Cascade Yarns Blog

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 (...

Kid Seta is a lovely blend of Super Kid Mohair and Silk with just a dash of Merino Wool added for loft.  There are 300 yards in one 25 gram ball and I thought it could be fun to see what I could make out of one ball.  It turned out to be the perfect travel project - very light weight and it fit in my purse very easily.  At times when I was working with it, the strand of yarn would seem to gently float  down to my lap. Mohair is lovely to knit on big needles - it holds its shape and is allowed to breathe a bit.  One ball actually made a shawl that is about 46" across the top and 20" at the point.  The finished shawl would be a great one to keep with you to wear in the air conditioning or if it cools of in the evening and with about 25 g of yarn it is virtually weightless. Materials 1 ball Kid Seta (61% Super Kid Mohair/35% Silk/4% Merino Wool – 300 yds/25 g) – shown in 19 Size US 7 needle 2 Stitch Markers Yarn needle Finished Meas...

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. ...

Short rows can be a lot of fun in a scarf while creating an interesting effect at the same time.  Casablanca works up wonderfully in short rows - it really shows off the colors in the skein.  For this project, I chose a more subtle colorway and was quite pleased with the result. One skein and a pair of US 8 needles is all that you need for this scarf.  I'd done the triangles within a short row rectangular scarf before, so it was interesting to see the turns that appeared.  Essentially you cast on 20 stitches, start by knitting 2 stitches, do a wrap and turn, and going back, then adding 2 more stitches each time until you reach 18.  You work backwards back to 2 stitches and then go to 20 stitches and change direction.  After a few sections, it gets fairly easy to ready your knitting to know where you are. So here is the pattern: Abbreviations K - knit W&T - Wrap & turn - Bring yarn forward, slip next stitch pu...

Sitka is a lovely blend of 80% Merino Wool and 20% Kid Mohair.  There is a lovely subtle sheen from the mohair and great memory from the wool.  It was a real treat to work with and worked up very quickly. I created a reversible cabled scarf - one skein is about 30" long, so two would be 60".  While out in Michigan I tripped over a Jul closure that I thought suited it nicely - what was really nice is that no button holes were required. So here is the pattern: Sitka - 1-2 skeins (80% Merino Wool/20% Kid Mohair - 131 yds/100 g) shown in color 28 US 10 Needle Cable needle Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl CF6 - slip 6 stitches to cable needle, hold in front, K3, P3,  then K3, P3 6 sitches from cable needle CB6 - slip 6 stitches to cable needle, hold in back, K3, P3, then K3, P3 6 stitches from cable needle CO 24 stitches Row 1-6 - K3, P3 - repeat to end of row Row 7 - CF6,  K3, P3, K3, P3 Row 8-13 - K3, P3 - repeat to end of row...

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 -   ...