Cascade Yarns Blog

So, I was in upstate New York last week and was getting some serious knitting time riding in planes and cars (after 4 days of Stitches East) and stopped by a cute shop (no it wasn't a yarn store) that was selling a hat.  I looked at the hat and realized I could probably come up with something pretty similar and that Fixation would be better than the cotton it was knit in since it was stretchy and machine washable and dryable.  I probably noticed this hat in the first place, because a friend is expecting her first child (a little boy to be named Bentley - although I may have butchered the spelling) and I was trying to figure out something to make that would be somewhat special.     So, I whipped out my handy black sheep measuring tape, measured the brim and drew a quick sketch when I got back to the car.  Then, I realized that the one color I had of Fixation would simply not do for what I had in mind.  Fortunately, I was visiting yarn stores a...

I have been wanting to create a pair of quick mitts for Casablanca and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get 2 pairs out of 1 skein - 1 woman's and 1 man's (or large woman's - as it fits me).  They knit up very quickly and are super cozy.  I had them end farther up on the fingers - where you could still use your fingers, but also stay warm. I divided the skein approximately in half to try to get the mitts to match.  Also, I placed the marker before I got to the thumbs - one 3 stitches before the marker for the beginning of the round, the other 3 stitches after the beginning of the round. Materials  1 skein Casablanca - shown in 07 US 8  - DPNS Cable needle (or smaller DPN) 3 stitch markers (2 in one color and 1 in another) Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl SM - Slip Marker PM - Place Marker C8F - Slip 4 stitches onto a Cable Needle, Hold in Front, Knit Next 4 Stitches, Knit 4 Stitches from Cable Needle C8B -  Slip 4 stit...

So, it's fall, which means football in a lot of households.  Last spring, I figured out some colors in both Cascade 220 Sport and Cascade 220 Fingering that would work for all of the NFL teams.  I had the idea for a hat that could be adapted for any team colors. Cascade 220 Sport is one of my favorite yarns to work with - it plays well on the needles, comes in more than 70 colors, and there are 164 yards per 50 grams. Materials: 2 skeins - Cascade 220 Sport - shown in MC (9573) and CC (8903) US 4 - 16" Circular Needles US 6 - 16" Circular Needles US 6 double points Stitch Marker Yarn Needle Abbreviations: k - knit p - purl kfb - knit in front and back of same stitch Using US 4 Cast on 120 (108) stitches with CC (8903) Join in round - careful not to twist, place marker P1, [K2, P2], to last 3 - K2, P1 After 2 rounds change to MC (9573) Cont in...