Follow along and discover your next inspiration as we cast on for projects we love, explore new techniques, and dish about the latest and greatest from Knit Picks.
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Colorwork can seem like a daunting skill to master, but there is something about a blend of colors in one project that instantly makes me want to cast on! I have tackled my fears this year and am almost complete with my first colorwork sweater.
Eldfell Pullover
When searching for the perfect pattern, I was inspired to create my own colorway instead of using the suggested colors from our kit builder on the knit pick website. After talking with some knitting friends, I realized going rogue and coming up with your own colorways is something not every knitter wants to do. I thought this post might be helpful to knitters who are hesitant to create their own colorways!
Eldfell Pullover
First up is the colorway I am knitting my sweater in! I love the Eldfell Pullover which is knit in Wonderfluff. The traditional yoke is so fun, but I wanted to add my own bright spin to the colors. I chose to knit it the body in Bare, with bright pink hems and pops of black. I think it is turning out great!
Colors shown: Bare 27186, Wellies Heather 27197, Cosmopolitan 28692
Autumn Tweed Pullover
Next up, a fresh new colorway for the Autumn Tweed Pullover. I love the extra texture and interest that a tweed yarn adds to a project. It gives a rustic feel to this classic yoke pullover. While I love the pink and white, I thought a pretty crisp white sweater with pops of teal and green would be a fun alternative, so I chose a range of greens in City Tweed DK.
Now let’s tackle the Leadlight Hat. This lovely leaf hat is perfect for Fall. I leaned into the fall theme with warm tones of orange, yellow, and rustic brown, chosen from Wool of the Andes Superwash.
Socks are a fun and low-stakes way to play with your color palette. To add even more visual interest to your colorwork projects, try adding in a hand painted yarn! This bold pattern (Geometric Diamond Socks) is so pretty and I love the colorwork on the toes and ankles. Stroll is also a great yarn to mix and match dye effects because it comes in so many varieties: original Stroll, Tonal, Hand Painted and Gradient.
Even though fall is just around the corner, we’re more than a little excited to debut an abundance of new colors of some of our favorite cotton yarns for all of you cool cotton lovers. We’re also ecstatic to introduce our first-ever faux-fur yarn, Fable Fur! It’s an ultra-plush premium acrylic yarn that is destined to add an extra-touch of softness to your cold-weather knits. The cozy possibilities are practically endless!
Given that the temps are about to start dropping in the Northern Hemisphere, we naturally couldn’t help but to create two new collections that are fit to serve you well throughout the colder months—one a modern take on traditional gansey sweaters and the other a comprehensive pattern collection and reference guide to the intricate art of colorwork knitting.
Sound good? Then read on!
New Yarn: Fable Fur
A luxuriously soft faux-fur effect yarn, Fable Fur is perfect for bringing a touch of elegance and snuggly softness to your latest projects. Add a stylish trim to your next accessory, or knit up a gorgeous wrap or afghan exclusively in this premium, 100% polyester yarn. What makes it premium? This grade of polyester holds it’s shape well and doesn’t shrink. Projects will work up fast at this super bulky weight, so you’ll have a menagerie of cozy accessories and home décor projects in no time!
Throwback! Hawthorne Sock Lab
Inspired by a nostalgic fever dream, this trio of limited-edition Hawthorne Sock Lab colorways are sure to transport you back to the days of watching after-school specials and microwaving pizza rolls. Created on our bestselling machine washable sock yarn base, these handpainted yarns are perfect for adding a retro vibe to your sock drawer or for making ultra-hip accessories
New Andean Treasure Colors
Love our beautiful heathered Andean Treasure yarns? Then you are sure to love the 8 modern colors we just added! The softness is irresistible—count the number of hugs you get when wearing a sweater made with Andean Treasure vs. other sweaters, and this one will win, hands down! Excellent for items that are worn close to you—scarves, vests, legwarmers, pullovers, even the humble pair of mittens.
New Comfy Color Mist Colors
We rounded out our previously pastel-centric line of Comfy Color Mist with 7 new vivid colors! Made with the popular Comfy Worsted base, acrylic microfiber gives elasticity to this lightweight, long wearing, machine washable yarn. Good for warm weather knits of all kinds, you’ll find it especially great for children’s clothing and baby blankets that need an extra misting of color.
New Comfy Colors
Enjoy 4 new colors of fingering and 11 new of colors of our worsted weight of Comfy yarns! Soft, machine washable, and lightweight, this Pima cotton and acrylic blend fiber is the ultimate solution for easy care and warm weather knitting. Did we mention it has excellent stitch definition, too?
New Biggo Colors
We have 7 new autumn-inspired colors of our Biggo yarns for you to enjoy, just in time for sweater weather! Biggo is a bulky weight 50% Superwash Merino Wool, 50% Nylon blend yarn that is well suited for cozy & oversized easy care garments and accessories.
New Billow Colors
Billow is all about creature comforts: oversized cowls and wraps, lazy weekend pullovers, and cozy blankets that hug you back. Eight plies of super soft pima cotton create a thick and thin texture for a feel that is both rustic and modern all at once. Plus, now there are 7 new colors for you to explore!
New Pattern Collection: Form & Function
Ganseys (or guernseys) were originally knit for hardworking fishermen to wear at sea; they were traditionally made with tightly spun wool, and the resulting garments were dense and almost waterproof. Today we can take these historical garments as inspiration for wearable, fun-to-knit, beautifully textured pullovers. Featuring cables and/or textural stitch patterns using just knit and purl stitches, the assortment of sweater patterns in Form & Function: A Modern Gansey Collection showcase a variety of construction techniques and styles, something for every modern knitter.
New Pattern Collection: Spectrum
Our Palette yarn was designed for colorwork, and this colorful collection was designed for Palette! Spectrum: A Colorwork Collection in Palette begins with an intro to color theory and some stranded colorwork tutorials, plus an introductory pattern that doesn’t even use stranding. Several small and simple projects provided are perfect for trying your hand at stranded knitting for the first time. From there, the patterns in this collection become larger and more complex. Pick and choose patterns you love, or work through this book beginning to end. You’ll find yourself getting more confident as you go, and by the end you’ll be picking and throwing multiple colors like a knitting pro!
New Tools & Accessories
Things you can never have too many of: skeins of yarn, puppy & kitten cuddles, and super-cute enamel pins. Pro Tip: Start making room on your favorite denim jacket now so you’ll be ready when your fresh batch of pins shows up!
Complicated patterns weighing you down? Stay on track of your trickiest stitches with our new, colorful enamel stitch markers.
It’s the 10th anniversary of this very special, limited edition scent inspired by all things Ravelry! Unleash comes in an 8 oz. bottle and is a lightly sweet, fruity, and spicy scent that will leave all of your woolen wonders smelling fabulously. Plus, Ravelry receives $1 of the proceeds from each bottle sold!
FREE PATTERN – Benka Cowl
The Benka Cowl alternates between a veritable sampler of colorwork patterns and solid blocks of stockinette stitch, with 3 options for a colorfully customized finished knit.
FREE PATTERN – Ephemeral Cowl
Knit in new Fable Fur yarn, the Ephemeral Cowl knits up SUPER quick, making it an easy afternoon project ideal for gifting during the upcoming holiday season.
FREE PATTERN – Magic Ribbon Blanket
Our latest free pattern featuring our Brava Mini Packs, the Magic Ribbon Blanket is a unique pieced, 15-block Garter Stitch blanket consisting of five sets of three identical blocks.
40% off All Books
Last, but not least, it’s time for another book sale. Save 40% on every single book on the site! The sale runs through 10/8/19 and ends at 11:59pm PT.
This week’s free 12 Weeks of Gifting pattern is a fun + playful project features a brilliant checkerboard of bright colors! The Dotty Cowl is knit in the round from the bottom up. It begins and ends with a reverse stockinette band, knit from the wrong side (no purling on the bands). The Dotty Stitch Pattern is a simple slip-stitch pattern which is enhanced by the effortless color transitions of Chroma Worsted. Only one color is used per round, making this a very relaxing knit. There is enough yardage with Chroma Worsted for two cowls; one for you and one for a friend.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
– John Steinbeck
It’s week 4 of our annual 12 Weeks of Gifting series! This week’s freebie pattern is the Winter Pillow, a classic two color design that makes for a great introduction to stranded colorwork. Customize with your favorite festive shades (blue & silver, green & white, red & gold?), or make different versions for each season. Knit in Mighty Stitch Worsted (on sale for 20% off right now!) which makes this a gift that is easy on the gift knitting budget.
Check back here next Tuesday for another free pattern!
As the rain goes so does my pattern queue. It’s been a long wet season in the Pacific Northwest and I have added many projects to my list, especially as my skills grow. A “problem” many of us can relate to, I’m sure, no matter what the weather.
There are the ones that you just have to make because: so cute! Like the Easy Stripes Blanket. The pattern is simple and with just two colors the possibilities are endless. Perfect for every room in the house. I’m already planning to make it in Custard Brava Worsted and Dove Heather Brava Worsted, and another in Crest Preciosa and Blue Skies Preciosa. Bonus is the pattern is free and it only takes 6 100gm balls of worsted, making this a very budget friendly gift project.
The Moxie Shawl caught my eye because it immediately made me smell flowers. I daydreamed of strolling in a park full of fresh spring blooms or the on boardwalk at dusk. Plus it will be a great way to test my crochet skills.
In a richer gem stone color it would make a perfect addition for an evening out. Biggest problem would be trying to narrow it down to one color of Luminance. Just look at the riches.
And because I can’t fight my love of whimsy, the Cowl’s Meow made it on to my list too. I love the colorways in Chroma and this looks like a fun project to step out of my comfort zone. Plus CATS!
Hold onto to your hats, not only for the impending fall winds, but because I am making an intarsia baby blanket. You may remember me from my intro podcast or the post about my knitting the Learn to Knit Kit Scarf, if not I will give you a brief introduction. I am the merchandise planner for Knit Picks and new to completed project knitting. I’m great at starting things, but I was always merely dabbling. It wasn’t until I started working here that the bug truly took hold, maybe a little slower than others, but I’ve caught it and have gone a touch off the rails.
Once I mastered the knit stitch, completing my garter stitch scarf, I started another scarf in Tuff Puff practicing stockinette, and that is coming along swimmingly.
WIP Tuff Puff Stockiette Scarf
Then the siren song of a new baby in my circle called out… baby blanket, baby blanket.
It’s just a bigger scarf, right?
I dropped the scarf and jumped into the rabbit hole that we all love, Ravelry, in search for a lovely chevron blanket pattern. However, yarn-overs and mitered decreases are two skills for which I need much more practice. I landed on a Kyle Smith pattern that fit with my skill level. My heart was set on three colors of Mighty Stitch Bulky that I had chosen for my original idea. Than it hit me: intarsia. Its just blocks of color that shouldn’t be so hard. When I bake cookies I mix and match the spices it so why not do it with yarn colors? My plan was to follow the pattern, but with the garter stitch sections done in one color and the stockinette sections block those out with other colors. Genius!
That’s what is so great about crafting you can modify any project to your taste.
That is where you find me now, I am a walking cat toy of loose ends and yarn bobbins and I am loving it. Yes, the task took on a life of its own I spent a few hours learning the Russian join, and reviewing a number of videos on intarsia techniques, it’s all in the loop people, all in the loop. And yes, even after all of of that that it still seemed easier than yos and dms.
WIP Intarsia Baby Blanket
What I have discovered with this project is how far I have come, no longer is a dropped stitch the end of the world. I can back track and correct a lot easier. I’m more comfortable overall, gone is my death grip and tight knit. Now, this isn’t a project for someone that is impatient or doesn’t like messes, every other row I’m untangling my bobbins and adding more. I haven’t figured that part out and will take any tips you readers have to offer.
Thank you for letting me share my new project and excitement. I’d love to hear about your experiences with intarsia too.
If you look at Glenna C.’s page in Ravelry, you will see that she lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Then, when you look at her knitwear designs in Classic Color, you will appreciate the undercurrent of functionality.
Over the centuries, all sorts of knitting stories have developed. Many revolve around the traditions of two-color or stranded knitting. The pragmatists insist that it was all about essentially giving the wearer two layers of warm. That’s certainly a theory worth considering when you look at Glenna’s Cedarwood Mittens and Hat knit with Wool of the Andes Worsted. Two layers of quick-to-knit worsted yarn means that hands and head will be toasty warm during a Canadian winter.
Let’s say a birthday or Christmas sneaks up on you. That doesn’t mean you can’t channel your practical knitter and whip up Glenna’s Dogwood Cowl knit with Cadena. I appreciate warm cowls during the transitional periods of late autumn and early spring. A hat is too warm and mittens might look a bit overzealous. A cowl is cozy warm and can be used as a hat if the weather gets a bit out of control. So, it is understandable that stranded knitting is a practical method for providing extra warm, but if that were the whole story, we wouldn’t have such beautiful traditions as Fair Isle and Norwegian and Icelandic designs. I’d say our knitting forebears also wanted to have a bit of fun with their knitting.
Glenna uses seven colors of Knit Picks Palette to achieve the lovely pattern bands of her Spruce Grove Vest. There are a couple of technical aspects to this design that I particularly love. First, the vest is knit in the round with shaping and steeks used to form the scoop-neck and the arm openings. Second, Glenna has added a new element to her graphing that makes it so much easier to keep track of the color(s) you are using in each round.
Cardigans are a classic way to blend functionality and beauty. Glenna draws on Norwegian traditions for the details of her Sugar Maple Cardigan using Wool of the Andes Sport. The sweater is knit in the round with the sleeves and body joined to finish up with the yoke pattern. Then the front is steeked and cut before adding the button band. That means easy knitting around and around for most of the sweater. And, if you prefer a pullover, just leave off the extra steeking stitches and you are all set.
Lately I’ve been seeing several patterns for knitting socks using worsted weigh wool like Swish Worsted. As I’ve gotten older, I find that I seem to be cold a lot. My feet seem to be the worst culprits in terms of letting my body heat drain away. Glenna’s Trailside Socks would knit up quickly plus they have a little bit of stranded detail to make them pretty to wear. This is important because worsted weight socks would be too thick to wear with most of my winter shoes. That means they will be “house” socks. I will enjoy looking at the colorwork details as I watch football games or read a good book.
Remember, you can get Glenna’s wonderful book 3 ways – you can all 6 patterns in eBook or book form or you can get each pattern separately!
I have inched up to SpillyJane’s Cupcake Mittens like they were a wild tiger. I fell in love with the design, bought the pattern and even chatted with SpillyJane on one of my podcasts. Of course, while we were still in Mexico, I didn’t easily have access to Palette yarns. I decided that I could wait until I could try making a raid on our office yarn stash.
Last week, that is exactly what I did – pawed through our bins of extra Palette yarn. We didn’t have every color SpillyJane used in her design. But, thanks to the selection of 150 colors, I was able to find substitutions that I like.
Haze Heather (replacing Bluebell)
Custard
White
Rouge
Doe
Bison (replacing Bark)
Lipstick (replacing Pimento)
Blossom (replacing Cotton Candy)
Garnet Heather
Once I had the balls of Palette gathered, I began having a little trouble figuring just when I would knit my fingerless mitts. The balls of yarn took up a lot more space than the mittens themselves!
There are some projects that I find easy to imagine as my “sit-at-home” knitting – sweaters, for example. But, fingerless mitts clearly fall under my definition of “travel” knitting.
Ta Da!! I wound up tiny balls of all the colors except for Haze Heather. Now my project will fit easily into a Knit Happy Take Along Tote. These tiny balls will probably not get me through a pair of Cupcake Mittens but they will certainly get me through an evening of knitting in a restaurant or at a friend’s home. I can easily wind up new balls as needed.
I think that by now, we’re all pretty familiar with the gorgeousshot of the Palette family that’s been in the catalog and on web since September of last year. I know it particularly well because Kerin and I are the ones who sat down and sorted each ball into the lovely color order that you see here and I’m the one who sat down AGAIN and resorted it after the photography department was done with it in order to label each ball correctly in catalog. I can’t tell you how long this took, only that I’m getting pretty good at spotting the differences between Thicket and Briar Heather!
There are now so many colors (150!) in Palette that we’ve started storing the balls on ten, four foot rods to make it easy to keep them together and move them around as a group. Essentially, we’ve created a system of giant yarn skewers just for this family!
I’m always stumbling upon partial or unmarked balls of Palette around the office and I’ve developed quite a large collection at home which wound up being featured in our last minute shoot for April Fool’s with Linus!
I’m constantly dipping into my bin to make a few of Anna Hrachovec‘s Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, or a pair of spontaneous fingerless mittens. A few weekends ago, I took a peak inside my bin and found just the right colors for Lucinda Guy’s Oluffa Doorstop from Northern Knits Gifts. I whipped it out in a weekend and decided just to stuff it as a pillow. Now it’s sitting rather pertly on the back of my couch, surveying the living room.
This latest project is just the most recent in a long line of projects knit in Palette. I’ve done cardigans, mittens, hats and toys and it’s definitely been my go-to yarn for any colorwork project. I still have trouble keeping my tension consistent, charts are still a little hard for me to read, but choosing Palette has always been the easy part when I start a new project. There are just so many colors that I can pick the exact right color orange, the perfect blue and the crispest white for projects like this one.
