Curved and Squared Shawl

It's fall season which means it is very busy here at All Knit Up Designs. Fall season = show season, so for the last 3 weekends (and headed to my next one) I've been vending at fiber festivals! But, just because I'm out and about in traveling the PNW doesn't mean I haven't been working on a pattern. 

Going to fiber shows is one of my favorite parts of my job, I love spending time with knitters and getting to chat about my designs. When I talk with fiber folks at a show I take what they say into consideration. I had a few people mention that they don't love or wear triangle shawls, which is mostly what I design. I have a few different shapes like Wrapped in Color with 3/4 shaping or Me Before Brioche with crescent shaping but not nearly as many as I have different shapes of triangle shawls. I decided to take the feedback and add a few more crescents to the mix. 

Curved and Squared is my newest crescent shawl and it is a sister pattern to All Squared Up with a mitered square bind off, so another scrappy shawl to add to your collection! Curved and Squared uses a welted pattern in the body, which is a 4 row repeat with only 1 purl row and perfectly easy to memorize. 

The body of the original Curved and Squared sample is two skeins of fingering weight yarn at approximately 847 yards and then 13 colors for the mitered square. I opted to reuse colors in my sample because I was using a mini skein set from Road Trip Sock Yarn but you could use 3 grams of 32 different colors for a fully scrappy version. 

If you're intimidated by the mitered squares you can check out my tutorial here for a more in-depth explanation on how to knit them. The mitered squares are really where you get to play with color in Curved and Squared, so dive into your scraps and see what different colors you can combine for your wearable art! 

This and That Shawl

Already into the 3rd quarter of the year! What!? This is my third design with Leading Men Fiber Arts and I adore the color combo. I love pulling elements from different designs of mine and creating something new. This and That Shawl has lots of little different elements, 'A Little bit of This and a Little bit of That' pulled from other designs. 

This and That shawl features asymmetric shaping, stripes, bobbles, and finishing with a little lace. My original sample uses a main color and 3 mini skeins used to highlight the colors in the variegated yarn. You could make your version super scrap happy and make every bobble/stripe row a different color. 

The way the shawl is designed leaves plenty of room for customization. If you have more yardage you can expand your repeats, make a 2 color version and highlight your 2 favorite colors together, or use a gradient ball of yarn in your stripes! 

Any fingering weight yarn you're comfortable wearing around your neck will be great! If you're interested in my original colors you can check out the Ravelry project bag here. 

All the Stripes Shawl

I'm a one skein collector, if I fall in love with a skein (usually of fingering weight) it's most likely going to come home with. Buuuut once it's home it joins the collection of other single skeins that I haven't found projects for. 

All the Stripes helped solve that problem by combining what look like totally different yarns into one cohesive shawl. All the Stripes uses 4 skeins of fingering weight (some can be leftovers!) using side to side shaping with a slip stitch edge which then allows you to pick up stitches to add your bottom edging.

The stripes run completely different ways for a graphic and bold shawl to add to your wardrobe. All the Stripes uses KFB for its simple shaping and slip stitches for the edge. The i-cord bind off is probably the most 'challenging' part of the shawl but it's very easy to knit. 

All the Stripes, with its side to side shaping, is easily customizable to reach the size you want. If you'd prefer a shawlette size versus a shawl size then you can start your decreasing section earlier. Your knitting is supposed to work for you, not just for you to follow the pattern. So, take a dive through your stash, see which yarns have been sitting lonely for a while and check out All the Stripes! 

DIY Rainbow Shawl

Mini skeins are fabulous! I use them as a way to try new dyers or colorways, easy to purchase a few to support a new local yarn shop, and a fantastic way to try new colors outside of your regular palette. 

DIY Rainbow Shawl is the second installment of the Leading Men Fiber Arts quarter designs from All Knit Up Designs. You can check out the 'in-house designer' post here. 

My newest shawl design is an asymmetric triangle shawl that uses as many or as few mini skeins as you'e like! Original sample used 9, 20gram mini skeins to create a kaleidoscope of color on your needles. DIY Rainbow uses two color garter to create unique blends of color between 2 mini skeins. 

The original sample used a variety of dye styles; tonal, speck and variegated but they were all 20 grams. You could also use all 10 grams or 50 grams if you'd prefer. The slip stitch edges give a clean and crisp finish with a nice i-cord bind off. Any minis with a base you're comfortable wearing around your neck are perfect. 

If you'd prefer to use the two color garter technique with less colors and bigger skeins you can check out Dillon or Splash. If you'd like a crescent shape vs a triangle Me Before Brioche is for you. I can't wait to see the Rainbow you come up with! 

Comfy Cozy DK

My original Comfy Cozy shawl has been big hit with the social knitters but not everyone loves fingering weight. It might be too thin, take too long, be intimidating, or just plain don't like it. So, with many requests; Comfy Cozy is now available in DK weight! 

Comfy Cozy DK uses the same broken rib pattern separated by a few rows of plain garter for a squishy, comfy, and warm shawl of the winter months. The heavier fabric gives an extra layer of warmth for when the wind really begins to blow. 

The original sample uses Miss Babs Yowza, a 100% Merino yarn that comes in giant hanks I like to call yarn babies. The colorway is Tea Time Frenzy and it's a lightly variegated yarn with some speckling. I was hesitant at first because I wasn't sure the patten was going to show but the color and the broken rib compliment so well. 

Definitely take a look at the projects on Ravelry if you can, it will be well worth it. So many testers made awesome color blocked and striped versions. You'll get some ideas and maybe be able to pull from stash! You can take a look at my project page here.  

Wrapped in Color

The vast majority of my 20s I spent living in cardigans. I was in college, working at the yarn shop, and working with kids. They are easy to through on and off as I get hot and add just a little extra to an outfit. Now that I'm in Washington and it's much colder and most of my time is spent working from home I don't throw them on as often, I reach for a shawl more readily than a cardigan. 

BUT! Shawls don't always stay in place like I want them too and it drives me nuts to constantly pull them up and over my shoulder. The 3/4 shape that is used in Wrapped in Color is my new obsession to throw on when I'm at home working. 

Wrapped in Color features a fleck stitch that is a four row repeat and adds just a bit of texture to the body of the shawl and then a wide mosaic border. The original sample uses a gradient mini skein kit for the mosaic section but is designed to use leftovers, random mini skeins, or a kit you have in stash. The main body color works best as a tonal or solid to really show off that fleck stitch. 

Wrapped in Color is a long lasting knit, using close to 400 grams of fingering weight. I did have testers that used a heavier weight yarn for colder weather and a faster knit. You can check out the different test knit samples on Ravelry. 

Double Cozy Shawl

For my designing, most of the time I already have a sketch down or I can envision parts of a whole design when I find a yarn I love. Other times new ideas for a pattern stems from a design I'm already working on. I get a 'would that work if I try it this way' or 'what about this design with this shape + this one extra stitch.' My newest shawl pattern is one of those ones that stemmed from a design I was working on. 

Double Cozy is a sibling shawl to Comfy Cozy, similar to Comfy Cozy, Double Cozy is a top down triangle shawls that uses two skeins of fingering weighty. I used a double broken rib stitch that travels down the length of the shawl and really shows off hand dyed yarn. I wanted the graphic lines of the double broken rib to really show off. The lines remind me of the long lines of a sky scraper. 

Double Cozy is simple knitting with a bold effect that is perfect for social or tv knitting. y testers used a variety of gorgeous yarns in different weights that you should take a look at to be inspired. I'm definitely planning to knit another one and this time I want the base to have some cashmere init for a plump and luxurious shawl. 

Double Cozy used 876 yards of fingering weight but you can knit more or less repeats to fit your yard. My yarn is 100% Superwash Merino so anything your comfortable wearing around your neck is great! 

What will you pull from your stash for a Double Cozy Shawl? 

Spring Faux Hounds

When you look at a design online are you usually inspired by the colors and photography or the shape and the texture of the design? I know I'm inspired by a bit of both depending on the design. 

My original Faux Hounds has been very popular and was super popular at shows Aug-Dec of 2023 (the year it was released.) All Knit Up Designs vended at Red Alder Fiber Retreat in Tacoma WA in February of 2024 and it wasn't nearly as popular as before! Bummer, but not no big deal, we'll give it a try at the next show. 

Makerfest in April it had the same reception, nice but not running out of patterns like I did in the fall. That's when the thought set in that people just aren't as inspired by the fall color palette outside of the season! That was how I made the decision that a spring/summer color Faux Hounds was on the knitting list. 

I dug through my stash and found Neighborhood Fiber Co Organic Rustic Fingering in Canton (solid color) and Fierce Fibers Renai in Soft Kitty (gradient). These are both single-ply yarns and they made for such a squishy fabric on a US 5 needle. Obviously these are from different dyers but together the palette's were on point! 

So, this was how Spring Faux Hounds was born! Similar to the original pattern design I used a solid and a gradient ball of yarn so I didn't have many ends to weave in. This simple mosaic stitch pattern really highlighted the lovely combination of colorway and stitches. 

Spring Faux Hounds will now come with me to in-person events All Knit Up Designs is vending at. Keep an eye out so you can see it in-person! 

Spring Fling Shawl

 Hey! Long time no write....I know, I know. I always have the busy excuse. Well, in April I did have a two week work trip to Colorado to vend at Makerfest so I was a bit busy! But I have a new shawl pattern out! 

Spring Fling is my latest shawl pattern and it has lace, bobbles, garter, and some ribbing! I wanted to cover all my bases and add a little bit of everything. 

Spring Fling is similar to Playground in only that it uses multiple stitch patterns and has a check off list so you don't get lost. Other than that, Spring Fling highlights mini skeins wonderfully and keeps you interested by switching up stitch patterns. 

The yarn, Yummy 2-Ply a 100% Superwash Merino, was provided by Miss Babs Yarns but I definitely have purchased this base before and I love working with it! It definitely feels like it has some cashmere in it but it's only wool. The website has lots of options with gorgeous colors! 

If purchasing yarn isn't in your budget then mini skeins from stash or two colors of fingering weight should work! The original sample uses just under 800 yards so a two color version would be great! 

Dark Color Happy Scrappy

I usually knit my patterns once, I love the adventure of a new knit so I rarely reknit my own designs. But! Sometimes it can be hard for a knitter to see a design and relate to it if it's not in a color palette they use! I tend to knit my scrappy projects with a lighter color base but I decided to mix it up and knit Happy Scrappy for a second time and use a dark color base for the knitters who prefer a darker color palette. 

Happy Scrappy is my bottom up triangle shawl that uses drop stitches to make fringe...which means there's no ends to weave in! Instead of using scraps for both the dark color and the light color I used a full skein of grey yarn from my stash and leftovers for the other colors. Just a fun way you can coordinate your yarn to knit the patterns you want! 

Long Nights Shawl

If you've been around for awhile you know I grew up in California and moved to Washington's Olympic Peninsula in spring of 2021. I absolutely love where I live in WA but some of the winter nights are so long. 

My newest shawl pattern is inspired by those long winters nights! Long Nights is a top down triangle shawl using DK weight yarn for a heavier and very squishy shawl that is perfect to knit on long dark nights and wear on those nights too! 

Long Nights has a simple pattern that incorporates both garter and stockinette so it really shows off hand dyed yarn in those two different stitches. I used DK+ from Puzzle Tree Yarns which is a 100% Superwash Merino wool base. I love how squishy and warm the original sample is. 

I suggested in the pattern some alternatives that can be used. You could use a a mohair or suri alpaca blend held with a fingering weight yarn to make DK or a Sport weight yarn held with a lace weight. This would be a fun way to marl a project or knit Long Nights with a few different colors if you feel like you don't have enough yardage in your stash. 

Long Nights was going to originally be called 'Because I Can' because there is a two stitch spine instead of a more traditional single stitch. Long Nights came as I was knitting the sample and how calming it was to knit in the transition between fall and winter. 

Faux Hounds Shawl

The stitch that my newest shawl uses has been on my mind for years. I originally found/used the stitch in Auditions by KnitPurl Hunter and just love the movement of the colors. I've been playing around with shawl shapes and ideas for the stitch since I started designing and finally settled on a traditional triangle shape to really make the colors and stitch shine. 

Faux Hounds is my newest shawl pattern and it utilizes the 3 to 1 stitch as well as a gradient to great a gentle flow of color and texture. I used two different yarn bases for Faux Hounds, a merino, yak and silk as the base color and a merino silk blend for the gradient. I get asked frequently if I do/is it okay to mix fibers and my answer is yes...with some rules. 

I tend to keep my blends similar in base (these two are both heavily merino wool and have the silk) and I don't usually mix plant and animal bases. Why don't I mix plant and animal bases? They stretch differently as well as hold dye differently. Wool bases have lots of 'life' to them and spring back into place when they've been stretched out, usually why socks are hand knit with wool. A cotton yarn is much heavier than a wool and does not bounce back into shape when it's been stretched out. 

Faux Hounds is an excellent example on how to combine different bases and how nicely they can knit together. Faux Hounds works great with a solid color base and a variegated, a solid with mini skeins, or a solid color with leftovers. There are so many opportunities to play with color. Also, doesn't the stitch remind you of houndstooth fabric? That's where Faux Hounds came from! A faux houndstooth print! 

The Palette

Hey knitters! Does knitting make you feel like an artist? Does the combination of colors and stitches feel like art work to you? My latest shawl design is the perfect pattern to bring out the artist in ANY knitter. 

The Palette is a 3/4 shaped shawl that uses 5 different stitches to create the perfect opportunity for knitters to explore color combinations and knit a truly unique piece. Why The Palette? While designing it truly felt like a painters palette opened up to me! The original sample was knit in a jewel tone palette but knitters could use neons with a black base, or neutrals with a cream base. So many options for different color tastes! 

The 3/4 shape is easy to memorize and so comfy to wear. It feels like a cardigan draped across the shoulders and stays in place. Each different stitch pattern is written out and easy to follow. 

The Palette was designed in fingering weight yarn and a variety of bases, the main color is a wool/silk blend but the contrast colors run the gamut of 100% wool, merino/nylon, merino/cashmere/nylon so any combination of fingering weights will work. Each of the contrast colors uses less than 100 grams, the largest being 75 grams. So many options open up if you want to use scraps! 

I can’t wait to see all the color combinations you artists come up with! 

Check it Out Shawl

I have waxed soliloquies about my love of scrappy projects and designs, so I've decided to present you with another one! 

Check it Out is a top down triangle shawl that uses a main color and an array of leftovers for a fun and graphic stripe design. Check it Out is simple to follow and easy to knit so it's a perfect project for beginners or knitters just looking to play with color. 

I went with a cooler color palette for this design with a grey base, but I think a cream base (which is my favorite) with brights or jewel tones would be gorgeous! Check it Out is definitely a design where it is easy to put your color hat on and play, but if you don't have lots of leftovers or mini skeins (I have some here in my Etsy) you could also use a self-striping or a gradient skein as your contrast/mini skeins. 

The leftovers were a mix of bases for this project but the main color is an alpaca/merino/nylon blend, just comfy enough to wear wrapped around my neck. I used approximately 1.5 skeins of fingering weight yarn for my main color, they were actually leftovers from a sweater project! 

Contemplation Shawl

Hey Knitters! Fall is starting to come to the PNW! The mornings and evenings are chilly and I'm so excited for it! 

With the coming of the fall and the changing weather I'm excited to announce that my newest design is here and it's part of a collection! The Sun and Fog Fall 2022 collection is now available to purchase and Contemplation is one of the designs ❤️

As a person who suffers from social anxiety, I spend quite a bit of my time contemplating. Contemplating my designs, contemplating life, past failures, and future endeavors. As a new transplant to Washington, I contemplate my lovely new home, how the weather is different from California, and whether or not I'm going to need a shawl when I leave the house (usually, yes). The inspiration for this piece was curling up on my favorite chair with a mug of kombucha and contemplating the changing of the weather and what my home is going to look like for each season.

Contemplation is a garter tab, top-down, 3/4 shawl featuring welted garter stitch for the outside wedges and alternating diamond and braid cables in the center wedge reminiscent of falling leaves. The bottom border framing the shawl is worked in a 1x1 rib- bing and finishes with a bind-off in pattern. The 3/4 shawl is a new shape for me and I love it! I found that it sits on the shoulders similar to a sweater and has perfect drape.

I used a gorgeous yarn called Eponymous Sock from Three Fates Yarns in the Mochi Dark colorway and it was a dream to knit with. The ply was perfect to show off the cables and the dye job was amazing. I would highly recommend using Stephania's yarn. 

If you are planning to knit from stash, the sample used ~1200 yards of fingering weight yarn, in a 100% merino base. I recommend a solid or tonal yarn to really show off the cable work, I think a variegated yarn will hide all the work you will put into the cables. The shawl could be made smaller if you want but I don't think the shape would fit correctly without the correct amount of yardage. 

You can take a look at the rest of the collection here! 

All photos were provided by Sun and Fog and taken by Ksenia Naidyon @life_is_cozy

Combining Colors for Shawl Knitting

Does pairing colors confuse you? Do you love other knitters multi-yarned shawls but every time you knit a multi colored shawl or try to knit one you just don't love your color combos? You definitely aren't the only one! 

So, let's have a little lesson about colors and how I combine them! 

I've arranged 4 sample color sets to talk about and they are each ones that I have purchased and pulled together from my stash. 

Combo #1: A variegated yarn with a pulling pop

The yarn featured below is a variegated yarn which plays more green/highlighter yellow. I paired it with a purply/pink yarn that pulls the same color from the variegated. I picked the purple to highlight because in the actual skein it is the color that shows the least and I personally wanted it to pop. The idea in mind for this set is a pair of shorty socks that has some stripes of the contrast color and a contras color heel .

Comb #2: Colors in the same palette 

The second way that I like to pair colors is different colors that are in the same family. The below color combo is a fall colored variegated and speckled yarn that has pink, orange, yellow, a bit of brown, and an overall fall feel. With this fall feel in mind I paired a deep burnt orange color as the contrast. The orange is highlighted but doesn't stand out quite as much as the contrast above. This shawl combo gives an overall warm palette and fall vibe to me!

Combo #3: Same colors different bases

Not every knitter wants their accessories to pop. Some people like it a bit more subtle, the combo below definitely fits that description. Instead of picking a color combo that is contrasted this combo uses the same color palette but on different bases. The main yarn is a traditional fingering weight blend of merino and nylon and the contrast is a mohair silk blend. Dyed in the same color palette the knitter would have a shawl that plays more with the different textures of the yarns vs different colors as shown in the two combo above. 

Combo #4: Pulling a color from a less highly variegated yarn

The last combo is a variegated similar to the first combo but the color palette more subtle. This combo seems more like a picture to me. I can visualize a flower in a field with the combination of green, pink, and gold. The gold is used the least amount in the skein so that is the color that I picked to be the highlight. I purchased a contrast that would pull the least seen color of the variegated yarn and now the gold specks will pop when knitted up. 

I hope you enjoyed this little color show and it gave you some ideas on how to combine colors for future projects. If you're lucky enough to live near or be able to visit a local yarn shop I guarantee that a worker would love to help you find amazing color combos! There is a video version of this blog available here on my Instagram account. Can't wait to see your color combos!