Review: Garter Stitch Shawl Kit from Kraemer Yarns

I love garter stitch for a lot of reasons; besides being easy-peasy, it's always squishy and lays nice and flat without the edges curling. When you combine that with the effect created by knitting each row in a different color, a simple project is transformed into something that's extra special!

The kind folks from Kraemer Yarns sent me a Garter Stitch Shawl Kit from their Festival Wear Collection, which features knitted and crocheted garments and accessories using their Tatamy base, a cotton/acrylic blend that is available two weights (DK and Worsted) and a palette of solid and tweed colors.      

I tend to avoid working with cotton yarns because they are less pliable than wool and wool blends, which translates into hand pain while I knit, but I'm pleased to report that the Tatamy was nice and pliable. I was able to knit without any hand pain!

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V-Stitch crochet is one of my favorite crochet techniques. It’s fast and so easy to make, plus it looks really nice. In July the Janet’s Garden CAL will grow using the double crochet v-stitch. If you are playing around with colors, then this is the perfect month to have some fun with color changes.

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Yarn Review: Kraemer Yarn’s Tatamy DK

Kraemer Yarns was kind enough to send Anne two balls of their Tatamy Tweed DK, a lovely cotton and acrylic blend that is machine washable and dryable. Their Festival Wear pattern line is full of summery projects for knitters and crocheters! Anne knit the Summer Treasure Bag to give the yarn a test drive and was happy with both the pattern and the yarn! A complete review is available in the episode!

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This spring Kraemer Yarns released a new collection of patterns and was featured in Knitty magazine’s cover pattern, Opportune by Emily Ringelman.  Kraemer decided to offer reviewers their choice of Tatamy Tweed and a pattern from their collection or enough yarn to knit Opportune. I decided a summer sweater/beach coverup looked great and ordered Tatamy Tweed DK in the colorway Loganberry.

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Tips for swatching hand-dyed yarn from Kraemer Yarns

A hand-dyed yarn is a thing of beauty! Did you know that Kraemer Yarns carries a wide variety of natural, undyed yarns that can be hand-dyed? Shown above is a skein of Lesley, dyed by Sharon Ivy, in her “African Parrot” colorway. You could jump right in and cast on your next project, but if you take the time to swatch you will learn a lot about the yarn including your gauge and how the colorway works up. 

Washing and blocking the swatch the way you intend to care for the final garment or accessory is an important step to determine an accurate gauge! This is true for both knitters and crocheters! Today we’re focusing on knitting. Many knitters will find that their gauge is different in a piece knit flat versus in the round. There is nothing wrong with that, it’s simply that by making a knit or purl stitch, the yarn is held slightly differently. In a flat stockinette piece, one row is knit, the next is purled. Stockinette in the round only involves knitting the stitches. So, what if your item is to be knit in the round for a sweater, hat, cowl, or socks? You could cast on and begin knitting a tube as your swatch, but there is a shortcut for swatching in the round!

Shortcut for swatching in the round

Cast on your stitches using a long circular needle. 

At the end of the row, do not turn the work, rather slide the stitches back to the beginning of the needle.

Carry the working yarn behind your row of cast on stitches, and begin knitting across the row. 

At the end of this row, do not turn your work, slide the stitches back to the beginning and carry the yarn behind.

If you keep your fingers holding the needle in between the needle and the yarn carried behind, that should help avoid pulling that carried yarn too tightly in back!

If you’ve ever made an i-cord, this will feel familiar! Continue on until you have a sizeable swatch and do not worry about those loose side stitches. 

Treat this the way you would a flat swatch - wash and block! Everything flattens out! If your yarns across the back get twisted as shown above, that is ok. 

Compare a swatch knit flat and knit in the round

Both stockinette swatches were knit using a US2 fixed circular needle. The flat swatch has a gauge measurement of 8 stitches/inch where the circular swatch checks in at 8.75 stitches/inch. You can also see the swatch knit flat shows a simple stripe while the one knit “in the round” shows a simple stripe with subtle flashing. In our opinion, that’s a good gauge and style for socks! We’ll be casting on a pair of summer shorty style socks. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram feeds for the result!

Would you like to win a skein of this beautiful hand-dyed yarn to practice this new technique? Leave a comment below letting us know if you always swatch or never swatch! We will draw two winners on July 8, 2019. 

Don’t forget to pin this post! 

Tatamy Tweed on The Corner of Knit & Tea, Episode 232. Check it out:

 Is it time for a break? I know last month’s CAL rounds were a bit…intense. May’s rounds of the Janet’s Garden CAL feature easy crochet eyelet rounds. Made in just one color May gives you a nice break from some of the more intricate sections of this sampler blanket. Next month is going to be a bit more involved, so take the break while you can!

Get May HERE

Find all the details and additional links about Janet’s CAL HERE.