Help a Really Cool Yarn Company Make More Yarn

It always amazes me the innovation that is still happening in knitting. From different ways to cast on and bind off to new techniques and new materials to knit with, this is definitely a good time to be a knitter.

One really cool yarn that’s come out very recently is LanaMudi Yarns’ SilverSpun, distributed by Feel Good Yarn Company. As the name implies, this is a yarn that’s spun with a silver filament (along with cotton and Lycra).

Why would you want to knit with such a thing? Well, silver is very conductive, so it makes cotton yarn feel warmer than it normally would. It also makes it possible for you to work electronic devices with touch screens while still keeping your gloves on.

Silver is also touted for anti-microbial and pain-relief properties, so your socks may end up less stinky and your wrists may feel less pain from marathon knitting sessions if they’re wrapped in silvery mitts.

I don’t know about all that, but it’s still a soft, pretty yarn that’s fun to work with and certainly a conversation starter.

The yarn came out in April and is sold out, but the company is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a new batch. Silver, as you can imagine, is pretty expensive, and they have to buy a large quantity to make it more cost effective. Anyone who pledges $75 or more will get a skein of the good stuff to play with, and there are lots of other great incentives, too.

Would you knit with silver yarn? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Feel Good Yarn Co.]

100 % cotton yarn

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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