News

The Feeling Groovy Tote is a fun project to work with multiple colors of Kraemer Yarns Perfection Worsted or Tatamy Worsted. This is an intermediate level pattern, as you should be comfortable with the knitting basics of casting-on, knitting, and purling, and there is some additional finishing work required. 

In our sample photographs, we’re using Tatamy Worsted in Playtime, Ginger, Baby Powder, Black, and Silver Tatamy Tweed Worsted.

If you’re brand new to colorwork knitting, we’d suggest you start by casting on the back of the tote first. This piece is a stockinette panel, all knit stitches on one side and all purls on the back. You’ll change colors to work a striped sequence of your selected colors. 

A few tips: 

Expect the panel to roll at the edges - that’s the nature of the stockinette fabric!

Leave a tail of 4-6” when changing colors to have enough length to work with when weaving in the ends! 

You can cut the yarn each time you change color or you can carry up Color C (white in our sample). 

The front of the tote starts with another simple colorwork stripe and the placement of two stitch markers. The stitch markers set off the stitches you’ll work following the chart. 

A few reminders to get started:

The chart is color-coded, and you’ll be knitting all stitches on the right side and purling all stitches on the wrong side in their designated color. 

Wind yarn off the skein for the color blocks (either butterfly-style or around a bobbin). This will make working the color changes easier! We do not want to carry multiple colors across the back as you would in a stranded colorwork design - that will create too much bulk and puckering on the fabric. 

Remember, you’ll be knitting the right side on the odd numbered rows and purling on the wrong side, even-numbered rows. When you come to a color change in the chart you need to join in a new bobbin. Lay the first yarn over top of the new color yarn. Then grab the new color yarn, and knit across to the end of the row as usual. Only unravel the yarn as you need it so you don't get tangled! Holding the first yarn over the top of the new one will help twist the yarns together and avoid holes; use your thumb to hold the yarn ends in place for the first stitch or two to keep your tension even. 

As you work through the chart, you’ll see the design emerge!

Expect a few tangles will happen. One tip that can help is to always turn your work in the same direction at the end of the right side row (clockwise) and then turn it the opposite direction at the end of the wrong side row (counterclockwise). 

Here is the finished front panel, front and back. There are a lot of ends to weave in, but it’s an opportunity to snug up any loose spots at the color changes. Don’t forget the blocking step! A light steam or a damp cloth placed on top of the pinned out panel really evens out the stitches. 

Look at those stitches post-blocking! 

We hope this inspires you to cast on the Feeling Groovy Tote and give the intarsia technique a try! We’d love to see your projects and hope you’ll tag us on Facebook and Instagram in all stages of progress. 

The Cherry Blossom Path Scarf is a pattern that features cables and lace patterns while worked in our Perfection Worsted yarn. We’ve marked this pattern as Experienced in the skill level, as the pattern does require your attention to the cables and lace stitches! Of course, it’s all just one stitch at a time, so if you’ve knit cables or lace before you can handle this pattern. 

Knit this scarf following the chart or the row-by-row instructions. For those knitters choosing the chart, make sure to first review the legend on page 7; the symbols are shown below. Take a few moments to review the symbols, abbreviations, cables, decreases, and increases. A tip: the designer wrote the pattern for a slip one, knit two, pass slipped stitch over - but if you instead do a slip one, kt2og, pass slipped stitch over, you’ll be off on the next row.

Felting is a very old craft, used to create fabric for large panels in carpets or clothing, and items that are shaped over a solid form including shoes, slippers, and bowls. Felting happens when wool fibers are tangled up together on the microscopic level. Just like human hair, animal fibers (wool) have scales. These scales are what make many fibers sticky to each other and sometimes when heated and agitated, these scales can bind together which results in felting. That’s what happens when you accidentally put that sweater you worked so hard on in the washer and dryer and it comes out smaller and denser.

In today’s post we wanted to share with you a few examples of knit felting (also known as fulling). First, let’s clear up a technicality: Fulling is when you apply heat, moisture, and agitation to a knit or crochet fabric. Felting is when you start with loose fibers (like Mauch Chunky Roving). Oftentimes the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference! 

Start by knitting or crocheting with Kraemer Yarns Mauch Chunky, Naturally Nazareth, or one of our 100% undyed non-superwash wool yarns in the Naturals line. Adding a bit of heat, moisture, and agitation will work to tangle up the wool fibers, resulting in a dense fabric. 

For our demonstration purposes, we have knit a square and crocheted a circle, both in Mauch Chunky. Our square is approximately 7” x 7.5” and the circle has a diameter of 9”. 

The source of heat, moisture, and agitation is a washing machine! We tossed our swatches in with a few pairs of jeans for extra agitation and a tablespoon or so of laundry soap. We set the cycle for the lowest water setting, the roughest agitation, and made sure the temperature was turned to hot. Depending on your project, you may wish to pause the cycle and check the progress every 5-10 minutes. 

Take a look at the swatches now. Notice that the stitches are harder to distinguish as individual bits. Also, the size of the swatch is different! Our knit swatch now measures 6.5” by 5” and the crochet circle has a 7”” diameter. When you are felting a project, if you notice a certain area isn't felting quite as fast as the rest of the surfaces, you can spot-felt by hand by rubbing and abusing that specific area! 

Wet wool items, even felted woolens, are extremely malleable. Depending on your project, block hats over head-sized bowls or a balloon. Bags can be blocked with boxes for sharp corners or shove them full of plastic grocery bags to achieve the perfect style. Stuff bowls with plastic cups for a round, attractive opening. And let them dry completely - it could take several days, so be patient. 

If you’re looking for a quick last minute gift, we used just a bit of Mauch Chunky to knit the Earbud Cosy, a free pattern from Corina Cook. When the knitting was complete, the project measured 8.5” tall by 6” wide. After felting, it measures  8” tall and 5.5” wide. It needs just a little extra detail for adding a button or snap, and it’s ready to keep earbuds untangled! 

We hope you give felting a try! We have a number of projects on our website to get you started, simply search for Felted. The technique is not difficult and requires little tools or experience. Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment in our Kraemer Yarns Facebook Group or tagging us in your photos on Instagram.

Swatching can be a divisive topic in the yarn world. There are knitters who always swatch and knitters who never swatch. We’d like to use this blog post today to encourage you to give swatching a chance, and to swatch properly, so that you have the best chance possible of a successful finished object in your favorite Kraemer Yarn that is the size you expect! 

Swatch Big!

While it is tempting to knit a few stitches for a few rows and call it swatching, it’s not enough to get an accurate idea of the gauge that will result from the unique combination of needle + yarn + the way YOU knit. You need at least a 4-inch square as this avoids edge distortions and for you to relax into the knitting process. Also resist the temptation to measure before your swatch is bound-off. In progress swatches won’t be accurate! If you’re concerned that you need to be conservative with your yardage, know that you can always unravel the swatch later if you need it! 

Here is our pre-blocked swatch pile of Mauch Chunky (bottom), Naturals Judy, Tatamy and Perfection Sport. 

Wash and block your swatch

After you’ve knit your swatch, you’ll want to give it a bath. This step helps relax the stitches, removes dirt or oils your hands may have gotten on to the yarn, and evens everything out. You’ll find it is easier to measure your stitch and row count from a flat fabric too! Follow the directions on the yarn label and consider how you will wash the final garment. We soaked our swatches in Eucalan and tepid water for 15 minutes, gently squeezed out the water, laid them flat and pinned them out, but did not stretch them. 

Clockwise from the top left: Perfection Sport, Tatamy, Naturals Judy, Naturals Judy (We’ll explain why there are two in a moment!), Mauch Chunky, Tatamy Tweed. 

Measure your swatch

To take accurate measurements, you’ll want to use a wooden, metal, or acrylic ruler. Avoid a flexible measuring tape as they can stretch over time! Count the number of stitches within 4 inches of the center of the fabric. This is your stitch gauge over 4 inches. If you need the gauge per 1 inch, divide that stitch count by four. Row gauge measurements are similar, count the number of rows within four inches and if needed, divide by four. 

Your swatch should be large enough so that you can measure your gauge in a few spots! Compare your gauge to that of the pattern - did you meet it? Do you have more or less stitches per inch? If you have more, swatch again with a larger needle. If you have less, swatch again with a smaller needle. 

A note on the Naturals

Kraemer Yarns Naturals are undyed yarns. If you choose to use these yarns, be mindful to wash the yarn first, before dyeing and swatching! Even if you are not dyeing the yarn and will be using it in the undyed state, the yarn should still be washed before you swatch. 

For these swatches of Judy, we cast on 35 stitches and knit with US7 needles. The swatch on the top is straight from the hank, swatched, and blocked. Before knitting the swatch on the bottom, we soaked the yarn to wash it, let it air dry, then swatched and blocked.

The difference of half a stitch may not seem like much but it does add up!

Save your swatch

When your project is complete, saving the swatch is a good idea as you’ll have a bit of yarn available should any repairs be needed if there’s a snag in the future! Over time, you could also consider combining your swatches into a one-of-a-kind blanket, or swatch shrug like Vickie Howell recently shared. 

Remember, multiple knitters do not knit exactly the same and the individual differences result in different gauges. Knowing how the yarn works up when you use it is what is important! If the same knitter were to knit these swatches again in a few months, it is possible their gauge would be different, given how tense or relaxed they are when knitting.  

Your future self will thank you for taking the time now to learn all you can about the fabric you’ll create.

How do you keep your hands warm, but fingers at the ready to send a quick text message, tie a shoelace, or turn a key? Fingerless mitts! These projects are quick to complete and are super practical. Today we’d like to share a few of our tips for working fingerless mitts, spotlighting our Flip Top Mitts. 

Vanessa Ewing’s Flip Top Mitts kit comes with the pattern and a skein of Perfection Worsted. Sizing is included for Toddler through Adult Large, and the height of the flip top mitten is easy to adjust for a truly custom fit! We’ve noticed many finished objects of this pattern in our Facebook group. One fan, Madeline, has already knit three pairs! 

The pattern is suitable for an advanced beginner. There are a few techniques that may not be immediately familiar to you: backward loop cast-on and picking up stitches in the middle of your fabric. Just take it one stitch at a time!

Here we have knit the cuff and the increases for the thumb. We moved the gusset stitches (in between the stitch markers) to waste yarn for working them later. The backward loop cast on allows us to add a few stitches in the middle of the row to close up the gap.

When you come to the spot in the pattern where you are instructed to work the backward loop cast on, create a loop with the working yarn, insert the tip of the right needle through that loop, and snug the stitch up a bit by gently pulling the yarn. Repeat for as many stitches as are needed. Then, continue on! The gap will be closed and your thumb is separated from the body of the mitt. 

In this pattern, you’ll complete each hand before moving on to the flip top. You’ll cast on the number of stitches indicated in the pattern and then pick up stitches across the back of the hand. This step can be a little fiddly, but the end result is worth it! 

As we need to pick up stitches from the knit fabric, we are picking them up across a row. Insert the needle into the middle of the stitch, bring it out towards you, insert your needle and knit it. 

Do this across the row for the number of stitches needed, make sure to start at the side edge of your mitt! Be mindful to do this on the opposite side of your other mitt so you have one for the left hand and one for the right hand. You may find it useful to use a double pointed needle not only for picking up those stitches and to remind you which side to start on for that second mitt! 

The cable pattern is worked on both sides of the flip top! The pattern also includes a thumb option to be fingerless (shown above) or as a traditional mitten thumb. It’s the knitter’s choice!

We have several different styles of fingerless mitts in ready to ship kits: DK Fingerless Mitts, Perfect Fit Fingerless Mitts, Chunky Fingerless Mitts, Cables & Textures Fingerless Mitts, and Crochet Ribbed Shell Mitts. They make great gifts for all ages. Make a set to tuck in each coat pocket! 

Planning on making a pair of Flip Top Mitts? Pin this post: 

Knitting can be mysterious and magical.  You start with a skein of yarn and through a series of loops, turn it into a piece of fabric. Double knitting, where you create two layers of knit fabric at the same time, can seem even more wondrous. Our Double Knitted Heart Scarf is an opportunity to practice this technique. We hope this tutorial will help you create a unique and warm accessory!

We often advise knitters to approach a new technique one stitch at a time. That applies here, keeping in mind that every stitch belongs to a pair of stitches. This pair is made up of a knit stitch of one color and a purl stitch of another color. The top layer of fabric is made up from the knit stitches and the bottom layer is made by those purl stitches. In alternating the knit and purl stitches, double knitting can feel a lot like ribbing.

We’ve cast on our stitches and are ready to begin. A handy trick to begin, is to hold two strands of the main color and cast on the number of paired stitches. If the pattern were to call for casting on 50 stitches for the project, that’s 25 pairs of stitches, so you would cast on 25.  

Knit into the first stitch with the main color, Perfection Worsted in Kiss Me.

The next stitch is going to be a purl stitch. We’ll need to attach the contrast color, Perfection Tapas in Lollipop, and bring both colors to the front before actually purling that second stitch. On the right needle you can see that first knit stitch in the Kiss Me, the second purl stitch in Lollipop.   

As we continue these first few rows of the chart, we will move both yarns as one forward and back between each stitch! The photo above shows Row 1 completed. 

Row 2 is a “wrong” side row, meaning the knit stitches in contrast color will be facing you. To work across this row, we knit with the contrast color and purl with the main color, always moving the yarns together between each stitch! 

The first few rows of the chart allow you to relax into the rhythm of this technique! Notice that each side shows stockinette fabric. The hearts are formed with simple changes, where the contrast color is used for the knit stitch on the right side, and the main color is used for the knit stitch on the wrong side. 

The two sides of double knit fabric are mirror images of each other. Each time you change color, the two layers become locked together. 

Don’t let double knitting intimidate you! Practice with a project like our Double Knitted Heart Scarf will build your skills! 

Pin this post: 

The Chanticleer Garden Blanket is a fair isle baby blanket knit in an assortment of colorways of Perfection Sport. Fair Isle is a specific type of colorwork knitting where only two colors are used per round, even if there are a number of different colors used in the projects. In this pattern, there are seven different charted motifs. In today’s post we will spotlight a few tips and tricks to help you knit a successful project.

Tip 1: Perfection Sport as your yarn choice

Wool sticks to itself, so if a stitch drops off your needle, you’ll be able to rescue it quickly. Perfection Sport is a wool/acrylic blend which is an easy care yarn, soft, and durable, great for baby projects and blankets. Yes, you can wash this project. We’re using Snowflake, Silver Grey, Tweet, and Blueberry Buckle for our demonstration here.

Tip 2: Use Stitch Markers

Charts are used to visually represent the stitches for colorwork and there are 7 different charts in the Chanticleer Garden Blanket. Each chart includes the number of stitches in each color repeat and which stitches to knit in which color. Stitch markers are not required, though you may find it useful to mark the border stitches and to place them after each repeat or two of the chart. That way, if you reach the marker before or after the end of the chart repeat, you know you’ve made an error within the last few stitches. Be mindful that you’ll have to adjust the placement of the stitch markers when you change charts - Chart 1 is a 12 stitch repeat, and chart 2 is a 16 stitch repeat in this pattern. Here the pink marker sets off the border and the black markers mark a chart repeat. Our swatch for this tutorial is 37 stitches wide.

Tip 3 Floats: Strand loosely across the back.

A float is the term for the length of yarn that is carried across the back of the knitting. This can be carrying across one stitch or several. If you pull that carried strand too tight, the fabric can pucker, and if they are too loose, the stitches look uneven and can catch on things. To get them just right is a combination of practice and taking the time to spread out the stitches just worked on the right needle each time you switch colors. Also, aim to be consistent to draw the working yarn up in the same manner each time. 

Tip 4 Fair Isle on the Purl Side

The trickiest part about this blanket is that it is knit flat, so there are a few rows in the charts where you have to work fair isle on the purl side. Many knitters consider this difficult but we think that’s because it’s just a less common method. Purl as normal, following the chart starting from the correct side! Right side rows are worked from right to left, wrong side rows are worked left to right. Keep your yarns in the same working order as on the right side and be mindful to keep the floats just right as needed. 

Tip 5: Avoid Tangles

Do your best to keep the colors you’re using separated - one skein on each side of your lap, one skein in its own ziploc bag, or even pulling out enough yardage to get you across the row. Taking the time to give each yarn space when you start the row will help you avoid tangles later. Avoiding tangles means more time knitting on your project and enjoying the colorwork emerge!

Tip 6: Be Patient with yourself!

Take it one stitch at a time and give yourself plenty of time to work on the Chanticleer Garden Blanket. Time and practice will make you a more confident fair isle knitter. We want you to enjoy it! 

Do you have a favorite tip for working Fair Isle? Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or Ravelry to share it with us! 

Yarn support for the Ginny’s Grannies Sampler Blanket CAL was provided by Kraemer Yarns. You can sign up for their newsletter so you can stay on top of what’s new at Kraemer and be entered in the monthly drawing for a $100 yarn jackpot. Also, shipping from Kraemer is free on all orders over $50.

Ginny’s Grannies CAL Part 7