Rules For Caring For Summer Yarns…

This is taken directly from Handknitting.com’s newsletter, here: http://www.handknitting.com . Be sure to sign up, lots of good stuff!

If your yarn is a natural fiber, you should be able to avoid dry cleaning completely if you want, because all natural fibers have been processed with water somewhere along the production process.
Don’t put it in the dryer unless the ball band specifically says to do this. Even then, don’t put it in the dryer with anything that will cause friction (heavy fabrics like jeans) or snagging (velcro, bra hooks, big buttons, etc). Never use “hot”–the “low” setting is best for knits.
When machine washing any knit item, always turn it inside out.
For best results use a mesh lingerie bag, on gentle cycle, at the stated temperature. The temperature you see on ball bands underneath the washing machine symbol are in Celsius degrees. 20 degrees = cold water, 30 degrees = warm water, and 40+ = hot. If its going in the dryer, keep it in the bag.
Always set your rinse cycle to cold.
If your yarn is synthetic or silk, you should follow the laundering instructions on the ball band. Silk should never be put in a washing machine.
If you want to machine wash and/or dry you must do a gauge swatch, and then launder the swatch as you plan to launder the finished item. Even in preshrunk yarns, there may be some change in the gauge.

Next Pattern:

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]

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