KNITmuch Issue 8

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Free knitting patterns for baby,
accessories and home decor!
* 36% wool
28% cotton
18% linen
18% bamboo
what yarn is this?
* unimaginable drape
and comfort in knit
designs made with
Unity yarn
* Knitting with lace,
the easy way
* knitting snowflakes
into a hat
* the math in knitting a
shrug-yoke top-down
seamless tee shirt

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Carla A. Canonico
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Michelle Nguyen
www.stitchesbeslippin.com
Charles Voth
www.charlesvothdesigns.ca
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KNITmuch
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The essential yarn for knitting soft garments
Center double decrease makes a good knitting mantra for Soft blanket
The definition of using stitch definition when knitting
Knitting snowflakes into a hat
Bella Chenille, a soft and versatile polyester yarn
How Bella Chenille enhances basic knit stitches differently than most yarns
5 baby gifts to knit up in a few days with chunky Bella Chenille yarn
Backwards purling to knit bobbles without all the bother
Top-down baby sweater in Bella Chenille Multi and Solids
It’s a Wrap by Red Heart
Why you should knit with lace weight yarn
Knitting with lace, the easy way
It’s a Wrap yarn enhances simple knit and purl stitches
It’s not a wrap until it’s been blocked
Unraveling Unity and Unity Beyond: what makes this yarn unique?
36% wool, 28% cotton, 18% linen & 18% bamboo, what yarn is this?
Unimaginable drape and comfort in knit designs made with Unity yarn
Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down seamless tee shirt
contents
KNITmuch | issue 8
3

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editor's letter
By the time I was finished making up this
issue, it dawned on me the variety of yarn
weights in this issue. Ranging from lace
weight to chunky chenille, I already have a
list of projects to knit for each one.
The one I
found most
irresistible is
the chunky
Bella Chenille,
picturing it
knit up in
baby cocoons,
sweaters,
pajamas, hats
and blankets.
Talk about
quick knits, I'll
have a whole
collection of
baby garments
for hospitals
and charities.
follow me
On the other end of the
scale, is the lace weight
yarn. Many knitters shy
away from knitting with
lace weight, as there's
this feeling of knitting a
garment forever. But when
I think about lace weight
yarn, I think about a more
flattering knit, can I say
a slimming knit? I find I
look better in lace weight
projects, such as tops and
cardis, where no extra
bulk is added. As for the
knitting part of it, who
said knitting is a race? Although it can sometimes feel
like a marathon. I'm in no rush to finish the project, just
enjoying knitting.
Charles Voth's feature, Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down
seamless tee shirt, makes me happy knitting patterns are
written out for me. This is a two-part lesson about all
the 'math' you need to accomplish a design that suits
your body type. I think it's quite an accomplishment to
tackle designing your own tee, don't you think? It's like
not just knitting anymore, it's creating a garment from
scratch! Will you attempt this? With all those numbers
involved, I'll need a full day to attempt it.
Enjoy the issue!
Cheerfully,
Share the love of knitting. Own the obsession.
KNITmuch | issue 7
5

Soft Essentials in the colors
Teal and Greyhound.
One of the most ideal beginner
projects I have found is a simple
hat. Starting at the brim with
a K2P2 rib and going up to the
decreases. Soft Essentials complements
that pattern well and
it’s much shorter than a scarf.
Red Heart Soft Essentials is one of your foundation
yarns. It’s good for 90% of projects and comes in all
your basic colors. Soft Essentials can be one of the
building block yarns that make sure you can knit
anything from your stash.
The first thing I want to talk about is the weight of
the yarn. It’s a bulky weight so anything you choose
to knit in this fiber will knit up very fast. This is a
major benefit when you just want to take out some
yarn and get knitting.
I also like this yarn for teaching others to knit. It’s a
nice large yarn, but it doesn’t have too much texture.
Soft Essentials slides along the needles well, so you
don’t have to fight with your tension. I’m always on
the look out for good yarn to teach people with. If you
start a beginner off with a strange yarn that happens
to be difficult to knit with, you’re not setting them up
for success.
Michelle Nguyen
The essential
yarn for knitting
soft garments
The fiber is 100% acrylic so that means easy care
instructions. Machine wash and dry! As always, I would
make a swatch and wash it to see how this fiber will
react when you wash it. Acrylic usually relaxes, so you
can afford to knit the fabric tightly and very stiff, then
have the pleasure of watching it relax into the softest
garment you’ll ever own. When you’re knitting this
swatch with Soft Essentials and washing to see how
the fiber will react, also take special care to note if the
swatch grows at all. This is important information if
you’re knitting anything that needs to be fitted.
Now for the question I know you’ve all been asking in
your head: is Soft Essentials really that soft? The short
answer is yes, it is that soft. When you first touch it,
the fiber is smooth and sleek. No halo or fuzziness to
speak of, but the fiber itself is very springy and smooth.
It’s soft in the way that water is considered soft; cool,
smooth, and flowing.
Photos by Michelle Nguyen
6 KNITmuch | issue 8

Center double
decrease makes a
good knitting mantra
for Soft blanket
I picked up the Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern from
the Red Heart website and immediately loved the
look of it. The chevrons make for a crisp design
and the transitions between colors smooth.
Having talked about the general benefits of Soft
Essentials yarn we’ll see how it really lets this
pattern shine and I’m not just talking about the
beautiful sheen of the yarn.
First of all, the chevrons are lined up with either a
center double decrease or a M1, K1, M1 pattern.
This adds vertical lines throughout the blanket as
well as the horizontal chevrons. The combination
of those two just makes the OCD part of my brain
light up. Perfectly straight vertical lines with the
perfect horizontal chevrons is so aesthetically
pleasing it makes my heart sing. I especially love
how much the center double decrease stands
up. The yarn weight gives the stitch a little extra
oomph and extra definition.
The Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern is very easy
to memorize. When I started knitting it, I was a
little concerned. I was just getting over the flu
that had been going around and didn’t feel like I
was on-the-ball enough to knit a pattern like this.
Luckily for me, the pattern was much easier than
it looked.
There are only increases and decreases on one
side and you purl all the way back. Just after I cast
on, I was determined not to mess this pattern up
so I started putting in a bunch of stitch markers.
As I went through the pattern I ended up taking
them out because they were more of a nuisance
than just looking to see the stitches coming
up in the row below. I was also counting every
stitch instead of watching the row below. After
The Relaxing Ripple Throw
I stopped counting and took out all the stitch
markers I was able to just knit. I did have to ‘tink’
back a couple times because I went too far, but
the time it took me to do that was much less than
it would have been had I just kept going with my
process.
As we all know, I’m a huge fan of patterns that
look like a lot of work while continuing to be very
easy. The Relaxing Ripple Throw fits firmly into this
category. The pattern is stunning and really set off by
Soft Essentials yarn. There's a shiny sheen to the yarn
that gives this throw an unreal perfect look that will
make you want to touch it to see if it’s really there.
This blanket looks really classy, without a whole lot of work. The best projects
are always those that look complicated but are easy to memorize.
KNITmuch | issue 8
7

The definition of using stitch
definition when knitting
Looking at the stitch running down the middle of
this swatch you can really see the definition of the
stitches in this throw.
Here is a side view of the raised stitch from the previous
photo. You can see just how much it is raised.
It is always advisable to knit a swatch first to see
how the yarn is going to knit up.
One of the aspects I really liked
about the Relaxing Ripple Throw
was the definition on the center
double decrease. I wanted
to delve into that a bit more
because it’s an important topic
for all knitters who knit patterns.
The center double decrease is so
well placed in this throw, it really
makes you sit back and admire it.
Using stitch definition can give
garments a bit of a threedimensional
look. Instead of
using a knit stitch, you’re able to
knit through the back loop and
the stitch still looks like a knit
stitch, but it sits up higher and is
more defined than a regular knit
stitch. I know I’ve talked about
using plain yarns for intricate
patterns, but if you’re absolutely
set on having a busy yarn and
a busy pattern, this will help.
Especially when knitting a rib or a
seed stitch.
Let’s be clear that I’m not talking
about twisted stitches, which
make more of an X than a V
when you’re knitting. Those
stitches have their place, but they
lay flat along your knitting. What
I’m talking about is the center
double decrease, any kind of
nupp, or bubble stitch. Creating
ridges and valleys in your
garments to make the pattern
you’re knitting really stand out.
You can even see the stitch definition of the seed
stitch along the edges
As was the case with the Relaxing
Ripple Throw pattern, you can
also create a dip in your fabric
on either side of a knit stitch
to make that stitch stand out.
When I was knitting the pattern,
my M1’s were knit in the front
and back. This causes the fabric
of your knitting to create the
slightest indent, which gives
the illusion of the center stitch
standing out more. In the
Relaxing Ripple Throw pattern, it
balanced out the center double
decrease and created a line
running parallel. The pattern
would have looked a bit awkward
if there was only one line running
down through the bottom of the
chevron Vs.
This design aesthetic gives your
knitting an elegant extra design
aspect and helps take the look
from homemade, to handmade.
You can definitely find patterns
that have already incorporated
these techniques, but you can
also start to play with them
yourself! When you’re looking at
a new pattern, find the stitches
you think could be a little more
defined and knit a swatch to
sample what they would actually
look like. It’s the best way to
advance your knitting practice,
just try it!
8 KNITmuch | issue 8

Knitting snowflakes into a hat
We talked about stitch definition,
it’s only fitting then, to talk about
color-work. The Snow Speckled Hat
pattern by Red Heart is made to
look like there are snowflakes on
the hat, this is achieved by good
selective color-work. With a brim
of a different color and the top
of the hat a solid color like a
cloud, it’s sure to help stave off
the snow coming this winter and
make us really appreciate this
summer-time heat.
The Snow Speckled Hat pattern
is pegged at an intermediate
pattern, but I wouldn’t call it
intermediate. If you’ve done
any Fair Isle knitting before this
is a great pattern to work on.
It’s nice and easy. Don’t let the
pattern rating scare you away if
you haven’t done Fair Isle before
but have knit in the round, this
is a great place to start colorwork.
I think knitting in the round
is much easier than knitting
back and forth, so I’m already
predisposed to color-work hats
and mittens.
I knitted the Snow Speckled Hat
in different colors so you could
see what it looks like. I tried to
invert the colors as much as I
could, but I think it still looks like
snow! The yarn called for in this
pattern is Super Saver, but you
can definitely knit this hat with
Soft Essentials.
The yarn weight is a little different,
Soft Essentials is heavier than
Super Saver, but this can be
easily mitigated by going down a
needle size. The recommended
needle size for Soft Essentials is a
10US [6mm] bringing the needle
size down to an 8US [5mm]
would make a world of difference.
As I said in this week’s first article,
it’s okay to knit this hat a little
firm because the yarn relaxes
so much when you block it. The
garment might feel too firm
when you first finish knitting it,
but will be worth it in the end.
When I was knitting the Snow
Speckled hat pattern I thought
the hat looked a little bit small
and was worried about it actually
fitting. I contemplated going
down too many needle sizes,
and have irrevocably messed up
the pattern. Once I blocked it
everything was fine though. The
hat relaxed quite a bit and there
were no issues with the hat fitting.
In fact, I’d be worried about it
being too large if I had knit it and
it didn’t look small.
The Snow Speckled Hat is the
perfect easy color-work knit pattern,
with a size that’s easily adjustable.
I knit this hat at a tighter tension than I normally
would have. The fabric is quite stiff, as you can
see, it stands up on its own.
The hat itself, in my color variation, post blocking.
KNITmuch | issue 8
9

10

Bella Chenille, a
soft and versatile
polyester yarn
Bella Chenille Multi features a predominant color and two or three
complementary colors in dots along the length of the yarn.
Charles Voth
I’d like to introduce you to Bella Chenille Multi, one of
the softest baby yarns I’ve ever had on my needles.
In this feature, I'll go over its assets, some free
patterns, and then I’ll teach you a few techniques
which take advantage of this yarn’s squishy goodness.
Bella Chenille is a chunky weight fuzzy and lush
chenille type yarn which when knit creates a velour
or velveteen-like fabric because of the way the yarn
is constructed. I had to struggle a bit to get this
yarn to come apart enough to show the anatomy of
how it’s built.
There are two inner core threads and each consists
of 2 plies with a tight twist. These inner core strands
are twisted and as they are, the short fuzzy strands
are caught in the twist and lay at a perpendicular
angle to the inner threads. One would think that
this would still make it easy for the short fuzzy fibers
to come apart easily, but there is a heating process
which sets the fibers in place and keeps the integrity
of the yarn.
Yes, if you were to pull aggressively at the little tufts
of fuzz, they would slowly loosen up and come out,
but many a baby and toddler have snuggled with
knit items made of chenille and they don’t have
the strength to loosen the fibers. There are many
commonly used acrylic yarns with short fibers that
are not chenille and knit into baby garments that
have a higher chance of releasing short fibers into
the fingers of little ones, so you need not worry
about Bella Chenille not standing up to the strokes
and squeezing of baby fingers.
If you're a very tight knitter or tend to need to
unknit your stitches a lot, you need to be aware
that chenille yarns like this don’t fare well if you
need to rip out your work repeatedly. The fuzz
gets compacted when knit too tightly…which looks
lovely in the finished fabric, but those compacted
fibers do not spring back into place. If you have
to reuse some frogged yarn, I would say that one
re-use only is advisable, after a second or third
ripping back and re knitting, the fabric starts to
look a little shabby. Wet-blocking does help relax
the compacted fibers a bit, but it’s not the same as
knitting with the yarn once only.
Anatomy of Bella Chenille, fuzzy strands are held in place by twisted plies of yarn.
Photos by Charles Voth
Columns of stockinette show that the placement of the dots is truly random
and there won’t be any unwanted pooling.
KNITmuch | issue 8
11

Did you know that “chenille” is
derived from the French word for
caterpillar? Makes sense, doesn’t
it? Fortunately, Bella Chenille is
completely bug free! It’s dyed
three different ways.
There are Bella Chenille Multi
that come in nine colorways
(see right). There are also four
colorways of Bella Chenille Dots
which actually consist of evenly
spaced segments of 3 or 4 colors.
In my opinion the Multi should
be called Dots and the Dots
should be called Multi because
of how they are dyed, but what’s
done is done. Then there are 21
solid colors, too.
Colorway names (from left to right) Tidal Wave,
Candy Store, Sweetness
The above 3 colorways do not
feature white prominently or at
all while the remaining six consist
of a white background with other
sets of complimentary dots.
Colorway names (from left to right): Peach Pie,
Tropical Mix, and Sugar Spots
Bella Chenille is made of a very
soft polyester. This makes it
washable and non-allergenic. It’s
listed as a super-bulky (#6) yarn
and knit with US10.5 [6.5mm]
needles or even larger, but you
can work it with size US10 [6mm]
needles and achieve a bulky (#5)
gauge as well.
In each ball there are 131yds
[120m] per 100g. You can
machine wash it in warm water,
but you’ll need to skip the dryer…
too much heat mats the fibers,
and you’ll lose the softness in the
knit fabric.
Colorway Names (from left to right): Denim
Patch, Toy Cars, Grape Jam
The colors of the dots coordinate very well with
many of the solid colors of Bella Chenille.
How
Bella Chenille
enhances
basic knit
stitches
differently than
most yarns
12 KNITmuch | issue 8
Let's try out some basic stitch
patterns to see how different
they look in this yarn.
Bella Chenille has almost zero
elasticity, so this means that
you as the knitter will need to
focus on as even of a tension
on your yarn as possible so that
the stitches are consistent. The
fuzziness of the yarn makes it
necessary to manually work any
extra loose or extra tightness
in an individual stitch into the
neighboring stitches.
This next tip is an important
one to get gauge. After knitting
several rows or rounds of
stockinette stitches, grasp as
much of the needle and live
stitches on it with one hand and
the bottom of the knit columns
with the other hand and pull to
stretch the stitches vertically as
a group. Repeat this ‘pulling’ for
the remaining stitches across
the needle.
Chenille in stockinette tends to
create wide stitches with a deep
channel in the middle of each
stitch. By pulling it, the yarn goes
into the strands that create the
typical “V” appearance of a stitch
rather than the horizontal strands
that make the bumps on the
purl side. If you don’t stretch the
fabric vertically, these horizontal
strands are visible through the
stitches from the right side.

If you study the picture on the right you’ll notice
deeper grooves between each column. These are
actually the stacked center of the stitches. The
vertical V strands like to snug up close to the
neighboring V strands / stitches rather than with their
own paired strands.
When you want the purl side or the reverse
stockinette stitch side of the fabric to be the public
side, you’ll see that the typical “purl bumps” take on
the look of plied yarn in horizontal ridges. The usual
zigzag look of purl rows is hidden by the fuzz of the
chenille. I really like this look, especially for side to
side items.
When Bella Chenille is knit into garter stitch rows, the
ridges are more like squiggly horizontal bumps
with a wider space in between them than in reverse
stockinette, and look more like their namesake, the
‘caterpillar’, I mentioned befoe. These mitered squares
are part of a blanket pattern I’ll show you later.
Lastly, when you knit 1×1 ribbing with Bella Chenille,
you’ll achieve the more characteristic columns of Vs
separated by bumps. In moss stitch, the horizontal
and vertical ridges are broken up and the fabric loses
the strong grain in either direction, making it look
more homogeneous. I also think the squishy factor is
heightened in the moss stitch fabric. This last photo
on the right is taken from one of the free patterns I’ll
feature next.
Horizontal ridges are actually purl bumps which are “hidden” because of the
fuzziness of the chenille.
Bella Chenille in garter stitch rows, has a rippled horizontal ridge look to it,
but a wider space between them than in reverse stockinette.
5 baby gifts to
knit up in a few days
with chunky
Bella Chenille yarn
Let’s look at some free patterns that you can knit in
a few days as baby gifts, or for your own baby, if
you’re in the nesting stage!
In the photo, you can see a beautiful pairing of
a red solid and a multi with pinks and reds that
are knit with a zigzag ripple stitch. Here’s the free
pattern for this colorful baby blanket called Lil’
Lightening Blanket.
1×1 ribbing looks itself in Bella Chenille, and moss stitch is the best way to remove
the very ridge-like appearance of the other basic stitches shown above.
It’s easy to find a solid color of Bella Chenille that coordinates with one of the
Multi, like the red in this ripple stitch blanket.
KNITmuch | issue 8
13

Lace stitches and motifs look great in solid colors
of Bella Chenille.
It’s also possible to knit lace motifs with Bella Chenille,
and it looks best in solids so that the speckles don’t
deter from the visual effects of the lace. The aqua
one draped over this basket is ready to receive the
little one home from the delivery room. This too is a
free pattern called Soft Vines Blankie.
Using moss stitch is a great way to evenly distribute
bars and strands of Bella Chenille Multi so that the
fabric has a denser squish factor. This baby beanie
and pullover with raglan sleeves, and a raglan
sleeve tab opening is a great free pattern to try as
your first garment with chenille yarn. This one is
called Snowbaby Set.
I love how stockinette stitch on this onesie gives
vertical stripes to a knit fabric that’s covered in dots
without any tricky textured stitches. This pattern
comes in four sizes from 6 months to 4 years and
called It’s a Party! Onesie.
The free pattern, Doodle Bug Hoodie, features easy to
make drop-sleeve armholes, and a cute no-shaping
neckline. The Bella Chenille Multi will really be
suitable to give the little wearer a modern twist!
I hope you try out some of these free knitting
patterns for Bella Chenille.
Easy to knit beanie and raglan sweater in the
Denim colorway of Bella Chenille Multi
How adorable is this onesie?
14 KNITmuch | issue 8

Backwards purling to knit bobbles
without all the bother
Well-placed bobbles make this cute mitered square blanket fun for the baby to squeeze.
I’ll share another blankie pattern I
designed that has a few bobbles
worked in.
So many people don’t like
bobbles because it’s tedious to
turn the work back and forth to
work the little extra short rows to
build up the bobble. I’ve figured
out a creative solution by using
backwards purling. Read on to
learn this technique.
This blankie pattern features
mitered squares. I chose this
technique because I liked the
different directions of the garter
stitch ridges, particularly how
they look when knit with Bella
Chenille. There are 4 different
ways to set-up a mitered square
for an attach-as-you-knit type
pattern. The set-ups all happen
in the cast on or pick-up rows, so
let’s look at how to do each setup
row.
First Block
You only do this block once, right
at the start. The best cast on for
this non-elastic chenille is the
cable cast-on, because it’s much
stretchier than long-tail or similar
cast-ons. Cast on 21 sts, and knit
the first row. I’ll give you the rest
of the pattern after we’ve read
about all the other set-up rows.
2nd Block
Most right-hand knitters start
with the block to the right of
the First Block when it’s rotated
into a diamond. Cable caston
10 stitches. Then, with right
side facing, pick up and knit
into the middle right corner of
the First Block rotated to be a
diamond, pick up and knit 10
stitches evenly along the block
edge, usually into the garter
stitch ridges, ensuring to have 2
strands of yarn under the righthand
needle when you insert it
to pick up. Then, knit the first row.
3rd Block
With right side facing, pick up
and knit 1 stitch in the top tip of
the First Block, and then pick up
and knit 10 stitches along the
other edge, working into the
ends of the garter stitch ridges as
for the 2nd Block. Cable Cast on
10 more stitches. Then knit the
first row.
Filler Blocks
These are the blocks that are
worked into the V-shaped gaps
between the other 2 blocks.
With right side facing, pick up
and knit 1 stitch in the top tip
of the right-most block in the
next tier of blocks. Then pick up
and knit 9 more stitches along
the edge, using the ends of
the garter stitch ridges. Then
pick up and knit a stitch in the
bottom of the V, and 10 stitches
along the other side for a total
of 21. Knit the first row.
This solid purple diamond, or mitered square, is
one of the Filler Blocks.
Before you get started on
your blanket, it's important to
review how to work a double
centered decrease and how to
knit a bobble.
KNITmuch | issue 8
15

The decrease stitch required to
maneuver these mitered squares
is the centered double decrease
(sl2tog, k1, psso). Insert the righthand
needle into the front legs
of the first 2 stitches as if to knit
2 together, and slip them off the
left needle. Knit the next stitch
and pass both slipped stitches
over the stitch just knit. Here’s a
video demonstrating how to do
this.
We also need to know how to
work a bobble stitch.
Step 1: (K1, k1tbl, k1) all in the
next stitch. Step 2: To make a
bobble without too much bother,
we need to learn how to purl
in reverse. To do this, insert the
left-hand needle from back to
front up into the front leg of the
first st on the right-hand needle.
Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise
around the left hand needle, and
purl through that strand. Do this
2 more times. Step 3: Slip first
stitch of bobble from left hand
needle, ssk in next 2 sts, pass
slipped st over. The bobble is
now done.
In this video, I show you how to
work the bobble in the middle
of a centered double decrease,
which is a little trickier than Step 1
explained above, but Steps 2 and
3 are the same and will appear in
the video as well.
other abbreviations
k = knit
p = purl
sl = slip
tog = together
psso = pass slipped stitch(es) over
st(s) = stitch(es)
rep = repeat
16 KNITmuch | issue 8
Remainder of the Blocks
Row 2: K10, p1, k10.
Row 3: K9, sl2tog, k1, psso, k9.
Row 4: Knit to center st, p1, knit
rem stitches.
Row 5: K8, sl2tog, k1, psso, k8.
Row 6: Rep Row 4.
Row 7: K3, make bobble in next
st, k3, slip 2, work step one
of bobble in next st, pass
2 slipped stitches over the
3 just made, work steps 2
and 3 of bobble, k3, make
bobble, k3.
A non-bobble row 7 would be: K7,
sl2tog, k1, psso, k7.
Row 8: Rep Row 4.
Row 9: K6, sl2tog, k1, psso, k6.
Row 10: Rep Row 4.
Row 11: K5, sl2tog, k1, psso, k5.
Row 12: Rep Row 4.
Row 13: K4, sl2tog, k1, psso, k5.
Row 14: Rep Row 4.
Row 15: K3, slip 2, work Step one
of the bobble as follows:
Slip 1 stitch, working into
front legs of both of the
next sts together, work
(k1, k1 tbl, k1). Then work
Steps 2 and 3 of bobble as
explained above or shown
in the video, k3.
Alternative Row 15: K3, sl2tog, k1,
psso, k3.
Row 16: K3, p1, k3.
Row 17: K2, sl2tog, k1, psso, k2.
Row 18: K2, p1, k2.
Row 19: K1, sl2tog, k1, psso, k1.
Row 20: Insert right hand
needle from back to front
through back leg of 2nd
stitch on left hand needle
and immediately through
back leg of first stitch on
left hand needle as if to
purl 2 together, but just
slip them, purl 1, pass 2
slipped stitches over the
stitch just purled.
Fasten off.
If you don’t want the bobbles
along the center line of the block,
simply work a normal centered
double decrease in those three
stitches.
Bobbles look like squishy rosettes and add
attractive texture to the blanket.
Making the blanket
You can use as many colors as
you like for a mitered square
blanket. It’s a good way to use
up odds and ends of yarn, but I
thought one multi-colored Bella
Chenille and one solid color
would look the nicest.
Begin First Block with a solid yarn.
For the 2nd strip of diamonds,
use a multi-colored yarn and
work a 2nd block and a 3rd
block.
By the way, I weave in ends
every 2 strips of diamonds, just
so I don’t have that task to do at
the end.
For the 3rd strip of diamonds, use
a solid yarn and work a 2nd Block,
1 Filler Block, and one 3rd Block.
For the 4th strip of diamonds,
use a multi yarn and work a 2nd
Block, 2 Filler Blocks, and end
with a 3rd Block.
Continue adding strips of
diamonds until the length along
the edge of the work is the
desired width of your blanket.
Then you need to choose
between a rectangular version
and a square version; regardless,
keep alternating yarns each strip.

Rectangular Version
For the next strip, do not work
a 2nd Block. Begin with a Filler
Block in the first gap and in each
gap across, end with a 3rd Block.
For the next strip, begin with a
2nd Block, work a Filler Block in
each gap across, but do not work
a 3rd Block.
Repeat the last 2 strips until your
longer edge if the work is the
desired length of the blanket. Then
continue with the Square Version.
Square Version
For the next strip, do not work
a 2nd Block, Begin with a Filler
Block in the first gap and in each
gap across.
Repeat this strip until you work a
sole diamond for the final strip.
I hope you have fun knitting this
mitered square blanket using
the exciting color combinations
you can make with Bella Chenille
Multis and solids.
The reverse side without the bobbles highlights
the edges of each block where the stitches are
picked up. A lovely braid-like border separates
each block.
It only took
3/4 of each
ball of Bella
Chenille to
make a size
9 months
baby sweater
combining
a solid
blue and
a speckled
denim
colorway.
Top-down baby sweater in
Bella Chenille Multi and Solids
sizes
6 mo 9 mo 1-2 yrs 3-4 yrs
skeins of Bella Chenille
1 in each color, solid: Indigo; multi:
Denim Patch
2 2 2 4
finished chest circumference
20½" 23" 25" 27½"
It only takes 1
skein in each
color for the
smallest 3
sizes. You
may even be
able to get
the largest
size out of 2
skeins, but
only if you
don’t want
full length
sleeves.
needles and hook size
US 10¾ [7mm] circular needle and
G/6 [4mm] crochet hook
other 2 stitch holders
gauge
11 sts and 14 rounds = 4″ in
Stockinette Stitch
abbreviations
K = knit; P = purl; rem = remaining;
st(s) = stitch(es); m1 = make 1;
k2tog = knit 2 together; ssk = slip,
slip, knit together through back
loops; rep = repeat; WS = wrong
side; LH = left hand
KNITmuch | issue 8
17

Change up the number of rounds per stripe and
the frequency of changes for a custom look.
instructions
Yoke
With solid yarn, cable cast on
46 (50, 56, 60) sts and join in
the round being careful not to
twist. Place a marker to indicate
beginning of round.
Rnd 1: Knit.
Rnd 2: Purl.
Rnd 3: [K6, m1] 7 (8, 9, 9) times,
knit to end of rnd–53 (58,
65, 69) sts.
Rnd 4: Knit.
Rnd 5: [K7, m1] 7 (8, 9, 9) times,
knit to end of rnd–60 (66,
74, 78) sts.
Rnd 6: Knit.
Rnd 7: With speckled yarn, [k8 (8,
12, 13), m1] 7 (8, 6, 6) times,
knit to end of rnd–67 (74,
80, 84) sts.
Rnd 8: With solid yarn, knit.
Rnd 9: [K9 (9, 13, 14), m1] 7 (8,
6, 6) times, knit to end of
rnd–74 (82, 86, 90) sts.
Rnd 10: Knit.
Rnd 11: Change to speckled
yarn. [K10 (10, 14, 15), m1] 7
(8, 6, 6) times, knit to end
of rnd–81 (90, 92, 96) sts.
Rnd 12: Knit.
Rnd 13: [K10 (10, 15, 16), m1] 7 (8,
6, 6) times, knit to end of
rnd–88 (98, 98, 102) sts.
Rnd 14: Knit.
Sizes 1-2 years and 3-4 years only.
18 KNITmuch | issue 8
Rnd 15: [K – (–, 15, 14), m1] – (–,
6, 7) times, knit to end of
rnd–(104, 109) sts.
Rnd 16: Knit.
Rnd 17: [K – (–, 18, 17), m1] – (–,
6, 7) times, knit to end of
rnd–(110, 116) sts.
All Sizes
Knit until yoke measures approx..
4″ (4.5, 4.75, 5.25)” from cast-on
edge if necessary.
Divide for Body and Sleeves
Rnd 1: K26 (32, 34, 38), cable
cast on 4 (5, 5, 6) sts, sl
next 20 (22, 26, 26) sts
onto a holder for sleeves,
K26 (32, 34, 38), cable
cast on 4 (5, 5, 6) sts, sl
next 20 (22, 26, 26) sts
onto a holder for other
sleeve. Join to work in the
round–56 (64, 68, 76) sts.
Rnds 2-10: Knit.
Rnds 11-13: With solid yarn, knit.
Rnds 14-15: With speckled yarn,
knit.
Rnd 16: With solid yarn, knit.
Continue to knit around until
body from sleeve opening
measures approx. 7″ (7.5, 8, 9)”.
Last Rnd: Purl.
Turn work so you are working
across the WS of the rounds.
Bind-off: *Purl 2 together, return
st to LH needle; rep from *
around.
Fasten off and close the gap
while weaving in ends.
To weave in ends, you’ll want to
use a small crochet hook instead
of a darning needle, going under
1 strand at a time on the WS of
the work.
Sleeves
Rnd 1: Transfer sts from holder
onto your needle. Join yarn
and knit around, pick up
and knit 6 stitches across
the opposite side of the
cable cast on under the
armhole. Join to knit in the
round–26 (28, 32, 32) sts.
Rnd 2: Knit to last 7 sts, ssk, k4,
k2tog, place market to
indicate beginning of
round–24 (26, 30, 30) sts.
Rnd 3: Knit.
Rnds 4-5: Knit.
Rnd 6: K2tog, k16, ssk, knit rem
sts–22 (24, 28, 28) sts.
Rep last 3 rnds twice–18 (20, 24,
24) sts.
Rnds 13-15: Change to solid and
rep Rnds 4-6.
Rnd 18: Change to speckled
and knit.
Rnd 19: Change to solid and knit.
Continue knitting in the round
until sleeve from armhole
measures 6.5″ (7.5, 8, 9.5)”.
Last Rnd: Purl.
Turn work so you are working
across the WS of the rounds.
Bind-off: *Purl 2 together, return
st to LH needle; rep from *
around.
You can change the stripes to
your taste, just balancing yarn
amounts used so that you don’t
have to start a new ball of either
the solid or the speckled yarn.
Fasten off and close the gap
while weaving in ends.
finishing
Weave in all the other ends with
the crochet hook as well.
Charles Voth
twitter.com/stitchstud
charlesvothdesigns.ca

It’s a Wrap by Red Heart
Michelle Nguyen
It’s a Wrap yarn from Red Heart is
a gradient yarn. The yarn shifts
through several different shades,
or colors, as you knit with it. It’s a
harder color change rather than
a true gradient, so the previous
color suddenly stops and is taken
over by a new color, giving the
effect of chunks of color.
Let’s start at the beginning and
talk about the composition of
the yarn. It’s half cotton and
half acrylic, which is a new and
interesting combination. The
cotton will lend its antibacterial
and heat releasing features, while
acrylic will add its flexibility and
durability. Cotton is never spun
very tightly because it already
has so little stretch, this makes for
yarn that is splitty. It’s a Wrap is
spun with an average tension so
there’s a little bit of texture and
it makes for a yarn that’s much
easier to knit with.
The washing instructions are to
machine wash on gentle and
lay flat to dry. Everyone knows
that I love to machine wash my
knitting, I simply don’t have the
time to play with finnicky fabrics.
Cotton and acrylic are normally
okay to be thrown in the washer,
so I'm glad that has carried over
to It’s a Wrap.
Choosing your pattern will be
an important part of this knitting
project. The way the colors block
will be an integral feature of your
garment. If you’re thinking about
knitting a sweater, the sleeves
would have a different pattern
than the body. Unless you’re
planning on cutting portions of
the yarn out to make the sleeve
stripes match. I’ll refer back to
this article about knitting with
color shifting yarn during the rest
of the feature.
It’s a Wrap is the ideal yarn for
a shawl. Yes, I’m still on a shawl
knitting binge, thank you for
asking. The yarn is a very light
weight, which doesn’t lend itself
well to a blanket, but it goes
along perfectly with a shawl, or a
small lap blanket.
Keep reading for a couple of ideal
patterns and tips on knitting for
light weight yarn. It’s a Wrap is a
very versatile yarn and a great
place to start if you’re looking to
switching from a sock weight yarn
down to something a little smaller.
It’s a Wrap yarn from Red Heart!
I love it when the washing instructions are
carefully laid out.
If you look underneath 50% cotton and 50%
acrylic, you will notice that there’s 1100 yards of
this yarn in one ball!
Photos by Michelle Nguyen
KNITmuch | issue 8
19

Why you
should knit
with lace
weight yarn
Super fine weight yarn. See the swatch knit with It’s a Wrap yarn, lovely stitch definition.
If you’re not used to knitting with
lace, this might deter you, but
it shouldn’t! It’s a Wrap comes in
all sorts of fun colors, and colorblocks
in a unique way. If that isn’t
enough to convert you over to
lace knitting, I’ll give you a couple
good reasons to knit with lace.
When I first started knitting, I
walked into a yarn store to buy
yarn for a sweater I was going
to make. I asked the proprietress
to show me the thickest yarn
they had. I didn’t want this to
take forever and I didn’t want to
buy 87 balls of yarn for this one
project. Thick yarn was the way to
do that. I can remember this poor
lady trying to convince me to use
a different yarn, a thinner yarn, a
medium or worsted, anything
but the super chunky sale stuff I
picked out. I’m probably one of
those customers that haunts this
poor lady’s dreams.
I didn’t know any better, but
using a large yarn adds mass
to a sweater. There are patterns
where that look is intended, but
this was not one of them. It
made the whole sweater look
bulky and anyone who wore it
looked bulky. Where there were
two layers of yarn around the cuff
and hem, the fabric was so thick
it constantly flipped over. Without
a doubt this was the ugliest,
lumpiest, unformed, swelteringly
hot, and unwearable sweater.
The moral of this story is, thin
yarn might take you a little longer
to knit your project, but it’s worth
the time in the end.
Thinner yarn shows more stitch
detail, if you’re looking at color
work, it will be more precise. If
you want to do fancy stitches,
they will be easier to see.
The other aspect I mentioned is
thicker yarn adds mass. If your
sweater is half an inch thick and
you’re wearing it, that sweater
is going to add the illusion of a
half inch to everything is covers.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve
got problems enough. A sweater
made from lace weight will
be thinner and give you more
control over your pattern.
If you’re worried about being
too cold (or too warm) look to
fiber composition for that. If
you’re knitting with cotton, it
will keep you a little cooler. You
want it even cooler than that?
Use a pattern with an open
weave stitch. If you’re looking for
warmth, use those fluffy fibers
with air space in them, such as
wool, mink, angora.
Now that you’ve decided you’ll
give It’s a Wrap a try, pick your
pattern carefully. Do something
that will keep you engaged. I
know that doing long stretches of
stockinette stitch doesn’t bother
me at all, but if I must focus on
every stitch, I’m sure never to
pick up that project. You might
be the opposite! Know yourself
and know what kind of knitting
you enjoy. There’s no wrong
answer so don’t choose a pattern
because everyone else is doing it,
chose it because it’s right for your
knitting style.
20 KNITmuch | issue 8

Knitting with lace, the easy way
There are a few tips and tricks that will make your
life a bit easier. It’s a Wrap is a great yarn to start with
because it’s on the heavier side of lace, and it has a
nice firm twist. If you get a yarn that’s a bit slippery
or easily splits, it can be a very technical knit.
The number one thing you can do to make your
lace knitting easier is to swatch and make sure you
are using the right needle size for your tension.
With larger yarns it’s easy to not quite have the right
needle size and the yarn makes up for the rest.
With It’s a Wrap, if your needle size is off, your
knitting will either be too tight, which is easier to fix,
than too loose. If your needle size is too large, your
knitting will be very relaxed.
Just knitting a couple rows isn’t enough, you need
to knit a proper swatch. The cast on, knitting, and
bind off are all important and you need to see how
your needle size compares. My knitting tension, for
example, is looser so I usually have to go down a
needle size or two. Normally I can get away with
knitting larger yarns with the recommended needle
size, but lace I need to be very conscious of how
my fabric looks.
Knitting It’s a Wrap with a larger needle size, will
make it go faster, but make sure it’s really how you
want your garment to look.
In order to purely make your knitting go faster, you
can double up the yarn. There are a few things
you need to think about when you’re using this
technique though. Gauge, knitting with two strands
will change your gauge. Are you knitting something
that requires your gauge to be spot on? When you
knit your swatch, are your measurements far off?
Can you adjust the pattern?
Depending on what you’re knitting, some of these
questions will not apply, but you need to consider
them before you start.
Another important thing you can do to make
your lace knitting experience a pleasant one is to
carefully consider your pattern. I know I mentioned
it as well, but it will go a long way to making
your experience better. Knitting a garment with
techniques you enjoy will make it seem much faster.
You’ll know if you like the pattern by reading
it through before you even swatch. The whole
pattern, from start to finish. By doing this you’ll
catch anything in the pattern that doesn’t make
sense, or any of those situations where the pattern
says, “but before you do the previously outlined
decreases do this” or “At the same time as the
instructions, also do this other technique.” I’ve
been caught by passages like those, and I’m sure
I’m not the only one.
Life lines are also a good idea. If you’re knitting
a lace pattern that is in lace weight yarn, I would
highly suggest putting in life lines. If you have to rip
back to the start of your pattern repeat, it will be
much easier to pick everything back up. Small yarn
and yarn overs are never fun to pick up.
Knitting with a lace weight yarn like It’s a Wrap is
just like any other knitting technique, scary when
you look at it from the outside, but never as bad as
it seems. Just give it a try and with the helpful tips
here, you’ll be knitting lace weight yarn in no time!
Even if you’re
downloading a free
pattern from an
amazing database of
patterns, you should
still be reading the
whole thing over.
KNITmuch | issue 8
21

10 Night Aran Islands, Donegal & Causeway Coast (Ireland)
Tour Dates:
• 07 Sep 2019
Please contact us
for 2020 dates
This amazing 10 night tour includes Studio Donegal, the stunning Slieve League Cliffs, &
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Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Belfast City and Titanic Belfast. A highlight will be two nights
on Inis Mór, one of the famous Aran Islands!
Workshops with Edel McBride, Lisa Sisk from This is Knit and
Una McDonagh on Inis Mór!
Also Included:
Hotels, Sightseeing
Tours, Entrance
Fees, Meals, Craft
Demonstrations and
Knitting Workshops!
www.KnittingTours.com
Toll Free: 1800 913 1135
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P.S Check out our website for more tours!
KnittingTours.com is part of the Irish Tourism Group,
Trusted tour operator, members of ACTA, ASTA & ETOA
22 KNITmuch | issue 8

It’s a Wrap yarn enhances
simple knit and purl stitches
The Squared Off Shawl pattern
When I was originally looking for a pattern to go
over, I searched for patterns in the It’s a Wrap section
and immediately found the Squared Off Shawl. Usually,
I like to cross pollinate with yarns and patterns,
pairing things up that you wouldn’t normally think
to pair. I just loved this pattern so much, I had to
do it. The fact that the product photo is done in my
favorite colors is totally irrelevant.
I know it’s marked as an intermediate pattern, but
the steps are not difficult. Don’t let the rating of the
pattern fool you, if you take your time and knit the
pattern one row at a time, you’ll be fine. I, of course,
didn’t take my own advice and read over the pattern
first, so it took me a minute to get into the swing of
things. Once I did though, the pattern just flowed.
The pattern is quite easy and progresses very quickly.
It was a combination of knits and purls to make the
squares on the shawl. The texture of the pattern, in
tandem with the color blocking of the yarn makes
the pattern look more complicated than it is and
we all know how much I love that effect.
The pattern is a steady increase while maintaining
that square pattern. That could be why it’s marked
as intermediate. You have to be paying attention to
creating the pattern and steadily increasing at the
same time.
In the first few rows, I will admit, it was a little
confusing. Once you figure out the pattern it
becomes second nature. The increase is always at
the end of a row, if you’re worried about forgetting
you can leave a stitch marker in there and always
make the increase just before the stitch marker.
Easy-peasy! With that reminder, you only have
to worry about making the square pattern and
changing to decreases at the right time.
The Squared Off Shawl pattern is a really fun knit.
You’ll have to pay attention to what you’re knitting,
but it is easy to read your knitting and remember
where you are. If you’re ever lost in the pattern
when you try to pick it back up, you can look at the
amount of stitches on your needle and know where
you’re going from there.
If you’re just getting into lace weight yarn, this is
a good place to try it out. If you want to try lace
knitting with lace weight yarn, I recommend to start
with a heavier yarn weight first and learn to read
lace knitting. A yarn like, With Love, or Super Saver
would be ideal.
It’s a Wrap really does this pattern justice and vice
versa, which makes sense because they were written
for one another. If you’re looking for a pattern to try
out the It’s a Wrap yarn on, this is an excellent one
to choose. There are also hundreds of free patterns
on the Red Heart website if you’re looking for
something a little different.
KNITmuch | issue 8 23

My Squared Off
Shawl before
blocking.
It’s not a wrap until it’s been
Knitting with lace is interesting
because it’s a type of knitting
that must be blocked. Especially
if worked in a lace pattern. The
eyelets need to be opened up and
the pattern aligned. If your knitting
doesn’t look good while you’re
knitting, don’t despair! It may just
need a good, hard, blocking.
blocked
A lot of the different blocking
techniques depend on
your space, your time, what
you’re trying to achieve with
blocking. All these techniques
are intertwined together and
some are better than others for
different situations.
Steam blocking is something
of which I’m a huge fan. I was
curious to see how It’s a Wrap
would block out because it’s
lace knit up with a cotton
acrylic blend. Acrylic will relax
completely, but cotton doesn’t
normally change too much
when it’s blocked because, by
nature, it’s a less flexible fiber.
With steam blocking, the shawl
laid flat and kept its stitch
definition, and relaxed a bit, but
not as much as a pure acrylic.
This means when you block It’s
a Wrap into a shape, it will keep
that shape and you will need to
re-block much less often. Cotton
is a less malleable fiber that likes
to stay in the shape it was knit
into and this factors into what I
said earlier about what you want
the fiber to do. If you’ve knit
something a little too short, you
can block it longer. Usually you
can get length or width from
blocking a garment, but not
both. With cotton, the garment
will stay how you knit it.
24 KNITmuch | issue 8
Post steam blocking! It looks so much better!! You
can now see the pattern and all the hard work
from knitting and purling this lovely pattern.
My swatch before blocking. You really cannot
even tell what shape it is, it’s got an interesting
ruffle effect happening.
After wet blocking the swatch lays completely flat
and you can clearly see it’s a square.
You’ll be able to have those
sharp shawl edges and open
eyelets without compromising
the structure of the shawl.
With wet blocking it was a
little easier to manipulate the
dimensions of the garment. Wet
blocking takes space, time, and
you must be able to lay it in a
place where it won’t be disturbed
for a day or two. You completely
submerge the garment then
gently squeeze the water out.
Pin it to the dimensions you
want. While you can manipulate
this fiber, it keeps its shape more
than wool or acrylic, so double
check your gauge before starting
if you’re knitting a sweater or
something that needs to be
fitted. After wet blocking It’s a
Wrap yarn, the swatch was more
relaxed than steam blocking
and still retained its ‘strength’. I
felt like I could have tugged and
pulled it in different directions
and it would stretch, but not
become disfigured.
Overall, I was very impressed
with the ability of It’s a Wrap
to blend the stability of cotton
with the softness and pliability
of acrylic. All the while, keeping
a machine washable yarn that
makes a beautiful garment.
Michelle Nguyen
IG michelle_stitchplease

LM6463
Great Squares
Knit Blanket
Anytime you sit down with yarn you are creating
happiness. Make something for yourself, friends, family
or a charity. Yarning = Happiness.
For free pattern, please visit: redheart.com
© 2018 Coats & Clark. All rights reserved. Coats & Clark is a registered trademark.
25

Unraveling Unity
and Unity Beyond:
what makes this
yarn unique? Charles Voth
The subtle bouclé texture and the moderate thick and thin twist of Unity
result in textured knits that have a lot of body and visual depth.
Unity Beyond is the same yarn but has been
painted in a series of multi-color hues.
I’m excited to share my knitting
experiences with Unity and Unity
Beyond, an amazing blend of
natural fibers by Fibra Natura.
Unity by Fibra Natura comes
in 10 solid colors. Its painted
version, Unity Beyond, comes in 6
complementary colorways. The
palette is reminiscent of French
Country decor with its muted,
subtle colors that remind me of
gardens and summer days.
In the case of Unity, the fiber
content and the architecture
of the yarn give it its unique
character and strengths. Let's
look at the structure of the yarn
and then at its fiber content and
what that does for knit fabric.
Unraveling Unity yarn led me to
an interesting discovery. There’s
an inner core of loosely spun
fibers, but around this core, there
is a tiny strand of what looks like
bamboo (there’s a definite sheen)
that is spun with a Z-twist (spun
counter-clockwise) around the
core. You can see the glimmer of
the bamboo in each segment of
the bouclé, but it just looks like a
strand that is parallel to the other
fibers, but with the Z-twist, it is
actually stabilizing those loose
core fibers. Then there is another
equally thin ply that is spun with
a S-twist around the core and the
bamboo strand, basically crisscrossing
the bamboo strand to
hold the core in place. This is also
very loosely twisted and looks
like one of the core’s strands
when you aren’t analyzing this
up close. The final ply is about
3 times as thick as these first 2
thin plies and is tightly twisted
with an S-twist, and then twisted
around the core and the first 2
thin plies also with an S-twist. I
would hazard a guess that the
loose, fluffy fibers and this thicker
binding ply are all a blend of
wool, cotton, and linen as they
are soft, yet matte.
Unity Beyond colors are added by
one of two ways. In one process,
the dyers pass the yarn through
rollers where only the top rollers
have the dye colors on them, and
one half of the yarn is “painted”
while the other side retains its
natural white. In the other, the
yarn goes under dye jets that
spray only one half of the yarn.
The effect in either case is similar
to a marled yarn where one ply
is a light color and the other is
a contrasting color. The look
of Unity Beyond when knit up
reminds me of acid wash denim,
only with in gradient stripes.
It took a few minutes to fray the end of Unity yarn
because of its sturdy architecture.
26 KNITmuch | issue 8
The painted effect of Unity Beyond creates gradual transitions
between each color of this long-spaced self-striping yarn. The speckled
appearance is reminiscent of Impressionist Art.
Photos by Charles Voth

36% wool, 28% cotton, 18% linen & 18% bamboo,
what yarn is this?
I’ll explore the fiber
characteristics of this yarn
and I've inserted a video in
this feature to show how the
knit fabric behaves because
of the qualities of each
component fiber.
Unity (and Unity Beyond) by
Fibra Natura has four different
fibers, one animal based,
and 3 plant based. Each fiber
brings its own characteristic
to the yarn. The fiber content
is 36% wool, 28% cotton, 18%
linen and 18% bamboo.
Bamboo fiber is actually a
biodegradable rayon thread
made from a pulp mash
that is made with the pith
from the inside of bamboo
stalks. It’s shiny and extremely
strong, however, it has little
to no elasticity. In Unity, the
bamboo provides sheen and
also some of the strength in
the binding plies.
Linen comes from the flax
plant. The strands of this long,
grass-like plant are processed
mechanically to remove the
outer bark from the long
inner strands of cellulose. The
stalks go through a soaking,
fermentation and drying
process called retting which
makes it easier to remove
the outer bark. When linen
is added to yarn it brings
in three positives. It adds
absorbency, which makes it
cool to wear in hot, humid
weather.
The wool content of Unity and Unity Beyond helps with
blocking. The finished piece can be stretched out to
highlight lace or to modify row gauge and the wool content
is sufficient to give the yarn “memory.”
Reverse stockinette stitch shows of the reflective gleam of the
bamboo content easily.
Many of the Unity Beyond colorways have solid colors in Unity
that complement them well. Here’s Adobe and Rose Villa (solids)
to accompany Biscotti.
It’s very strong and helps a
garment keep its shape, and it
provides an amazing amount
of drape and lightness to knit
fabrics. I’ll show you how the
yarn drapes in this video.
Cotton fiber adds coolness and
softness to yarn. In Unity and
Unity Beyond, cotton is the
second highest fiber content. It
lives up to its duties of keeping
the yarn very comfortable to
the touch and it helps keep
the finished knits cool.
There is proportionally more
wool in Unity than any of
the other fibers individually,
but overall, wool makes up
just over ⅓ of the yarn’s fiber
content. What I found about
the wool in this yarn is that it
has no scratchiness at all, and
it adds loft and drape. Wool
is the only component of
Unity and Unity Beyond that
has elasticity. That’s important
to a bouclé yarn so that you
don’t get an extremely loose
stitch or an extremely tight
one that doesn’t relax during
the blocking process. It also is
key to helping the finished knit
hold its shape after blocking.
Now that we’ve looked at
both the architecture and fiber
content of Unity and Unity
Beyond, we’ll review some
designs that have been knit
with these yarns.
KNITmuch | issue 8
27

Unimaginable drape and comfort in knit
designs made with Unity yarn
This 4-fiber yarn is excellent for spring,
summer, and fall knits because of the
balance it has between wool and plantbased
fibers. I’d like to share some designs
that have been knit with this yarn.
A ripple or zigzag scarf is a really good
project for a beginner knitter who wants
to move past just the knit and purl stitches.
This free design, the Coastline Scarf, uses
only 2 skeins and there are yarn-overs for
increasing and straightforward decreases
to draw the columns of stitches into points.
Use only one skein of the
multicolored Unity Beyond, and
one skein of the solid Unity to make
this sophisticated ripple scarf.
A scarf worked along
the long edge truly
feels like it takes less
time to knit. With
only 2 skeins in this
design, you could
knit several for the
holidays.
By adding a third skein, and one with a bit more contrast, you can
knit this elegant triangular shawl.
Even though this shawl could be knit with 3 skeins of Unity Beyond,
I really like how the designer chose a darker solid blue called “Ink”
to make eyelet rows that divide the wider bands of gradient stripes.
This free design lives up to its name, the Flying V shawl.
From all angles, the Flying V shawl is a graceful wrap, perfect for chilly spring or fall evenings.
The aptly named “Flying V” shawl uses a starker contrasting solid
Unity yarn to highlight the lace motif that break up the multicolored
tones of Unity Beyond.
28 KNITmuch | issue 8

In addition to these free designs in
Unity and Unity Beyond, designers Amy
Gunderson and Rachel Brockman have
teamed together to write an e-booklet
collection. You can obtain each design
individually if you wish.
The Tanami Tee has a solid front and a
multicolored back with a lace motif on the
back and the top yoke.
This is another pattern that would be
great for a beginner knitter to try. The
construction of the Sonoran Tank isn’t
standard and adds a bit of interest to
the project, particularly at the beginning,
when the bottom edging is worked in one
long band. This pattern is part of a larger
e-book collection, but can be purchased
individually.
The Kalahari Wrap is one of the most
beautiful renditions of a blend of diamond
and zigzag motifs that remind me of the
signature Missoni fabrics in dresses and
sweaters. I really love the versatility of a
wide wrap like this. The best thing is, with
the linen and bamboo content, this wrap
is sure to drape with drama, or feel soft
and silky if bundled up as a scarf.
Designer Amy Gunderson truly interpreted
the drape of this linen blend, Unity Beyond,
in this design called Mojave Poncho. For
the knitter who gets bored of stockinette
stitch, this design has a solution as there is
a lovely textured stitch that’s easy to knit,
and it repeats often.
A couple of months ago, I went into some
depth on using Ravelry.com to find
patterns that enhance the yarn of your
choice. I delved into the collection and
found this lovely version of Pfeilraupe.
Edmoejewel gave me permission to share
her photo of the end result. Again, this
pattern is a perfect interpretation of how
Unity and Unity Beyond look good when
drape is what you want.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my foraging into
patterns that look great knit with Unity and
Unity Beyond. Next, I’ll share my recipe for
knitting an over-the-head yoke and topdown
tee-shirt.
Pairing a solid blue with a Unity Beyond colorway in a lace motif, this Tee
uses 4 skeins for the smallest size and 6 to 8 skeins for the plus sizes.
The Sonoran tank top starts with a lacy motif worked around the bottom
edge. Then the stitches are picked up and the body is knit from the bottom up.
The Kalahari Wrap uses 8 skeins, 4 of a solid Unity color and 2 each of a
Unity Beyond gradient self-striping version of this drapey yarn.
The Mojave Poncho is another design that celebrates the drape and
texture of Unity and Unity Beyond.
KNITmuch | issue 8
29

Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down
seamless tee shirt – part 1
Maybe you’ve never heard of a shrugyoke
sweater construction. I’m not sure I’ve
heard the name before, but I haven’t seen
this type of design before either, so to me
this is something new.
We’ve been looking at Unity and Unity
Beyond yarn, and I’ve used this lovely multicolored
and multi-fiber yarn to design
a summer tee for my wife. I’m sharing a
recipe for making your own version of this
to adapt to your measurements, but if you
want to follow a fully written multi-size
pattern, refer back to last couple of pages,
where I shared quite a few designs worked
in Unity and Unity Beyond.
To knit this tee, you’ll need some
intermediate knitting skills – working a
provisional cast-on, short-rows, increasing
and decreasing. You’ll also need to be
comfortable with knitting a gauge swatch,
and keeping track of several different stitch
counts and row counts, as different shapings
happen at the same time.
There are a few key measurements that
you’ll need to take for this:
• Your full bust
• The cross-back width (which is from
shoulder bone to shoulder bone). You
can measure this easily by wearing your
favorite T-shirt and measuring from one
shoulder-sleeve seam to the opposite one
across the top of your back. There should
be no slack in the measuring tape.
• The upper arm circumference at the
widest spot
• The circumference of the hips at the point
where you want the bottom hem of the
Tee to land
• The desired length of the sleeve taken
from the top of the shoulder
You’ll need between 5 and 8 skeins of Unity
or Unity Beyond depending on whether
you’re making a size X-small/Small up to a
3x/4x Tee. I used size US 6 [4mm] needles for
the body and size US 5 [3.75mm] needles for
the ribbing edges.
Cast on 26 to 30 stitches with US 6 [4mm]
needles and knit a swatch as follows:
Rows 1-6: Knit.
Row 7: Knit.
Row 8: K3, purl to last 3 sts, k3.
Rows 9 – 42: Repeat Rows 7 & 8.
Rows 43 – 48: Knit.
Bind off.
30 KNITmuch | issue 8

The shrug yoke
starts at the front
bust line and is
worked up and
over the head
and shoulders.
Thoroughly soak your swatch in warm water.
Remove as much excess moisture as you
can, then pull the swatch vertically and let
its natural elasticity return it to its natural
shape. Lay the swatch flat, pin it out (without
stretching it width-wise), and allow it to dry.
Then measure your gauge. I got 21 sts and
33 rows per 4″ [10cm].
If you’ve ever knit, worn, or seen a shrug,
you know that basically it’s two sleeves
with a rectangular or oval ‘back’ piece that
connects the two sleeves. We’re doing
something similar, but in this design, we’ll
also knit a front.
The shrug yoke starts at the full bust line.
You knit the front and the fronts of the
sleeves first, then shape the underarm and
front bodice by working short rows for
the sleeves. At the neck, separate balls are
required to knit both sides at the same time.
At the end of the neck shaping, you’ll be partway down
the back bodice. The back underarm shaping is worked
differently than the front. It has a lace motif at the
shoulder to mimic a shoulder seam (and provide a bit
of ventilation). At the end of a few more short rows and
a few rows to complete the back bodice, you’ll arrive
back at the bust-line, where the stitches on your needle
will join the ones from your provisional cast on and be
finished off by being worked in the round.
The body is worked with gradual increases to achieve
the hip circumference.
Eyelets define the faux sleeve seam at the back of this bodice.
KNITmuch | issue 8
31

The
Math
Here are a few calculations you need to complete to
begin your design.
A. Number of bust stitches required
Bust measurement × stitch gauge ÷ 4” = Bust Stitches.
Round this down to an even number if necessary and
divide by 2.
Example 44″ bust × 21 sts ÷ 4 = 230 ÷ 2 = 115.
If your result is an odd number then subtract 1. Since
our result is 115, I’ll reduce it to 114.
You could also simply divide your sts per 4″ by 4 to get
the number of stitches per inch, which may help you
figure out the numbers more easily.
B. Number of bodice stitches required
Cross-back measurement × stitch gauge ÷ 4” = Bodice
Stitches. Round this down to an even number.
Example 16.75″ across back × 21 sts ÷ 4 = 230 = 88 stitches.
C. Amount to decrease during sleeve/bodice
shaping
A. (Bust Stitches) – B. (Bodice Stitches) = Sleeve/Bodice
Decreases.
Example 114 – 88 = 26 stitches
To finish off the neck opening,
I used [k2, p1, k1, p1] ribbing.
It’s a little different, and it gives
a nice effect.
32 KNITmuch | issue 8

I used my examples to make this Unity Beyond
Summer Top knit to fit a 44'' bust. By using
custom measurements for shoulders and
sleeves. I achieved a great fit!
The decreases happen at each underarm and at
the stitches ⅓ and ⅔ of the way across the front
body stitches approximately.
D. Number of rows for armholes
Upper arm circumference measurement plus 4″ for
ease (you don’t want your sleeves to choke your
upper arms and this leaves a little room to breathe)
× row gauge (from swatch) ÷ 4″ = Total Armhole
Rows. Round up to an even number, if necessary,
then divide by 2 to get the number of Front
Armhole Rows (which is also the number of Back
Armhole Rows).
Example (12.75 + 4) × 33 ÷ 4 = 138 ÷ 2 = 69
If the result is an odd number round up to the next
even number. I will round up to 70 rows.
Example 70 rows for front half of shrug yoke
E. Number of rows for sleeves
Sleeve Rows = 85% of Total Armhole Rows,
rounded up to an even number.
Example 70 × 0.85 = 59.5 rows
I will rounded up to 60 rows for my sleeves.
F. Number of rows for neck opening
Rows for Front Neck Opening = 50% of Front
Armhole Rows (result of D) rounded to an even
number.
Example 70 × 0.50 = 36 rows
For a more revealing neck opening use 60% and for
a more conservative neck opening use 40%.
G. Number of stitches for neck opening
Neck Opening at Widest Point = 42% of Bodice
Stitches (B) rounded to the nearest even number.
Example 88 × 0.42 = 36.96 stitches
The nearest even number is 36.
H. Shoulder Width
B. (Bodice Stitches) – G. (Neck Opening) ÷ 2 =
Shoulder Width
Example (88 – 36) ÷ 2 = 26 stitches
J. Sleeve Stitches
Desired sleeve length (in inches) × stitch gauge ÷
4, rounded to the nearest even number = Sleeve
Stitches.
Example 5.5 inches × 21 ÷ 4 = 28.87 stitches
The nearest even number is 28.
K. Short row turns
D. (Front or Back Armhole Rows) – E. (Sleeve Rows) =
Short Row Turns
Example 70 – 60 = 10 short row turns
Half of the short row turns are used in each sleeve,
halfway across the number of sleeve stitches.
So after you’ve done a little math, and taken
detailed notes, you’ll be ready to use the recipe for
this sweater that I’ll share with you next.
If you’re a visual person, it will help you to draw a
schematic on paper, and insert the information you
have worked out. Here are some of the results of today’s
examples, put onto a sketch.
KNITmuch | issue 8
33

Knitting a shrug-yoke top-down
seamless tee shirt – part 2
This schematic
shows where key
shaping needs
to be worked
to fit your body
perfectly.
Using the numbers that you calculated, you can knit
a custom fitted summer top. The schematic shows
the placement of shaping details that will make this
tee fit perfectly.
The placement of the symbols shows approximately
where the shaping will be worked – the actual
number of symbols is just representative. Where
I have shown 4 increases, you might have as few
as 3 or as many as 8. It will completely depend on
your calculations.
Let’s get started
Now we can cast on. We’re using a provisional cast
on, so you’ll need some scrap cotton or acrylic yarn
that is the same weight or slightly finer than your
Unity Beyond. You can use a crochet cast on or any
other type of provisional cast on.
Cast on the whole amount of stitches for the front
and both sleeves(the results of A and J × 2). In my
case that’s 114 + (26 × 2) = 166 stitches. Place stitch
markers where your “fake seam” will go – on my
sweater, it is after the first 26 stitches and before
the last 26 stitches. This helps keep track of the
“boundaries” for the sleeves and body.
As I started working in stockinette stitch for 2 rows,
I also added more stitch markers. I needed to
work both the bottom yoke shaping for the bust
and the short-row shaping for the sleeves. To do
this yourself, you’ll need your number L. I needed
to decrease 26 stitches at the lower bust, but the
design looks best if you decrease both at the
underarm and then at the places where a princess
seam would land, which is about the ⅓ and ⅔ spot
across the width of the body stitches. So I took 114
and divided it by 3, which is 38 sts. So I added stitch
markers with 38 stitches between the sleeve seam
stitch markers.
For the short row calculations, I use the value of
K. Work short rows halfway across the number of
sleeve stitches, placing a stitch marker at that point
to remind you to do the turns. In my case, I need
to work 5 pairs of short rows. I begin them halfway
across the 26 sleeve stitches, placing a stitch marker
at the 13th stitch point. I now have 6 stitch markers
on my needles. To sum up, my needle now shows:
13 sts, sm, 13 sts, sm, 38 sts, sm, 38 sts, sm, 38 sts,
sm, 13 sts, sm, 13 sts.
34 KNITmuch | issue 8

The circled areas
indicate where
shaping occurs on the
shrug yoke.
Your numbers will be different, as they will be based
on your measurements.
After your stitch markers have been placed into the
knitting in the first two rows of stockinette stitch,
you can begin shaping. I’ve written out what I did in
these instructions. You can copy my instructions and
paste them into a document then substitute your
numbers as necessary.
Row 1: Knit to second marker, sm, ssk, knit to next
marker sm, ssk, [knit to 2 sts before next
maker, k2tog] twice, knit remaining stitches.
Row 2: Purl across.
This makes 4 decreases. I need 26, so I’ll repeat
these 2 rows 5 more times to reach a total of 24
decreases, then on the next decrease row, I will only
make decreases at the sleeve seams.
At the SAME time, I need to work short-row turns.
I use the German short row, but you can use any
technique you like.
Right side: Knit across working the decreases as
established above to the 6th stitch marker, leaving
the marker on the left needle, turn work (which
means the marker is now on the right needle).
Wrong side: Slip the first stitch purlwise, bring yarn
over the top of the right-hand needle to the back
of the work, and up between the needles to the
front of the work, and tug hard (but not so hard as
to break the yarn) to create a “hitch stitch” on the
right-hand needle (this hitch stitch will look like a
messy 4 strand stitch), purl across to the last stitch
marker, leaving the marker on the left needle, turn
work.
Right side: Slip the first stitch purlwise, bring yarn
over the top of the right-hand needle to the back
of the work, knit the next stitch and tug to tighten
both the stitch just knit and the hitch stitch behind
it. Knit across, working the decreases as established,
to the next hitch stitch, knit into the hitch stitch so
there are 2 strands on either side of the right-hand
needle when you insert the tip into the stitch, then
knit remaining stitches.
Wrong side: Purl across to the first marker, remove
marker, purl 3, place marker back, purl to 2 stitches
before the other hitch stitch, place a marker, purl
2, purl the hitch st with 2 strands on either side of
the right-hand needle when you insert the tip to
purl, remove the previously placed marker, purl the
remaining stitches.
These 4 steps create the pair of short row turns. This
will add 2 rows to the inside of the body, but not at
the edge of the sleeves. As you work, you can see
that the location of the row turns change by a few
stitches. This is important to keep the sleeves from
forming visible pleats.
In my case, as I was decreasing, I also worked 4
more pairs of short row turns. Then, I worked even
in stockinette stitch on my 88 (for front) plus 2 x
26 (total 140 sts) until it was time to bind off for
the front neckline, which in my case was after row
34. For your row count take your result of D and
subtract F. For me it was 70 – 36.
KNITmuch | issue 8
35

The shrug yoke after
all shaping is done,
and with sleeve
seams completed,
and all body stitches
on a circular needle.
Using your calculation for neckline width, G,
you can figure out how many stitches will be
bound off. You’ll need to leave some stitches
for the diagonal corners of the neckline. I
decreased 4 stitches on each side, so with my
value of G being 36, minus 4 at each side, I
had an initial bind off of 28 stitches. With 140
total, I simply subtracted 28 from 140 and
divided the result by 2.
(140 – 28) ÷ 2 = 56.
For the beginning of the neck opening, I knit
across 56 stitches, bound off 38, and knit the
remaining 56. Then, I purled across the first half,
joined another ball of yarn and purled across the
second half. To help keep my striping “in sync,” I
joined the new yarn in at the same place in the
color sequence so that both halves of the front
would match.
For the next 8 rows, I decreased 1 stitch at each
edge of the neck opening on the knit rows. That
left me with 52 stitches on either side of the neck
opening. Your mileage will vary!
The next shaping required are the increases for
the sleeve cap which are worked on the sleeve
side of the seam stitch markers. I increased 2
stitches on each side every 4th row beginning
about 10 rows before the end of the front. You
may want to increase 3 or 4 stitches on each side,
so just begin early enough.
At this point, you’re ready to work the back of
the yoke.
To knit the back, I didn’t reverse the shaping
from the front exactly. I started by immediately
increasing 1 stitch at each edge of the neckline
4 times and decreasing on the outside of the
sleeve seam stitch markers. This gives the back of
the neck a gentle scoop that allows room for the
ribbing to come up the back of the neck later.
Once those decreases were done, I cast on 28
stitches for the center of the back neck and
began working work all the way across again.
Because we don’t need the extra shaping in the
back, I left out the princess seam stitch markers.
When my stitch count equaled 140, I had this on
my needle:
13 sts, sm, 13 sts, sm, 88 stitches, sm, 13 sts, sm,
13 sts.
Then I started the eyelet lace, which incorporates
the shaping to bring my stitch count back up to
the number needed to match the cast on.
Row 1: Knit to 2nd marker, slip marker, k1, yo, ssk,
yo, ssk, knit to 5 sts before next marker,
k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, slip marker, knit
across.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: Knit to 2nd marker, slip marker, k1, yo,
ssk, yo, knit to 3 sts before next marker, yo,
k2tog, ko, k1, slip marker, knit across.
Row 4: Purl.
36 KNITmuch | issue 8

This photo of the back
yoke of the
Unity Beyond Tee shows
the lace eyelets next to
the armhole shaping.
This increases 2 stitches every 4 rows and adds
the decorative eyelets.
At the same time, I worked 5 pairs of short-row
turns as above.
When the stitch count was back to 166, I
continued working rows 1 and 2 until the back
was the same length as the front.
The yoke and sleeves are now complete. At this
point, you can unpick the provisional cast on and
graft the sleeve stitches to each other or put the
sleeve stitches onto a different needle for the
front and back stitches, then work a 3-needle
bind off for the under-sleeve seams.
The remaining body stitches will all be placed
on a circular needle and you can continue
working in the round.
I decided to continue the eyelet lace in the
locations as established. I also decided to flare
out the body, by incorporating increases every
4th row until I reached the desired number of
stitches for the hip circumference. This gives
a gradual A-line silhouette to the top which
pleases her. You can work the body in solid
stockinette stitch with no shaping if you prefer.
It’s up to you how you “cook” up a summer tee
with this recipe.
As you can see, I still need to add some ribbing
to the neckline and cuffs and the bottom of the
tee. You can also see that my wife will end up
with a lovely top!
I got great mileage out of the Unity Beyond yarn.
My version only used 4 skeins, and it’s a size XL.
In the photo below, you can see a fifth skein, plus
a skein of Unity in Adobe red, but there’s enough
left in the ball without the band to finish the
sweater. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with whatever
you choose to knit with Unity yarn. My wife is
thrilled with the feel, fit, and drape of her new
Tee!
The gentle shading of Unity Beyond creates horizontal stripes that are softer
and more flattering to the figure than sharp color changes.
Charles Voth
twitter.com/stitchstud
charlesvothdesigns.ca
KNITmuch | issue 8
37

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stitchers meet with their stitching friends, shop for
stitching supplies and see the new stitching designs
from Europe and the United States.
Hardanger House, designs by Betty Stokoe
PO Box 1223, Stettler, AB T0C 2L0
403.742.2749 bettystokoe@gmail.com
tnplisting.com/hardanger-house.html
Hardanger embroidery charts and kits. Designs
feature contemporary adaptations of this traditional
cutwork embroidery from Norway. Shop online
at etsy.com/shop/HardangerHouse. Some digital
downloads available.
Haus of Stitches
626 Main Street, Humboldt, SK S0K 2A0
306.682.0772 or toll-free 1.800.344.6024
hausofstitches.ca
Our one of a kind store offers everything you need
for sewing, quilting, knitting, rug hooking and
needlework. Authorized dealers for Janome and Elna.
Heartfelt Fibre Arts
42 Industrial St, Toronto, ON M4G 1Y9
647.920.3616 heartfeltfibrearts.com
info@hearftfeltfibrearts.com
Canadian Fibre Arts supply store specializing in
high-quality, unique fibre and tools for all of your
knitting, felting, rug hooking and stitching needs.
38 KNITmuch | issue 8
Impressions Embroidery & Engraving
#8-449 Mayor Magrath Dr S, Lethbridge, AB T1J 3L8
403.942.3934 impressionslethbridge.ca
impressions22@shaw.ca
Our shop does embroidery and laser engraving.
Laser engraving is a beautiful process for fabric,
as nothing cuts cleaner and more precisely than a
laser. We now carry a nice array of fabric as well to
compliment the abilities of the laser.
Kelly's Creative Sewing
804 Main St, Dartmouth, NS B2W 3V1
902.435.7380 kellyscreativesewing.ca
kellyscreativesewing@gmail.com
We offer sales and on-site service of high-end
domestic embroidery, sewing machines and sergers,
as well as a variety of educational programs.
Needles & Knits
15040 Yonge St, Aurora, ON L4G 1M4
905.713.2066 needlesandknits.com
Fabulous selection of yarns. Extremely
knowledgable and expert help. Cozy and friendly
atmosphere. Classes. Guild night every first Tuesday
of the month. Tea with Tove, the owner, every
Thursday from 6-8pm.
Needleworker's Delight / Silkweaver Fabrics
Plaza K 181 Route 1 South, Metuchen, NJ 08840
732-388-4545 needleworkersdelight.com
info@needleworkersdelight.com
Standard & specialty Zweigart Fabrics & canvas,
hand-dyed fabrics, floss, fibers, towels, tableware,
leaflets/designs, painted canvases, notions, tools,
baby items, home decor, and so much more!
Pine Ridge Knit & Sew
17477 Hwy 2 PO Box 68, Trenton, ON K8V 5R1
613.392.1422 pineridgeknitsew.com
yvette@pineridgeknitsew.com
We have knitting machines by Artisan and Silver
Reed, embroidery machines by Husqvarna/Viking
& White. Sewing notions and supplies, books and
software. Hands-on lessons and classes. Wide variety
of yarns, threads, dress and pant zippers.
Ruby Pearl Quilts
500 King St W, Suite 8, Oshawa, ON L1J 2K9
905.436.3535 rubypearlquilts.com
joy@rubypearlquilts.com
We are your full service source of professional quilting
equipment, products, & courses. Led by 44 years of
sewing experience & more than 20 years of quilting
experience, we have the experience necessary to help
you push your hobby to the next level!
Serenity Knits
525 Brooker Ridge #102, Newmarket, ON L3X 2M2
905.710.3283 serenityknits.ca
info@serenityknits.ca
We offer a wide selection of high quality yarns as well
as needles, hooks, patterns and notions. We also offer
a large variety of classes from beginner to the more
advanced.
Sew Fancy Inc.
Guelph, ON
519.824.4127 sewfancy.com
sales@sewfancy.com
Your Premier Canadian Source for Specialty Sewing
Supplies including Smocking, Heirloom Sewing,
Goldwork, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Needle Tatting,
Swarovski Crystals, Sashiko, Quilting and more. Visit
the website for the latest in sewing supplies.
Sew Inspired
375 Daniel St S, Arnprior, ON K7S 3K6
613.623.0500 sewinspired.ca
info@sewinspired.ca
Your Ottawa Valley PFAFF® Authorized Dealer. We
have a large supply of quilting & sewing supplies,
knitting supplies, as well as in stock PFAFF® sewing
machines. We also have a listing of sewing and
quilting classes.
Sew With Vision
480 Parkland Dr, Halifax, NS B3S 1P9
902.479.2227 sewwithvision.net
Authorized PFAFF, HUSQVARNA VIKING, and SINGER
dealer and service provider offering an extensive
line of sewing, embroidery and serger machines, as
well as long-arm quilting systems.
That Sewing Place
16610 Bayview Ave #10, Newmarket, ON L3X 1X3
905.715.7725 thatsewingplace.ca
jaret&liana@thatsewingplace.ca
Introducing That Sewing Place as your sewing
source and Authorized Dealers for Bernina and
Brother machines. Jaret & Liana focus on placing
your sewing needs first, providing outstanding
support, service, and training.
The Quilt Store / Evelyn's Sewing Centre
17817 Leslie St, Unit 40, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8C6
905.853.7001 or toll-free 1.888.853.7001
The Quilt Store West
695 Plains Rd E, Unit 6, Burlington, ON L7T 2E8
905.631.0894 or toll-free 1.877.367.7070
thequiltstore.ca
Now with 2 locations to serve you, we are your Quilt
Store Destination! The staff here at The Quilt Store
is always on hand to provide Quilt Wisdom, Quilt
Inspiration and most of all we pride ourselves as the
place to make... All Your Quilt Dreams Come True!
The Stitcher's Muse
99 Commercial Street, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G3
250.591.6873 thestitchersmuse.com
info@thestitchersmuse.com
A divine little shop with supplies for all your hand
stitching needs! Friendly, knowledgeable, helpful
staff. Cross stitch, canvaswork, needlepoint,
embroidery, counted thread, lace making and
more. Books, patterns, fabric, threads, tools.
The Yarn Guy
15 Gower St, Toronto, ON M4B 1E3
416.752.1828 or toll-free 1.800.836.6536
theyarnguy.com info@sewknit.ca
See us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter!
Knitting machines, sewing machines, repairs, parts
for Passap, Studio, Singer, Silver Reed, Superba,
White. Sewing notions and supplies, books, ball
yarns, coned yarns, TAMM yarns, Paton's yarns,
Bernat yarns, Phentex yarns, Bernat kits & crafts.
Ultimate Sewing Centre
191 Bloor St East, Oshawa, ON L1H 3M3
905.436.9193 ultimatesewing.com
ultimatesewing@bellnet.ca
For all your sewing needs be sure to call Durham’s
largest one stop shop: Janome and Elna Sewing
Machines, Sergers, & Embroidery machines,
over 3000 bolts of first quality cottons, Floriani
Embroidery supplies, the latest notions, books, &
patterns, year round classes, and so much more!
Upper Canada Quiltworks
PO Box 64, Brockville, ON K6V 5T7
613.345.3956 Fax: 613.342.3327
uppercanadaquiltworks.com
Visit us online for a wide selection quilt patterns
and books. Techniques include felted wool, fusible
appliqué, punchneedle, rag quilting and printing
photos on fabric.

don't miss these
projects & tutorials online!
KNIT much.com
...to K, is to
Colorful
Chic Sheep
pure wool,
pure knitting fun
READ NOW
READ NOW
Butterfly Baby
Blanket knit in
Super Saver Ombre
and
there's
so
much
more!
READ NOW
Knitting
with
Alaska yarn,
soft & airy
KNITmuch | issue 8
39

KNIT much .com
...to K, is to
Standard abbreviations & terms
Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com
alt = alternate
approx = approximately
beg = begin(ning)
BO= bind off
Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com CC = contrast colour
Standards & Guidelines For Crochet and Knitting • YarnStandards.com
ch = chain
cm = centimetre(s)
cn = cable needle
Standard Yarn Weight System
co = cast on
cont = continue, continuing
dc = double crochet
Standard Yarn Weight System
Yarn Weight
Symbol &
Category
Names
Yarn Weight
Type of
Symbol & Yarns in
Category Category
Names
Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes
Standard Yarn Weight System
Fingering,
10 count
crochet thread
Knit Gauge
Type of Range* in Fingering, Sock,
Yarns in
33–40**
Stockinette 10 count Fingering,
sts
Category Stitch to crochet thread Baby
4 inches
Knit Gauge
Range* in Recommended
33–40** 27–32
Stockinette Needle in 1.5–2.25
Stitch to Metric Size
sts
mm
sts
4 inches Range
Sock,
Fingering,
Baby
27–32
sts
2.25–3.25
mm
dec = decrease(s), decreasing
Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes
dpn = double-pointed needle(s)
foll = following
Yarn Weight
g = gram(s)
Symbol & DK,
Worsted, Chunky,
hdc = half double crochet
Sport, Category
Bulky,
Jumbo,
Light
Afghan,
Craft,
inc = increase(s), increasing
Names Baby
Roving Roving
in(s) = inch(es)
Worsted
Aran
Rug
k = knit
kf&b or kfb = knit into front and back of st (increase)
Categories of yarn, gauge ranges, and recommended needle and hook sizes
Type of
Fingering, Sock,
DK,
Yarns in DK, 10 count Worsted, Fingering, Chunky,
Sport,
Sport,
6 sts
23–26 21–24 16–20 12–15 BabyBulky,
Light
7–11 Jumbo,
Category Light crochet thread Afghan, Baby Craft,
Baby
Worsted and
sts
sts
sts
sts Roving sts Roving
Worsted
Aran
Rug
fewer
Knit Gauge
Range* in
33–40** 27–32
23–26
Stockinette
21–24
3.25–3.75 Stitch to 3.75–4.5sts
16–20
4.5–5.5sts
12–15
sts
4 mm
sts
inches mm
sts
mm
sts
23–26 21–24
6 sts
16–20
12.75 mm
5.5–8 sts 7–11
8–12.75 sts
and
sts
and
mm
sts
mm fewer
larger
Chunky,
ktbl = knit Bulky, through the back Jumbo, loop
Craft, k2tog = knit Roving 2 sts tog (right-leaning Roving decrease)
Rugk3tog = knit 3 sts together (double right-leaning
decrease)
m = marker
m = meter(s)
6 sts
12–15 m1 = Make 7–11 1 stitch: pick up the horizontal strand
and
sts between sts2 stitches from front to back and knit it
tbl (lifted increase) fewer
MC = main colour
mm = millimetre(s)
oz = ounce(s)
Recommended
Recommended Recommended
17
p = purl
12.75 mm
Needle in 1.5–2.25 2.25–3.25 3.25–3.75 3.75–4.5
Needle U.S. 000 to 1 1 to 3 3 to 5 5 to 7 7 to 9 9 to 11 11 to 17 12.75 mm
4.5–5.5 5.5–8 8–12.75
p2tog = purl 2 sts tog (decrease)
Needle in 1.5–2.25 2.25–3.25 3.25–3.75Metric Size 3.75–4.5 mm4.5–5.5
mm 5.5–8 mm8–12.75
and
and
mm
Size Range
and
mm
mmpatt = pattern mm
Metric Size
mm
mm
mm
larger
Range mm
mm
mm
mm
larger
larger
pfb = purl into front and back of stitch (increase)
Range
Crochet
pm = place marker
Recommended
psso = pass slipped stitch over 17
Gauge*Ranges 32–42
6 sts
Recommended
21–32 16–20
RS = right side
in Single
double
Needle U.S. 12–17 000 to 1 11–141 to 3 8–11 3 to 5 7–9 5 to 7 17
and
7 to 9 9 to 11 11 to 17
and
Needle U.S. 000 to 1 1 to 3 sts 3 to 5 sts
sts
sts
sts
sts
rem = remain(ing)
Crochet to crochets**
Size Range 5 to 7 7 to 9 9 to 11 11 to 17
and
fewer
larger
rep = repeat
Size Range
larger
4 inch
rev = reverse
Crochet
rnd = round
Crochet
Steel***
Gauge*Ranges 32–42
sc = single crochet 6 sts
Gauge*Ranges Recommended 32–42
21–32 16–20 12–17 15 mm
1.6–1.4 mm 2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 in Single 4.5–5.5 double
6.5–9
9–15 6 sts
11–14
8–11
7–9
sl = slip
Hook in Metric
21–32 16–20 12–17 11–14 5.5–6.5mmsts
8–11 sts 7–9
and
in Single
double
sts and sts
sts skp = slip one stsst, knit next st, pass slipped st over knit
Regular hook mm
Crochet mm to mm crochets**
mm
mm and
fewer
Size Range
sts
sts
sts
sts
sts
sts
Crochet to crochets**
larger
st (dec)
2.25 mm
4 inch
fewer
ssk = slip, slip, knit: slip 2 sts knitwise, 1 at a time, insert
4 inch
left-hand needle into front of both sts and knit
Recommended
them tog (left-leaning 15 mm decrease)
Steel***
1.6–1.4 mm
Steel*** Steel***
Recommended
2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 4.5–5.5
Recommended 6, 7, 8
Hook in Metric
I–9
15 mm
1.6–1.4 mm 2.25–3.25 3.5–4.5 4.5–5.5 Regular hook mm 6.5–9
Q
K–10
Hook U.S. Size Regular B–1 to E–4 E–4 to 7 7 to I–9
to
1 ⁄2 mm 9–15
5.5–6.5mm
Hook in Metric
Size Range
5.5–6.5mm
M-13 mm
and
Regular hook mm
mm
mm 2.25 mm
mm
and
Size Range
to M-13 mm to Q
Range
hook
K–10 1 ⁄2
larger
2.25 mm
larger
B–1
Steel***
Steel***
Recommended 6, 7, 8
I–9
* GUIDELINES ONLY: The above reflect the most commonly used gauges and needle or hook sizes for specific yarn categories.
Recommended 6, 7, 8
Hook U.S. Size RegularI–9
B–1 to E–4 E–4 to 7 7 to I–9 Q
** Lace weight yarns are usually knitted or crocheted on larger needles and hooks to create K–10
to
lacy, openwork patterns. Accordingly, a
Hook U.S. Size Regular B–1 to E–4 E–4 to 7
gauge range is difficult to determine. Always follow Range 7 to I–9
the gauge stated hook to
1 ⁄2 M-13
and
in your pattern.
K–10 1 ⁄2
to M-13
to Q
Range
hook
B–1K–10 1 ⁄2
larger
*** Steel crochet hooks are sized differently from regular hooks--the higher the number, the smaller the hook, which is the reverse
of regular B–1 hook sizing.
6.5–9 sssk = slip next 9–15three stitches individually, knitwise.
and
mm Insert tip mmof left needle from front to back into
the fronts of these three largerstitches and knit them
together (double left-leaning decrease)
st(s) = stitch(es)
St st = stocking stitch
tbl = through back loop
K–10 tog 1 ⁄2 = together M-13
to M-13
tr = treble crochet
to Q
WS = wrong side
yo = yarn over
This Standards & Guidelines booklet and downloadable * GUIDELINES symbol artwork ONLY: The are above available reflect at: YarnStandards.com
the most commonly used gauges and needle or hook sizes for specific yarn categories.
Worsted,
Afghan,
Aran
Q
and
larger