Tag Archives: Stroll Tweed

Knitting Patterns to use with Yarn Value Packs

Yarn Value Packs are a great way to get a color curated pack of your favorite yarns at a discount, but what do you make once you have one? Here are some knitting pattern ideas to use with some of our newest Value Packs:

Stroll Tweed Value Packs

Ten balls of Stroll Tweed in berry colors
The Berry Stroll Tweed Value Pack

Stroll Tweed is perfect for gifts because of its machine washable convenience, not requiring special care on the part of the recipient. The rich, solid colors show off texture, lace, and cables. The neutral neps of tweed add flecks of interest to simple stitches and textured knits, but are subtle enough to accentuate rather than interfere with all but the most complex patterns. The understated neps also work well with striping, Fair Isle, and stranding, bringing a unifying element and additional texture to colorwork.

Use these color-curated Value Packs for:

Use your Stroll Tweed value pack to make a Glen Cottage Cowl or a pair of Chatter Lane Socks. Other great options are the Autumn Harvest Slouch Hat, Piney Tweed Hat, Ebullience Hat, or Michelina Shawl.

City Tweed DK Value Packs

Seven balls of City Tweed DK, ranging in color from dark gray to brown to tan to cream.
Neutrals – City Tweed DK Value Pack

We’ve curated a bunch of great City Tweed DK Value Packs, in Berry, Green, Greys, Neutrals, Rainbow, and Pastels, so you’re sure to find a color palette that speaks to you. City Tweed DK is one of our favorite tweeds, featuring the softness of alpaca with the texture of tweed.

If you’re buying one value pack, you can’t go wrong with these knitting patterns: Equalization Hat & Mitts or Shoals Hat (shown above). Other great options are: Perennial Beret, Mossy Cable Mittens, or Chalcedony Mitts.

A model wears The Liana Cardigan, a knitted tweed cardigan in purple.
The Liana Cardigan, made in City Tweed DK

If you buy two City Tweed Value Packs, try fade versions of Cozy Sweater, Banú Wrap, or the Liana Cardigan.

Alpaca Cloud DK Value Packs

Five balls of Alpaca Cloud DK in red, yellow, green, blue, purple
Basic Bow Alpaca Cloud DK Value Pack

Alpaca Cloud DK is a soft, light, and amazingly warm fiber made of the finest grade of 100% Superfine Alpaca. Perfect for garments intended to be worn next to the skin, or special cold weather accessories. Try these knitting patterns with your value pack:

Free patterns: Twisted Rib Hat & Mitts or Columns Scarf.

Aloft Value Packs

Six balls of Aloft mohair yarn in white, gray, black, mint, light blue, medium blue
Glacier- Aloft Value Pack

Luxuriously soft, light, and airy, Aloft is a dreamy blend of 72% mohair and 28% silk that you will want to knit with again and again. The silk provides a radiant core that shimmers and shines through the soft halo of the mohair, while adding a beautiful drape and texture to any shawl, stole, or scarf. Whether you use this yarn on its own or as an accent, you will find Aloft to be a versatile yarn perfectly suited for any project, big or small.

Use your Aloft value pack to make a light-as-air sweater or wrap like Alize, Cygnus, or Timeless Pullover.

Use Aloft + Another Yarn:

Try holding Aloft doubled for a denser fabric, or along with another yarn for surprisingly warm cardigans or wraps. Here are some patterns that use Aloft held with another yarn:

Sorrel and Riant are both made with Aloft held double with Hawthorne. The Double Checker Pullover uses Stroll Tweed along with Aloft.

Best of KP Bare Sock Yarns Value Pack:

Bare yarns on a white background
Best of KP Bare Sock Yarns Value Pack

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite sock yarns for this value pack! Each yarn included is in its undyed natural state, making it an ideal neutral as is or the perfect canvas for your own creative color experimentation. You can dye this yarn or use it as is.

Try these collections:

Naturally, for sock yarn, we recommend sock patterns! You can’t go wrong with the patterns from Simply Socks or Splendid Soles.

Best of KP Bare Luxury Yarns Value Pack

Best of KP Bare Luxury Yarns Value Pack

Indulge in a luxuriously curated collection of our fanciest fibers, each destined to please your finer senses. Sumptuous silk, airy angora, lofty alpaca, and marvelous Merino await you in this collection of pristine, undyed fibers. As with the previous pack, you can use these yarns bare or have fun dyeing them yourself.

A model wears a knitted kimono for the cover of Serendipity: Luxury Knits by Knit Picks.

Serendipity, our latest luxe collection features several accessory patterns that would work with the yarns in this value pack. Try Piccolo Fingerless Gloves in Gloss Fingering or the Mozarab in Paragon.

As you can see, Yarn Value Packs are a fun way to try out new yarns or get a fresh color palette to play with, as well as saving 20%! Did you see any patterns or yarns you’d like to try?


Fall Outfit Inspiration: Menswear

I can already feel the Fall cold in the evenings and I know Summer is on it’s way out! Fall style to me is about adding cozy layers and easy to wear shapes. That is why I was so excited when we launched our new pattern collection, Dapper. Menswear styles transition to Fall women styles perfectly. I put together a few ways to style some projects from Dapper to get you excited for cooler weather!

Knit Picks styled shot featuring the Matinee Cardigan

The Matinee Cardigan is the perfect Fall layering piece. The raglan sleeves make it so comfy and the simple refinement of the X and O colorwork balances cozy seed-stitch in rugged tweed for a versatile garment that keeps the casual classy. Balance out the boxier silhouette with skinny jeans and feminine shoes. This outfit is perfect for running weekend errands!

This cardigan is knit flat from the top down, finished with inset pockets and a seed-stitch shawl color. A band of simple two-color stranded colorwork wraps around chest and arms. The boxy shape lends a masculine feel that could easily be softened by adding waist shaping.

 

knit Picks style shot featuring the Idyllwild Scarf

To add a little bit of warmth, the Idyllwild Scarf is the project for you. This scarf definitely is a statement so pair it with a simple tee and dark wash skinny jeans. To balance out the masculine scarf, pair it with fun wedges!

This comfy scarf is named after the small town of Idyllwild, CA – a forested retreat steps from the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Jacinto Mountains. Idyllwild is a scarf pattern for advanced beginners who have mastered knitting and purling. Working in a simple rib stitch to start, the purl stitches are dropped to create an open fabric with incredible drape. The Idyllwild Scarf is flat from a short end. Purl stitches are dropped in the last row, dropping all stitches back to cast on, drastically altering final gauge and drape.

Dapper has been my favorite pattern collection we have launched since I started working at Knit Picks. All of the projects are so stylish and I love the menswear  style they will add to my wardrobe this Fall.


On the Slow Train to Stroll Tweed happiness

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It feels like everyone in the office has gone crazy over our new Stroll Tweed in fingering weight. I certainly fell in love with the colors with natural nebs. But, my project isn’t quite finished and I want to be clear… I’m not jealous!
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Well, they don’t need to bring their finished projects into the office.

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Even the little projects!

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Remember the inspiration I had from GlennaC’s post in her blog, Knitting To Stay Sane. The simple, Elizabeth Zimmermann Pi Shawl.

Pi Shawl Yarn Selection

Remember how I choose colors from the sample knitting yarn box we received? How I was inspired by the colors to knit a Pi Shawl representing an ocean beach.

Pi Shawl nearly finished

I am so close! Before I share how happy I am with my shawl, I feel obligated to let you know that knitting a Pi Shawl is a huge commitment. I have been obsessed with this shawl for four weeks. It’s be exactly what I needed in terms of comfort knitting. I decided to use a K1,P1 seed stitch to make it reversible when I fold the circle over my shoulders.

See that tiny strip of Thirst Heather? It may not look like much but it is the “Ta Da!” of my shawl. I am so excited! You can’t see it yet, but I am going to finish the shawl off a simple Feather and Fan or Cockleshell edging. Imagine the waves breaking over the beach and beach rocks. Yes, I know, it will be easier to visualize after it is blocked.

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I’ve decided that, towards the outside of the shawl, I am going to place a few rounds of Stroll Down Heather to represent sea foam. I am insanely happy with this shawl!! I can tell you it will be at least a few more days before you will be seeing the finished product but the Little Green Monster compelled me to share my progress with you.

Well, I feel better. The Little Green Monster has been banished!


Garter Ridge Hat in Stroll Tweed

About once a catalog cycle I hear myself saying “Oh… I should really make this one” as I hold up one garment or another from a pattern collection during a photo shoot. That list keeps getting longer and I find myself forgetting about them once the catalog mails and some gorgeous project photo catches my eye on Pinterest or Ravelry. This time however, I managed to mentally “earmark” the Garter Ridge Hat from the Light Basics pattern collection as a project that would make a a lovely hat for my dad.

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The perfect opportunity to actually cast on came when his birthday rolled around like it does every year, and once again I was surprised as I am every year and have to scramble for presents like I do every year. I’m actually getting to be quite good at whipping things up with these sorts of tight deadlines and this year was no different. I cast on and managed to finish it with about a day to spare for blocking and a quick photo before I wrapped it up and gifted it with a few other goodies.

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My parents have taken up hiking in the past year and I thought that the Garter Ridge Hat would be the perfect accessory for their adventures around Oregon. The combination of springy Stroll Tweed Marine yarn and garter stitch makes this hat super stretchy, perfect for a range of head sizes (my head is 20″ and my dad’s noggin is roughly 24″ and fits both of us really well). This hat has all the characteristics that come to mind when I think about hiking: breathability, lightweight fabric, adjustable, washable, soft and it doesn’t take up much room once it’s folded away.

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This pattern is simple enough to be that “first hat” project for beginning knitters and a quick project for a more experienced one. Both my mother and father could wear this on the trail without thinking twice about size and the color choice was neutral enough that neither would hesitate to pop it on in. I think this pattern would look equally wonderful in a bright pink (Stroll Glimmer Runway, anyone?) for a more feminine hat. I’m already dreaming about the beanie version of this pattern in Capretta Platinum for myself and maybe another one in Capretta Admiral for a lucky fella this Christmas.

There have been so many lovely garments in the past few pattern collections, which ones have caught your eye? Or have you already cast on your favorite? I’d love any other yarn suggestions for this hat because I’m sure I’ll be making quite a few more in the months to come!


Say “HI!” to the New Stroll Tweed

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Check out our new Stroll Tweed yarn! Once, a few years ago we had a yarn with the same name, however we’ve gone back to the drawing board when it came to the tweed nepps since then and I’m delighted to show you what we’ve come up with! I love the rich color palette we’ve chosen and the new natural-colored flecks. I love using the Stroll family for washable fingering weight projects (especially baby sweaters!) and Stroll Tweed. The minute we opened the box of our photography samples I grabbed a bag of the Indigo Heather (the prettiest purple-blue I’ve EVER seen!) and got to work picking out a pattern.

I didn’t care what I made, I just had to have a whole bag of that pretty yarn! I went through my Ravelry queue over and over again but I wasn’t finding anything that really spoke to me. I could do another shawl, but I thought all those pretty nepps really needed to be featured in a sweater of some sort.

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I was still wracking my brains, trying to think of a project I liked enough to spend so much time working with fingering weight yarn when I spotted my copy of First Light on the shelf above my computer. When we first shot all the pieces in that collection I remember mentally bookmarking a few of them so I decided to flip through it to jog my memory.

I opened right to Jill Wright’s Kelso hoodie. I loved how this light weight sweater looked when we put it on Erin (our fantastic model for that half of the collection) and I loved it even more now that I was picturing it knit up with the yarn I’d picked. I envisioned it as the perfect “chilly office top” solution that would also be comfortable in the car on the ride home and endlessly washable which (in my mind) makes it the perfect “work horse piece” to add to my wardrobe.

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I admit that most of the things I knit wind up tucked away for special occasions (usually really short ones too) because they’re so precious or itchy. This one is definitely going to get hung up in my closet with the rest of my store-bought cardigans because it is just so comfy! The tweed flecks give this garment a timeless, traditional feel while the subtle heathers in the yarn itself give the fabric and unexpected depth.

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Stroll Tweed is definitely going to be my new go-to sock yarn and fingering weight yarn for projects I know will need to be washed often. I can’t wait to work up a little baby sweater in Farmhouse Heather (I think all babies look like little old fellas and I’m definitely not above making them sweaters that remind me of something a scholarly gentleman would don) and I’m definitely eyeballing Flagstone Heather and Down Heather to knit SOME sort of stripes! I think that would look so nice.

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Last but not least, I tried my hand at crocheting with Stroll Tweed in Thirst Heather for a last minute free pattern. The Swiss Tweed Cowl takes just one ball of Stroll Tweed, works up in a weekend and is a nice, light accessory that works even when it’s more than a little toasty outside.

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I’m still fairly new to crochet and find myself getting irritated when I try to thread a hook through some yarn with out splitting the strand. Figuring out what yarn works best for crochet and what is, quite simply, an absolute nightmare has been a process of trying everything and seeing what I like and what doesn’t work for me.

Stroll Tweed was a clear winner! It was easy to work with and the tweedy bits managed to shine even with the thicker fabric produced with crochet. I think it’s safe to say that I’m thoroughly enamored with the new yarn, and I hope it charms you too! What patterns leap to mind now that you’ve seen this lovely new yarn? I can’t wait to see what beautiful projects start appearing now that you can get your hands on it.