Celebrate Ultra Alpaca with a Mystery Knitalong

Berroco’s awesome Ultra Alpaca yarn is 10 years old, and Berroco has started a mystery blanket knitalong to help celebrate.

The project recently kicked off on the Berroco blog with a log cabin inspired block.

You can check out the post for all the suggested colors and quantities of yarn, broken down by what is used for each block if you decide you want to change up some of the colors.

The finished blanket uses five each of four different blocks, which should make a nice cozy blanket for winter.

The first clue was released this week and subsequent blocks will be posted every two weeks through July and August, with a final post on assembly coming August 31.

This sounds like a lot of fun and a treat for people who already know and love Ultra Alpaca. Have you worked with this yarn? Taking part in the knitalong? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Berroco.]

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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Next Pattern:

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