Cascade Yarns Blog

A   I love reversible scarves and I love cables.  It was great fun to realize that I could have both in one project. 220 Superwash Aran is another new yarn that plays beautifully on the needles.  Each 100 gram hank has 150 yards of squishy superwash merino softness.  Easy care, it comes in a palette of 40 rich colors.  It only took 2 hanks to work up this luscious, cabled scarf. Materials 2 hanks 220 Superwash Aran (100% Superwash Merino Wool - 150 yds/100 g) - shown in 1987 (Magenta) US 9 needles Cable needle (or DPN) Yarn needle Abbreviations CN - Cable Needle K - Knit P - Purl C4FRib - Slip 4 stitches to CN, hold in front; [K1, P1] x 2; [K1, P1] x 2 from CN C4BRib - Slip 4 stitches to CN, hold in back; [K1, P1] x 2; [K1, P1] x 2 from CN CO 34 stitches Row 1 - 2 - K1, *[K1, P1], repeat to last stitch, end K1 Row 3 - K1, C4FRib, [K1, P1] x 8, C4BRib, K1 Row 4 - 6 -  K1, *[K1, P1], repeat to last stitch, end K1 Row 7...

  Longwood is one of those yarns I could not wait to play with.  191 yards of Extra-Fine Merino Superwash per 100 gram ball in a complex twist that is meant to show off stitch definition.  There are 28 rich colors to choose from in this scrumptious worsted weight yarn. The challenge was to find a stitch pattern that would work for 1 skein, look interesting, and do the yarn justice.  I tripped over a stitch pattern that reminded me of dragon scales and scaled the size back to work a bit better for a small project on a medium weight yarn. Materials: Longwood (100% Superwash Extra-Fine Merino Wool - 191 yds/100 g) - 1 ball - shown in #18 - Green Spruce US 9 16" Circular Needles Stitch Marker Yarn Needle Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl K TBL - Knit Through Back Loop YO - Yarn Over K2tog TBL - Knit 2 Together Through Back Loop Cast on 96 stitches Join in the round, careful not to twist. Place marker. K2, P2 for 1" Switch to pattern ...

  Souk is a fun new yarn with a tweedy texture and 8 luscious colors per colorway.  A Silk/Wool blend with a generous 220 yards/100 gram skein that works up beautifully.  I prefer simple stitch patterns since the yarn does most of the work.  There are 14 different colorways to choose from.  I couldn't resist the Rainbow colorway - it probably has something to do with grey Seattle winters and springs.  This cowl works up very quickly in a simple stitch pattern.   Materials 1 skein Souk - 55% Silk/45% Wool - 220 yds/100 g US 10 circular needles Yarn Needle Stitch Marker Abbreviations K - Knit sl2 wyif - Slip 2 stitches with yarn in front   Cast on 160 sts Join in the round, careful not to twist.  Place marker at beginning. 1 - K1, *[sl2 wyif, K2] - repeat from * to last 3 stitches - end sl2 wyif, K1 2 - K Continued until reach desired width.  Bind off loosely.  W...

Subtle sparkle is fun - especially if it is wearable sparkle.  I am a big fan of something that is soft and sparkly.   Sunseeker is our newest cotton blend - Cotton - Acrylic and Metallic and comes in 15 fashion inspired colors.  As an added bonus it is machine washable and dryable - I actually ended up testing a swatch with towels and it came out unscathed! Once again, I am trying to find out what I can create with just 1 skein.  Fortunately with Sunseeker, there are 237 yards/100 grams.  I thought a simple lacy scarf might be a great fit and it worked up quickly and beautifully on size 8 needles. Materials  - 1 skein Sunseeker ( 47% Cotton/48% Acrylic/5% Metallic Yarn - 237 yd/100 g) - shown in 10 (Blue Turquoise) - US 8 needles - Yarn Needle Abbreviations  - K - Knit  - YO - Yarn Over  - K2Tog - Knit 2 Together  - Sl1 - Slip 1  - psso - Pass Slipped Stitch Over Cast on 40 stitches Start Pattern: Row 1 ...

  Eco Highland Duo is warm, soft, squishy, and told me it wanted to be a hat.  There is enough wool in this scrumptious blend of Baby Alpaca and Merino Wool to make the Alpaca behave.  The generous 197 yard skein provides more than enough yardage for a lacy slouch hat.   I made one mistake with this hat - I attempted to knit in while at Stitches West, while talking to people in our booth. This was not a good idea - fortunately it is possible to rip this out very carefully, but I don't know of any soft single ply yarns that are fond of being frogged.  Fortunately I was able to pick it back up again afterwards. Materials Eco Highland Duo (70% Undyed Baby Alpaca/30% Undyed Merino Wool - 197 yards/100 g) - 1 skein - shown in 2202 US 7 - 16" Circular needle US 9 - 16" Circular needle US 9 - DPN's 1 Stitch Marker Yarn Needle Abbreviations K - Knit P - Purl YO - Yarn Over K2Tog - Knit 2 Together s1 - Slip 1 psso - Pass Slipped Sti...

Fingering weight yarn is not usually on my needles.  It probably has something to do with a crazy schedule and getting distracted by all of the fabulous yarns I am surrounded by on a daily basis.   I was quite pleased that I figured out a project that I could complete in about a week on a US 9 needle.  Double stranding the Cascade 220 Fingering allowed me to play with the colors that had been having full blown conversations about wanting to be a shawl.  Originally I had 8 repeats of the garter stitch section, but ran slightly over on the yarn requirement.  However, with that modification, this shawl will only require 3 skeins!  Essentially you start with 2 strands of Color A, then switch to 1 strand of A and 1 of B, then 2 strands of B, then 1 strand of B and 1 strand of C, and end with 2 strands of color C. Materials: 1 skein each of 3 different colors of Cascade 220 Fingering (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 273 yds/50 g) - shown in 9593(A). 9332(B...

Mercedes approached me about being on her blog tour for her sweater pattern and class - The Seamless Artesemia Sweater  and I fell in love with the her pattern.  I'm a big fan of top down sweaters as they are very easy to customize to your body type.  Even better, the sweater is knit in one of my favorite yarns - Venezia Worsted - a luscious blend of 70% Merino Wool and 30% Mulberry Silk. Venezia Worsted is available in more than 40 rich colors.  Each 218 yard skein offer a subtle sheen and a complex twist that showcases stitch definition beautifully.  It is a personal favorite as I love the hand and can wear it next to my skin without any itchiness.   The Merino wool in Venezia Worsted, lends stability and memory, as the Mulberry Silk contributes drape and shine. The Artemesia Sweater features a number of techniques that helps create a beautiful finished garment.  Set in sleeves, short row neck shaping and waist shaping help to f...