Hello friends and Merry Christmas! the holiday season is quickly approaching. I happen to quite enjoy this time of the year, with the gathering of family and loved ones, spending time with the little ones, and exchanging gifts.
My first Christmas project this year is actually old. I've started making it in the summer, but then I forgot about it for months. I finally got to finishing it a week ago. It's simple to make, even if it doesn't seem so. Just follow the instructions and it should be a smooth sailing.
Stay tuned for my next Christmas project, which will be posted hopefully soon.
❈✽✻✼✻✽❈
And if you are interested, the guys at yarncanada.ca are having their 2nd Annual event of giving yarn to individuals and groups who knit or crochet for good causes. In partnership with Bernat & Patons Yarn they are giving away $2000 worth of yarn and are hoping to get as many applicants as possible to ensure it goes to whoever it will have the maximum impact. If you would like to apply for the yarn, visit https://www.yarncanada.ca/for-good
Hello again friends! When I purchased the bulky Alize country yarn back in September, I wasn't aware it was not yarn. Turns out, it's a long cord made from something like mohair thread, and it can be knitted by hand, or very large sized needles. And since I didn't have a pair of knitting needles larger than 8 mm, I scored the local knitting and yarn shops for some large needles. For me, I found that 20 mm needles or larger were the most suitable to work with this yarn.
I experimented with not one, but three designs before I settled with the one I was most satisfied with for this kind of yarn, and the quantity I have. So here it is, a simple shawl, yet so warm and elegant. The color choices and sequence are vital factors in making it look cosy.
By presenting this post, another 2018 resolution of mine has been achieved, which was making a project with bulky warm yarn.
P.S. Please keep in mind that you are free to make the size you prefer, just keep on knitting by following the simple pattern until you get the size you desire.
level: Easy
Materials:
Alize Country New; 3.53 oz/ 100 g, 37 yds/ 34 m approx., 55% acrylic, 25% polyamide, 20% wool. Blue Mountain 5036, 5 balls.
Size U.S. 36 (20 mm) knitting needles.
Tapestry needle.
Blue Mountain Bulky Shawl - Details
Yardage: 185 yds/170 m approx. Measurements: 46 inch (117 cm) long, 28.5 inch (72 cm) wide, approx. Gauge: 5.5 sts x 8 rows = 4"x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) in Stockinette Pattern.
Knitting Terms
k = knit
p = purl
ss = slip stitch
m1 = make 1 stitch increase by knitting 2 stitches into one.
skp= slip stitch, knit stitch, pass the slipped stitch over.
Blue Mountain Bulky Shawl - Back view
Note: This yarn is actually a cord made of light worsted yarn.To join a new skein with the previous one, you need to:
Check the colors sequence.
Undo a 4" thread of one end of the cord, then sew the two ends together through the stitches of each cord end.
Instructions
Cast on 4 stitches:
Row 1: k 2, p 2. (4 sts)
Row 2: ss 1, k 1, m 1, k 2. (5 sts)
Row 3: k 2, p 1, ss, p 1.(5 sts)
Row 4: ss 1, k 1, m 1, k 3. (6 sts)
Row 5: k 2, p 2, ss, p 1.(6 sts)
Row 6: ss 1, k 1, m 1, k all remaining sts.(7 sts)
Row 7: k 2, p to last 2 sts, ss 1, p 1.(7sts)
Repeat rows 6-7 till you have 48 sts and ending row 7.
I-cord bind off rows:
Row 1: k 2, turn.
Row 2: ss 1, p 1, turn.
Row 3: k 1, skp, return the 2 sts from right needle to left one.
Repeat row 3 to last stitch, weave in loose ends, and wear it with pride.
Blue Mountain Bulky Shawl - Full view
Lastly, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or find something confusing in the pattern.
Happy crocheting/knitting! follow me on Instagram @wiams_crafts and Twitter @wiamscrafts to see my upcoming projects.
Hello friends! I've been knitting for a very, very long time, and I've worked with so many weights of yarn skeins; as small as 1.76 oz (50 g) and as large as 5.30 oz (150 g). Last September, I went into a shop in Erbil's bazaar, and came upon a huge skein that weighs 12.32 oz (350 g), with a rather nice gradient of red to black and back. I ended up buying it, even though I had no Idea what I would do with it at the time. I went back home and took a closer look at the skein's materials: wool and alpaca (there is acrylic and polyester too) and I thought to myself it would be great to make it into a shawl, suitable for a really cold winter evening event.
It was hard for me to knit this particular yarn at first; the stitches often got tangled, even worse was when I made a mistake and had to undo a row or two. Nevertheless, I powered through, and the skein finally turned into an elegant shawl. I'm happy to present to you the (somehow) simple instructions for this piece. I think it's marvelous how such a beautiful large shawl came out of just a single skein.
Skill level: Intermediate
Materials:
Yarn: Alize Fancy Alpaca, 60% acrylic, 15% alpaca, 15% wool, 10% polyester. 12.32 oz (350 g), 957 yards (875 m), in the color rainbow 1008 (1 skeins).
Gauge:13 sts and 16 rows in 4" x 4" (10 x 10 cm) in stockinette stitch.
Knitting Terms:
st: stitch.
sts: stitches.
k: knit
p: purl
yo: yarn over
m1k: single knit increase.
yot: yarn over twice.
s2s1ktog: slip two sts as if to knit them together, slip the third one knit-wise, knit the three sts together through back loops (centered double decrease). You can watch my tutorial video below to learn how to knit this stitch:
Instructions:
With 8 US (5 mm) circular needles, cast on 3 sts.
Row 1: k 1, m1k, yo, k 1 (center st, place marker if you need), yo, m1k, k 1. (7 sts)
Row 2: p all sts.
Row 3: k 1, yo, k to center st, yo, k center st, yo, k to last st, yo, k 1. (11 sts)
Row 4: p all sts.
Repeat rows 3-4 till the work measures 14" (36 cm) from center.
Change the circular needle to 10 US (6 mm) and continue working in rows 3- 4 until work measures 28" (72 cm) from center.
Change the circular needle to 11 US (8 mm) and continue working in rows 3- 4 until work measures 38" (97 cm) from center and 319 sts.
Edging Lace pattern:
Row 1: k 1, yot, *k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, yo, repeat from * ten times, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 5, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 5, **yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from ** ten times, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yot , k 1.
Row 2: p 1, p 2 into yot, p to last yot of previous row, p 2 in yot, p 1.
Row 3: k 1, yo, k 1, *yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from * eleven times, k 5, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 5, **k 1, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, repeat from ** eleven times, k 1, yo, k 1.
Rows 4, 6, 8 and 10: p all sts.
Row 5: k 1, yo, k 2, *yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from * eleven times, k 6, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 6, **k 1, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, repeat from ** eleven times, k 2, yo, k 1.
Row 7: k 1, yo, k 3, *yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from * eleven times, k 7, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 7, **k 1, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, repeat from ** eleven times, k 3, yo, k 1.
Row 9: k 1, yo, k 4, *yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from * eleven times, k 8, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 8, **k 1, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, repeat from ** eleven times, k 4, yo, k 1.
Row 11: k 1, yo, k 5, *yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, k 1, repeat from * eleven times, k 9, yo, k 1 (center st), yo, k 9, **k 1, yo, k 5, s2s1ktog, k 5, yo, repeat from ** eleven times, k 5, yo, k 1.
Row 12: p all sts.
Bind off all stitches in the stretchy method.
Bind off row: k 2, *slip the two knitted stitches back to left needle, knit them again together, k 1, repeat from * to end of stitches. You can watch my tutorial video for the stretchy bind off method here:
Weave in loose yarn ends, block, and it's ready to wear!
Lastly, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or find something confusing in the pattern.
Happy crocheting/knitting! follow me on Instagram @wiams_crafts and Twitter @wiamscrafts to see my upcoming projects.
Hello friends! Baby blankets are always fun to work with, for it's a medium size project. It is a blanket, though it is done in a relatively short time, especially when I choose a straight forward pattern, and not granny squares type that needs many phases to finish.
My new post is a baby blanket, which I crocheted using a multicoloured baby yarn that I found in a popular bazaar in Erbil (which is, by the way, a very beautiful city). It's easy to make, as I wrote the chosen pattern and designed a matching simple edging.
