Laid-Back Shawl Pattern

With the warmer weather slowly creeping up on us, it's the perfect season for knitting shawls. The Red Heart pattern, Laid-Back Shawl, is considered an easy pattern and the perfect light accessory to go with any summer outfit.

I'm thinking in the office particularly when the air conditioning is on and it starts to get a little too cool. Or those breezy summer nights when you're dressed up and wish for a little wrap around the shoulders just so.

The Laid-Back Shawl Pattern!

This scarf is knit on a 6mm or US 10 needle; the yarn calls for a size US 5 [3.75mm]. The open mesh construction has the dual benefit of working up really quickly and allowing air to pass through.

Mesh-work construction is super fun to knit, but I'll warn you that the first few rows always look terrible! You need to believe in the pattern and keep going. When I first started knitting lace and mesh construction patterns I would rip them out because they looked terrible. Then I was listening to a podcast and they mentioned the fact that this type of knitting always looks terrible until it’s blocked. A pattern like this isn’t quite the same, but the first few rows you'll look at it and think, “wow, am I doing this right?” Trust me, you are! It’s simply the way this technique works.

The chart included with the pattern is a very easy one as well. The repeat consists of four stitches. The most complicated stitch in the whole pattern is a SSK; which is a basic decrease. This is the kind of pattern perfect for a beginner jumping into mesh and lace, or a seasoned expert looking for an easy and pretty knit.

Loving the Heart and Sole color Sorbeto.

A shawl like this can also double as a scarf as well. I'm all about the versatile clothing. If I'm going to put work into knitting something, I'm going to make sure it's either something I'll wear all the time, or something that can be adapted to different temperatures and situations. Even in the summer, nights get cool, this is the ideal garment to carry with you on an outing with uncertain temperatures. You can drape it around your shoulders for warm weather, wear it all together as a scarf in cooler temperatures, and tie it onto your purse when it's hot a humid.

If you're feeling really colorful you can mix the colors together within the shawl and add the depth of color to the mesh construction.

With spring in full swing and summer well on it’s way, I’m looking forward to seeing the summer knitting everyone has planned. Make sure all your yarn is easy to wash, Heart & Sole is machine washable, and you definitely want all summer knitting to be easy to wash. Summer knitting is always so light, delicate, and well worth the wait.

The sole of color-work in knitting

One thing I'm really looking forward to with Heart & Sole yarn is the color-work you can do! The solid colors are perfect for doing stitch work and using lots of colors. This can create some really interesting patterns.

I saw a pair of socks that was completely made from color-work and they were, without a doubt, the coolest socks I’ve seen in my entire life. I have really been meaning to knit a pair up, and with this yarn thrown into the mix, I'm going to get back on the bandwagon with sock knitting. There are also optical illusion patterns online that this yarn would really highlight.

When you’re doing really busy patterns you don’t want a lot of color variation in your yarn. The result would look way too busy and more like something exploded. I may have mentioned before but I love color-work, when you put that and socks together, it’s pretty much my ideal project!

Have a mentioned that BLUE is a relative of PURPLE? They're practically family!

One other thing that's really in right now are slouchy hats. I've only just started getting into these, but they’re a natural progression from socks. Hats made from sock yarn! I enjoy these slouchy hats because they’re thin enough that you can wear them as a fashion statement and not overheat, but they’ll also keep the wind out of your ears.

There are a lot of very cute patterns online for free, but if you were looking to do something specific, a piece of grid paper and come pencil crayons would not go amiss either! I’ve created a few pattern repeats by just looking at graph paper and going with the creativity. I know that sounds a little wishy-washy, but once you look at a few of these patterns you'll understand. There's a pattern repeat, which is a grid, and after the ribbing you just repeat that X number of times (X depends on the pattern and length of the repeat).

All of these colors are complementary to one another. If used in color-work the variegated ones will set off the plainer ones.

If color-work in sock format scares you then the sock yarn hat should not be too scary. Limit the amount of colors to cut down on any anxiety as well. Something with five colors is naturally going to be more complicated than something with two. I truly hope everyone tries this out and becomes completely addicted to color-work as I am. Not to mention that you would need to make a hat to accent any scarves you made from this yarn.

Now, if you’re the adventurous type, this yarn would be absolutely perfect for a light sweater. Many sweaters I see are knit with thicker yarn. I can completely understand, they’re quicker, easier etc, but the light weight sweaters are more flattering on any figure. Add in just a touch of body shaping and the amount of work you put in will be well paid off.

A row of color-work using Skyscraper with Purple.

Hopefully everyone has taken inspiration in this post and is very excited to cast on a new project. With spring in the air I feel ready to cast on several things and just keep knitting!

How to knit a heel flap

Getting Comfy with a Dreaded Sock Technique

My last post was about the amazing properties of knitting socks with Red Heart's Heart & Sole yarn, anywhere and how they’re really not that intimidating. The question I'm asked the most about sock knitting is the heel flap. This is my favorite heel technique and I highly promote it, but many people find it confusing. I think this is because, to read it, it looks mind-bending. When you’re in the moment, it makes sense though.

SSK happening right here!

A heel flap is what makes the sock turn at a 90-degree angle in order to accommodate your heel. It involves leaving half of your stitches 'un-knit' and held on another needle and working on the other half. You literally leave those stitches just to hang out on the other side of the sock. That's the top of the foot. The other half are knit back and forth to make a flap.

The heel turn is really where people get confused. You have to turn the heel so you get a nice rounded heel. Your heel is not square and even if you make a square heel you'll get blisters from the little corners of extra fabric in your shoe.

There will be a little space between the two stitches you need to knit or purl together.

It's usually written like this…

Purl until you're 13 stitches from the end. P2tog, p1. Turn work even though you're in the middle of a row. Slip rest stitch purl-wise and knit across until you're 13 stitches from the end. Ssk, k1. Turn work again.

Purl until there are 12 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 12 stitches left ssk, k1; turn. Purl until there are 11 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 11 stitches left ssk, k1; turn. Purl until there are 10 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 10 stitches left ssk, k1; turn. Purl until there are 9 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 9 stitches left ssk, k1; turn. Purl until there are 8 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 8 stitches left ssk, k1; turn. Purl until there are 7 stitches left p2tog, p1; turn. Knit until there are 7 stitches left ssk, k1; turn.

I know, 'what the heck are they talking about there?!' You're knitting the middle stitches more than the others and decreasing them in a uniform fashion. Thing is it makes the edges of the heel flap naturally gravitate towards each other.

This is what your heel should look like when you're done! A little rounded and ready to fit snug around a heel.

The perfect project to practice is the stocking pattern we put up here. It's a heel flap construction, but tiny! That way it isn’t a huge investment and much less intimidating! Please share my total and complete infatuation with heel flaps and give it a try!

5 tips to maximize your knitting time with Heart & Sole Yarn by Red Heart

The one thing it makes sense to knit with Heart & Sole sock yarn, is socks. However, there are many people out there who are a little bit timid to start socks. The light weight of the yarn puts them off and they are nervous about it taking forever. This is not the case! Socks are the easiest thing to knit once you get the hang of them and are one of the most portable pieces of knitting I’ve ever come across.

Sorbeto is the perfect summer color. It makes me think of ice cream and a hot boardwalk.

I'm going to start with the portability of socks because that's a huge selling point for myself. I'm a busy person and am constantly running from one thing to another. I'm also compulsively early. I keep a pair of socks in a project bag in my car, that way when I'm early for something and have 10-15 minutes to kill, I can sit in my car and knit. It’s also perfect when I have someone else driving.

Our lives in general these days consist of a lot of waiting. If I'm headed to the doctor’s office, dentist, anywhere I'll be sitting for an undetermined period of time, I bring a project bag with the needles to start socks. If you’re having a hard time thinking about all the times you're waiting for something, think of the times when you're on your smart phone scrolling through facebook or instagram in a public place.

Love the Purple and Skyscraper combination. Getting out those bright colors for spring and summer!

Socks are the perfect project to just pick up for a couple rows here and there as well. If you’re doing an easy pattern, such as a K3P1 or plain stockinette, you can pick it up for one or two stitches here and there. While you’re making dinner, waiting for your coffee to brew, waiting for that last 10 minutes on your laundry, etc. The only part you really have to watch out for is when you’re getting close to putting in a heel, but depending on the type of sock you’re comfortable doing, you might not even have to worry about that! An afterthought heel goes in when you’re done the rest of the sock. You can either use waste yarn to make the place for the heel or snip a small stitch in the middle and unravel stitches for the heel. At that point you’re just knitting a long tube!

I actually love that this yarn matches my needle case!

When you first start sock knitting, you have to check your gauge, needles, yarn, technique, and basically figure everything out. Once you’ve done this though, you'll know what you need to make socks for yourself. I know that if I have a sock yarn and 2.25mm needles I need to cast on 64 stitches to make a sock for myself. I knit from the toe up for 7" (from the tip of my middle finger to my wrist crease) then put in the heel. BAM, there's my sock, just like that. You’re obviously not going to get this the very first time, but after you've knit one or two, you'll easily have your numbers straight.

Lastly, one can never have too many socks! Sock yarns are one of the more plentiful yarns I have seen. There are lots and lots of colors, variegated, patterns, and textures out there. You can knit the same sock pattern 1000 times, but if you use a different yarn every time, it will always look different.

You'll know exactly how many stitches to cast on once you've knit a sock a couple times.

If you grab a ball of Heart & Sole on your way out the door with your chosen needle size, you'll be able to knit wherever you go. I'm not even above keeping some knitting needles in my purse. Just so that you’re never stuck without knitting when you have the spare time.

Red Heart's Heart and Sole makes a comeback

This week Red Heart has sent me Heart and Sole. If you didn’t catch onto the play on words in the title, this is a sock yarn. Sock yarn is one of the yarns I've been using more and more frequently, so I’ve found many uses for it. It’s becoming my new go-to yarn.

One of the only things I could complain about is the name of the solid colors, but I love those cheeky color names.

First thoughts when I was unboxing this yarn was “YES!!! I got purple!!!” It’s my favorite color and I think these clever people are catching onto it... My second thought was about the texture. This yarn is a wool and nylon blend, it’s all very smooth, which gives it the tactile appearance of softness without giving up any of the hard-wearing capabilities sock yarn so desperately needs.

After this, my eye was drawn back to the colors. They’re all solid colors, as in not tonal; the solid colors are the same color the whole way through, it doesn’t get lighter or darker in anyway. Available colors have a good mix of solid colors and variegates. On the Red Heart website there's a page with the old version of Heart and Sole, this was purely variegated colors. Now there are a lot more solids as well as color shifts. All the links in this article are for the re-released Heart and Sole.

Purple and Skyscraper, it's going to be my favorite color combo!

Since the composition is 73% wool and 27% nylon, washing is a breeze. Machine wash in warm water and lay flat to dry. There are a lot of different ways to mark your socks for machine wash or hand wash, but I find I don’t have the time to hand wash a whole lot of socks. I end up not wearing them as much as I would like because of the washing instructions. I make a point now to only make socks that can be machine washed. This is a huge bonus to me personally.

I know this might be something inane, but I really like that this yarn comes in a skein. Most of the sock yarns I have had experience with come in a hank. That means it has to be balled, so I have to drag out the swift and ball winder, set them up, keep the cats away from it, and make myself a yarn cake. I usually do a few at a time so I don’t have to get everything out again in a couple days. Aside from the process of balling the yarn, it can come apart in a project bag, especially if you’re anything like myself. Just throw it in a bag and swing it along as you go. The skeins are much more durable than a cake; less start up work as well!

There's something about this photo that's oddly pleasing to me. Those perfect skeins all lined up. Red Heart Heart and Sole Sock Yarn

Overall I'm very pleased with this yarn; a good range of color, excellent fiber composition, and soft! I'm pleased to announce that you guys are in for quite the week. I'm very passionate about sock yarn and by the end of these posts, everyone will be emailing with recommendations on 12-step programs to help me. Stay tuned!

How to knit wrapped stitches

This little jacket features a cute wrapped stitch pattern, and the Bamboo Pop yarn I used to make the jacket is just perfect to show off these stitches. You'll want to avoid fuzzy or tweedy yarns because the stitches won't show that well, and your efforts will be slightly invisible.

One tricky aspect about this stitch pattern is that the term "wrapped" is used in two different ways as you work through the pattern. But we'll soon clear this all up with some step-by-step instructions.

Baby sweater with wrapped stitches

Wrapped Stitches Pattern

Cast on a multiple of 6 plus 1 (for symmetry) stitches, and then 4 more so you have 2 edge stitches on each side. These 2 pairs of edge stitches stabilize the pattern so the edges don't pucker or flare.

Knit 6 rows in stockinette stitch.

Row 1 (RS): Sl first st knitwise, knit to last st, p1.

Row 2: Sl first st knitwise, knit to last st, p1.

And now we're going to work on the other kind of wrap with a contrasting color.

Row 3: Sl first st knitwise, k2, *when knitting next st, wrap yarn around needle 3 times, knit next st wrapping yarn 2 times, k1, knit next st wrapping yarn 2 times, knit next st wrapping yarn 3 times, k1; rep from * across to last 2 sts, k1, p1.

So let's look at these a little closer.

Here's what it looks like to wrap 3 times before knitting the stitch.

3 wraps before knitting the stitch

Then the next stitch is wrapped twice, like so.

Wrapped twice

Then the third stitch is a straight knit. The fourth stitch is a double wrap, and the 5th is a triple wrap.

When the whole row is done, it'll look like you have way more stitches on the needle than you do in the row below the needle, but this isn't a problem.

Many wrapped stitches

Row 4: Sl first st knitwise, k2, *bring yarn forward, slip next 5 sts onto RH needle allowing extra wraps to drop, take yarn back, sl 5 sts back to LH needle, bring yarn forward, sl 5 sts to RH needle, take yarn back, sl 5 sts back to LH needle, bring yarn forward, sl 5 sts to RH needle, knit next st on left needle; rep from * across to last 2 sts, k1, p1.

Group of 5 sts wrapped fully twice

Each bundle or what looks to me like a sheave of wheat (or yarn) is then nicely wrapped and separated by a stitch on each side of it.

Row 5: With main color, sl first st knitwise, taking care to work into each of the 5 sts in the bundles separately, knit across to last  st, p1.

Row 6: Rep row 2.

Row 7: With contrasting color, sl first st knitwise, k4, *knit next st wrapping yarn 3 times, knit next st wrapping yarn 2 times, k1, knit next st wrapping yarn 2 times, knit next st wrapping yarn 3 times, k1; rep from * across to last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Row 8: Sl 1 knitwise, k4, *wrap next 5 sts twice as in row 4, k1; rep from * across to last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Rows 9 & 10: Rep Rows 5 & 6.

 

Yarn Sheaves Stitch Pattern

Another way to make the little sheaves is to slip the five stitches with extra wraps onto a cable needle or spare double pointed needle dropping the extra wraps as you do. Then take the yarn and wrap it around the 5 stitches twice, and then return the stitches to the RH needle and proceed across.

It's a lovely stitch pattern and with the crispness of Bamboo Pop, it looks really great with excellent stitch definition. I hope you try it and think of a use for this stitch pattern in your exciting knitting projects.

3 projects I would knit with Bamboo Pop yarn

Project 1

The first item I would knit with Universal Yarn's Bamboo Pop would be a market bag or a purse (I would have to sew a lining for it, though) with this fabulous diamond lace stitch pattern.

The bamboo and cotton is a sturdy yarn and this diagonal lace stitch is sturdy and beautiful at the same time. It almost looks like Tunisian crocheted lace, but it's true to goodness knitting.

I think a market bag out of this yarn would be a really classy item to take with me to the farmers' market on the weekends. The stitch pattern is below.

Diagonal Lace Stitch Pattern

Cast on an even number of stitches and add 2 stitches, one for each side as a selvedge stitch. You can use the selvedge stitches to seam up the sides of the bag.

Row 1 (RS): K1, *insert RH needle into front leg of 2nd st on the LH needle to knit, wrap the yarn around the needle twice, and knit, then knit the first st on the LH and slide all sts to the RH needle; rep from * across to last st, k1.

Row 2: K1, p1, *insert RH needle into front leg of 2nd st on the LH needle as if to purl, wrap the yarn around the needle twice, and draw through, then purl the first st on the LH needle dropping the extra wrap; rep from * across to last 2 sts, p1, k1.

Row 3: Rep Row 1, dropping the extra wraps when working those stitches.

Rep Rows 2 and 3 for pattern.

Diagonal Lace knit stitch

Project 2

I didn't have enough time to make one for the blog, but I would definitely knit a men's sweater from Bamboo Pop. It has a great drape and would fit well on a male form. It would be cool to wear in the winter if the guy is hot-blooded, yet I know it would really look high-end because of the drape and stitch definition. I know some would think the bamboo too shiny, but there isn't enough shine to look like your wearing sequins or glitter. Any textured stitch pattern would really show well with any of the solid colors.

My yarn label says 20 sts to 4" on US4 [6mm] needles, but I think that my particular label has a typo on it. That should be 4mm needles are a US6. So it's officially a DK weight (CYC#3), but I knit with a US3 [3.25mm] and there was still lovely drape at 30 sts to 4". To me it's a very versatile yarn if it can span so many different gauge possibilities and still knit up well.

Baby jacket knit with Bamboo Pop

Project 3

I would make ALL kinds of baby garments and items out of Bamboo Pop.  It's extremely soft. There are many great colors for any kid's wardrobe, and the fabric washes and wears very well. It holds stitch definition well, too.

I did have enough yarn and enough time to knit a little top for a 9-month girl. I haven't found the right buttons for it yet, but I think some plain white pearl ones will do great. What do you think? How would you change the pattern? The pattern will soon be available in my Ravelry store in 4 or 5 sizes. I still have a lot of math and pattern writing to do to get it just right.

No, those edgings and color pattern work is not crochet. It's a lovely little stitch pattern that involves extra yarn wraps and then wrapped stitches. I will share how to make this wrapped stitch pattern tomorrow. Join me.

Baby sweater out of Bamboo Pop with special wrapped stitches

3 techniques for knitting with variegated yarn

Bamboo Pop Yarn comes in 18 variegated colorways.

Many people fall in love with multi-colored or variegated yarns when they see the skeins or balls on the shelves or in the store bins, or in the online catalogues. All the color matching and coordinating has been done for you and you don't have to think about which color would go with which. Not everyone is comfortable choosing various colors to knit together in the same project, so variegated yarn is the answer.

For some however, once they knit the variegated yarn, they're frustrated with how it looks, particularly when one of the color seems to collect all in one area of the fabric, and sometimes not in flattering ways. This is called "the pooling effect" and it's not everyone's favorite. There are a few ways to avoid pooling and we'll look at three of them.

Bamboo Bop Variegated Yarn

Method One

Use 2 different balls of the same yarn. This is a quite common solution. You knit 2 rows with one ball of yarn. Then you attach another ball of yarn and make sure that you're at a different spot in the color sequence and you knit 2 rows with that ball of yarn. Then you simply alter the ball of yarn feeding your knitting every two rows. This is the same strategy knitters use when they mistakenly have a ball of yarn that's a different dye-lot than the rest, or when sadly, they've had to buy that one extra ball just to finish a sleeve or neckline.

Method 2: alternating rows with solid and variegated yarns

Method Two

I tried alternating 2 rows of variegated Bamboo Pop with 2 rows of a solid color as in the photo above. The variegated colorway is Grape Garden, and the solid is called Grape. Also, I tried a textured stitch pattern that isn't just garter stitch or stockinette stitch. This breaks up the colors very well.

Close up: alternating rows of solid and variegated Bamboo Pop

Above is a close-up of this stitch pattern which as you can see does a nice job at distributing the colors so they look like small bursts of color that pop. To knit this stitch pattern, following these instructions.

Stamen Stitch

With solid yarn, cast on an odd number of stitches. Include 2 sts extra, one for each side as selvedge stitches.

Rows 1(RS): With multicolored yarn, sl first st knitwise, knit across.

Row 2: Sl first st knitwise, k1, *with yarn at back, sl 1 purlwise, k1; rep from * to last st, k1.

Row 3: With solid yarn, sl first st knitwise, knit across.

Row 4: Sl first st knitwise, with yarn at back, sl 1 purlwise, *k1, sl 1 purlwise; rep from * to last st, k1.

 

 

Using the dye pattern in Bamboo Pop

Find the dye pattern in the yarn and determine how many stitches are used to knit each color segment

Method Three

Another way to avoid pooling colors with variegated yarn is to find the dye pattern in the yarn and determine how many stitches are used to knit each color segment.

In the above photo, where I laid the yarn out, you can see that the pattern is dark purple, yellow, light purple, yellow, dark purple green, light purple, yellow, and so on. Each color segment is roughly the same length. When I knit the yarn to the gauge that I wanted, each color segment took 8 stitches to work, and sometimes 7. I tried to see if the use of 7 stitches was a regular feature of the color pattern, but it wasn't, so that little bit of randomness happened during the dyeing process.

So I cast on a multiple of 8 stitches. What resulted was this slight zigzag pattern with the 2 purples running diagonally alternating with the green and yellow forming the other part. I think that if I had worked a multiple of 16 sts plus 4, I may have been able to achieve columns of purples stacked on top of each other, and columns of green and yellow stripes. There's no way to be sure but to swatch a lot.

As you can see in the picture below, about 2 meters of yarn was needed to reach the full color repeat, which I indicate with the white line.

Full length of color pattern repeat

Because I didn't cast on the number of stitches that it would have taken to use one full color repeat (which would have been 240 sts), I'm pretty much guaranteed that I won't get true columns of stitches, but I think by using multiples of 8 in this case, I could have worked out some sort of pattern that would have avoided pooling quite well.

If I were going to knit a sweater with 69 sts on the back and 69 sts on the front, I would run a greater risk of developing pooling because the 8 st segment wouldn't work across 69 sts. So other strategies would be needed to fine tune. I could work intarsia and have 2 balls of yarn twisting part way across the row. I could knit smaller pieces and seam them together to form the front or back of the sweater. There are many ways to experiment and to get the effect you want and to be happy with your multi-colored yarn. A fourth method is to crochet with it, as in the picture above! Now I'm just being cheeky, but it does give a different look that distributes the colors well and avoids pooling completely.

A fourth method is to crochet with variegated yarn, it does give a different look that distributes the colors well and avoids pooling completely

3 ways washing your knitting affects your gauge

In the picture below, the 10 stitches to the right are part of a washed swatch and the 10 stitches to the left are part of an unwashed swatch. It really looks like there isn't a difference, doesn't it?
Bamboo Pop really handles being washed very well. Both swatches look practically the same.

Washed and unwashed Bamboo Pop

In the previous post I talked about how Bamboo Pop is spun. In this photo, it's really easy to see the bamboo viscose strands among the cotton. They provide a lovely sheen and depth to the knit fabric and more strength, and surprising softness to the finished fabric at the same time. When viscose is washed, it doesn't fray, it doesn't bloom, and it doesn't shrink. It's perfect for a yarn that really suits knitting kids' clothing.

Bamboo Pop Yarn Swatch

How washing cotton yarn affects gauge

I knit 2 swatches with the same number of stitches and rows. One swatch was laundered in hot water with regular detergent with a load of towels and tee-shirts. Then it was in a high heat / thorough dry setting in a gas-heat dryer.

The outcome was that the washed swatch changed its row gauge, but not its stitches gauge. Cotton fairly typically pulls up row-wise when washed. Often with gravity, the fibers and stitches relax and the cotton settles back to it's regular tension. These swatches were both 11 rows to 2" [5cm]; after the wash and dry the row tension changed to 9 rows to 2" [5cm].

Washed and unwashed swatches of Bamboo Pop

One thing that the washing and drying did for this yarn was that it evened out the stitches and the slight changes in tension that happened when I set my knitting down mid-row, to take it up later, or when I was rushing and knit tighter than usual. 

How washing acrylic affects gauge

Washing acrylic and most other man-made yarns in cold water and putting it through a low-heat dryer cycle also evens out tension a little. Acrylic won't shrink, no matter what you do to it, but heat can alter it, usually for the better if it's just warm. Warm water or warm air make the acrylic fibers relax. If you've knit with a little unevenness and some tension changes, a warm bath is usually enough to even out these small problems. More aggressive measures are needed for curling corners or bound off edges, meaning higher heat. I usually use steam through a linen fabric to keep those problems in check. In general though your row gauge and stitches gauge will not change dramatically when you wash and dry acrylic. Be sure to read the labels of all microfiber, polyester, dacron, nylon, and other viscose yarns before washing by machine or in warm or hot water, just to be sure.

The man-made bamboo viscose in Bamboo Pop doesn't shrink or pill or fray when washed and it helped the cotton retain its stitches gauge. After playing with the washed swatch to stimulate a garment being worn (I put it in my pocket, I stretched it, I used it to clean my glasses, and I used it as a coaster), I got the row gauge back to 10.5 rows per 2" [5cm].

How washing animal fiber yarns affects gauge

Washing animal fibers in general causes felting or shrinking. Both row and stitches gauges are affected and the knit fabric looses its original shape and drape. To avoid dramatic gauge changes, it's import to wash animal fiber yarns in cold water with as little agitation as possible. And using a dryer is not at all recommended. Squeezing out the extra water and laying flat to dry is the best course of action.

I hope these few tips help you with your choices of washing hand-knit fabric. The materials the yarn is made of really can make a difference. Look out for future posts on superwash yarns made of animal fibers, where I'll explore how those handle washing cycles.

KNITmuch Giveaway 049: Cotton True Sport Yarn

Enter now for your chance to win this new giveaway!

This week's prize: Fibra Natura Cotton True Sport Yarn!

 

Light and smooth with a broad color palette, Cotton True Sport is an excellent choice for both baby knits and exquisite polished garments that invite compliments. It is made of 100% Pima Cotton, also called extra-long staple. This yarn is extremely durable and absorbent. Machine Wash Warm, Dry Flat.

 

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Congratulations to Jess S, winner of KNITmuch Giveaway 044: Universal Yarns Cotton Supreme Sequins and Sequins Shapes!

Cotton True Sport Yarn

How to Enter the KNITmuch Giveaway Contest

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Knitting with bamboo-cotton yarn

When I first heard about bamboo yarn a few years ago, I was really curious what it would be like. I grew up in Colombia and there were groves of bamboo trees on campuses of the schools I attended. We would play among the stalks and try not to touch the sheaths that protected the new shoots or the bottoms of the trunks because they had tiny little thorn-like hairs that easily got under your skin and burned. I also had flutes made from thinner bamboo shoots and my father and I would make fishing poles from them as well. The bamboo wood is fibrous, but hard, so I had a hard time picturing what it would be like to knit with bamboo yarn. I imaged it would be coarse, like twine.

Bamboo Pop yarn

But I was so wrong! And thankfully so! There are 2 kinds of bamboo fibers that are spun into yarn. The first is often called bamboo linen. This yarn is produced the same way that flax stalks are turned into fiber. The bamboo leaves and inner pith of the wood are soaked in water and fermented, then it's crushed and pounded until the fibers come apart and can be combed and spun. I haven't knit with bamboo linen yet.

The second process involves making bamboo rayon or viscose. Again the leaves and pith are soaked and ground, but they also take a chemical bath which creates long super thin and super soft fibers. It's the same chemical cocktail used to make cellophane wrap. I never understood why early recycling programs didn't want cellophane, but it's not oil-based...it's made from wood...cellulose to be exact. And just like cellophane, bamboo viscose is shiny!

Close-up of Bamboo Pop yarn

Here's a close-up of the Bamboo Pop yarn. It's a 50-50 bamboo-cotton blend, and when I took it apart, it was clear how exactly the yarn is constructed. If you look at the picture below, of the yarn ball, you can see some shiny glints in the yarn. This is the bamboo viscose reflecting the light.

The yarn is made up of 6 plies of fiber. And as you can see above, each of the 6 plies is made up of 2 plies. The camera didn't catch it, but one of these plies is cotton and the other is bamboo viscose. So the 12 strands are spun 2 at a time with an S-twist (clockwise) and then the 6 plies are spun all together quite tightly, also with an S-twist. This tight twist gives the not-so-flexible cotton a bit of springiness. The viscose doesn't really have much bounce either, but it's slightly more elastic than the cotton.

The yarn is VERY soft and it has a very beautiful drape.

Bamboo Pop sport-weight yarn

Bamboo Pop is another yarn by Universal Yarns. I was given a few balls by H.A. Kidd Company Ltd. to swatch with and to see what I thought of it.

I really LOVE this yarn. It has very good yardage. In a future post I'll share a 1-ball project (well, okay, there were a few meters of complimentary colors in it, too) of a baby's jacket (size 9 mo).

The yarn comes in 21 solid colors and 18 variegated colorways. It's labelled a #3 CYC weight yarn which encompasses the range from DK to light worsted, but when I knit it, it really behaved much more like a sport weight. Each ball has 292 yards and comes in a 100g put-up. It has very good center-pull ends that are easy to find. The outer strands fall off the ball very quickly as it's slippery, so I found I had to wind a few yards tightly around the ball and tuck in the outer end. If I had those little nets that come on some delicate fruits at the grocery store, I think I would put one around the yarn ball to keep the outer yarn strands from getting tangled.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about my experiences swatching and knitting with Bamboo Pop yarn.