Cascade Cowl

Are you ready for another single skein project?!? Cascade cowl is the perfect project for that luxury or single skein of sock yarn you've been holding on to. 

Cascade was inspired by gradients, the movement of the colors and the simple exchanges dyers make. Instead of transitioning color Cascade transitions stitches. The lace design is made from double wraps and they are super easy to make and knit. These double wraps are slightly larger than a traditional yarn over so they are a bit more bold. 

I love the 'cascading' stitches down the cowl, changing from quite often to very sporadic. I knit my cowl from a MCN blend (Merino/Cashmere/Nylon) which is lovely to wear around your neck but any fingering weight you are comfortable on sensitive skin will work.

The colorway I used is a solid/slightly tonal but my fabulous test knitters used a variety of dye styles so you can pretty much use anything. I do think that a self striping or self patterning will hide the stitches. 

Happy Knitting! 

Bales

Are you ready for a fall sock pattern?!? This one was a fun one to design because I knit it in my own hand dyed yarn! Bales is a simple knit and purl pattern that is reminiscent in shape to a hay bale and the perfect reminder of fall and fall harvest. I wrote about dying the yarn in this blog post here. 

Bales is a cuff down sock pattern that is designed for stitch count 56, 64 & 72 and features an easy to memorize pattern. The simple repeats makes it a great pattern to highlight lots of different dye styles, I used a variegated yarn and the pattern still pops and plays well with the yarn. 

The sock base I used for the pattern is a Merino/Nylon/Stellina meanings that any base designed for sock yarn should work. I hope you knit this pattern with fall in mind and it helps get you in the mood for the changing season! 

Bump Along

I have a bit of an obsession with mini skeins and collecting my leftovers. The mini skeins are a great way to remember visiting a new yarn shop or trying out a new dyer. The leftovers, I just can't dump those precious little nuggets. 

Sock yarn, especially hand dyed, is pretty pricey so I know all the little balls of yarn cost a pretty penny. Because I have all the different odds and ends I design and knit quite a few scrappy projects. Bump Along is my newest design that works perfectly for leftovers and minis. 

This simple cowl design uses the same stitch pattern as featured in the Speed Bumps sock pattern. Instead of utilizing a self striping yarn I used mini skeins! The nature of the pattern means you can see any jogs when you change colors. 

I used ~3 grams of yarn per stripe, meaning that a 5 gram mini will work for a stripe but you won't be able to repeat the colors. I repeated my colors twice across the cowl but I think that a full scrappy version with a different color every stripe would be amazing. 

I had fabulous test knitters for this pattern, you can see the projects here. One tester knit with a single skein, another with a set of minis, and the third used a gradient single skein. They all look amazing! I would recommend any fingering weight yarn you are comfortable wearing next to sensitive skin. 

Wallflower

Wallflower is a fun sock that looks like plain ribbing but when you put it on this fun pop of cable comes out! The name comes from the seemingly plane ribbing which transforms into gorgeous cables when you really take a look at it. 

Wallflower has a fun and new cable for me, it's a 1/1/1 LC meaning that you are actually moving stitches in 3 different directions. Seems confusing, I know, but the explanation is simple and once you knit it a few times it won't be difficult at all. 

This sock pattern uses an 80/20 fingering weight yarn which means that any yarn that is suitable for sock will work. I really like how the variegated colors show but don't overtake the cable. Which sock yarn are you going to turn into a Wallflower? 

Pleats and Thank You

Pleats and Thank You is a fun asymmetric shawl that features a variegated main yarn and a fun contrast color. This was a fun design to come out of my head because I wasn't totally sure if the 3D stitches effect would work. 

I originally saw the welt used on Stephen Wests' Batad and decided to give it a try in my own design. I have tried a similar technique on a folded hem for a sock design that didn't happen. I LOVED adding this fun pop of color to the shawl! 

One of my favorite parts of designing is thinking up something that I'm not 100% sure will work and then figuring how to make it work. When it does work, it's a big fricken party! I also added in a two color bind off which I had not attempted before but it looks so cool. 

I used 800 yards of the main color and 100 yards of the contrast, the MC is a Merino/Nylon blend and the CC is 100% Merino, so have fun with different blends and fibers. I can't wait to see the different combos that will come out. I think that making the contrast color a handspun or thick and thin yarn would be a great way to add texture. 

Happy Knitting!!

Sierra 

California Grass

 You have to know by now that I grew up in California and just recently moved to Washington state (if you didn't, Hi! Born and raised in Northern California and just moved in April 2021). 

This latest sock design was inspired by the neighborhood and surrounding I grew up in. Our hills are rolling gold and brown and with the drought most of the grass is goldie too. California Grass is my latest sock design and I used a ribbed pattern to imitate the short California grass. The varying heights of ribbing looks like all the different heights in the blades of grass, the perfect green California grass in only in the movies. 

The gorgeous yarn for California Grass was provided by Curated Yarn Co! This color is actually called Stone Age but I was really getting the grass vibes between the changing rib pattern and the wonderful Stevie was able to put onto the yarn. 

The yarn base I used is a 75% Superwash Merino and 25% Nylon so any sock base you have in your stash should work. I do believe that a tonal or solid colorway would be beat to really show off the texture changes in the pattern. 

Happy Knitting! 

Sierra 

Pussy Willow

If you've been following for awhile then you know that I am frequently inspired by my surroundings and my home. My newest shawl, Pussy Willow, is one of those designs! 

Pussy Willow branches were a constant in my childhood home. My mom had them tucked into different vases around the house; I always found them fascinating and a little untouchable. The vases that housed the pussy willow bunches were always up high were they couldn't get knocked by cats, kids, dogs, or my dad. 

While browsing my dictionaries I found this stitch and it immediately drew my attention with its similarities between pussy willow buds and tuck stitches. I decided to make my own non-fragile pussy willows to remind me of home no matter where I am. I hope this nature inspired shawl brings you the comfort of home, just like it does for me. 

Onto the yarn! I used yarn Tosh Sock, a 100% Superwash Merino yarn, sponsored by Madtosh in the colorway Glazed Pecan. The base I mentioned above is a multiply fingering weight yarn but I knit my original swatch in a single ply, with that, I believe any fingering weight base would work! I do suggest a tonal or a solid colorway otherwise the buds may not show well enough. Message me on Ravelry if you want a color consult!