Cascade Yarns Blog

While at Stitches Midwest, I took one of their market sessions with Deanna Van Assche for bead knitting and that it was one of those techniques that looked much harder than it was.  So I bough some beads (she sells the kind that are pre-strung) with the intention of designing something using beads.  I really do like the pre-strung beads as you tie the string that the beads are on to the yarn and slide them over.  This way, I did not have to worry about chasing beads on airplanes.    Last December, I had written a scarf pattern for Kim in our office to make with Venezia Worsted and never got around to making myself.  It had a ruffle on each end and a simple lacy rib pattern for the body of the scarf.  I thought the beads would be beautiful at the end of the scarf and I absolutely love an excuse to play with Venezia Worsted . So I picked a lovely shade of purple that matched one of the colors of beads that I had purchased.  Then I...

So, I was at Stitches Midwest and wanted something to knit while I was in our booth - we have been sponsors for years.  I know myself well enough to realize I need a project that I can pick up and put down again without having to rip out multiple rows to fix errors.  Also, Halos of Hope had a booth on the show floor - which is always inspirational - so I decided on a hat in something washable.... Pacific Multis is the multi-colored version of Pacific - a soft worsted weight blend of Acrylic and Superwash Merino Wool.  It is completely washable and dryable.  I love the denim colorway since it goes with so much..... You will need: 1 Ball Pacific Multis  - 60% Acrylic/40% Merino Superwash Wool - 213 yds/100 g - shown in 514 US 6 - 16" circular needle US 8 - 16" circular needle US 8 DPNs Stitch Marker Yarn Needle With a  US 6 - 16" circular needle, cast on  88 stitches.  Place marker. K2,P2 for  10 rows (...

What's not to love about Baby Alpaca and Merino Wool?  It is soft, squishy, warm and feels so lovely when you work with it.  Adding Merino Wool to Baby Alpaca gives it memory and stability.  So, another new yarn - Highland Duo - 70% Baby Alpaca/30% Merino Wool - 197 yards of squishy softness per skein.  This combination is perfect for a cowl, but I wanted something a little open that offered breathability and insulation. Part way through this cowl (after discovering a glaring error), I had to rip out at least 6 rows.  Fortunately, the yarn, the cowl, and I survived the frogging and I was able to finish the cowl.  One skein makes a cowl approximately  9.5" long by 15.5" wide (about 31" circumference). So here is the pattern: 1 skein Highland Duo - shown in 2305 US 9 - 16-24" circular needles Abbreviations K - Knit YO - Yarn Over Sl1 - Slip 1 K2Tog - Knit 2 together PSSO - pass slipped stitch over Cast on 101 stitches. ...

220 Superwash Paints has been in our line for a while, but I haven't had time to pay attention to it until recently.  I found a subtle color combination that would be lovely for spring and summer.  It was important to see what one skein would create, but I wanted it to be adaptable to be larger - so the Simple Shawlette was created.  It is worked from 3 stitches from the center of the edge and can be made to whatever size the knitter desires.  One skein made a shawlette that is about 32" across the top and 14" deep at the point.  Two to three skeins would make quite a respectable sized shawl. So here is the pattern: Materials: - 1 skein 220 Superwash Paints (shown in 9942) - US 7 needles - 2 stitch markers Abbreviations: - K - Knit - YO - Yarn Over - pm - Place Marker - sm - Slip Marker - K2Tog - Knit 2 Together CO 3 stitches Row 1 - K1, YO, [pm]K1 [pm] YO, K1 Row 2...

Ultra Pima Fine is a light sport-weight cotton - the little sibling of Ultra Pima.  It is already available in 53 colors and is a joy to work - it is equally good for knitting and crocheting.  As usual, I was curious what I could create out of 1 skein.  In the ZigZag lace pattern, I was able to get an 8" x 30" scarf out of one skein and now I have 3 options -1, 2, or 4 skein - short scarf, long scarf, wrap.  Also, this is a great learning/teaching pattern - as you can see the bias created by both SSK and K2Tog. Materials -         1 – 4 skeins Ultra Pima Fine (100% Pima Cotton – 136.7 yds/50 g) – shown in 3706 -         Size US 5 needle -         Yarn needle Finished Measuments & Gauge -         Gauge = 15 stitches = 4” in pattern stitch -   ...

I love new yarns.  They are so much fun to play with and explore.  Casablanca is a new yarn that we are adding that is a new direction for us.  There are 8 colors in each colorway and they repeat about 2 times in the 220 yards in each 100 g skein.  I'm also extremely proud of this yarn as it is the first time I have put together this many colors per colorway. So I have a new simple small project offering - the Barred Scallop Cowl - a one skein cowl knit out of our beautiful new wool/silk/mohair blend.  Casablanca will be start to available in stores sometime in June. Materials -         1 skein Casablanca(Wool/Silk/Mohair – 220 yds/100 g) – shown in 07 -         Size US 9 – 16” circular needle Gauge & Finished Measurements -         22” circumference and 17” long -         Approx 4 ½ sts = 1...

Kid Seta Noir is a fabulous lightweight mohair blend that offers just enough sparkle.  One of the wonderful traits of kid mohair is the warmth relative to the weight of the garment.  I don't often knit with laceweight yarns as I worry that I will never get to finishing the project and mohair is not the easiest to frog (especially on a plane).  I've been tempted to make something out of Kid Seta Noir for a while, but have not had it speak to me until recently.  This cowl is actually a wonderful travel project - it is lightweight (just one skein) and a simple 2 row pattern, so if you have to pause it is not too hard to figure out where you are. Light & Lacy Cowl Designed by Shannon Dunbabin Cast on 91 stitches on a US 8 (16" circular needle).  Join in the round, careful not to twist.  Place marker. Begin pattern - Row 1 - Knit Row 2 - K1 *[YO, S1P, K2, PSSO] - repeat from * Continue until reaches desired length. Knit one more row. Bind off ver...

The Wrap that almost wasnt.... So, we decided to do a secret Santa at the office this year and I pulled a person that is always cold and loves purple.  Normally with the craziness of life (especially going into the holidays), I would've picked something quick that I wouldn't stress about finishing, but I ended up going on a last minute international trip.  I came up with the great idea of stranding 2 shades of Venezia Worsted using a feather and fan pattern, thinking I would have at least 18-20 hours of knitting between the flight there and back.  That worked great on the way there.  On the return trip (in which everything that possibly could go wrong, went wrong) my knitting was confiscated on the flight because knitting needles were not allowed on that airline on international flights.  Obviously the stewardess was not a knitter and didn't have any knitter friends or she would've known that I stay much calmer while knitting.  I was able to get the proj...