Cascade Yarns Blog

Baby Alpaca Chunky is the perfect yarn for holiday gifts. It is soft, luxurious, and works up quickly. There are over 40 colors to chose from to work up something special for someone deserving - or even better, yourself (it makes a great reward for all of the holiday knitting and crocheting). Mitts, cowls, and scarves are my favorite projects for Baby Alpaca Chunky. I decided it would be fun to do a 2 skein striped cowl. I picked 2 trend colors - Damson and Grape Compote and settled on using Fibonacci to inspire my striping repeats. It is a simple 2 stitch, 2 round repeat and works up fairly quickly. Materials - Baby Alpaca Chunky (100% Baby Alpaca - 109 yds/100 g) - 1 skein Color A - 647 - Grape Compote & 1 skein Color B - 648 - Damson - US 10 Circular needles (16-20") - Stitch Marker - Yarn Needle Abbreviations - K - Knit - P - Purl - K1b - Knit 1 through Back Loop Cast on 80 stitches in Color A - join in the round - careful not to twist stitche...

A skein of yarn has so much potential. First you consider the fiber, gauge and twist and then there is the color - although, sometimes there is a certain color that just grabs you. Baby Alpaca is one of those fibers that just needs to be touched. The color that spoke to me was Mineral Red (3063) - a color I have been seeing in the trends. Pure Alpaca is a light worsted to DK weight baby Alpaca yarn with 220 yards in each 100 gram skein. The hand is heavenly and paired with the classic 4/8 twist is a joy to work with. It is important to be mindful of the nature of Alpaca as it does not have the memory of wool. The luscious, soft fabric has a propensity to grow. I decided that I wanted to make some form of a shawl. Originally I had thought a simple triangle top-down shawl would work and then I started to swatch.  I found that I really like the structure combined with openness of the Irish Net stitch. In the process of swatching, I decided an asymmetrical triangle would ...

I am one of those people that actually enjoys swatching. It gives me time to get to know a yarn. It can talk to me and tell me what works really well and what is probably better used with a different yarn. North Shore is an acrylic that has a similar look and feel of mercerized cotton. The DK gauge yarn comes in 27 solids and 12 prints.  The yarn has lovely drape and sheen. North Shore is easy care (machine wash & dry) and quite durable. I cast on with US 6 needles and tried a variety of different stitches.  Since North Shore is an acrylic, I have to remember that you have to like the way it knits up before you block. Acrylics don't usually respond very much to blocking. Knit and Purl combinations  tended to not pop as much as they would on a springier fiber. Ribbing was a bit drapey. Stockinette worked well.  Eyelets and garter were fine but it did not show the drape of the yarn. My favorite stitch pattern that I tried was a Fern Lace. I plan to...

Baby blankets make wonderful gifts. It never hurts to have extras and there is nothing quite like a hand knit blanket. Sunseeker Shade is a DK weight cotton-acrylic blend that is the perfect weight for a warm weather blanket. Each 100 gram skein contains a generous 246 yards. The easy-care (read machine wash & dry) cotton blend is available in a wide range of colors that vary from rich jewel tones to soft pastels. Materials - 2 skeins Sunseeker Shade  (50% Cotton/50% Acrylic) - 246 yds/100 g - shown in 21 (Sunlight Yellow) - US 4 needles - Yarn Needle to weave in ends Gauge & Measurements - Gauge approx 5.4 sts = 1" in stitch pattern - Finished Measurements:  Approx 20" wide x 27" long Abbreviations: - K - Knit - P - Purl Cast on 108 sts Edge 1 - K 2 - [K1, P1] 3 - K 4 - [P1, K1] Do edge for 8 rows (do rows 1-4 2 times) Start pattern:  1 - K6, *[K1, P5, K5, P1]; repeat from * to last 6 stitches, K6  2 - [...

This year my older son was part of a Little League baseball team. It has been a truly wonderful experience for him. The team did quite well during the season - and then it was the playoffs. Regular season had games that were up to 2 hours in length. Championship playoff games were 6 innings. His baby brother was at almost every game strapped to me in an infant carrier... which meant my hands were free. So I was able to get some knitting done. Most of this hat was completed during 2 of the playoff games (until Baby Brother decided he was done with sleeping and wanted to watch). Anthem is one of our newer yarns - and it is great for baby projects, charity, crochet, and anything easy care. It is a soft acrylic that reminds me of wool. Each 100 gram skein contains 186 yards and is available in 33 vibrant colors. The medium size hat used less than 1/2 of the skein - so you can easily get 2 small or medium hats out of 1 skein. Gauge & Measuments: 4.5 sts = 1" Shown in 18...

Luna is a single-ply Peruvian cotton with a wrap that gives a nubby texture while maintaining the cottony softness. It works up beautifully for hats, blankets, washcloths, and shawls. Each 50 g skein contains 82 yards and is enough for a quick baby hat or washcloth. Materials - 1 skein Luna (100% Peruvian cotton - 82 yds/50 g) - shown in #724 (Lemon) - US 7 16" circular needle (for larger 2 sizes) - US 7 DPNs - Stitch marker - Yarn needle Abbreviations - K - Knit - K2tog - Knit 2 Together Sizing - Shown in 16" circumference  (pattern for sizes  12", 14", 16", 18" circumference) Cast on 56, 64, 72, 80 sts Join in round - Place marker at beginning of round. K for 4.5", 5", 5.5", 6" Begin decreases 1 - K7, K2tog 2 - K6, K2tog 3 - K5, K2tog 4 - K4, K2tog 5 - K3, K2tog 6 - K2, K2tog 7 - K1, K2tog 8 - K2tog Knit remaining stitches in the round for 3" (or longer if desired) - ...

Fixation is great for hats for all ages - especially for those that need something with a little bit of stretch. Each 50 g ball contains 100 yards which is plenty for a quick baby hat or chemo cap. The little bit of elastic helps the cotton hold its shape. In addition, there is a wide variety of solids and spray-dyed colors to choose from. Materials - 1 ball Fixation (shown in 2706 - Showcase Teal)  - US 5 16" circular needles (for larger sizes) - US 5 DPNs - Stitch marker - Yarn needle Abbreviations - K - Knit - P - Purl - K2tog - Knit 2 together - P2tog - Purl 2 together Gauge 5.5 stitches = 1" in stockinette Cast on 72, 80, 88, 96 (13", 14.5", 16", 17.5") Join in the round, careful not to twist. Place stitch marker to mark beginning of round. K2, P2 4 times Start Pattern: 1 - K2, P2 2 - P1, K2, P1 3 - P2, K2 4 - K1, P2, K1 Cont until 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6" from cast on edge Start decreases 1 - ...

For the past couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of being one of several crochetdesigners for Cascade Yarns . I’ve had a good run with coming up designs that Cascade has chosen to add to their crochet pattern line, and in honor of National Crochet Month, they asked me to explain how I design a crochet pattern. Some designers start with a concept. They will draw out what they want to make, choose the measurements, choose the stitch pattern to use, and then they pick up the yarn and hook. Other designers, like myself, start with the yarn and hook and work from there. Personally, as a designer, I look for a stitch pattern that will work with the yarn, and once I have a stitch pattern fixed, I start to brainstorm on what finished item to make. The Cloud Wrap pattern all started with the yarn – El Cielo . I was originally given a sample of the yarn to make a crochet swatch for a completely different pattern idea, but I had enough yarn left that I decided to propose another i...

Longwood is a treat to work with. The extra-fine merino superwash is soft enough for a baby and is spun into a complex twist that loves cables. Each squishy ball contains 191 yards and there are more than 40 luscious colors to choose from. Baby hats are a great way to play with a yarn as they work up quickly and the recipient usually will not complain. The hard part is if you take too long they will have outgrown it before you do the decreases. As an added bonus, you will get 2 of the smallest size hats out of 1 ball. Materials:  - 1 ball Longwood (100% Extra-fine Merino Superwash Wool - 191 yds/100 g) - shown in 15 (Green Olive) - US 8 16" circular needles - US 8 DPNs - Cable needle - Stitch Marker - Yarn Needle Gauge & Sizing: - 4.5 sts = 1" in stockinette - To fit 16", 19", 22" Abbreviations: - K - Knit - P - Purl  - C4B - Put 2 stitches on cable needle, hold in back, knit next 2 stitches, k...