)

Gauge

16 sts & 21 rows = 4”/10cm in stocking stitch

Notes

• Shawlette is worked back and forth on circular needles
• There is no chart for this pattern, as the details are too complicated. All the instructions are written.

New FREE Pattern - Crochet Farmer's Market Bag!

Cross-posted from our News Blog!

I know it's out of season, but I was updating the store's free patterns, and heck, the holidays are around the corner in terms of your gift production!  So here is a FREE pattern for you, our Crochet Farmer's Market Bag!   Hope you enjoy!  :-)

Fingerless Finished Objects

A client sent me the pattern for these Fingerless Mitts and I thought they would look so good in Silk Garden colour 269 that I set out to make them. Surprisingly, it only took 1 skein of silk garden, which was cool considering I added an inch to the wrist area.  Next time, I'd like to make the palm portion an inch longer to accommodate my longer hands. I also added an extra stitch to the thumb pick-up to keep the pattern consistent, which turned out fine, the thumb is not too big. 

I'm thinking about doing these again in either the Manos Maxima or Malabrigo Worsted .... or both ;-) When I do I'll use a 4mm needle. 

New Free Hat Pattern from Knit-O-Matic

Simply Ribbed Hat in Noro Silk garden

Simply Ribbed Hat in Manos Maxima

Simply Ribbed Hat 

FREE Pattern by Haley Waxberg for Knit-O-Matic

This is a very simply styled hat that anyone and everyone can make and wear. The 1 x 1 rib helps the hat keep it's shape and gives it a denisity for warmth. If the ribbing seems tight, don’t worry, we are making it tight on purpose because silk has a tendency to grow. We've also made it in a 100% merino wool, which is great beacuse it is soft and has lots of body (it's puffy by nature). If you would like to substitute another yarn, consider going up to a 4mm needle (or a size 0.5mm less than the median suggested size on the ballband). 

Size
S(M, L, XL)
Head Circumference 21(22, 23, 24) inches

Materials: Striped Version
1(1, 2, 2) skeins Noro Silk Garden 
1 pair of 3.75mm-16” circular needles
3.75mm double pointed needles
4 stitch markers (1 in a contrasting colour)

Materials: Variegated Version
1 skein Manos del Uruguay Maxima or Malabrigo Worsted
1 pair of 4mm-16” circular needles
4mm double pointed needles
4 stitch markers (1 in a contrasting colour)

Download the Free pattern for the Simply Ribbed Hat on Knitomatic.com!  Or see it on Ravelry!

Heads First

I finished my Manos Maxima Hat this weekend and it turned out great! I love merino, it does exactly what you want it to. It's so well behaved.  The colour distribution is lovely, the texture is lovely, the fit is lovely, and it feels LOVELY!  I am thinking of making some fingerless mitts it int next. 

In other good news, I tried the hats on a size model, so the pattern will be ready to go very soon!  It's not a fancy pattern, it is intended to be a go-to for man hats. 

Maximal Hat

Half a Hat in Manos Maxima

For kicks I figured I'd see how my ribbed hat pattern works with other yarns, above is half of what is to be another Ribbed Hat using Manos Maxima.  So far, it's beautiful. I don't know if the 1x1 rib is doing the colouring justice, this colourway is very subtle.  I'll have to knit up the remains of the skein in stocking stitch to see.  See the picture below. 

Regardless, the Manos Maxima is stunning! It feels so yummy - and you know how I prefer not to mix my knitting and food metaphors.  It is so soft, and has a really satisfying squish to it. The closest comparison would be Malabrigo Worsted, although the dyeing is more sophisticated than Malabrigo. 

 here is the skein

Karate Sweater

An early peak at the most recent store project, the Karate Sweater by Wenlan Chia from her first book, Twinke's Big City Knits. We are using Cascade Magnum in colour 9418, a very intense royal purple. So far, so good - looks great!

Here's the picture from the book.

Hat's A-GoGo!

Hat in Noro Silk Garden 293

So many yarns, so little time ... This week I have been playing with Noro Silk Garden. My creative cut was not running over, and whenever I am in need of inspiration and/or a fiber pick-me-up, I go to Noro.  Can't beat it, every ball is a surprise, I am almost always happy with the results, especially in hat form (there was this one colourway that was a full rainbow and then they threw in black - blech). Anyway, i knitted up a few 1x1 ribbed toques (a winter hat in Canadianese, pr. 'two-k') in a few neglected colourways.  I'll publish the pattern as soon as I can have some size models try it on .

Hat in Noro Silk Garden 297

Hat in Noro Silk Garden 273