Substituting Yarn, or, It’s Supposed To Look Like That!

My current WIP is the Sunrise Circle Jacket from Interweave Press. Apparantly I didn’t do the math real well when I figured that the amount of hand-dyed, one of a kind yarn I bought over a year ago was enough.

Almost, but not quite.

What to do? I wrote to the company that I bought this yarn from www.yarnhollow.com to see if maybe, just maybe they had more of the same dye lot. Not likely, but what the heck, worth taking a chance. Then, I ran down to my stash room (what? You don’t have enough stash to take up a whole, entire room with no space to spare?) to see what I had enough of to kind of “go” with this. I found 5 different yarns that I did have enough of to finish the jacket.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

So, I’m almost done with the first sleeve/front combo. and while I’ll have enough of the original to maybe make the next sleeve, I’m still out a front. I’m going to do this:

Since these sleeves/fronts are made in one piece each (left sleeve knitted in one piece with the left front, and right sleeve knitted in one piece with the right front) I think I’ll take the different yarn and do the right sleeve/front. There are two yarns that I’ve narrowed it down to, so I’m going to do 2 rows of one, then 2 rows of the other, then 2 rows of the first, then 2 rows of the second, then… whew. dizzy! You get the point.

See the picture? It’s kind of “stripey” when doing rows of each color. Don’t like it. And the bamboo splash green is too close to the original color. So, while I’m still holding out for the original (she did email me back and said she could dye another hank of it for me – happy dance!) I might be able to go with the brown. I like it, the brown (in the picture it’s brown, actually, there’s blues, purples, teals, burgandy’s and a gold fleck), so as usual, I never really know what I’m going to do in the end.
When someone asks me about it, I’ll just tell them that I planned it that way!

My other current WIP (can it really count if you haven’t cast on yet, but are planning to any day?) is the Mossy Roving’s cardigan from Jane Thornley’s current KAL.

Stay tuned…..

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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