Greylee

Greylee is a super warm cowl and shoulder warmer, that uses very little yarn!  Stripe it with multiple yarns, or make it simple and solid. 

MATERIALS:

1. 25 yards of 2 WPI yarn - I used two skeins, Yarn A and B (one had 15 yards and the other had 10 yards)

2. Size 35 circular needles, 32 inches long

3. Gauge: 1.5-2.0 stitches/inch

PATTERN

Cast on 20 stitches (about 40 inches)

Join for working in the round (be careful not to twist!); place marker for beginning of the round if needed

*K2, P2* around

If using Multiple Yarns, you can get the most out of your yardage by switching to Yarn B when you have used up Yarn A. 

To create Stripes:  knit two rows with Yarn A, two rows with Yarn B, and repeat.

Bind Off Loosely after 10 rows (approximately 10 inches) , or when your cowl is the length you prefer.

Block with Unicorn Fibre Rinse.  Gently pat dry, reshape and dry flat. 

CREATIVE IDEAS

• Use this pattern as a "stashbuster" project to knit up the scraps of textured yarns in your stash.

• Use this pattern with a short yardage of art yarn striped with a commercial yarn.

Elodie

MATERIALS

• Size 35 circular knitting needles, 32 inches long (we will be knitting flat using circular needles)
• 80-100 yards of textured art yarn (I used about 12 different mini skeins of yarn for this project)
• Crochet Hook
• Yarn for Seaming (this can be art yarn or a commercial yarn that blends in with your art yarn)

We will be knitting this bolero from the top down. This means by adding more stitches you will make the sleeves longer, and by knitting more rows you will make the back wider. Feel free to have a friend measure your arms from elbow-to-elbow for a more accurate cast on number, and knit more rows if you want more back coverage. The bolero in this pattern is a small/medium size. 

PATTERN:

Cast on 42 stitches 

Knit 30 rows of garter stitch

Knit 17 stitches, drop 1 stitch, knit 6 stitches, drop 1 stitch, knit 17 stitches. This will created the "dropped stitch" rows across the back of the shoulders. 

Bind off loosely using a stretchy bind off stitch

Block with Unicorn Fibre Rinse.  Gently pat dry, reshape and dry flat. I stretched my bolero to open the stitches when blocking.

Note: after blocking my piece measured 12 inches wide and 45 inches long. 

Seam the sleeves together by folding in half long-ways and crochet a chain of coordinating yarn up the sleeve.  I seamed 13 inches up each sleeve - leaving 17 inches unseamed to be worn across my back.

Zephyr

Another great convertible piece!  Wear it as a cowl or a shawlette.  Style with shawl pins or other interesting jewelry or yarn. 

MATERIALS

• Size 35 Circular Needles, 32 inches long
• 80-100 Yards of Bulky Handspun Yarn (feel free to combine multiple smaller skeins of yarn for this project)

PATTERN

Cast on 60 stitches; join for knitting in the round (being careful not to twist stitches)

Knit in the round using a simple elongated stitch (see video below)

Knit 22 rows. Feel free to add more rows if you want a longer cape or wider cowl.

Bind off and weave in the ends.

Block with Unicorn Fibre Rinse.  Gently pat dry, reshape and dry flat. 

Floor Urchin

There are many free tutorials for different styles of this floor pillow / ottoman on various websites - but none of them use handspun. Here is the one I came up with that's a little different than all the others - but still has the same principle.

MATERIALS

• Size 19 circular needles , 32 -40 inches (we will be knitting this floor urchin in the round)
• 200-250 yards of handspun bulky art yarn
• Two bags of polyfill stuffing
• One pillowcase (make sure it matches your yarn in case you see it)
• 1 Yard of strong Cotton Yarn
• Large eye Yarn Needle

PATTERN

Cast on 47 stitches. For a larger pouf cast on 60-80 stitches.

Knit in the Round until your tube is 18 inches long (if you're knitting a larger pouf -knit until your tube is 30 inches long)

Do not bind off. Rather, take your yard of cotton yarn and cut it in half so you have 1.5 feet of cotton yarn. Then loop this cotton yarn through all the loops on your needle using a yarn needle to thread the cotton yarn through. Take a loop off the needle, and put the cotton yarn through it. When all your stitches are on the cotton yarn - pull the cotton yarn tight and tie it into a knot to create the bottom of your urchin. 

Turn the urchin inside-out so all the purl stitches are on the outside. If you prefer a knit side, that's fine too. I just thought the purls looked more urchin-like. 

Take the two bags of polyfill and stuff them into a standard sized pillowcase. Try to stuff the pillowcase so it's the shape of the urchin you want (rounded without too many bulges of stuffing). 

Twist the top of the pillowcase tightly into a flat bun-style knot. Now stuff the urchin with the pillowcase with the bun-style knot as the very bottom part of the urchin. 

Take the other 1.5 feet of cotton yarn with your yarn needle and loop it through every other stitch along the cast on edge of your tube. Pull it tight and knot tightly to secure. Cut the ends and tuck them into the inside of the urchin.

Emmagene

I love the way circular shawls drape, and I wanted something that was easy to shape and showcased my handspun yarn beautifully. So I used a crochet puff stitch in the round for the back piece (accented with two art yarns) and I knit the flounce on circular needles in the round. Then I seamed the flounce to the back - leaving two holes for arms - and it was done in about 4 hours.

This is a very intuitive pattern. Being able to crochet circular shapes with yarn of varying gauges is the hardest part. If you aren't very savvy with crochet, I recommend using a commercial yarn for the back so it's easier to follow a gauge pattern and keep your circle flat. If you feel confident, try using different yarns for the back (adjusting the stitching for the bulkiness of the yarn) in a freeform type of style, maintaining a flat circle, until your back piece is as large as mine.

MATERIALS

• 80-100 yards of Commercial Chunky Yarn for Backpiece and Flounce (YARN A and YARN B)
• Large Crochet Hook for Backpiece (Size P or above)
• 150-200 yards of yarn for the flounce (I used Handspun Art Yarn, of many different lengths; YARNS C-F )
• Size 19 circular knitting needles, at least 32 inches long

PATTERN

CROCHET BACKPIECE: I followed the video below on how to crochet a puff in a circle (I did not shape it into a square, but continued the circular shape) using YARN A and accented with two skeins of handspun art yarn at random points of the circle. I continued crocheting the circle until it had a diameter of 20 inches. 

KNIT FLOUNCE: Cast on 100 stitches (this will be the outside / widest point of your flounce).  Join for knitting in the round, being careful not to twist stitches.  Knit in the round using a Simple Elongated Stitch.

I used commercial YARN B to cast on so that I didn't run out of yarn during my cast on (many of my handspun skeins are under 30 yards - not enough for a good few rows of 100 stitches.  A good way to conserve yarn is a knitted cast on).  I also wanted to have a boucle' accent around the outside edge of my flounce.  To do this, I knit in the round until I was competely out of yarn. Then I knit with handspun art yarns C, D, E, F until I was out of those yarns. I continued knitting in the round until the piece was 20 inches long. Then I bound off tightly - this tight bind off will be the part that we seam to the crochet circle. If you need extra allowance for your arms, don't bind off too tightly.. You can always cinch your bind off edge with the crochet circle when you're seaming.

SEAMING - Seam across the back of neck and lower back as pictured below - leaving two holes open for the arms. Use mattress stitch or visible seaming method for more drama.   

View fullsize

FINISHING - Weave in loose ends. Block with Unicorn Fibre Rinse.  Gently pat dry, reshape and dry flat. 

Honeyberry

MATERIALS

• One ball of Loops & Threads Chunky Braid Yarn (Michael's brand; Yarn has been discontinued, use a comparable bulky yarn)
• 10 yards of bulky art yarn (I used a yarn with "twists" spun into it to make fringe - you could also use "tailspun" style art yarn with long locks for your fringe).
• Size 19 needles (I am a loose knitter, so this size worked for me, but if you find it too tight, you can use size 35 needles)
• Large Crochet Hook

PATTERN

Cast on 8 stitches with your bulky yarn.

Knit the entire bulky yarn skein using the Raspberry Stitch in the video below. 

Bind off and weave in the ends of bulky yarn.

Using a crochet hook, crochet the art yarn as a chain along the end of the scarf, up one side of the scarf, and along the other end to create the fringe. You can also choose to only fringe the ends, like a traditional scarf, or to fringe all the way around the scarf. But I only added fringe to 3 sides (leaving 1 long side fringe-free)

Block with Unicorn Fibre Rinse.  Gently pat dry, reshape and dry flat. 

This video shows you how to work the Raspberry Stitch, also known as the Trinity Stitch. Pattern instructions: Rows 1 and 3: Purl all stitches Row 2: K1 *(K1, P1, K1) into next stitch, P3tog* K1 Row 4: K1 *P3tog, (K1, P1, K1) into next stitch* K1 Repeat these four rows for the pattern.

Bias Bulky Blanket

This is a easy blanket pattern you can complete in an afternoon. This pattern can be customized to any square size. Since you are knitting it from corner to corner (on the bias), it will always turn out square regardless of the size. I've attempted to knit several bulky art yarn blankets from top to bottom, and always end up with an awkward rectangle because I cast on too many or too few stitches and then run out of yarn. Knitting from corner to corner works best for me.  Knitting on the bias works great, and it adds a design element too!

MATERIALS

• 200-250 yards of Commercial Bulky Yarn
• 200-250 yards of Bulky Handspun Art Yarn
• Size 35 Circular Needles, 32-40 inches long (blanket will be knit flat)
• 80 yards of Yarn for Corner Tassels (optional)

NOTES

The pattern is below, but to create the striped / textured effect on your blanket simply rotate through your stash of handspun & commercial yarns while you knit, creating stripes of colors and textures. Knit big stripes or little stripes. Whatever looks beautiful to you. I did not include my exact stripe pattern (how many rows with yarn A, how many rows with yarn B) because my yardage of each skein will be different than yours. 

PATTERN

• Cast on two stitches
• K1, YO, K1 (now there will be 3 stitches on your needle)
• Row 3: K1, YO, Knit to End (now there will be 4 stitches on your needle
• Row 4+: Knit 1, Yarn Over, Knit to End until your blanket is as wide as the widest point of the square that you desire (my widest point was 5 feet because I wanted a throw-style blanket)
• Across the widest row of your blanket (before beginning decreases to complete the square) Knit 1 row of Simple Elongated Stitch 

Now start decreasing to make a square.

• K1, K2TOG, K to end
• Repeat the above until there are 5 stitches on your needles
• Knit 2, Drop stitch, Knit Two (this center dropped stitch will create the loose dropped stitch row from corner to corner of your blanket). Gently unravel the stitch. 
• K1, K2TOG, K to end
• When you have two stitches on your needle, bind off.

Create Tassels for the corners of your blanket by following the video tutorial below and attach to each corner of your blanket. My tassels are 8 inches long and I used about 20 yards of chunky weight handspun yarn for them. 

Instructions & Photography by Ashley Martineau