Knitting in the News: Yarn Bombing Edition

The knitters and crocheters of Saltburn are back at it, this time decorating the pier for the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland. The project includes a crocheted Alice, knit Cheshire Cat, other characters, playing cards, tea cups, tea pots and more. This isn’t the first time the pier has been yarnbombed under cover of darkness: the team also put up decorations for the World Cup, the queen’s Jubilee and the London Olympics. Very cool.

In other yarn bombing and creative knitting news, St. John’s churchyard in Yeovil (that’s in Somerset, England) has been yarn bombed, with knit benches, pom poms hanging from trees and more. The decorations are part of Yeovil in Bloom and should stay up through the summer.

And while it’s not quite a yarn bomb, another British church is attracting visitors with fiber arts. Knitters at Newtown Baptist Church in Wales have created many classic Bible stories in yarn, from Adam and Eve to Moses, Jonah and the whale and the Last Supper. The displays attract visitors and churchgoers say they prove that church can be a bit of fun, too.

[Photo via the Northern Echo.]

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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