KNITmuch | Issue 8 by A Needle Pulling Thread

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Issue 8

Free knitting patterns for baby, accessories and home decor !

* 36% 28% 18% 18%

wool cotton linen bamboo

what yarn is this ? * unimaginable drape and comfort in knit designs made with Unit y yarn * Knitting with lace, the easy way * knitting snowflakes into a hat * the math in knitting a shrug-yoke top - down seamless tee shirt

KNITmuch

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ART DIRECTOR Carla A. Canonico Carla@KNITmuch.com

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ADVERTISING SALES John De Fusco John@KNITmuch.com PUBLISHER A Needle Pulling Thread PHOTOGRAPHERS John De Fusco, Carla A. Canonico BLOGGERS/CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia MacDougall cgknitters.blogspot.com Michelle Nguyen www.stitchesbeslippin.com Charles Voth www.charlesvothdesigns.ca GRAPHIC DESIGN Carla A. Canonico Carla@KNITmuch.com Sondra Armas Sondra@KNITmuch.com SOCIAL MEDIA and WEB Sondra Armas Alejandro Araujo WEBSITE / BLOG : KNITmuch.com Like us on Facebook : KNITmuch Follow us on Twitter : @KNITmuchmag WHERE TO GET YOUR COPY KNITmuch is a quarterly eMagazine published by A Needle Pulling Thread. It is available free for personal use online at KNITmuch.com. A limited number of printed copies of KNITmuch are available for purchase at select yarn shops and specialty stores. Ask for it at your local shop. KNITmuch is not available by subscription. YARN SHOPS If you are interested in carrying KNITmuch in your store, please email John@KNITmuch.com.

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EDITORIAL Bloggers, designers and other contributors who would like to be considered for future issues please email Carla@KNITmuch.com with a brief description of your work and your proposed project. ©2019 KNITmuch. All rights reserved. Issue 8 ISSN 2368-5913. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All designs, patterns, and information in this magazine are for private, non-commercial use only, and are copyrighted material owned by their respective creators or owners.

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KNITmuch | issue 8

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The essential yarn for knitting soft garments Center double decrease makes a good knitting mantra for Soft blanket The definition of using stitch definition when knitting Knitting snowflakes into a hat Bella Chenille, a soft and versatile polyester yarn How Bella Chenille enhances basic knit stitches differently than most yarns 5 baby gifts to knit up in a few days with chunky Bella Chenille yarn Backwards purling to knit bobbles without all the bother Top-down baby sweater in Bella Chenille Multi and Solids It’s a Wrap by Red Heart Why you should knit with lace weight yarn Knitting with lace, the easy way It’s a Wrap yarn enhances simple knit and purl stitches It’s not a wrap until it’s been blocked Unraveling Unity and Unity Beyond: what makes this yarn unique? 36% wool, 28% cotton, 18% linen & 18% bamboo, what yarn is this? Unimaginable drape and comfort in knit designs made with Unity yarn Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down seamless tee shirt

c o n t e n t s KNITmuch | issue 8

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editor's letter

The one I found most irresistible is the chunky Bella Chenille, picturing it knit up in baby cocoons, sweaters, pajamas, hats and blankets. Talk about quick knits, I'll have a whole collection of baby garments for hospitals and charities.

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On the other end of the scale, is the lace weight yarn. Many knitters shy away from knitting with lace weight, as there's this feeling of knitting a garment forever. But when I think about lace weight yarn, I think about a more flattering knit, can I say a slimming knit? I find I look better in lace weight projects, such as tops and cardis, where no extra bulk is added. As for the knitting part of it, who said knitting is a race? Although it can sometimes feel like a marathon. I'm in no rush to finish the project, just enjoying knitting. Charles Voth's feature, Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down seamless tee shirt, makes me happy knitting patterns are written out for me. This is a two-part lesson about all the 'math' you need to accomplish a design that suits your body type. I think it's quite an accomplishment to tackle designing your own tee, don't you think? It's like not just knitting anymore, it's creating a garment from scratch! Will you attempt this? With all those numbers involved, I'll need a full day to attempt it.

Share the love of knitting. Own the obsession.

By the time I was finished making up this issue, it dawned on me the variety of yarn weights in this issue. Ranging from lace weight to chunky chenille, I already have a list of projects to knit for each one.

Enjoy the issue! Cheerfully,

KNITmuch | issue 7

Soft Essentials in the colors Teal and Greyhound. One of the most ideal beginner projects I have found is a simple hat. Starting at the brim with a K2P2 rib and going up to the decreases. Soft Essentials complements that pattern well and it’s much shorter than a scarf.

Michelle Nguyen

Red Heart Soft Essentials is one of your foundation yarns. It’s good for 90% of projects and comes in all your basic colors. Soft Essentials can be one of the building block yarns that make sure you can knit anything from your stash. The first thing I want to talk about is the weight of the yarn. It’s a bulky weight so anything you choose to knit in this fiber will knit up very fast. This is a major benefit when you just want to take out some yarn and get knitting. I also like this yarn for teaching others to knit. It’s a nice large yarn, but it doesn’t have too much texture. Soft Essentials slides along the needles well, so you don’t have to fight with your tension. I’m always on the look out for good yarn to teach people with. If you start a beginner off with a strange yarn that happens to be difficult to knit with, you’re not setting them up for success.

T he essential yarn for knitting soft garments The fiber is 100% acrylic so that means easy care instructions. Machine wash and dry! As always, I would make a swatch and wash it to see how this fiber will react when you wash it. Acrylic usually relaxes, so you can afford to knit the fabric tightly and very stiff, then have the pleasure of watching it relax into the softest garment you’ll ever own. When you’re knitting this swatch with Soft Essentials and washing to see how the fiber will react, also take special care to note if the swatch grows at all. This is important information if you’re knitting anything that needs to be fitted. Now for the question I know you’ve all been asking in your head: is Soft Essentials really that soft? The short answer is yes, it is that soft. When you first touch it, the fiber is smooth and sleek. No halo or fuzziness to speak of, but the fiber itself is very springy and smooth. It’s soft in the way that water is considered soft; cool, smooth, and flowing.

Photos by Michelle Nguyen

KNITmuch | issue 8

Center double decrease makes a good knitting mantra for Soft blanket I picked up the Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern from the Red Heart website and immediately loved the look of it. The chevrons make for a crisp design and the transitions between colors smooth. Having talked about the general benefits of Soft Essentials yarn we’ll see how it really lets this pattern shine and I’m not just talking about the beautiful sheen of the yarn. First of all, the chevrons are lined up with either a center double decrease or a M1, K1, M1 pattern. This adds vertical lines throughout the blanket as well as the horizontal chevrons. The combination of those two just makes the OCD part of my brain light up. Perfectly straight vertical lines with the perfect horizontal chevrons is so aesthetically pleasing it makes my heart sing. I especially love how much the center double decrease stands up. The yarn weight gives the stitch a little extra oomph and extra definition.

The Relaxing Ripple Throw I stopped counting and took out all the stitch markers I was able to just knit. I did have to ‘tink’ back a couple times because I went too far, but the time it took me to do that was much less than it would have been had I just kept going with my process. As we all know, I’m a huge fan of patterns that look like a lot of work while continuing to be very easy. The Relaxing Ripple Throw fits firmly into this category. The pattern is stunning and really set off by Soft Essentials yarn. There's a shiny sheen to the yarn that gives this throw an unreal perfect look that will make you want to touch it to see if it’s really there.

The Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern is very easy to memorize. When I started knitting it, I was a little concerned. I was just getting over the flu that had been going around and didn’t feel like I was on-the-ball enough to knit a pattern like this. Luckily for me, the pattern was much easier than it looked. There are only increases and decreases on one side and you purl all the way back. Just after I cast on, I was determined not to mess this pattern up so I started putting in a bunch of stitch markers. As I went through the pattern I ended up taking them out because they were more of a nuisance than just looking to see the stitches coming up in the row below. I was also counting every stitch instead of watching the row below. After This blanket looks really classy, without a whole lot of work. The best projects are always those that look complicated but are easy to memorize.

KNITmuch | issue 8

T he definition of using stitch definition when knitting One of the aspects I really liked about the Relaxing Ripple Throw was the definition on the center double decrease. I wanted to delve into that a bit more because it’s an important topic for all knitters who knit patterns. The center double decrease is so well placed in this throw, it really makes you sit back and admire it. Looking at the stitch running down the middle of this swatch you can really see the definition of the stitches in this throw.

Here is a side view of the raised stitch from the previous photo. You can see just how much it is raised.

It is always advisable to knit a swatch first to see how the yarn is going to knit up.

KNITmuch | issue 8

Using stitch definition can give garments a bit of a threedimensional look. Instead of using a knit stitch, you’re able to knit through the back loop and the stitch still looks like a knit stitch, but it sits up higher and is more defined than a regular knit stitch. I know I’ve talked about using plain yarns for intricate patterns, but if you’re absolutely set on having a busy yarn and a busy pattern, this will help. Especially when knitting a rib or a seed stitch. Let’s be clear that I’m not talking about twisted stitches, which make more of an X than a V when you’re knitting. Those stitches have their place, but they lay flat along your knitting. What I’m talking about is the center double decrease, any kind of nupp, or bubble stitch. Creating ridges and valleys in your garments to make the pattern you’re knitting really stand out.

You can even see the stitch definition of the seed stitch along the edges

As was the case with the Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern, you can also create a dip in your fabric on either side of a knit stitch to make that stitch stand out. When I was knitting the pattern, my M1’s were knit in the front and back. This causes the fabric of your knitting to create the slightest indent, which gives the illusion of the center stitch standing out more. In the Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern, it balanced out the center double decrease and created a line running parallel. The pattern would have looked a bit awkward if there was only one line running down through the bottom of the chevron Vs. This design aesthetic gives your knitting an elegant extra design aspect and helps take the look from homemade, to handmade. You can definitely find patterns that have already incorporated these techniques, but you can also start to play with them yourself! When you’re looking at a new pattern, find the stitches you think could be a little more defined and knit a swatch to sample what they would actually look like. It’s the best way to advance your knitting practice, just try it!

Knitting snowflakes into a hat We talked about stitch definition, it’s only fitting then, to talk about color-work. The Snow Speckled Hat pattern by Red Heart is made to look like there are snowflakes on the hat, this is achieved by good selective color-work. With a brim of a different color and the top of the hat a solid color like a cloud, it’s sure to help stave off the snow coming this winter and make us really appreciate this summer-time heat. The Snow Speckled Hat pattern is pegged at an intermediate pattern, but I wouldn’t call it intermediate. If you’ve done any Fair Isle knitting before this is a great pattern to work on. It’s nice and easy. Don’t let the pattern rating scare you away if you haven’t done Fair Isle before but have knit in the round, this is a great place to start colorwork. I think knitting in the round is much easier than knitting back and forth, so I’m already predisposed to color-work hats and mittens. I knitted the Snow Speckled Hat in different colors so you could see what it looks like. I tried to invert the colors as much as I could, but I think it still looks like snow! The yarn called for in this pattern is Super Saver, but you can definitely knit this hat with Soft Essentials.

The yarn weight is a little different, Soft Essentials is heavier than Super Saver, but this can be easily mitigated by going down a needle size. The recommended needle size for Soft Essentials is a 10US [6mm] bringing the needle size down to an 8US [5mm] would make a world of difference. As I said in this week’s first article, it’s okay to knit this hat a little firm because the yarn relaxes so much when you block it. The garment might feel too firm when you first finish knitting it, but will be worth it in the end. When I was knitting the Snow Speckled hat pattern I thought the hat looked a little bit small and was worried about it actually fitting. I contemplated going down too many needle sizes, and have irrevocably messed up the pattern. Once I blocked it everything was fine though. The hat relaxed quite a bit and there were no issues with the hat fitting. In fact, I’d be worried about it being too large if I had knit it and it didn’t look small.

I knit this hat at a tighter tension than I normally would have. The fabric is quite stiff, as you can see, it stands up on its own.

The Snow Speckled Hat is the perfect easy color-work knit pattern, with a size that’s easily adjustable.

The hat itself, in my color variation, post blocking.

KNITmuch | issue 8

Bella Chenille, a soft and versatile polyester yarn

Charles Voth

Bella Chenille Multi features a predominant color and two or three complementary colors in dots along the length of the yarn.

I’d like to introduce you to Bella Chenille Multi, one of the softest baby yarns I’ve ever had on my needles. In this feature, I'll go over its assets, some free patterns, and then I’ll teach you a few techniques which take advantage of this yarn’s squishy goodness. Bella Chenille is a chunky weight fuzzy and lush chenille type yarn which when knit creates a velour or velveteen-like fabric because of the way the yarn is constructed. I had to struggle a bit to get this yarn to come apart enough to show the anatomy of how it’s built.

Anatomy of Bella Chenille, fuzzy strands are held in place by twisted plies of yarn.

There are two inner core threads and each consists of 2 plies with a tight twist. These inner core strands are twisted and as they are, the short fuzzy strands are caught in the twist and lay at a perpendicular angle to the inner threads. One would think that this would still make it easy for the short fuzzy fibers to come apart easily, but there is a heating process which sets the fibers in place and keeps the integrity of the yarn. Yes, if you were to pull aggressively at the little tufts of fuzz, they would slowly loosen up and come out, but many a baby and toddler have snuggled with knit items made of chenille and they don’t have the strength to loosen the fibers. There are many commonly used acrylic yarns with short fibers that are not chenille and knit into baby garments that have a higher chance of releasing short fibers into the fingers of little ones, so you need not worry about Bella Chenille not standing up to the strokes and squeezing of baby fingers. If you're a very tight knitter or tend to need to unknit your stitches a lot, you need to be aware that chenille yarns like this don’t fare well if you need to rip out your work repeatedly. The fuzz gets compacted when knit too tightly…which looks lovely in the finished fabric, but those compacted fibers do not spring back into place. If you have to reuse some frogged yarn, I would say that one re-use only is advisable, after a second or third ripping back and re knitting, the fabric starts to look a little shabby. Wet-blocking does help relax the compacted fibers a bit, but it’s not the same as knitting with the yarn once only.

Columns of stockinette show that the placement of the dots is truly random and there won’t be any unwanted pooling.

Photos by Charles Voth KNITmuch | issue 8

Did you know that “chenille” is derived from the French word for caterpillar? Makes sense, doesn’t it? Fortunately, Bella Chenille is completely bug free! It’s dyed three different ways. There are Bella Chenille Multi that come in nine colorways (see right). There are also four colorways of Bella Chenille Dots which actually consist of evenly spaced segments of 3 or 4 colors. In my opinion the Multi should be called Dots and the Dots should be called Multi because of how they are dyed, but what’s done is done. Then there are 21 solid colors, too.

Colorway names (from left to right) Tidal Wave, Candy Store, Sweetness

The above 3 colorways do not feature white prominently or at all while the remaining six consist of a white background with other sets of complimentary dots.

Bella Chenille is made of a very soft polyester. This makes it washable and non-allergenic. It’s listed as a super-bulky (#6) yarn and knit with US10.5 [6.5mm] needles or even larger, but you can work it with size US10 [6mm] needles and achieve a bulky (#5) gauge as well. In each ball there are 131yds [120m] per 100g. You can machine wash it in warm water, but you’ll need to skip the dryer… too much heat mats the fibers, and you’ll lose the softness in the knit fabric.

Colorway names (from left to right): Peach Pie, Tropical Mix, and Sugar Spots

How Bella Chenille enhances basic knit stitches differently than most yarns 12

KNITmuch | issue 8

Colorway Names (from left to right): Denim Patch, Toy Cars, Grape Jam

The colors of the dots coordinate very well with many of the solid colors of Bella Chenille.

Let's try out some basic stitch patterns to see how different they look in this yarn.

stitches on it with one hand and the bottom of the knit columns with the other hand and pull to stretch the stitches vertically as a group. Repeat this ‘pulling’ for the remaining stitches across the needle.

Bella Chenille has almost zero elasticity, so this means that you as the knitter will need to focus on as even of a tension on your yarn as possible so that the stitches are consistent. The fuzziness of the yarn makes it necessary to manually work any extra loose or extra tightness in an individual stitch into the neighboring stitches. This next tip is an important one to get gauge. After knitting several rows or rounds of stockinette stitches, grasp as much of the needle and live

Chenille in stockinette tends to create wide stitches with a deep channel in the middle of each stitch. By pulling it, the yarn goes into the strands that create the typical “V” appearance of a stitch rather than the horizontal strands that make the bumps on the purl side. If you don’t stretch the fabric vertically, these horizontal strands are visible through the stitches from the right side.

If you study the picture on the right you’ll notice deeper grooves between each column. These are actually the stacked center of the stitches. The vertical V strands like to snug up close to the neighboring V strands / stitches rather than with their own paired strands. When you want the purl side or the reverse stockinette stitch side of the fabric to be the public side, you’ll see that the typical “purl bumps” take on the look of plied yarn in horizontal ridges. The usual zigzag look of purl rows is hidden by the fuzz of the chenille. I really like this look, especially for side to side items. When Bella Chenille is knit into garter stitch rows, the ridges are more like squiggly horizontal bumps with a wider space in between them than in reverse stockinette, and look more like their namesake, the ‘caterpillar’, I mentioned befoe. These mitered squares are part of a blanket pattern I’ll show you later. Lastly, when you knit 1×1 ribbing with Bella Chenille, you’ll achieve the more characteristic columns of Vs separated by bumps. In moss stitch, the horizontal and vertical ridges are broken up and the fabric loses the strong grain in either direction, making it look more homogeneous. I also think the squishy factor is heightened in the moss stitch fabric. This last photo on the right is taken from one of the free patterns I’ll feature next.

5 baby gifts to knit up in a few days with chunky Bella Chenille yarn

Horizontal ridges are actually purl bumps which are “hidden” because of the fuzziness of the chenille.

Bella Chenille in garter stitch rows, has a rippled horizontal ridge look to it, but a wider space between them than in reverse stockinette.

1×1 ribbing looks itself in Bella Chenille, and moss stitch is the best way to remove the very ridge-like appearance of the other basic stitches shown above.

Let’s look at some free patterns that you can knit in a few days as baby gifts, or for your own baby, if you’re in the nesting stage! In the photo, you can see a beautiful pairing of a red solid and a multi with pinks and reds that are knit with a zigzag ripple stitch. Here’s the free pattern for this colorful baby blanket called Lil’ Lightening Blanket.

It’s easy to find a solid color of Bella Chenille that coordinates with one of the Multi, like the red in this ripple stitch blanket.

KNITmuch | issue 8

It’s also possible to knit lace motifs with Bella Chenille, and it looks best in solids so that the speckles don’t deter from the visual effects of the lace. The aqua one draped over this basket is ready to receive the little one home from the delivery room. This too is a free pattern called Soft Vines Blankie.

Lace stitches and motifs look great in solid colors of Bella Chenille.

Using moss stitch is a great way to evenly distribute bars and strands of Bella Chenille Multi so that the fabric has a denser squish factor. This baby beanie and pullover with raglan sleeves, and a raglan sleeve tab opening is a great free pattern to try as your first garment with chenille yarn. This one is called Snowbaby Set. I love how stockinette stitch on this onesie gives vertical stripes to a knit fabric that’s covered in dots without any tricky textured stitches. This pattern comes in four sizes from 6 months to 4 years and called It’s a Party! Onesie. The free pattern, Doodle Bug Hoodie, features easy to make drop-sleeve armholes, and a cute no-shaping neckline. The Bella Chenille Multi will really be suitable to give the little wearer a modern twist! I hope you try out some of these free knitting patterns for Bella Chenille.

Easy to knit beanie and raglan sweater in the Denim colorway of Bella Chenille Multi

How adorable is this onesie?

KNITmuch | issue 8

Backwards purling to knit bobbles without all the bother

3rd Block With right side facing, pick up and knit 1 stitch in the top tip of the First Block, and then pick up and knit 10 stitches along the other edge, working into the ends of the garter stitch ridges as for the 2nd Block. Cable Cast on 10 more stitches. Then knit the first row.

Well-placed bobbles make this cute mitered square blanket fun for the baby to squeeze.

I’ll share another blankie pattern I designed that has a few bobbles worked in. So many people don’t like bobbles because it’s tedious to turn the work back and forth to work the little extra short rows to build up the bobble. I’ve figured out a creative solution by using backwards purling. Read on to learn this technique. This blankie pattern features mitered squares. I chose this technique because I liked the different directions of the garter stitch ridges, particularly how they look when knit with Bella Chenille. There are 4 different ways to set-up a mitered square for an attach-as-you-knit type pattern. The set-ups all happen in the cast on or pick-up rows, so let’s look at how to do each setup row.

First Block You only do this block once, right at the start. The best cast on for this non-elastic chenille is the cable cast-on, because it’s much stretchier than long-tail or similar cast-ons. Cast on 21 sts, and knit the first row. I’ll give you the rest of the pattern after we’ve read about all the other set-up rows. 2nd Block Most right-hand knitters start with the block to the right of the First Block when it’s rotated into a diamond. Cable caston 10 stitches. Then, with right side facing, pick up and knit into the middle right corner of the First Block rotated to be a diamond, pick up and knit 10 stitches evenly along the block edge, usually into the garter stitch ridges, ensuring to have 2 strands of yarn under the righthand needle when you insert it to pick up. Then, knit the first row.

Filler Blocks These are the blocks that are worked into the V-shaped gaps between the other 2 blocks. With right side facing, pick up and knit 1 stitch in the top tip of the right-most block in the next tier of blocks. Then pick up and knit 9 more stitches along the edge, using the ends of the garter stitch ridges. Then pick up and knit a stitch in the bottom of the V, and 10 stitches along the other side for a total of 21. Knit the first row.

This solid purple diamond, or mitered square, is one of the Filler Blocks.

Before you get started on your blanket, it's important to review how to work a double centered decrease and how to knit a bobble. KNITmuch | issue 8

The decrease stitch required to maneuver these mitered squares is the centered double decrease (sl2tog, k1, psso). Insert the righthand needle into the front legs of the first 2 stitches as if to knit 2 together, and slip them off the left needle. Knit the next stitch and pass both slipped stitches over the stitch just knit. Here’s a video demonstrating how to do this. We also need to know how to work a bobble stitch. Step 1: (K1, k1tbl, k1) all in the next stitch. Step 2: To make a bobble without too much bother, we need to learn how to purl in reverse. To do this, insert the left-hand needle from back to front up into the front leg of the first st on the right-hand needle. Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise around the left hand needle, and purl through that strand. Do this 2 more times. Step 3: Slip first stitch of bobble from left hand needle, ssk in next 2 sts, pass slipped st over. The bobble is now done. In this video, I show you how to work the bobble in the middle of a centered double decrease, which is a little trickier than Step 1 explained above, but Steps 2 and 3 are the same and will appear in the video as well. other abbreviations k = knit p = purl sl = slip tog = together psso = pass slipped stitch(es) over st(s) = stitch(es) rep = repeat

KNITmuch | issue 8

Remainder of the Blocks Row 2: K10, p1, k10. Row 3: K9, sl2tog, k1, psso, k9. Row 4: Knit to center st, p1, knit rem stitches. Row 5: K8, sl2tog, k1, psso, k8. Row 6: Rep Row 4. Row 7: K3, make bobble in next st, k3, slip 2, work step one of bobble in next st, pass 2 slipped stitches over the 3 just made, work steps 2 and 3 of bobble, k3, make bobble, k3. A non-bobble row 7 would be: K7, sl2tog, k1, psso, k7. Row 8: Rep Row 4. Row 9: K6, sl2tog, k1, psso, k6. Row 10: Rep Row 4. Row 11: K5, sl2tog, k1, psso, k5. Row 12: Rep Row 4. Row 13: K4, sl2tog, k1, psso, k5. Row 14: Rep Row 4. Row 15: K3, slip 2, work Step one of the bobble as follows: Slip 1 stitch, working into front legs of both of the next sts together, work (k1, k1 tbl, k1). Then work Steps 2 and 3 of bobble as explained above or shown in the video, k3. Alternative Row 15: K3, sl2tog, k1, psso, k3. Row 16: K3, p1, k3. Row 17: K2, sl2tog, k1, psso, k2. Row 18: K2, p1, k2. Row 19: K1, sl2tog, k1, psso, k1. Row 20: Insert right hand needle from back to front through back leg of 2nd stitch on left hand needle and immediately through back leg of first stitch on left hand needle as if to purl 2 together, but just slip them, purl 1, pass 2 slipped stitches over the stitch just purled.

Fasten off. If you don’t want the bobbles along the center line of the block, simply work a normal centered double decrease in those three stitches.

Bobbles look like squishy rosettes and add attractive texture to the blanket.

Making the blanket You can use as many colors as you like for a mitered square blanket. It’s a good way to use up odds and ends of yarn, but I thought one multi-colored Bella Chenille and one solid color would look the nicest. Begin First Block with a solid yarn. For the 2nd strip of diamonds, use a multi-colored yarn and work a 2nd block and a 3rd block. By the way, I weave in ends every 2 strips of diamonds, just so I don’t have that task to do at the end. For the 3rd strip of diamonds, use a solid yarn and work a 2nd Block, 1 Filler Block, and one 3rd Block. For the 4th strip of diamonds, use a multi yarn and work a 2nd Block, 2 Filler Blocks, and end with a 3rd Block. Continue adding strips of diamonds until the length along the edge of the work is the desired width of your blanket. Then you need to choose between a rectangular version and a square version; regardless, keep alternating yarns each strip.

Rectangular Version For the next strip, do not work a 2nd Block. Begin with a Filler Block in the first gap and in each gap across, end with a 3rd Block.

Square Version For the next strip, do not work a 2nd Block, Begin with a Filler Block in the first gap and in each gap across.

For the next strip, begin with a 2nd Block, work a Filler Block in each gap across, but do not work a 3rd Block.

Repeat this strip until you work a sole diamond for the final strip.

Repeat the last 2 strips until your longer edge if the work is the desired length of the blanket. Then continue with the Square Version.

It only took 3/4 of each ball of Bella Chenille to make a size 9 months baby sweater combining a solid blue and a speckled denim colorway.

It only takes 1 skein in each color for the smallest 3 sizes. You may even be able to get the largest size out of 2 skeins, but only if you don’t want full length sleeves.

I hope you have fun knitting this mitered square blanket using the exciting color combinations you can make with Bella Chenille Multis and solids.

The reverse side without the bobbles highlights the edges of each block where the stitches are picked up. A lovely braid-like border separates each block.

Top-down baby sweater in Bella Chenille Multi and Solids sizes 6 mo

9 mo

1-2 yrs 3-4 yrs

20½"

23"

25"

27½"

skeins of Bella Chenille 1 in each color, solid: Indigo; multi: Denim Patch finished chest circumference

needles and hook size US 10¾ [7mm] circular needle and G/6 [4mm] crochet hook other 2 stitch holders

gauge 11 sts and 14 rounds = 4″ in Stockinette Stitch

abbreviations K = knit; P = purl; rem = remaining; st(s) = stitch(es); m1 = make 1; k2tog = knit 2 together; ssk = slip, slip, knit together through back loops; rep = repeat; WS = wrong side; LH = left hand KNITmuch | issue 8

Change up the number of rounds per stripe and the frequency of changes for a custom look.

instructions

Yoke

With solid yarn, cable cast on 46 (50, 56, 60) sts and join in the round being careful not to twist. Place a marker to indicate beginning of round. Rnd 1: Knit. Rnd 2: Purl. Rnd 3: [K6, m1] 7 (8, 9, 9) times, knit to end of rnd–53 (58, 65, 69) sts. Rnd 4: Knit. Rnd 5: [K7, m1] 7 (8, 9, 9) times, knit to end of rnd–60 (66, 74, 78) sts. Rnd 6: Knit. Rnd 7: With speckled yarn, [k8 (8, 12, 13), m1] 7 (8, 6, 6) times, knit to end of rnd–67 (74, 80, 84) sts. Rnd 8: With solid yarn, knit. Rnd 9: [K9 (9, 13, 14), m1] 7 (8, 6, 6) times, knit to end of rnd–74 (82, 86, 90) sts. Rnd 10: Knit. Rnd 11: Change to speckled yarn. [K10 (10, 14, 15), m1] 7 (8, 6, 6) times, knit to end of rnd–81 (90, 92, 96) sts. Rnd 12: Knit. Rnd 13: [K10 (10, 15, 16), m1] 7 (8, 6, 6) times, knit to end of rnd–88 (98, 98, 102) sts. Rnd 14: Knit. Sizes 1-2 years and 3-4 years only. 18

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Rnd 15: [K – (–, 15, 14), m1] – (–, 6, 7) times, knit to end of rnd–(104, 109) sts. Rnd 16: Knit. Rnd 17: [K – (–, 18, 17), m1] – (–, 6, 7) times, knit to end of rnd–(110, 116) sts. All Sizes Knit until yoke measures approx.. 4″ (4.5, 4.75, 5.25)” from cast-on edge if necessary. Divide for Body and Sleeves Rnd 1: K26 (32, 34, 38), cable cast on 4 (5, 5, 6) sts, sl next 20 (22, 26, 26) sts onto a holder for sleeves, K26 (32, 34, 38), cable cast on 4 (5, 5, 6) sts, sl next 20 (22, 26, 26) sts onto a holder for other sleeve. Join to work in the round–56 (64, 68, 76) sts. Rnds 2-10: Knit. Rnds 11-13: With solid yarn, knit. Rnds 14-15: With speckled yarn, knit. Rnd 16: With solid yarn, knit. Continue to knit around until body from sleeve opening measures approx. 7″ (7.5, 8, 9)”. Last Rnd: Purl. Turn work so you are working across the WS of the rounds. Bind-off: *Purl 2 together, return st to LH needle; rep from * around. Fasten off and close the gap while weaving in ends. To weave in ends, you’ll want to use a small crochet hook instead of a darning needle, going under 1 strand at a time on the WS of the work.

Sleeves Rnd 1: Transfer sts from holder onto your needle. Join yarn and knit around, pick up and knit 6 stitches across the opposite side of the cable cast on under the armhole. Join to knit in the round–26 (28, 32, 32) sts. Rnd 2: Knit to last 7 sts, ssk, k4, k2tog, place market to indicate beginning of round–24 (26, 30, 30) sts. Rnd 3: Knit. Rnds 4-5: Knit. Rnd 6: K2tog, k16, ssk, knit rem sts–22 (24, 28, 28) sts. Rep last 3 rnds twice–18 (20, 24, 24) sts. Rnds 13-15: Change to solid and rep Rnds 4-6. Rnd 18: Change to speckled and knit. Rnd 19: Change to solid and knit. Continue knitting in the round until sleeve from armhole measures 6.5″ (7.5, 8, 9.5)”. Last Rnd: Purl. Turn work so you are working across the WS of the rounds. Bind-off: *Purl 2 together, return st to LH needle; rep from * around. You can change the stripes to your taste, just balancing yarn amounts used so that you don’t have to start a new ball of either the solid or the speckled yarn. Fasten off and close the gap while weaving in ends. finishing Weave in all the other ends with the crochet hook as well.

Charles Voth

twitter.com/stitchstud charlesvothdesigns.ca

It’s a Wrap by Red Heart

Michelle Nguyen

It’s a Wrap yarn from Red Heart is a gradient yarn. The yarn shifts through several different shades, or colors, as you knit with it. It’s a harder color change rather than a true gradient, so the previous color suddenly stops and is taken over by a new color, giving the effect of chunks of color. Let’s start at the beginning and talk about the composition of the yarn. It’s half cotton and half acrylic, which is a new and interesting combination. The cotton will lend its antibacterial and heat releasing features, while acrylic will add its flexibility and durability. Cotton is never spun very tightly because it already has so little stretch, this makes for yarn that is splitty. It’s a Wrap is spun with an average tension so there’s a little bit of texture and it makes for a yarn that’s much easier to knit with. The washing instructions are to machine wash on gentle and lay flat to dry. Everyone knows that I love to machine wash my knitting, I simply don’t have the time to play with finnicky fabrics. Cotton and acrylic are normally okay to be thrown in the washer, so I'm glad that has carried over to It’s a Wrap.

Choosing your pattern will be an important part of this knitting project. The way the colors block will be an integral feature of your garment. If you’re thinking about knitting a sweater, the sleeves would have a different pattern than the body. Unless you’re planning on cutting portions of the yarn out to make the sleeve stripes match. I’ll refer back to this article about knitting with color shifting yarn during the rest of the feature. It’s a Wrap is the ideal yarn for a shawl. Yes, I’m still on a shawl knitting binge, thank you for asking. The yarn is a very light weight, which doesn’t lend itself well to a blanket, but it goes along perfectly with a shawl, or a small lap blanket. Keep reading for a couple of ideal patterns and tips on knitting for light weight yarn. It’s a Wrap is a very versatile yarn and a great place to start if you’re looking to switching from a sock weight yarn down to something a little smaller.

It’s a Wrap yarn from Red Heart!

I love it when the washing instructions are carefully laid out.

If you look underneath 50% cotton and 50% acrylic, you will notice that there’s 1100 yards of this yarn in one ball!

Photos by Michelle Nguyen KNITmuch | issue 8

Why you should knit

lace

with weight yarn Super fine weight yarn. See the swatch knit with It’s a Wrap yarn, lovely stitch definition.

If you’re not used to knitting with lace, this might deter you, but it shouldn’t! It’s a Wrap comes in all sorts of fun colors, and colorblocks in a unique way. If that isn’t enough to convert you over to lace knitting, I’ll give you a couple good reasons to knit with lace. When I first started knitting, I walked into a yarn store to buy yarn for a sweater I was going to make. I asked the proprietress to show me the thickest yarn they had. I didn’t want this to take forever and I didn’t want to buy 87 balls of yarn for this one project. Thick yarn was the way to do that. I can remember this poor lady trying to convince me to use a different yarn, a thinner yarn, a medium or worsted, anything but the super chunky sale stuff I picked out. I’m probably one of those customers that haunts this poor lady’s dreams. I didn’t know any better, but using a large yarn adds mass to a sweater. There are patterns where that look is intended, but 20

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this was not one of them. It made the whole sweater look bulky and anyone who wore it looked bulky. Where there were two layers of yarn around the cuff and hem, the fabric was so thick it constantly flipped over. Without a doubt this was the ugliest, lumpiest, unformed, swelteringly hot, and unwearable sweater. The moral of this story is, thin yarn might take you a little longer to knit your project, but it’s worth the time in the end. Thinner yarn shows more stitch detail, if you’re looking at color work, it will be more precise. If you want to do fancy stitches, they will be easier to see. The other aspect I mentioned is thicker yarn adds mass. If your sweater is half an inch thick and you’re wearing it, that sweater is going to add the illusion of a half inch to everything is covers. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got problems enough. A sweater made from lace weight will

be thinner and give you more control over your pattern. If you’re worried about being too cold (or too warm) look to fiber composition for that. If you’re knitting with cotton, it will keep you a little cooler. You want it even cooler than that? Use a pattern with an open weave stitch. If you’re looking for warmth, use those fluffy fibers with air space in them, such as wool, mink, angora. Now that you’ve decided you’ll give It’s a Wrap a try, pick your pattern carefully. Do something that will keep you engaged. I know that doing long stretches of stockinette stitch doesn’t bother me at all, but if I must focus on every stitch, I’m sure never to pick up that project. You might be the opposite! Know yourself and know what kind of knitting you enjoy. There’s no wrong answer so don’t choose a pattern because everyone else is doing it, chose it because it’s right for your knitting style.

Knitting with

lace, the easy way

There are a few tips and tricks that will make your life a bit easier. It’s a Wrap is a great yarn to start with because it’s on the heavier side of lace, and it has a nice firm twist. If you get a yarn that’s a bit slippery or easily splits, it can be a very technical knit.

knit your swatch, are your measurements far off? Can you adjust the pattern?

The number one thing you can do to make your lace knitting easier is to swatch and make sure you are using the right needle size for your tension. With larger yarns it’s easy to not quite have the right needle size and the yarn makes up for the rest.

Another important thing you can do to make your lace knitting experience a pleasant one is to carefully consider your pattern. I know I mentioned it as well, but it will go a long way to making your experience better. Knitting a garment with techniques you enjoy will make it seem much faster.

With It’s a Wrap, if your needle size is off, your knitting will either be too tight, which is easier to fix, than too loose. If your needle size is too large, your knitting will be very relaxed. Just knitting a couple rows isn’t enough, you need to knit a proper swatch. The cast on, knitting, and bind off are all important and you need to see how your needle size compares. My knitting tension, for example, is looser so I usually have to go down a needle size or two. Normally I can get away with knitting larger yarns with the recommended needle size, but lace I need to be very conscious of how my fabric looks. Knitting It’s a Wrap with a larger needle size, will make it go faster, but make sure it’s really how you want your garment to look. In order to purely make your knitting go faster, you can double up the yarn. There are a few things you need to think about when you’re using this technique though. Gauge, knitting with two strands will change your gauge. Are you knitting something that requires your gauge to be spot on? When you

Depending on what you’re knitting, some of these questions will not apply, but you need to consider them before you start.

You’ll know if you like the pattern by reading it through before you even swatch. The whole pattern, from start to finish. By doing this you’ll catch anything in the pattern that doesn’t make sense, or any of those situations where the pattern says, “but before you do the previously outlined decreases do this” or “At the same time as the instructions, also do this other technique.” I’ve been caught by passages like those, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Life lines are also a good idea. If you’re knitting a lace pattern that is in lace weight yarn, I would highly suggest putting in life lines. If you have to rip back to the start of your pattern repeat, it will be much easier to pick everything back up. Small yarn and yarn overs are never fun to pick up. Knitting with a lace weight yarn like It’s a Wrap is just like any other knitting technique, scary when you look at it from the outside, but never as bad as it seems. Just give it a try and with the helpful tips here, you’ll be knitting lace weight yarn in no time!

Even if you’re downloading a free pattern from an amazing database of patterns, you should still be reading the whole thing over.

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KNITmuch | issue 8

It’s a Wrap yarn enhances simple knit and purl stitches The Squared Off Shawl pattern

When I was originally looking for a pattern to go over, I searched for patterns in the It’s a Wrap section and immediately found the Squared Off Shawl. Usually, I like to cross pollinate with yarns and patterns, pairing things up that you wouldn’t normally think to pair. I just loved this pattern so much, I had to do it. The fact that the product photo is done in my favorite colors is totally irrelevant. I know it’s marked as an intermediate pattern, but the steps are not difficult. Don’t let the rating of the pattern fool you, if you take your time and knit the pattern one row at a time, you’ll be fine. I, of course, didn’t take my own advice and read over the pattern first, so it took me a minute to get into the swing of things. Once I did though, the pattern just flowed.

In the first few rows, I will admit, it was a little confusing. Once you figure out the pattern it becomes second nature. The increase is always at the end of a row, if you’re worried about forgetting you can leave a stitch marker in there and always make the increase just before the stitch marker. Easy-peasy! With that reminder, you only have to worry about making the square pattern and changing to decreases at the right time. The Squared Off Shawl pattern is a really fun knit. You’ll have to pay attention to what you’re knitting, but it is easy to read your knitting and remember where you are. If you’re ever lost in the pattern when you try to pick it back up, you can look at the amount of stitches on your needle and know where you’re going from there.

The pattern is quite easy and progresses very quickly.

It was a combination of knits and purls to make the squares on the shawl. The texture of the pattern, in tandem with the color blocking of the yarn makes the pattern look more complicated than it is and we all know how much I love that effect. The pattern is a steady increase while maintaining that square pattern. That could be why it’s marked as intermediate. You have to be paying attention to creating the pattern and steadily increasing at the same time.

If you’re just getting into lace weight yarn, this is a good place to try it out. If you want to try lace knitting with lace weight yarn, I recommend to start with a heavier yarn weight first and learn to read lace knitting. A yarn like, With Love, or Super Saver would be ideal. It’s a Wrap really does this pattern justice and vice versa, which makes sense because they were written for one another. If you’re looking for a pattern to try out the It’s a Wrap yarn on, this is an excellent one to choose. There are also hundreds of free patterns on the Red Heart website if you’re looking for something a little different. KNITmuch | issue 8

It’s not a wrap until it’s been

blocked

My Squared Off Shawl before blocking.

Knitting with lace is interesting because it’s a type of knitting that must be blocked. Especially if worked in a lace pattern. The eyelets need to be opened up and the pattern aligned. If your knitting doesn’t look good while you’re knitting, don’t despair! It may just need a good, hard, blocking.

A lot of the different blocking techniques depend on your space, your time, what you’re trying to achieve with blocking. All these techniques are intertwined together and some are better than others for different situations. Steam blocking is something of which I’m a huge fan. I was curious to see how It’s a Wrap would block out because it’s lace knit up with a cotton acrylic blend. Acrylic will relax completely, but cotton doesn’t normally change too much when it’s blocked because, by nature, it’s a less flexible fiber. With steam blocking, the shawl laid flat and kept its stitch definition, and relaxed a bit, but not as much as a pure acrylic. This means when you block It’s a Wrap into a shape, it will keep that shape and you will need to re-block much less often. Cotton is a less malleable fiber that likes to stay in the shape it was knit into and this factors into what I said earlier about what you want the fiber to do. If you’ve knit something a little too short, you can block it longer. Usually you can get length or width from blocking a garment, but not both. With cotton, the garment will stay how you knit it. 24

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You’ll be able to have those sharp shawl edges and open eyelets without compromising the structure of the shawl.

Post steam blocking! It looks so much better!! You can now see the pattern and all the hard work from knitting and purling this lovely pattern.

My swatch before blocking. You really cannot even tell what shape it is, it’s got an interesting ruffle effect happening.

With wet blocking it was a little easier to manipulate the dimensions of the garment. Wet blocking takes space, time, and you must be able to lay it in a place where it won’t be disturbed for a day or two. You completely submerge the garment then gently squeeze the water out. Pin it to the dimensions you want. While you can manipulate this fiber, it keeps its shape more than wool or acrylic, so double check your gauge before starting if you’re knitting a sweater or something that needs to be fitted. After wet blocking It’s a Wrap yarn, the swatch was more relaxed than steam blocking and still retained its ‘strength’. I felt like I could have tugged and pulled it in different directions and it would stretch, but not become disfigured. Overall, I was very impressed with the ability of It’s a Wrap to blend the stability of cotton with the softness and pliability of acrylic. All the while, keeping a machine washable yarn that makes a beautiful garment.

After wet blocking the swatch lays completely flat and you can clearly see it’s a square.

Michelle Nguyen IG michelle_stitchplease

LM6463 Great Squares Knit Blanket

Anytime you sit down with yarn you are creating happiness. Make something for yourself, friends, family or a charity. Yarning = Happiness. For free pattern, please visit: redheart.com ÂŠ 2018 Coats & Clark. All rights reserved. Coats & Clark is a registered trademark.

Unraveling Unity and Unity Beyond: what makes this yarn unique?

Charles Voth

The subtle bouclé texture and the moderate thick and thin twist of Unity result in textured knits that have a lot of body and visual depth.

and then at its fiber content and what that does for knit fabric.

Unity Beyond is the same yarn but has been painted in a series of multi-color hues.

I’m excited to share my knitting experiences with Unity and Unity Beyond, an amazing blend of natural fibers by Fibra Natura. Unity by Fibra Natura comes in 10 solid colors. Its painted version, Unity Beyond, comes in 6 complementary colorways. The palette is reminiscent of French Country decor with its muted, subtle colors that remind me of gardens and summer days. In the case of Unity, the fiber content and the architecture of the yarn give it its unique character and strengths. Let's look at the structure of the yarn

It took a few minutes to fray the end of Unity yarn because of its sturdy architecture.

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Unraveling Unity yarn led me to an interesting discovery. There’s an inner core of loosely spun fibers, but around this core, there is a tiny strand of what looks like bamboo (there’s a definite sheen) that is spun with a Z-twist (spun counter-clockwise) around the core. You can see the glimmer of the bamboo in each segment of the bouclé, but it just looks like a strand that is parallel to the other fibers, but with the Z-twist, it is actually stabilizing those loose core fibers. Then there is another equally thin ply that is spun with a S-twist around the core and the bamboo strand, basically crisscrossing the bamboo strand to hold the core in place. This is also very loosely twisted and looks like one of the core’s strands when you aren’t analyzing this up close. The final ply is about 3 times as thick as these first 2

thin plies and is tightly twisted with an S-twist, and then twisted around the core and the first 2 thin plies also with an S-twist. I would hazard a guess that the loose, fluffy fibers and this thicker binding ply are all a blend of wool, cotton, and linen as they are soft, yet matte. Unity Beyond colors are added by one of two ways. In one process, the dyers pass the yarn through rollers where only the top rollers have the dye colors on them, and one half of the yarn is “painted” while the other side retains its natural white. In the other, the yarn goes under dye jets that spray only one half of the yarn. The effect in either case is similar to a marled yarn where one ply is a light color and the other is a contrasting color. The look of Unity Beyond when knit up reminds me of acid wash denim, only with in gradient stripes.

Photos by Charles Voth The painted effect of Unity Beyond creates gradual transitions between each color of this long-spaced self-striping yarn. The speckled appearance is reminiscent of Impressionist Art.

36% wool, 28% cotton, 18% linen & 18% bamboo, what yarn is this? I’ll explore the fiber characteristics of this yarn and I've inserted a video in this feature to show how the knit fabric behaves because of the qualities of each component fiber. Unity (and Unity Beyond) by Fibra Natura has four different fibers, one animal based, and 3 plant based. Each fiber brings its own characteristic to the yarn. The fiber content is 36% wool, 28% cotton, 18% linen and 18% bamboo. Bamboo fiber is actually a biodegradable rayon thread made from a pulp mash that is made with the pith from the inside of bamboo stalks. It’s shiny and extremely strong, however, it has little to no elasticity. In Unity, the bamboo provides sheen and also some of the strength in the binding plies. Linen comes from the flax plant. The strands of this long, grass-like plant are processed mechanically to remove the outer bark from the long inner strands of cellulose. The stalks go through a soaking, fermentation and drying process called retting which makes it easier to remove the outer bark. When linen is added to yarn it brings in three positives. It adds absorbency, which makes it cool to wear in hot, humid weather.

It’s very strong and helps a garment keep its shape, and it provides an amazing amount of drape and lightness to knit fabrics. I’ll show you how the yarn drapes in this video.

The wool content of Unity and Unity Beyond helps with blocking. The finished piece can be stretched out to highlight lace or to modify row gauge and the wool content is sufficient to give the yarn “memory.”

Reverse stockinette stitch shows of the reflective gleam of the bamboo content easily.

Many of the Unity Beyond colorways have solid colors in Unity that complement them well. Here’s Adobe and Rose Villa (solids) to accompany Biscotti.

Cotton fiber adds coolness and softness to yarn. In Unity and Unity Beyond, cotton is the second highest fiber content. It lives up to its duties of keeping the yarn very comfortable to the touch and it helps keep the finished knits cool. There is proportionally more wool in Unity than any of the other fibers individually, but overall, wool makes up just over ⅓ of the yarn’s fiber content. What I found about the wool in this yarn is that it has no scratchiness at all, and it adds loft and drape. Wool is the only component of Unity and Unity Beyond that has elasticity. That’s important to a bouclé yarn so that you don’t get an extremely loose stitch or an extremely tight one that doesn’t relax during the blocking process. It also is key to helping the finished knit hold its shape after blocking. Now that we’ve looked at both the architecture and fiber content of Unity and Unity Beyond, we’ll review some designs that have been knit with these yarns.

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Unimaginable drape and comfort in knit designs made with Unity yarn This 4-fiber yarn is excellent for spring, summer, and fall knits because of the balance it has between wool and plantbased fibers. I’d like to share some designs that have been knit with this yarn. A ripple or zigzag scarf is a really good project for a beginner knitter who wants to move past just the knit and purl stitches. This free design, the Coastline Scarf, uses only 2 skeins and there are yarn-overs for increasing and straightforward decreases to draw the columns of stitches into points.

Use only one skein of the multicolored Unity Beyond, and one skein of the solid Unity to make this sophisticated ripple scarf.

A scarf worked along the long edge truly feels like it takes less time to knit. With only 2 skeins in this design, you could knit several for the holidays.

By adding a third skein, and one with a bit more contrast, you can knit this elegant triangular shawl. Even though this shawl could be knit with 3 skeins of Unity Beyond, I really like how the designer chose a darker solid blue called “Ink” to make eyelet rows that divide the wider bands of gradient stripes. This free design lives up to its name, the Flying V shawl.

From all angles, the Flying V shawl is a graceful wrap, perfect for chilly spring or fall evenings.

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The aptly named “Flying V” shawl uses a starker contrasting solid Unity yarn to highlight the lace motif that break up the multicolored tones of Unity Beyond.

In addition to these free designs in Unity and Unity Beyond, designers Amy Gunderson and Rachel Brockman have teamed together to write an e-booklet collection. You can obtain each design individually if you wish. The Tanami Tee has a solid front and a multicolored back with a lace motif on the back and the top yoke. This is another pattern that would be great for a beginner knitter to try. The construction of the Sonoran Tank isn’t standard and adds a bit of interest to the project, particularly at the beginning, when the bottom edging is worked in one long band. This pattern is part of a larger e-book collection, but can be purchased individually. The Kalahari Wrap is one of the most beautiful renditions of a blend of diamond and zigzag motifs that remind me of the signature Missoni fabrics in dresses and sweaters. I really love the versatility of a wide wrap like this. The best thing is, with the linen and bamboo content, this wrap is sure to drape with drama, or feel soft and silky if bundled up as a scarf.

Pairing a solid blue with a Unity Beyond colorway in a lace motif, this Tee uses 4 skeins for the smallest size and 6 to 8 skeins for the plus sizes.

The Sonoran tank top starts with a lacy motif worked around the bottom edge. Then the stitches are picked up and the body is knit from the bottom up.

Designer Amy Gunderson truly interpreted the drape of this linen blend, Unity Beyond, in this design called Mojave Poncho. For the knitter who gets bored of stockinette stitch, this design has a solution as there is a lovely textured stitch that’s easy to knit, and it repeats often. A couple of months ago, I went into some depth on using Ravelry.com to find patterns that enhance the yarn of your choice. I delved into the collection and found this lovely version of Pfeilraupe. Edmoejewel gave me permission to share her photo of the end result. Again, this pattern is a perfect interpretation of how Unity and Unity Beyond look good when drape is what you want. I hope you’ve enjoyed my foraging into patterns that look great knit with Unity and Unity Beyond. Next, I’ll share my recipe for knitting an over-the-head yoke and topdown tee-shirt.

The Kalahari Wrap uses 8 skeins, 4 of a solid Unity color and 2 each of a Unity Beyond gradient self-striping version of this drapey yarn.

The Mojave Poncho is another design that celebrates the drape and texture of Unity and Unity Beyond.

KNITmuch | issue 8

Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down seamless tee shirt – part 1

Maybe you’ve never heard of a shrugyoke sweater construction. I’m not sure I’ve heard the name before, but I haven’t seen this type of design before either, so to me this is something new. We’ve been looking at Unity and Unity Beyond yarn, and I’ve used this lovely multicolored and multi-fiber yarn to design a summer tee for my wife. I’m sharing a recipe for making your own version of this to adapt to your measurements, but if you want to follow a fully written multi-size pattern, refer back to last couple of pages, where I shared quite a few designs worked in Unity and Unity Beyond. To knit this tee, you’ll need some intermediate knitting skills – working a provisional cast-on, short-rows, increasing and decreasing. You’ll also need to be comfortable with knitting a gauge swatch, and keeping track of several different stitch counts and row counts, as different shapings happen at the same time.

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There are a few key measurements that you’ll need to take for this: • Your full bust • The cross-back width (which is from shoulder bone to shoulder bone). You can measure this easily by wearing your favorite T-shirt and measuring from one shoulder-sleeve seam to the opposite one across the top of your back. There should be no slack in the measuring tape. • The upper arm circumference at the widest spot • The circumference of the hips at the point where you want the bottom hem of the Tee to land • The desired length of the sleeve taken from the top of the shoulder You’ll need between 5 and 8 skeins of Unity or Unity Beyond depending on whether you’re making a size X-small/Small up to a 3x/4x Tee. I used size US 6 [4mm] needles for the body and size US 5 [3.75mm] needles for the ribbing edges. Cast on 26 to 30 stitches with US 6 [4mm] needles and knit a swatch as follows: Rows 1-6: Knit. Row 7: Knit. Row 8: K3, purl to last 3 sts, k3. Rows 9 – 42: Repeat Rows 7 & 8. Rows 43 – 48: Knit. Bind off.

The shrug yoke starts at the front bust line and is worked up and over the head and shoulders.

Thoroughly soak your swatch in warm water. Remove as much excess moisture as you can, then pull the swatch vertically and let its natural elasticity return it to its natural shape. Lay the swatch flat, pin it out (without stretching it width-wise), and allow it to dry. Then measure your gauge. I got 21 sts and 33 rows per 4″ [10cm]. If you’ve ever knit, worn, or seen a shrug, you know that basically it’s two sleeves with a rectangular or oval ‘back’ piece that connects the two sleeves. We’re doing something similar, but in this design, we’ll also knit a front.

At the end of the neck shaping, you’ll be partway down the back bodice. The back underarm shaping is worked differently than the front. It has a lace motif at the shoulder to mimic a shoulder seam (and provide a bit of ventilation). At the end of a few more short rows and a few rows to complete the back bodice, you’ll arrive back at the bust-line, where the stitches on your needle will join the ones from your provisional cast on and be finished off by being worked in the round. The body is worked with gradual increases to achieve the hip circumference.

The shrug yoke starts at the full bust line. You knit the front and the fronts of the sleeves first, then shape the underarm and front bodice by working short rows for the sleeves. At the neck, separate balls are required to knit both sides at the same time.

Eyelets define the faux sleeve seam at the back of this bodice.

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The

Math Here are a few calculations you need to complete to begin your design. A. Number of bust stitches required Bust measurement × stitch gauge ÷ 4” = Bust Stitches. Round this down to an even number if necessary and divide by 2. Example 44″ bust × 21 sts ÷ 4 = 230 ÷ 2 = 115.

If your result is an odd number then subtract 1. Since our result is 115, I’ll reduce it to 114. You could also simply divide your sts per 4″ by 4 to get the number of stitches per inch, which may help you figure out the numbers more easily. B. Number of bodice stitches required Cross-back measurement × stitch gauge ÷ 4” = Bodice Stitches. Round this down to an even number.

Example 16.75″ across back × 21 sts ÷ 4 = 230 = 88 stitches. C. Amount to decrease during sleeve/bodice shaping A. (Bust Stitches) – B. (Bodice Stitches) = Sleeve/Bodice Decreases. Example 114 – 88 = 26 stitches 32

KNITmuch | issue 8

To finish off the neck opening, I used [k2, p1, k1, p1] ribbing. It’s a little different, and it gives a nice effect.

I used my examples to make this Unity Beyond Summer Top knit to fit a 44'' bust. By using custom measurements for shoulders and sleeves. I achieved a great fit!

For a more revealing neck opening use 60% and for a more conservative neck opening use 40%. G. Number of stitches for neck opening Neck Opening at Widest Point = 42% of Bodice Stitches (B) rounded to the nearest even number. Example 88 × 0.42 = 36.96 stitches The nearest even number is 36. H. Shoulder Width B. (Bodice Stitches) – G. (Neck Opening) ÷ 2 = Shoulder Width Example (88 – 36) ÷ 2 = 26 stitches J. Sleeve Stitches Desired sleeve length (in inches) × stitch gauge ÷ 4, rounded to the nearest even number = Sleeve Stitches. Example 5.5 inches × 21 ÷ 4 = 28.87 stitches

The decreases happen at each underarm and at the stitches ⅓ and ⅔ of the way across the front body stitches approximately. D. Number of rows for armholes Upper arm circumference measurement plus 4″ for ease (you don’t want your sleeves to choke your upper arms and this leaves a little room to breathe) × row gauge (from swatch) ÷ 4″ = Total Armhole Rows. Round up to an even number, if necessary, then divide by 2 to get the number of Front Armhole Rows (which is also the number of Back Armhole Rows). Example (12.75 + 4) × 33 ÷ 4 = 138 ÷ 2 = 69

If the result is an odd number round up to the next even number. I will round up to 70 rows.

The nearest even number is 28. K. Short row turns D. (Front or Back Armhole Rows) – E. (Sleeve Rows) = Short Row Turns Example 70 – 60 = 10 short row turns

Half of the short row turns are used in each sleeve, halfway across the number of sleeve stitches. So after you’ve done a little math, and taken detailed notes, you’ll be ready to use the recipe for this sweater that I’ll share with you next. If you’re a visual person, it will help you to draw a schematic on paper, and insert the information you have worked out. Here are some of the results of today’s

examples, put onto a sketch.

Example 70 rows for front half of shrug yoke E. Number of rows for sleeves Sleeve Rows = 85% of Total Armhole Rows, rounded up to an even number. Example 70 × 0.85 = 59.5 rows

I will rounded up to 60 rows for my sleeves. F. Number of rows for neck opening Rows for Front Neck Opening = 50% of Front Armhole Rows (result of D) rounded to an even number. Example 70 × 0.50 = 36 rows

KNITmuch | issue 8

Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down seamless tee shirt – part 2 This schematic shows where key shaping needs to be worked to fit your body perfectly.

Using the numbers that you calculated, you can knit a custom fitted summer top. The schematic shows the placement of shaping details that will make this tee fit perfectly. The placement of the symbols shows approximately where the shaping will be worked – the actual number of symbols is just representative. Where I have shown 4 increases, you might have as few as 3 or as many as 8. It will completely depend on your calculations. Let’s get started Now we can cast on. We’re using a provisional cast on, so you’ll need some scrap cotton or acrylic yarn that is the same weight or slightly finer than your Unity Beyond. You can use a crochet cast on or any other type of provisional cast on. Cast on the whole amount of stitches for the front and both sleeves(the results of A and J × 2). In my case that’s 114 + (26 × 2) = 166 stitches. Place stitch markers where your “fake seam” will go – on my sweater, it is after the first 26 stitches and before the last 26 stitches. This helps keep track of the “boundaries” for the sleeves and body. 34

KNITmuch | issue 8

As I started working in stockinette stitch for 2 rows, I also added more stitch markers. I needed to work both the bottom yoke shaping for the bust and the short-row shaping for the sleeves. To do this yourself, you’ll need your number L. I needed to decrease 26 stitches at the lower bust, but the design looks best if you decrease both at the underarm and then at the places where a princess seam would land, which is about the ⅓ and ⅔ spot across the width of the body stitches. So I took 114 and divided it by 3, which is 38 sts. So I added stitch markers with 38 stitches between the sleeve seam stitch markers. For the short row calculations, I use the value of K. Work short rows halfway across the number of sleeve stitches, placing a stitch marker at that point to remind you to do the turns. In my case, I need to work 5 pairs of short rows. I begin them halfway across the 26 sleeve stitches, placing a stitch marker at the 13th stitch point. I now have 6 stitch markers on my needles. To sum up, my needle now shows: 13 sts, sm, 13 sts, sm, 38 sts, sm, 38 sts, sm, 38 sts, sm, 13 sts, sm, 13 sts.

The circled areas indicate where shaping occurs on the shrug yoke.

Your numbers will be different, as they will be based on your measurements. After your stitch markers have been placed into the knitting in the first two rows of stockinette stitch, you can begin shaping. I’ve written out what I did in these instructions. You can copy my instructions and paste them into a document then substitute your numbers as necessary. Row 1: Knit to second marker, sm, ssk, knit to next marker sm, ssk, [knit to 2 sts before next maker, k2tog] twice, knit remaining stitches. Row 2: Purl across. This makes 4 decreases. I need 26, so I’ll repeat these 2 rows 5 more times to reach a total of 24 decreases, then on the next decrease row, I will only make decreases at the sleeve seams. At the SAME time, I need to work short-row turns. I use the German short row, but you can use any technique you like. Right side: Knit across working the decreases as established above to the 6th stitch marker, leaving the marker on the left needle, turn work (which means the marker is now on the right needle).

Wrong side: Slip the first stitch purlwise, bring yarn over the top of the right-hand needle to the back of the work, and up between the needles to the front of the work, and tug hard (but not so hard as to break the yarn) to create a “hitch stitch” on the right-hand needle (this hitch stitch will look like a messy 4 strand stitch), purl across to the last stitch marker, leaving the marker on the left needle, turn work. Right side: Slip the first stitch purlwise, bring yarn over the top of the right-hand needle to the back of the work, knit the next stitch and tug to tighten both the stitch just knit and the hitch stitch behind it. Knit across, working the decreases as established, to the next hitch stitch, knit into the hitch stitch so there are 2 strands on either side of the right-hand needle when you insert the tip into the stitch, then knit remaining stitches. Wrong side: Purl across to the first marker, remove marker, purl 3, place marker back, purl to 2 stitches before the other hitch stitch, place a marker, purl 2, purl the hitch st with 2 strands on either side of the right-hand needle when you insert the tip to purl, remove the previously placed marker, purl the remaining stitches. These 4 steps create the pair of short row turns. This will add 2 rows to the inside of the body, but not at the edge of the sleeves. As you work, you can see that the location of the row turns change by a few stitches. This is important to keep the sleeves from forming visible pleats. In my case, as I was decreasing, I also worked 4 more pairs of short row turns. Then, I worked even in stockinette stitch on my 88 (for front) plus 2 x 26 (total 140 sts) until it was time to bind off for the front neckline, which in my case was after row 34. For your row count take your result of D and subtract F. For me it was 70 – 36.

KNITmuch | issue 8

The shrug yoke after all shaping is done, and with sleeve seams completed, and all body stitches on a circular needle.

Using your calculation for neckline width, G, you can figure out how many stitches will be bound off. You’ll need to leave some stitches for the diagonal corners of the neckline. I decreased 4 stitches on each side, so with my value of G being 36, minus 4 at each side, I had an initial bind off of 28 stitches. With 140 total, I simply subtracted 28 from 140 and divided the result by 2. (140 – 28) ÷ 2 = 56. For the beginning of the neck opening, I knit across 56 stitches, bound off 38, and knit the remaining 56. Then, I purled across the first half, joined another ball of yarn and purled across the second half. To help keep my striping “in sync,” I joined the new yarn in at the same place in the color sequence so that both halves of the front would match. For the next 8 rows, I decreased 1 stitch at each edge of the neck opening on the knit rows. That left me with 52 stitches on either side of the neck opening. Your mileage will vary! The next shaping required are the increases for the sleeve cap which are worked on the sleeve side of the seam stitch markers. I increased 2 stitches on each side every 4th row beginning about 10 rows before the end of the front. You may want to increase 3 or 4 stitches on each side, so just begin early enough. At this point, you’re ready to work the back of the yoke.

KNITmuch | issue 8

To knit the back, I didn’t reverse the shaping from the front exactly. I started by immediately increasing 1 stitch at each edge of the neckline 4 times and decreasing on the outside of the sleeve seam stitch markers. This gives the back of the neck a gentle scoop that allows room for the ribbing to come up the back of the neck later. Once those decreases were done, I cast on 28 stitches for the center of the back neck and began working work all the way across again. Because we don’t need the extra shaping in the back, I left out the princess seam stitch markers. When my stitch count equaled 140, I had this on my needle: 13 sts, sm, 13 sts, sm, 88 stitches, sm, 13 sts, sm, 13 sts. Then I started the eyelet lace, which incorporates the shaping to bring my stitch count back up to the number needed to match the cast on. Row 1: Knit to 2nd marker, slip marker, k1, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, knit to 5 sts before next marker, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, slip marker, knit across. Row 2: Purl. Row 3: Knit to 2nd marker, slip marker, k1, yo, ssk, yo, knit to 3 sts before next marker, yo, k2tog, ko, k1, slip marker, knit across. Row 4: Purl.

This photo of the back yoke of the Unity Beyond Tee shows the lace eyelets next to the armhole shaping.

This increases 2 stitches every 4 rows and adds the decorative eyelets. At the same time, I worked 5 pairs of short-row turns as above. When the stitch count was back to 166, I continued working rows 1 and 2 until the back was the same length as the front. The yoke and sleeves are now complete. At this point, you can unpick the provisional cast on and graft the sleeve stitches to each other or put the sleeve stitches onto a different needle for the front and back stitches, then work a 3-needle bind off for the under-sleeve seams.

I got great mileage out of the Unity Beyond yarn. My version only used 4 skeins, and it’s a size XL. In the photo below, you can see a fifth skein, plus a skein of Unity in Adobe red, but there’s enough left in the ball without the band to finish the sweater. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with whatever you choose to knit with Unity yarn. My wife is thrilled with the feel, fit, and drape of her new Tee!

The remaining body stitches will all be placed on a circular needle and you can continue working in the round. I decided to continue the eyelet lace in the locations as established. I also decided to flare out the body, by incorporating increases every 4th row until I reached the desired number of stitches for the hip circumference. This gives a gradual A-line silhouette to the top which pleases her. You can work the body in solid stockinette stitch with no shaping if you prefer. It’s up to you how you “cook” up a summer tee with this recipe. As you can see, I still need to add some ribbing to the neckline and cuffs and the bottom of the tee. You can also see that my wife will end up with a lovely top!

The gentle shading of Unity Beyond creates horizontal stripes that are softer and more flattering to the figure than sharp color changes.

Charles Voth

twitter.com/stitchstud charlesvothdesigns.ca

KNITmuch | issue 8

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KNITmuch | issue 8

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Standard abbreviations & terms alt = alternate approx = approximately beg = begin(ning) BO= bind off Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com CC = contrast colour Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com ch = chain cm = centimetre(s) cn = cable needle co = cast on cont = continue, continuing Yarn Weight dc = double crochet Symbol & dec = decrease(s), decreasing Category dpn = double-pointed needle(s) foll = following Names Yarn Weight g = gram(s) Yarn WeightType of Symbol & hdc = half double crochet Fingering, Sock, DK, Worsted, Chunky, Sport, Bulky, Jumbo, Symbol & Yarns in inc = increase(s), increasing Category 10 count Fingering, Light Afghan, Craft, Baby Roving Roving in(s) = inch(es) Category Category Names crochet thread Baby Worsted Aran Rug k = knit Names kf&b or kfb = knit into front and back of st (increase) Type of Fingering, Sock, DK, Worsted, Chunky, Knit Gauge ktbl = knit Bulky, through the back loop Jumbo, Type of Range* inFingering, Sock, DK, Worsted, Fingering, Chunky, Sport, Yarns in 10 count Light Afghan, Craft, 6 sts k2tog = knit 2 sts tog (right-leaning decrease) Sport, 23–26 Jumbo, Roving Roving 21–24 Afghan,16–20 12–15 Baby Bulky,7–11 Yarns in Stockinette10 count 33–40**Fingering, 27–32 Light Craft, crochet thread Baby Rugk3tog = knit 3 sts together (double right-leaning Baby Category Roving sts Worsted Rovingand Aran sts sts sts sts sts sts decrease) Category Stitch tocrochet thread Baby Worsted Aran Rug fewer m = marker Knit Gauge 4 inches m = meter(s) Knit Gauge Range* in 6 sts 33–40** 27–32 23–26 21–246 sts 16–20 12–15m1 = Make7–11 1 stitch: pick up the horizontal strand Range* in Recommended Stockinette and 12.75 mm sts between 33–40** 1.5–2.2527–32 2.25–3.25 23–263.25–3.75 21–243.75–4.5sts 16–204.5–5.5 sts 12–155.5–8 sts 7–11 sts sts 2 stitches from front to back and knit it 8–12.75 sts and StockinetteNeedle in Stitch to sts tbl (lifted increase) fewer and sts sts sts sts sts sts mm mm mm mm mm mm Stitch to Metric Size fewerlarger 4mm inches MC = main colour mm = millimetre(s) 4 inches Range oz = ounce(s) Recommended 12.75 mm Recommended 17 4.5–5.5 Recommended Needle in 1.5–2.25 2.25–3.25 3.25–3.75 3.75–4.5 5.5–8p = purl 8–12.75 12.75 mm and p2tog = purl 2 sts tog (decrease) Needle U.S. 000 to 1 1 to 3 3 to 5 5 to 7 7 to 9 9 to 11 11 to 17 and Needle in 1.5–2.25 2.25–3.25 3.25–3.75Metric Size 3.75–4.5 mm4.5–5.5 mm 5.5–8 mm8–12.75 mm and mm mmpatt = pattern mm larger larger Metric SizeSize Range mm mm mm Range mm mm mm mm pfb = purl into front and back of stitch (increase) larger Range Crochet pm = place marker Recommended 17 psso = pass slipped stitch over Gauge*Ranges 32–42 6 sts side Recommended 21–32 16–20 8–11 3 to 5 7–9 5 to 7 17 Needle U.S. 12–17 000 to 1 11–141 to 3 9 to 11RS = right11 to 17 and in Single double and 7 to 9 rem = remain(ing) sts Range5 to 7 sts Needle U.S. 000 to 1 1 to 3 sts 3 to 5 Size 7 to 9 sts 9 to 11 sts 11 to 17sts and larger Crochet to crochets** fewer rep = repeat Size Range4 inch larger rev = reverse Crochet rnd = round Crochet Gauge*Ranges 6 sts 32–42 sc = single crochet Steel*** 21–32 16–20 12–17 11–14 8–11 7–9 15 mm Recommended Gauge*Ranges 6 sts 32–421.6–1.4 mm sl = slip in Single double and 2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 4.5–5.5 6.5–9 9–15 21–32 16–20 12–17 11–14 sts 8–11 sts 7–9 sts and and sts sts skp = slip one sts st, knit next st, pass slipped st over knit in Single Hook in Metric doubleRegular hook Crochet crochets**sts5.5–6.5mm sts mm fewer mm mm to sts mm mm sts sts sts st (dec) Crochet to Size Rangecrochets**2.25 mm fewerlarger 4 inch ssk = slip, slip, knit: slip 2 sts knitwise, 1 at a time, insert 4 inch left-hand needle into front of both sts and knit Steel*** them tog (left-leaning decrease) 15 mm Recommended Steel*** Steel*** 6.5–9 9–15three stitches individually, knitwise. 1.6–1.4 mm 2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 4.5–5.5 sssk = slip next 15 mmQ 5.5–6.5mm Recommended and Hook in Metric Recommended 6, 7, 8 I–9 6.5–9K–10 1⁄2 mm 9–15M-13 mm 1.6–1.4 mm 2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 4.5–5.5 Regular hook Insert tip mm mmof left needle from front to back into 5.5–6.5mmto mm and and Hook in Metric largerstitches and knit them SizetoRange Hook U.S.Regular Size hookRegular mm B–1 to E–4 mm E–4 7 mm 7 to I–9 the fronts of these three mmto M-13 mm to Q 2.25 mm 1 larger Size RangeRange together (double left-leaning decrease) ⁄ 2 larger hook K–10 2.25 mm st(s) = stitch(es) B–1 St st = stocking stitch Steel*** tbl = through back loop Steel*** Q Recommended 6, 7, 8 I–9 1 commonly used gauges and needle or hook sizes for specific yarn categories. K–10 tog ⁄2 = together M-13 Q Recommended* GUIDELINES 6, 7, 8 ONLY: The above reflect the mostHook and U.S. Size RegularI–9 B–1 to E–4 E–4 to 7 7 to I–9 to 1 tr = treble crochet K–10 ⁄ 2 M-13 to M-13 to Q Lace weight yarns are usually knitted or crocheted on larger needles and hooks to create lacy, openwork patterns. Accordingly, a and Hook U.S. Size** Regular B–1 to E–4 E–4 to 7 Rangethe7 gauge to I–9 stated to WS = wrong side larger hook K–10 1⁄2 gauge range is difficult to determine. Always follow in your pattern. to M-13 to Q yo = yarn over larger Range hook B–1K–10 1⁄2 Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com

Standard Yarn Weight System

Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes Standard Yarn Weight System Standard Yarn Weight System

Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes

*** Steel crochet hooks are sized differently from regular hooks--the higher the number, the smaller the hook, which is the reverse B–1 of regular hook sizing.

This Standards & Guidelines booklet and downloadable symbol artwork are above available at: YarnStandards.com * GUIDELINES ONLY: The reflect the most commonly used gauges and needle or hook sizes for specific yarn categories.