Happy weekend, everyone! This week it was like someone flipped a switch and changed the weather from summer to late fall or early winter. From what I’ve heard, that isn’t just Arizona but most of The United States. It’s sunny and cool now after several dreary days–perfect for pulling out our warm woollies and making some more too.

With that in mind, today I get to share a couple neat knitting patterns with you. I’m going to be embedding a few videos to help along the way. Please let me know if they work in your browser. I’m including a link to each one on YouTube in case they don’t.

On to the patterns!

The first one was written by Syd Tupaj, one of the founding members of Fiberholics, the local fiber arts group I joined last summer. This is one amazing lady. She knits, weaves, spins, and does it all with amazing skill, and I’m guessing that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

When the group met a couple weeks ago, she and the other amazing founding member both had these gorgeous and unique scarves they had made. When I asked about the pattern, Syd said that she had made the pattern herself. I said she should publish it, and she kindly offered to let me publish it here! A big thank you to Syd for allowing me to share this really neat pattern with you!!

Here’s Syd’s beautiful pattern, aptly named Scarf by Syd.

Scarf by Syd Tupaj of Fiberholics

What You’ll Need

2 skeins of fingering-weight yarn with 400 yards each in contrasting colors
Size 6 needles

Instructions 

Choose one color to be the dominant color and cast on 50 stitches.
Place markers for 3 stitch borders on each side. This will be an I-Cord Border.
Please note: I do not cut my yarn I carry the unused color up inside of the I Cord. See video below.

Main Color (Garter stitch)
Knit 3 stitches, slip marker, knit to marker, slip marker, WYIF (with yarn in front) slip 3 stitches. Turn work.

Repeat this for a total of 4 rows.

Contrast Color (Stockinette stitch)
Knit 3 stitches, slip marker, knit to marker, slip marker, WYIF (with yarn in front) slip 3 stitches, turn work
Knit 3 stitches, slip marker, Purl to marker, slip marker, slip 3 stitches, turn work (yarn is not in front for this row)

Repeat the Main Color Garter Stitch instructions and then the Contrast Color Stockinette Stitch instructions until you are almost out of the Main color.

End with 3 rows of Main color and bind off for 4th row. Work in ends.

This is a video to help you manage your yarn ends with the I Cord edging. I’m embedding the video here, but if you can’t see it, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo6h7bNC9vA

 

If you use this pattern and share your results, please be sure to give Syd credit and link to this blog post.

If you want to try this pattern and need a skein or two of sock-weight yarn, I know a great little shop that has lots of it! This would look great in any base, but I think it would look stunning using So Silky Sock.

---

The second pattern was written by me. I had some BFL top I had dyed as a white to black gradient that I was just itching to spin, and I decided I wanted to make a nice quick and fun project out of it. After spinning it as a worsted-weight yarn, I decided I wanted a plied yarn, but I didn’t want to lose the gradient, so I Navajo-plied it. This is also known as chain-plying, and it basically amounts to crocheting the yarn on the spinning wheel. Here’s a video by Sarah Anderson showing how to Navajo-ply, and here’s a link in case the video won’t play here .

By the time I was done plying it, though, my original 120 or so yards had become a 3-ply yarn totaling only about 35 yards. I went searching for patterns on Ravelry that used about 35 yards of super bulky yarn, but I couldn’t find anything I liked, so, necessity being the mother of invention, I decided to make a quick and easy cowl pattern.

After I gently blocked it, the dimensions were 11″ across and 5″ high.

I enjoyed the whole process so much that I ended up making a second one at that same wonderful fiber arts group. I’ve been working on a Free Your Fade pattern forever, so it was really nice to take a break from that and make something I could finish in a couple of hours.

I made the second one from yarn I spun and plied using two of my Gift of the Magi art batts. Here’s the yarn:

And here’s the cowl, which I made using the same pattern as before:

This one was the same 11″ wide but 6″ high. I found I preferred the 5″ high gradient size for comfort, but the 6″ high one was just fine.

I’m calling this the Diamond Twist Cowl Pattern. The pattern is quite similar to the Jane Austen Lace-Weight Cowl I shared last summer. Here’s the Pattern:

Diamond Twist Cowl

by Carla Hanson of Purple Lamb Fiber Arts

What You’ll Need

Size 19 24-inch circular needles.

About 35 yards of super bulky yarn. Handspun is great for this, but it doesn’t have to be handspun. The yarn I used was 5 to 6 wraps per inch.

(The amount of yarn needed is flexible, but I found 35 yards made the cowl a nice size.)

Instructions

Cast on 32 stitches and join in the round, being careful to make sure the yarn isn’t twisted.

Knit all stitches and place stitch marker at end of first round.

Repeat the following rows until you have about 5 yards remaining or the cowl is the height you want it to be. I found that 5 inches was about the perfect height.

Row 1: *YO, K2tog* and repeat to stitch marker

Row 2: Knit all stitches.

Bind Off: Bind off using a super stretchy bind off such as the Russian Bind-Off. To do the Russian Bind-Off, knit 2 stitches and then return them to left needle. Knit 2 together. Knit 1 more stitch and move that one and the one knit before back to left needle and knit 2 together. Continue to the end. Allow about 5 yards to do this.

Here’s a video from Very Pink Knits showing how to do it, and here’s a link to the video in case the embedded version doesn’t show up for some reason: https://youtu.be/FxD-OJAk9-8

You are welcome to share and use this pattern and do whatever you like with the cowls you make from it, including selling them. I would just ask that you include a link to www.purplelambfiberarts.com when you do.

After I finished two of these, I went on a bit of a Navajo-Plying binge. There are worse things to binge on, right? I am adding those skeins to the Super Bulky Handspun section of my shop, and they would be perfect for this pattern.

I think the Diamond Twist Cowl along with some handspun yarn would make a great Christmas present, don’t you?

What are you working on? Do you see yourself using one or the other of these patterns?