Creating knitted accents with Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn

In our last chapter of our work with Universal Yarn's Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn, we're going to look at using it as a complement to another yarn. Knitters who like to work with fine yarns are going to want to keep reading.

Rozetti Cotton Gold is a laceweight, sequinned yarn with 65% cotton, 27% paillettes and 8% twist of glitter yarn.

Today we continue to branch out with our "yarn doodling". For this sample, I chose a soft, medium gray ball of laceweight yarn to complement the soft, light gray of the Cotton Gold.

As I knitted yesterday's sample, I thought that a touch of Cotton Gold would look great near the face and it would also look nice with a fine knit fabric, so I picked up my size US 4 [3.5mm] needles, and started knitting a fine, stockinette stitch fabric. Once I had a few inches, I added the Cotton Gold to make a v-neck insert. Didn't even pull a stitch dictionary for this one; I just went "organic" with a diamond pattern that would naturally fill the "V".

A gray laceweight yarn combined with a "V" of Cotton Gold makes one daydream of a lightweight shell with a dash of sparkle

Analysis: If working this into a sweater or shell, I think I would choose a slightly paler shade of gray for the main yarn. Apart from that, there are SO many possibilities for this concept.

The "V" insert here could be done in a boatneck style, as shown, or a second "V" could be made in the Cotton Gold, to make a "v within a v" neck. The diamond could be made wider, with wide shoulders that would be draped in at the front to create a cowl front (or back!)

Speaking of the back, this concept could be applied to form a large diamond to make a dramatic fashion statement. On a smaller scale, this could be done on one (or both) sleeves, or even to make a gusset on a skirt for evening.

Now, I'm off to find a pattern for an asymmetrical triangle shawl to make with this yarn!

I found JUST the thing! it's called Pfeilraupe!

I found JUST the thing! This pattern is called Pheilraupe. The original design is worked in a heavier yarn -- a double knitting weight -- but done in Cotton Gold it makes a sparkly accent to wear to a holiday party or other glamorous event!

Knitting Rozetti Cotton Gold with another yarn

In this series of posts, we're testing Universal Yarn's Rozetti Cotton Gold, a fine yarn with sequins (or payettes) spaced evenly apart.

Monday's post addressed step 1 - the yarn attributes, and yesterday's post described step 2 -- what I call a "benchmark sample", where you take the manufacturer's recommended gauge and needles, and make a sample. Each day we're going to analyze the day's sample to complete step 4, the analysis.

 

Yesterday's benchmark sample

Today and tomorrow we're going to be branching out, which is step 3. Branching out is where the fun really begins. It's a process of experimentation that can lead to creating your own design.

Branching out is a bit like doodling with yarn. I like to call it "play time for the right brain." It's a great time to pull out a knitting stitch dictionary and test out some new stitch patterns. Today, though, we're doing another simple pattern, with the addition of a second yarn.

One of the free patterns on the Universal Yarn website is the Halo and Sparkle sweater. I drew inspiration from this piece to create today's sample.

The Halo and Sparkle sweater is a free pattern on the Universal Yarn website that uses Rozetti Cotton Gold and Amphora, worked with a strand of each yarn throughout

Having seen what the fabric made with yarns of similar color looks like, I opted to take the sapphire blue ball and knit it with cream colored lace weight yarn.

I made this sample a little larger and also used larger needles -- size US 7 [4.5mm].

The distribution of sequins on this sample of Cotton Gold with a cream colored laceweight yarn is quite attractive. Larger needles and a lace pattern would make a nice warm shawl.

Analysis: The sequins are well distributed, and combining a bold color with a neutral results in a blended shade that from a distance takes the bold out of the Cotton Gold color. This might be desirable, or a bolder blue similar to the Cotton Gold blue might be preferred.

A shawl made of Cotton Gold alone would be a striking piece to wear to a holiday event or black tie affair. Combining Cotton Gold with a rich wool or even a blend of acrylic, mohair, and alpaca, such as Universal Yarn's Amphora, grounds the sparkle and makes a more subtle piece that could be worn on other occasions such as weddings, and perhaps even under a business jacket to the office.

What would you want to make from this sample?

 

 

Knit a benchmark sample using Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn

This week we're making discoveries with Universal Yarn's Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn.

Rozetti Cotton Gold showing the structure of the yarn

Now that we have examined the structure of the yarn, it's time to start sampling. The next three days (including today) will each have a sample that will hopefully jumpstart your creativity.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the first step I take is to cast on the number of stitches prescribed on the ball band with the manufacturer's recommended needles.

The upper left corner of the yarn details section from the ball band

In this case, I should get 26 sts to 4" [10cm] if I use size US 4 [3.5mm] needles.

The primary purpose for this sample -- to me -- is to check for the distribution of the payettes. Sometimes, when a yarn has something bumpy in it such as a sequin or a bead, the item wants to gravitate to one side of the work. Because of this, I want to see if the payettes will be inclined to float to the back of the fabric, or whether they'll behave themselves regardless of which stitch I use.

As is my habit, I begin with garter stitch at the base. This keeps the swatch from rolling. Then, I switch to stockinette stitch, as this is the stitch used for almost all gauge swatches. In this case, I reversed my stockinette stitch for the next section, again to test my theory and be able to show you how the payettes distribute themselves on the reverse side of stockinette stitch. Ordinarily, I would knit a few rows of garter stitch at the top of the sample, again to keep it from rolling. However, I wanted to be able to tell the top of the swatch from the bottom, and if I had added another garter stitch section, it would have made it more difficult to tell.

The ruler shows that my gauge is just about right on -- 26 sts to 4" [10cm]

Analysis: As you can see from the photo, the yarn is very fine, so many of the payettes on the back side of the work show through to the right side. This makes it hard to see a difference in the distribution of the payettes in the top two sections.

The Phantom shawl pattern uses size US 6 [4mm] needles, so the fabric made with them would be even more lacy, and the payettes would show through perhaps a bit more.

The payettes also tend to appear in little clusters. While this is attractive, if I were to re-knit the swatch with 27 or 28 stitches, I'm certain we would see a difference in their distribution.

My last observation is that my ruler confirms that my horizontal tension is just about exact.

Tomorrow, we're going to combine Cotton Gold with a laceweight yarn and study that effect.

4 steps to the art of swatching and sampling yarn

This week, I was supplied with a healthy quantity of Rozetti Cotton Gold, a sparkly novelty yarn with evenly spaced sequins. In today's post, I want to show you the steps I often use when I'm approaching a new yarn.

This is the yarn I get to play with this week!

So many knitters don’t like to sample or swatch a new yarn, but there are so many good reasons to do it. Since starting Canadian Guild of Knitters in 2002, I’ve sampled dozens of different yarns, and I’ve quite enjoyed the whole process. I’ve learned some new ways of approaching a new yarn, and I’ve learned a LOT about the yarns themselves. I’ve learned that every yarn has a purpose, and that sometimes you can knit a silk purse from a sow’s ear, so to speak.

I like to use my “Vulcan logic” for analyzing and sampling a new yarn, but you don’t need to be Spock to have fun with this! (Did Spock ever have any fun?) If you want to skip one or more steps, I’m not going to drop by your house and write you a ticket!

Here are the 4 steps I take to analyzing and sampling a new-to-me yarn:

1. Examine the yarn: Look at the yarn. Which way does the twist go? Does it look like the middle stroke of an S, or of a Z? Is it a single ply or are there many plies? Are all the plies the same? Do they have slubs or loops? What’s the fiber content?

While they will also work in a knitting project, many yarns that appear with a Z twist are well suited to crochet projects. Rozetti Cotton Gold has an S twist in the finished yarn.

The silver strand of yarn echoes the diagonal stroke of the letter "S", which means that Cotton Gold was spun "Z" and plied "S"

The other features will help you understand the construction of the yarn you’re working with. Knowing the fiber type helps you decide what project is best suited to the yarn. A cotton sweater isn’t going to keep a skier as warm as a wool one will!

2. Knit a sample according to the ball band. I call this my benchmark sample, and almost always make it using the recommended needles, and the number of stitches recommended for 4" [10cm]. If my tension is “way out” on a test swatch, I might rethink my pattern choice, especially if it’s something like a sweater, that needs to fit. When you’re reading the label, it’s also a good time to check out the laundering info.

Cotton Gold has a recommended tension of 26 sts and 39 rows to 4" [10cm]. It can be washed by hand, but an iron would surely melt the glittery strand, and probably the payettes, too. (When I was growing up, I used to see "payettes" spelled with the original French spelling, "paillettes".)

This small area of the ball band contains a lot of helpful information!

3. Branch out – Do you think this yarn would be good for lace? Pull a stitch dictionary and try a lace pattern that tweaks your interest. What about cables? This is a REALLY great part of the exercise, because you can build a “library” of stitch patterns you might like to incorporate into a future project.

Branching out can be as organized as you want. Some people keep detailed records of their swatches, recording yarn and needle size info for future reference. Oddly I don’t do this (which is strange, because I journal almost everything!)

My idea to knit Rozetti Cotton Gold with a strand of laceweight yarn is part of my branching out – you never know when you’ll hit upon a discovery that could be your very own knitting design! I even sample new stitch patterns with leftover yarns from old projects. I’ve come up with interesting colorways right from my scrap yarn boxes!

The original colorway for the pattern was in orange, brown, and oatmeal, but changing the contrasting colors to purple and gold really changed the look!

4. Analyze – What do you think? Would this yarn make a good something-else-than-what-you’ve-planned? It's really going to be everything you want for this project?

Analysis can completely change the direction of your knit, or it can underscore that this yarn is perfect for the job. Again, it can be as organized as you want – if you use a knitting journal, you might want to mount your swatch into a book, to refer back to in the future.

I have most of the yarn swatches I’ve made over the last 35 years of knitting! Most of them are in boxes, but I’ve sewn some together into what ultimately will be a bed jacket. Some samples were mounted onto display boards over the years, and some have been placed with my workshop materials.

I heartily recommend that you discover the joy of knitting samples! Come back tomorrow, when I'll begin with my first swatch.

Knitting with Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn

When I was a young girl, I followed in my mother’s footsteps and had several penpals. It was an exciting day when the mail arrived and there was something for me! When I grew up, the mail became much less exciting, because most of the mail for me was bills! These days, on-line shopping and blogging means that I occasionally get that “penpal feeling” again.

That’s what happened when I was asked to blog this week for KNITmuch. All I knew was that the yarn was going to be one of Universal Yarn’s products.

I wonder what's inside this box!

My last two blogging experiences were with acrylic yarn, so I was a little excited to see the slip in my mailbox that indicated there was a parcel waiting for me. What would it be? Soft, scooshy wool? Crisp cotton or linen? Something cool and novel?

I’ll be honest, I was not expecting Rozetti Cotton Gold! I cracked open that box and found this:

Ooh, shiny! Cotton Gold is twinkly!

WOW! Now what?

One of my knitting passions is lace knitting, so that was the first thing to cross my mind. I went to the Universal Yarn website and found the lacy shawl I expected to find, as well as a sweater that was made with Cotton Gold and another Universal Yarn, Amphora. I didn’t have Amphora, but I did have some fine, soft laceweight wool yarn.

The Phantom Shawl (left) and Amphora sweater (right). The shawl takes only 3 balls of yarn! Both patterns are offered free on the Universal Yarn website.

Cotton Gold comes in 10 colors, perfect for bringing bling to your project. I received colors 1100 (blue with sapphire payettes) and 1096 (pale gray with holographic payettes) to sample. The three balls of the gray is enough to make either of the two free shawl patterns on the Universal Yarn website.

Sequins are placed very evenly at 3" [7.5cm] intervals. They are “trapped” in one of the 3 cotton strands, before a strand of glitter is wrapped around the cottony core.

Dramatic lighting highlights the sparkle of Rozetti Cotton Gold.

By combining the Cotton Gold with the laceweight yarn, I could make a heavier-weight lace. Pop back tomorrow and see what “trouble” I get into.