Cascade Yarns Blog

Tivoli is a lovely woolen spun wool-silk tweed.  The 2-ply yarn has a rustic hand and stitch definition.  The cowl works up quickly on US 10 needles and makes a quick gift. Materials   - 1 skein Tivoli - 60% Wool/40% Silk (109 yds/100 g) - shown in 01 - Dove - US 10 - 20" Circular Needles - Stitch Marker - Yarn Needle Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl CO 90 stitches Join in round, careful not to twist Place marker at beginning of round Row 1: K5, P5 Row 2: K4, P1, K1, P4 Row 3: K3, P2, K2, P3 Row 4: K2, P3, K3, P2 Row 5: K1, P4, K4, P1 Row 6: P5, K5 Row 7: K1, P4, K4, P1 Row 8: K2, P3, K3, P2 Row 9: K3, P2, K2, P3 Row 10: K4, P1, K1, P4 Continue until desired length from cast on edge, bind off. Weave in en...

  Highland Duo is an amazingly soft blend of Baby Alpaca and Merino Wool.  It is the solid dyed family member of the Duos (which also includes Eco Duo, Eco Highland Duo and Color Duo).  A while ago I designed a cowl in Highland Duo since it feels so nice and warm against your skin. I love cables - especially reversible ones. With enough wool to make the Alpaca behave, Highland Duo cables quite nicely and works up into a lovely, soft scarf. This 16 row pattern works up fairly quickly into a warm scarf. Materials: - 2 skeins Highland Duo (70% Baby Alpaca/30% Merino Wool - 197 yds/100 g) - shown in 2324 (Dark Blue) - US 9 needles - Cable needle (or dpn in at least 1 size smaller) - Yarn needle Gauge: 40 sts = 5" (in ribbed cable pattern) Abbrevations: - K - Knit - P - Purl - C8BRib - Hold 4 stitches in back with cable needle, [K1, P1] 2 times and [K1, P1] the 4 stitches on the cable needle - C8FRib -  Hold 4 stitches in front with cable ne...

Sometimes a yarn tells me what it wants to be.  In this case, the color screamed at me to make a Dude Scarf.  Something that would work up quickly, be reversible and perfect for the guys in your life. Rabat is the newest addition to the Casablanca family and the first chunky.  There are 8 colors per colorway and 15 rich colorways to choose from.  This wool/acrylic/silk blend works up quickly and the color changes keep it interesting. Materials:  - 2 skeins Rabat  (50% Wool/30% Acrylic/ 20% Silk - 109 yds/100 g) - shown in 10 (Glade) - US 10.5 needles - Yarn Needle Abbreviations: - K - Knit - P - Purl Cast on 27 stitches 1 - [P2, K1, P1, K1], repeat until last 2 stitches, end P2 2 - [K2, P3], repeat until last 2 stitches, end K2 Continue until desired length. Bind off. Weave in ends.

I've been wanting to create something in Heritage 150 for a while.  When the samples for the new Multis came in I could not resist the color I named Valentine.  With almost 500 yards per 150 gram skein, it would work into a nice shawlette.  I knew the merino-nylon would block out nicely and show off a simple lace pattern. In April, I attended Stitches South for the first time in several years and was reminded how valuable a shawl was everytime I went inside and was faced with the chill of the air-conditioner. Thus was the inspiration for a small shawl that would cover the shoulders, but be light enough to carry along when it was needed.  The merino would allow it to breathe while insulating. In the pattern there is a 12 row Lace Section repeat and a 4 row Garter Stitch Section repeat. Materials - 1 skein Heritage 150 Multis (75% Superwash Merino Wool/25% Nylon; 492 yds/150 g) - shown in 103 (Valentine) - US 6 circular needles (recommend at least 32" ...

Pluscious is soft and squishy and not just for kids.  Recently I made my grandmother a wrap since it was soft and had the added bonus of being easy care.  In addition, Pluscious works up quickly and comes in both solids and multis. Just 1 skein is all that is needed to do this simple cowl that can be worn long and open or doubled up for cozy warmth. Materials -      1 skeins Pluscious (100% Polyester –148 yds/100 g) – shown in 30 (Summer Fog) -  Size US 9 -  24” circular needle -  Yarn needle -   Stitch Marke r Abbreviations -       K – Knit -      Sl1-K2-psso – Slip 1 stitch, K2, pass slipped stitch over 2 knit stitches -  YO – Yarn Over Cast on 138 stitches.  Join in the round, careful not to twist.  Place marker to mark beginning of round.  K 1 round Begin Pattern: Row 1: [YO, sl1-K2-psso] – continue until end o...

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the DFW Fiber Fest at the Irving Convention Center. It was truly a wonderful show with amazing hospitality and a great variety of fiber arts. Going to another part of the country with a different climate provided great inspiration for my knitting. Fortunately I had brought 2 skeins of Tangier with me. The shawl worked up fairly quickly over the weekend.  Tangier is a silk blend with 8 colors per colorway.  It plays well on the needles and blocks out beautifully.  A slightly modified Roman Stripe created a lovely, open pattern. Materials 2 skeins Tangier (Silk - Cotton - Rayon - Acrylic - 220 yds/100 g) - shown in color 6 - Galaxy US 9 (recommend at least 36" long cord) 2 stitch markers Yarn Needle Abbreviations K - Knit YO - Yarn Over K2tog - Knit 2 Together pm - place marker sm - slip marker Cast on 6 1 - K2, YO, K2, YO, K2 2 - K 3 - K1, YO, K2, YO, pm, K2, pm, YO, K2,...

Before I introduce you to my new Craftsy class, I’d like to thank Cascade Yarns for not only allowing me to share with you my class, but for also supporting it by providing me with their wonderful yarns to create two of the 3 projects in this class!  I love Cascade Yarns not only because they are local to me, but also because they are fantastic yarns to design with, and I know that you will love the projects I have for you in this class using Cascade 220 ®  and 2 20 Superwash ®  Sport ! In my new Craftsy class, Fair Isle Crochet:Demystifying Colorwork , you will expertly navigate beautiful colorwork as you crochet classic Fair Isle patterns throughout three captivating projects. Join me, published author and professional designer, Karen Whooley, for my online Craftsy class and discover fun new techniques to crochet complex stranded projects with confidence. In this class you will learn to translate traditional knitted Fair Isle Techniques to crochet ...

Avalon was one of my favorite yarns for this spring.  The Cotton blend plays well on the needles and has great stitch definition.  It took a while to tell me what it wanted to be.  Sometimes I touch and see a yarn and it is screaming at me.  Avalon needed some time to decide, but I think I am quite pleased with the results. Top-down shawls are fun and great travel projects.  I discovered a new bind-off in the process - Icelandic bind off.  It is a great edge for a shawl - it has some give to it.  I used 2 colors for this shawl - you could easily use more or less. Materials: Avalon (50% Cotton/50% Acrylic - 175 yds/100g) - 2 sks color A (18 - Turkish Sea) & 1 sk color B (25 - Georgia Peach) US 8 Needles (I would suggest at least a 32-40" cord on the circular needles) 2 Stitch Markers Yarn Needle Finished Measurements (after blocking): 58" across top edge 24" from point to top edge Gauge unimportant Abbreviations: K - ...

Tangier is one of our newest yarns - a worsted weight silk blend.  Available in 14 vibrant colorways, the silk blend is soft and drapey, yet has this wonderful spongy, squishiness to it. I knew that I wanted to make a short row scarf worked from end to end, creating a bit of a ruffle.  I also knew I wanted to limit it to 1 skein.  Unfortunately the first time around, I realized I went too wide and was running out of yarn before it was long enough, so I ripped it back.  The second time was going much better on length and width, but I was not thrilled with the shaping on the decreases, so I ripped it back again.  Fortunately, the third time, I got the shape I wanted in a fun scarf. Materials - 1 skein Tangier ( 50% Silk/ 16% Cotton/  17% Rayon/17% Acrylic - 220 yds/100 g) - shown in color 01 - Fantasy - US 8 Needles - 1 stitch marker Abbreviations - K - Knit - YO - Yarn Over - K2tog - Knit 2 Together - w&t - Wrap and Turn - Brin...