Getting Elemental with Berroco

Have you seen Berroco’s new Elements yarn? This wool/nylon blend is new for fall and hasn’t actually been released yet, but I’m super excited to try it out.

In the slideshow for the Elements pattern booklet, the yarn is described as a “technical yarn,” meaning that modern technology is the reason this yarn is able to exist. It’s described as a nylon net that the wool fibers are blown into, producing a halo of color around the nylon, which provides a metallic sheen that’s still subtle enough to wear in your daily life.

The yarn will come in 12 colors (I like Chromium, the light purple pictured here) and have 153 yards per 50 gram skein. That makes it a lighter yarn than you’d expect, so your sweaters and other garments will feel lighter on your body.

The booklet accompanying the yarn, #321, includes 10 patterns, or you can check out the free patterns Sagittaria — a ribbed cape with a button band and a bit of a collar– and Tauri Mini, a garter stitch keyhole scarf (a shawl-sized version is found in the booklet).

The projects are relatively easy, with lots of roomy shapes and minimal finishing. Pesasi is probably my favorite. It’s a simple A-line tunic with a V-neck that’s finished with slip stitches rather than ribbing or crochet. This means the edges roll slightly but it gives a nice informal look to the top — and in size small it weighs less than a pound!

Oriona is another interesting sweater in the collection. It is mostly stockinette stitch with a simple funnel neck (again no finishing) but the drop shoulders hit midway down the arm instead of actually on the shoulders, providing a fun detail.

If you check out the preview I’d love to hear what you think. Spill it!

[Photo by Berroco.]

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

Have you read?