Cascade Yarns Blog

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 ...

Ribbed Cowl - Designed by Shannon Dunbabin So, I found myself in a situation where I had to sit for an entire day and needed something to keep my hands busy, but I had to be involved in conversation the entire day.  Around this same point in time, I realized that we didn't have any cowls knit in Pure Alpaca which is perfect for a cowl and I had great intentions to do a few rows of ribbing with a simple lace pattern.  Well, I suddenly realized that I had several inches of ribbing and it was squishy, soft, and warm.  So, I made the best of it and just continued in 2 x 2 rib.  I picked 2 denimy heathers, but it would look great in a variety of other color combinations. The pattern is quite simple - cast on 88 stitches using size 9 needles.  Join in the round.  Do K2, P2 until reach desired length.  Bind off.  Weave in ends.  Enjoy.