Liz is knitting this sweet little sweater from Interweave Knits Winter 2009, in a yarn we are very excited to get back in stock soon: Road to China Worsted by The Fibre Company.

This yarn is a super-soft blend of 65% baby alpaca, 15% silk, 10% camel and 10% cashmere. Lovely!

Liz is raving about how fun this yarn is to knit with. Seriously, she’s in love!

The pattern is Bells of Ireland Cardigan by Courtney Kelley, which is a bottom-up raglan knit in one piece with very minimal finishing.

In the picture below you can see where Liz put her underarm stitches on a stitch holder, those will be grafted when she’s done knitting.

Here’s the issue of Interweave she found this pattern in.

Come by the store and see this beautiful work in progress!

Check out the wondrous Road to China yarn when we get it in–we’re hoping it will be here within the next couple weeks! We’ll have five lovely colors to chose from.

We just got a bunch of Lorna’s Laces variegated hand dyes, Shepherd Worsted and Shepherd Sock!

We’re also anticipating the following new items:  The Fibre Company’s Terra, Mirasol’s Miski, Mountain Colors sock yarn “Bearfoot”, new buttons, lots of new knitting bags and cases from Offhand, including their new interchangeable needle case called Switch.

We’ve been seeing this adorable, clever, and classic owl cable design everywhere lately — from baby hats to adult sweaters. Unable to resist, we came up with our own FREE PATTERNS in both a CHILD size and an ADULT size to fit any owl lover in your life!

This cabled hat is cleverly designed to look like there are adorable owls encircling it– you can add buttons for eyes if you wish, or omit them for a more subtle effect. The child’s hat pictured here is knit in the super soft Lobster Pot Cashmere and the adult size is done in Rowan Coccoon.

We are also offering a class to help the cable-nervous get started.

Wise Old Owl Hat – Child Version

Finished measurements: 19” unstretched

Materials:
Lobster Pot 8ply cashmere or any worsted weight yarn with a gauge of 4.5-5 sts per inch
Size 7 circular needle and dpns
stitch markers
4 small buttons for eyes (optional, you can use more, less, or none at all)
sewing needle and thread.

Gauge: 4.5 per inch in stockinette stitch. The cabled owl sections will tighten up your gauge.

Abbreviations:
C4F: slip two sts onto cable needle and hold in front, k2, k2 from cable needle
C4B: slip two sts onto cable needle and hold in back, k2, k2 from cable needle

Owl Cable pattern:
(multiple of 11 sts)
Rounds 1-3: *p3, k8, repeat from * to end
Round 4: *p3, C4B, C4f, repeat from * to end
Rounds 5-11: same as round 1
Round 12: same as round 4
Round 13: same as round 1
Rounds 14-15: *p3, k1, p2, k2, p2, k1. repeat from * to end
Round 16-17: same as round 1
Round 18: same as round 4
Round 19: same as round 1

Directions:
Cast on 100 sts, join in round and work in 2×2 ribbing for 1 inch.

Switch to stockinette and work for 5 rounds, decreasing 1 st evenly spaced in row 3.
99 sts.

Work 19 rows of owl cable pattern over all sts.
Knit 1 or more rows and increase 5 sts.- 104 sts.

Continue in stockinette stitch until work measures 5 inches including ribbing or to desired length.

Decrease as follows:
*K 11 k2tog, repeat from * to end.
K1 round plain.
K 10 k2tog.
K1 plain.

Continue decreasing in this manner until 56 sts remain.
Then decrease every round until 8 sts remain.
Cut yarn and pass through remaining sts to fasten off.

Weave in all ends and block.

Sew buttons over the purl sections within the cable pattern that form the owl’s eyes

Wise Old Owl Hat – Adult Version

Finished measurements: 20” unstretched

Materials:
1 ball Rowan Cocoon or any chunky weight yarn you can get 3.5 sts per inch gauge with
size 10 circular needle and dpns, stitch marker
4 small buttons for eyes (optional, you can use more, less, or none at all)
sewing needle and thread

Gauge: 3.5 sts per inch

Abbreviations:
C4F: slip two sts onto cable needle and hold in front, k2, k2 from cable neeedle
C4B: slip two sts onto cable needle and hold in back, k2, k2 from cable needle

Owl Cable pattern:
(multiple of 11 sts)
Rounds 1-3: *p3, k8, repeat from * to end
Round 4: *p3, C4B, C4f, repeat from * to end
Rounds 5-11: same as round 1
Round 12: same as round 4
Round 13: same as round 1
Rounds 14-15: *p3, k1, p2, k2, p2, k1. repeat from * to end
Round 16-17: same as round 1
Round 18: same as round 4
Round 19: same as round 1

Directions:
Cast on 88, join in round and work in 2×2 ribbing for 1 inch.
Switch to stockinette and work for 5 rounds.

Work 19 rows of owl cable pattern over all sts.
Knit 1 or more rows and increase 2 sts.- 90sts.

Continue in stockinette stitch until work measures 6 inches including ribbing or to desired length.

Decrease as follows:

*K9, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round.

K1 round plain.

*K8, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round.

K1 round plain.

*K7, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round.

K1 round plain.

Continue decreasing in this manner until 40 sts remain.
Then decrease every round (no plain rounds) until 8 sts remain. Cut yarn and pass through remaining sts to fasten off.

Weave in all ends and block.

Sew buttons over the purl sections within the cable pattern that form the owl’s eyes.

Liz is a bit of a perfectionist and loves to knit scarves in reversible patterns. When the scarf is wrapped the back and front stitchery is the same. This inspired her to create the Harris Tweed Hat and Scarf FREE PATTERN set. Seen here in Rowan’s Cocoon- a beautiful, soft and luscious blend of wool and mohair. This is a stitch pattern style that guys especially love with it’s modern and graphic look.

If you’re curious about reversible stitch patterns, we’re offering a class this month.

Finished measurements: Hat: Head circumference: 22”

Scarf: 7″ x 60″

Materials:

Hat: 1 ball Rowan Cocoon

Scarf: 2 balls Rowan Cocoon (or any chunky yarn that gets gauge)

Needles: Size 10 16” circular and Size 10 double points or size to get gauge

Stitch marker

Gauge: 3.5 sts = 1 inch in St st

Abbreviations:
P: purl

K: knit

M1P: Make 1 Purlwise

Hat Pattern:

Cast on 83 sts, join in round and place marker at beginning of round.

Round 1: *K2, P2, rep from* to last 3 stitches, K2, P1

Repeat Round 1 for 1”, on the last round:

Set-up Round: M1P, *K2, p2, rep from* to last 3 stitches, K2, P1

Round 2: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.

Round 3: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.

Round 4: P

Round 5: P

Begin Harris Tweed stitch pattern:

(multiple of 4 sts)
Round 1: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Round 2: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Round 3: K
Round 4: K
Round 5: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Round 6: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Round 7: P
Round 8: P

Knit in pattern until piece measures 7 ½ inches from cast on ending with row 7 of the pattern (P row).

Decrease as follows:

Round 1: *P2, Ptog, rep from* 63 sts left

Rounds 2-4: *K2, P2, rep from* to last 3 sts, K2, P1.

Round 5: *SSK, P1, rep from* 42 sts left

Round 6: *K1, P1, rep from*

Round 7: *SSK, P2tog, rep from*, K last stitch, 25 sts left

Round 8: *K1, P1, rep from*

Round 9: *SSK around, K last stitch, 11 sts left

Round 10: *SSK around, K last stitch, 6 stitches left.

Weave in all ends and block.

Scarf Pattern:

Cast on 28 sts.

Row 1: K2, *K2, P2, rep from* to last 2 sts, K2

Row 2: K2, *K2, P2, rep from* to last 2 sts, K2

Row 3: K2, K across row

Row 4: K2, P across row to last 2 sts, K2

Begin Harris Tweed stitch pattern:

(multiple of 4 sts)
Row 1: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Row 2: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Row 3: K
Row 4: P
Row 5: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Row 6: *K2, P2, rep from* to end.
Row 7: P
Row 8: K

Knit in pattern until piece measures 60 inches from cast on ending with row 6 of the pattern. DON’T FORGET to knit 2 K stitches at each end of every row!

Weave in all ends and block.

Enjoy!

Sign up for the Seamless Sweater Workshop here

Sign up for the Beaumont hat Workshop here

Sign up for the Girasole Shawl Crashcourse here

Liz made this lovely, versatile mobius scarf in anticipation of our massive Baby Alpaca Grande shipment… this pattern is perfect for the yarn!  The Mobius Scarf can be worn looped around the neck a couple of times or as one long circular scarf with a natural twist created by the unusual cast on. It’s great for both men and women and almost impossible to lose! Check out our FREE PATTERN!

***Please note: There was an error in the pattern which is now corrected. We were contacted by a customer who ran out of yarn before the pattern was complete, and her scarf was much wider than the pictured scarf. The corrected pattern below will give you the size pictured here, we apologize for the confusion!***

The scarf pictured takes only two skeins of Baby Alpaca Grande, but is just as beautiful in any number of our worsted or chunky weight yarns. If you’d like some guidance with the pattern we will be offering a class on the Mobius Cowl in December, as well as many more simple projects for holiday gift knitting… stay tuned!

Pattern:

We have always been fascinated by the mobius style and technique. Once you’ve watched Cat Bordhi’s very informative “Intro to Mobius Knitting” tutorial on YouTube you will be on your way to knitting a great scarf that can be wrapped double around your neck for cold weather or worn long and drapey! It’s a fun and fast project and makes a great gift.

If you want a longer scarf just cast on more stitches. You can also make your mobius wider –just add an extra skein! This scarf is equally beautiful knit in just garter stitch.

Size:
60″ long circumference x 7″ wide

Materials:
2 skeins Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (100% baby alpaca)
US 10 or 101/2 /40″ or 47” circular needles
1 Stitch Marker

Gauge:
3 stitches per inch

Technique:
Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial by Cat Bordhi on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4

Directions:
Using Cat Bordhi’s mobius cast on technique, cast on 152 sts. Place marker and join careful not to twist the stitches. See Cat Bordhi’s tutorial for directions.
Knit the 1st st tight to avoid a gap at the join. Knit the first round as directed by Cat.

Important: Round begins when you get to the stitch marker.

Knit for 3 rounds.
Purl 4 rounds
Knit 4 rounds
Purl 4 rounds
Knit 3 rounds

Cast off knitwise. Weave in ends.

Scarves make great holiday gifts, but endless garter stitch can get old before you’ve taken care of all your relatives. We’re constantly hearing from people who want to do something interesting, but not too complicated.

The Reversible Cabled pattern is the perfect answer. Interesting, but not so difficult that it becomes frustrating. People will think it takes a lot more work than it actually does. Or, if you’re feeling nervous about all those cables, join us for one of the Cable Classes we’re holding this November.

And since we just got in a shipment of Baby Alpaca Grande, there are plenty of colors to choose from.

Suggested Materials:
2 Skeins Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (or Baby Alpaca Grande Paint or Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed)
One pair of size 11 needles
One cable needle

Gauge (but it doesn’t matter as the scarf will just be thinner or thicker): cable pattern, 14 stitches = 4”

Scarf:
CO 32 stitches.

K4 P4 for two rows.

Begin Reversible Cable Pattern:
Row 1: (RS) *Slip 2 sts onto cn (cable needle) and hold in back; K2,
K2 from cn., P4. Repeat from * across row
Row 2 –3 : K4, P4 across row
Row 4: *Slip 2 sts onto cn and hold in back: K2, K2 from cable
needle, P4. * across row
Row 5-6: K4, P4 across row
Row 7: (RS) *Slip 2 sts onto cn (cable needle) and hold in back; K2,
K2 from cn., P4. Repeat from * across row
Row 8-9: K4, P4 across row
Row 10: * Slip 2 sts onto cn and hold in back: K2, K2 from cable
needle, P4. * across row
Row 8-9: K4, P4 across row
Row 13: (RS) *Slip 2 sts onto cn (cable needle) and hold in back; K2,
K2 from cn., P4. Repeat from * across row
Row 8-9: K4, P4 across row
Row 16: * Slip 2 sts onto cn and hold in back: K2, K2 from cable
needle, P4. * across row
Row 17-22: K4, P4 across row

Cont. even in Reversible Cable Patt until piece measures approx. 65-66″ from the beginning, or desired length.

BO (bind off) in rib.

Block

Download a pdf version of this pattern here.

Trish of Tanglewood Fiber Creations is coming to visit again!!

When: Saturday, November 14 and Sunday November 15
Time: Saturday: 12:00 pm ~ 5:00 pm
Sunday:   12:00 pm~ 3:30 pm
Where: The Knitter’s Studio: 8118 W. Third Street, L.A.

Just in time for holiday gift knitting we are very excited to have Trish Anderson of Tanglewood Fiber Creations back for a 2-day visit to The Knitter’s Studio. Trish will be coming with baskets and baskets of her luxurious and, as Vogue Knitting calls it, decadent yarn. Included will be new colors in her beaded cashmere silk — Hot Chocolate, Fire and Ice and Hot Sugar (pictured above). And for an added treat Trish will bring her spinning wheel to give us a sneak peak on how she works her magic and makes such luscious yarns.

On Saturday we are offering our Eyelet Cowl Class. Pick out your yarn anytime before, meet Trish, and then settle down to get started on this knitted work of art featured in Vogue Holiday Knitting 2009!

Do you know a stuffed animal or American Girl Doll in need of some accessories? Well, good thing you decided to read our blog today!  Our free pattern for a ribbed cap and garter stitch scarf is just what you need. Both use worsted weight yarn, and can be coordinated or contrasting according to your tastes.

Making these little items is a great way to use up some odds and ends sitting in your stash… I know I have plenty of little balls of yarn too small to knit a full-size project but too substantial and lovely to just get rid of.

The hat will fit dolls or stuffed animal heads with a circumference of 11.5″ or smaller, and it’s ribbed so the fit is flexible.

If you’ve never made a hat, this would be a great introduction without the yarn and time commitment of a full-size hat. All you need to know is Knit, Purl, and Knit 2 together on double pointed needles (or magic loop if preferred).

We are also offering a class based on these projects if you want some personal attention and assistance learning these useful skills!

The scarf is my favorite kind of super-easy, fantastic scarf: garter stitch knit the long way. It looks so much more finished and elegant with those long stripes and smooth edges. This kind of scarf is great for full-sized humans too, although the cast-on amount would of course be increased to accommodate larger creatures.

The yarn used for the hat is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi, and the scarf is one of our absolute favorites, Koigu Kersti Solid, but it would also look fantastic in Kersti Multi.

Enjoy!

Leah

September means back-to-school, cooling weather, and time to get a start on that holiday knitting (and not put it off the way we did last year). With the changing of the seasons came the changing of the store window, and we wanted to inspire anyone who passed by with all the adorable knits they could make for their petite-sized loved ones.

If you are interested in knitting up any of these sweaters or accessories, we’ve provided a list of patterns and materials below.

Starting at the top left we have:

A Sirdar pattern in Koigu KPPPM.

The Little Cable and Cable from Sublime Book 611 in Sublime’s Organic Cotton.

The Petal Bib pattern from One Skein in Rowan Handknit Cotton DK.

A baby sweater from Debbie Bliss’ Baby Knits in Filatura Di Crosa Zara.

The Blue Sky Kitty Hat done in Blue Sky Alpaca’s Suri Merino.

Starting at the bottom left we have:

Another kitty hat.

One of the Appalachian Baby Kits.

Saartje Booties in Classic Elite Posh.

Heirloom Knits Jack and Jill Sweaters done in Noro Iro and trimmed in Noro Cash Iroha.

Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Sweater done in Koigu KPPPM.

Mr. Monkey and Mr. Giraffe are sporting the hat and scarf that we are offering as a free pattern and class. These cute patterns will fit many stuffed animals and dolls, including American Girl Dolls– another great holiday knitting idea!

Coming up with the perfect Kippah pattern is harder than you might imagine. Our first several attempts came out flatter than pancakes. We tried to tell ourselves that somehow, magically, they would fit onto someone’s head despite their lack of shaping. When we went to photograph it a few days ago, reality had to be faced. The pancake-kippah would not be the new style.

Leah, probably the most meticulous of us, took it upon herself to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch. Over the weekend she played around with her decreases until she got a kippah with the proper concave shape, so when we placed it on our model the fit was perfect.

So now we are happy to offer our free Kippah Pattern, great for those on the Bar Mitzvah “circuit” and in time for the Jewish High Holidays. Fast, fun and easy this pattern takes less than one skein of the Koigu KPPPM (or similar weight yarn) and then you have a wonderful family heirloom.

Knitculture.com’s Kippah Pattern

Finished measurements:
4 ½ ” diameter
If you would like a larger Kippah, you can knit with larger needles or increase your cast on in multiples of 10.

Materials:
1 skein Koigu KPM or KPPPM

Size 0 dpns
Darning Needle

Gauge: 8 sts = 1 inch in st st

Instructions:
Loosely CO 100, join in the round without twisting.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: K8, K2tog, repeat around
Rows 6-8: Knit
Row 9: K7, K2tog, repeat around
Rows 10-12: Knit
Row 13: K6, K2tog, repeat around
Rows 14-15: Knit
Row 16: K5, K2tog, repeat around
Rows 17-18: K 2 rounds
Row 19: K4, K2tog, repeat around
Row 20: Knit
Row 21: K3, K2tog, repeat around
Row 22: K 1 round
Row 23: K2, K2tog, repeat around
Row 24: K1, K2tog, repeat around
Row 25: K2tog, repeat around
Row 26: K2tog, repeat around (5 sts remain)
Break yarn and put onto tapestry needle, cinch final stitches closed.

Download the PDF version here.

We absolutely love knitting with Blue Sky’s Organic and Dyed Cotton– it is so soft, lofty, and delicious. This yarn is a joy.

If you’ve been in the store lately, you may have seen Leah knitting this little creation. We thought a hooded baby sweater would be a great project for this yarn, so we decided to whip one up and offer it as a free pattern!

The sweater has a rolled hem, and is knit bottom up in the round. The sleeves and trunk are joined at the yoke in a nice seamless construction. Basic color work around the middle adds to the fun — or can be omitted easily.

The yoke features raglan shaping for the shoulders, and is worked flat once the neck placket is started. The hood is also worked flat and seamed across the top. Finally, a crochet edging and adorable braided ties are an adorable detail.

Leah took pictures of her work in progress. Below you can see when she had joined the sleeves and the trunk and was starting to work on the yoke. She put some stitches in the armpit on some green scrap yarn in order to graft them together later — this will make sure the garment fits.

Don’t be intimidated by the description above, every step of the sweaters creation is detailed in our free pattern, which can be downloaded below.

Baby sweaters are such satisfying projects — and even those of us with short attentions spans can stay focused long enough to finish them! Leah loved working with this yarn and we all loved the way the sweater came out.

Download our Free Pattern Here!

The mitered square projects in the store get oohs and aahs on a daily basis. These beautiful geometric forms are deceptively simple to create and can be used in a wide variety of garments and household items, and look especially amazing in Koigu KPPPM.

This adorable little scarf pattern is perfect for a single Koigu skein… and if you are a Koigu nut like we are, you probably have a skein lying around! The pattern is available below, and we are also offering a class for those who want some guidance along the way.

Come learn how to make your own mitered square scarf to understand this wonderful technique. Once you do, the possibilities are endless!

Download the FREE pattern here, and check out the class here.