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A Look Behind the Scenes at Noro

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noro yarn in the makingA Japanese television program called “Great Gear” recently featured a look into yarn producer Eisaku Noro’s production facilities, and it’s a great bit of eye candy for lovers of knitting and color.

The show calls the yarns “exquisitely colored” and Noro says each of his yarn blends uses 10 to 20 different colors, with the hope of emulating the colors of nature. He says originality is at the top of their list of priorities, which is evident in the company’s lovely yarns.

The company has been around for 40 years and is now distributed in 30 countries. It’s a lot of fun to see how this yarn comes together, especially looking at the stripes lined up as unspun wool.

If you want to see the video, visit the Great Gear website, click on “Hand Crafts Special 2” and you’ll find it there. I’d love to know what you think of the video or of Noro. I just finished a sweater in it for my next book and it was so much fun to knit!

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Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.” 

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them. 

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits. 

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves. 

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit. 

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy. 

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]