I try to have a “fun” project over the holiday break, something I can work on while in the car driving to see family, hanging out in the morning, or relaxing after dinner. The perfect project is interesting enough to hold my attention but not so difficult that I can’t work with some distractions. When…
Tag: cables

Swatching: Get to Know Germantown Bulky
As a fun little project, I’m individually going over each Kelbourne Woolens yarn, and will discuss the characteristics, gauges, and go over a few different swatches and stitch patterns. Want more? View previous posts on Lucky Tweed, Andorra, Scout, and Mojave. Enjoy! Germantown Bulky is the heavier weight cousin to our entirely U.S. sourced and…

A Holiday Gift For You: Travertine Scarf
We are so incredibly grateful to our retailers and customers for sticking with us through all the ups and downs of the last two years. Seeing your projects in our yarns, reading your lovely emails, and seeing your comments and social media posts makes the stress of small business ownership worthwhile! As we continue to…
Olive Knits January Workshop KAL – Fiadh
I’m typically not one to go all out at the New Year, but I will be wide awake and toasting the end of 2020 for sure. I am also delighted for the year to end because it means the newest Olive Knits KAL is about to begin – and Marie’s design, Fiadh, featuring Lucky Tweed,…

An Interview With: Jennifer Burke
In conjunction with the release of the Sweet Pea Socks for the April installment of the Year of Gifts, I thought it would be fun to interview the designer, Jennifer Burke. We have been friends with Jen for well over a decade, and are delighted to have her as one of our featured contributors this…

Year of Gifts: Sweet Pea Socks
April’s Year of Gifts pattern is here, and its a great one! Designed by friend and fellow Philadelphian, Jennifer Burke, these socks are a twisty cabled delight worked in cherry, springy, neon coral Perennial. The Sweet Pea socks look complicated, but simple two stitch cables are all you need to work the design. As with…

Year of Gifts: Shamrock Cowl
I’m not sure if its the stress that is getting to me, but I’m hoping there is some sort of omen that we’re releasing a cowl in Lucky Tweed called Shamrock on St. Patrick’s day. (We try to steer clear of cliches around here, but I’m full on embracing any luck I can get these…

Year of Hats: December Hat
Its here! The final hat in our Year of Hats! Wahoo! The December Hat, designed by Irina Anikeeva, is a lovely cabled hat that shows off Germantown’s excellent stitch definition. It begins with a tubular cast on and has a 2 x 2 ribbed brim. The brim beautifully transitions into cable panels that make up…

Year of Hats: November Hat
I haven’t been able to walk the dogs without a hat to keep my ears cosy, which is how I know fall has officially arrived in Philadelphia. Hats – arguably one of the most useful fall accessories – are perfect for fall knitting, wearing, and gifting! The November Hat by Meghan Kelly is a cute…

The Knit Vibe: Chaleur by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Vickie Howell’s new book, The Knit Vibe, was released today and I’m delighted to share my contribution, Chaleur! Chaleur is a quintessentially “Kate” hat: deep ribbing, intricate cables, integrated increases and decreases, and a slouchy fit are all incorporated into the design. Knit in Scout in orchid heather, Chaleur is a wooly, modern, and functional…

Designer Feature: Assemblance by Amy Gunderson
You may remember we had a chat with Amy Gunderson a little while ago about Canyon, her design in our KW Crochet Collection, and we’re delighted to feature another design by her for fall in Germantown! Assemblance, from Knitty Deep Fall 2019, is a fun, inventive, and unique exercise cables. Amy said it best: “Assemblance…

Designer Feature: Bynx Hat by Hayley Geary
We have a soft spot in our hearts for our snuggly Scout yarn. The entire Kelbourne Woolens team can’t get enough of its heathered, saturated colors, and versatility. It’s one of those yarns that just works for most textures, including our favorite – cables! Hayley Geary’s Bynx Hat, made in Scout’s Moss Heather, shot to…

Introducing the Year of Hats!
It’s a new year and about time for a new year-long-knit-a-long pattern series from Kelbourne Woolens! What’s better than a free hat pattern? Twelve free hat patterns, of course! This year we’re releasing a new, free hat design each month here on the blog made in Germantown. Germantown is the newest yarn to the Kelbourne…

New Free Pattern: Llumeneres Hat!
When we received the new colors of Andorra this season, I saw the deep navy and immediately fell in love. I had always wanted to knit my Seathwaite hat in a smaller gauge with a slouchier fit, and with the release of the new colors and Small Business Saturday just around the corner, it seemed…

Cables Across Repeats
Working cables in the round in all-over repeats requires working the cable at the end of the round differently than the others in the repeat. When people ask about this technique, we always assure them that it makes much more sense in application than if you were to just read the instructions. Hopefully this photo tutorial is also…

Scout Collection: Compass
I am as much of a sucker for an intricate cable as I am stranded colorwork, and the Compass cowl is awash with a plethora of cable panels designed to keep you cosy all season long. Compass is designed in two sizes, a larger version (pictured) requiring two skeins, and a smaller version that only calls for…

Scout Collection: Portage
Scout is “my” yarn in the lineup of new Kelbourne Woolens yarns we’re releasing this year, so it was only fitting that I took the reins in terms of the overall look and feel of the Scout Collection. Since Scout is an 100% wool in a wearable DK weight, the classic and bright heathered colors are perfect for sweaters and accessories…

Introducing The Andorra Collection!
A little bit vintage, a little bit classic, a little bit contemporary. It’s here! The Andorra Collection, the first collection for our first Kelbourne Woolens yarn, Andorra. Kelbourne Woolens Andorra Collection showcases the best that knitting has to offer. Cables, lace, and color work adorn sweaters and accessories in just the right ways. Designed to…

Designer Feature: Buckwheat Cowl by Irina Anikeeva
Tomorrow marks the Fall Solstice, and that can only mean one thing: Interweave Knits, Holiday 2017 is here and it is time to start planning those gifts! The Buckwheat Cowl by Irina Anikeeva is a really lovely oversized cabled cowl worked in The Fibre Co. Arranmore. From the magazine: “To keep the cold air at bay,…

Summer of Basics: Final Plans!
I jokingly posted on Instagram the other day that I’m sure everyone has been waiting with bated breath to hear what my final plans for the Summer of Basics are. Wait no more!! I finally decided on the sweater I am going to knit, and I’m committing my plans to writing so I can stop…

Designer Feature: Navigate Pullover by Annie Lupton / Rib Magazine no. 2
Rib Magazine, dedicated to publishing “patterns and articles of interest to men who knit and those who knit for them”, recently released the preview its second issue, Navigate. The four sweaters are particularly noteworthy, as the fit and style are excellent and are all classic garments that look like they would be both enjoyable to…

Year of Mittens: April Mittens
No fooling – the April Mittens are here! Inspired by the ingenious way the Irish Mittens we picked up on our yarn-designing trip back in 2015 were constructed, the April Mittens are knit in two halves: the back of the hand and the palm. The pieces are then joined around the edge using a crocheted slipped…

Two Stitch Cables
The October Mitten begins with a knit/purl lattice stitch pattern at the cuff that grows into a flowering cable. The floral pattern of the mitten is created by 1 x 1 cable crosses that flow into one another and grow into the delicate branches, extending from the basket-patterned cuff. For this technique, we have a new…

Swatching and Measuring Gauge in Cable Pattern
The August Mitten features a unique diamond cable flanked by two 4 stitch cables on a reverse stockinette stitch ground. The palm and gusseted thumb are worked in a lovely textured moss stitch. The gauges listed in the August Mitten are as follows: Cable Panel (36 sts) = 3.75” (9.5 cm) on larger needles, after…

August Mittens Tips and Tricks: Cables made Easy
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, there are two older but still incredibly useful tutorials related to the August Mitten pattern that you might find helpful. Both are helpful in effectively creating excellent cables, and will help you not only with the August Mitten, but also in any future knitting endeavors! In conjunction with the release…

Year of Mittens: August Mitten
Its here! The first pattern in the Year of Mittens, the August Mitten! The cables on the August Mitten are inspired by the rich history of intricate stitching that is common in Ireland and the British Isles. Combining The Fibre Co.’s British wool yarn, Cumbria Fingering, in the traditional sea-blue Windermere, and intertwining columns of…

Seathwaite Round Up
The Seathwaite Hat, published last October through our friend Karen at Fringe Association has been a huge hit! I have absolutely loved seeing all of the fabulous versions pop up on Instagram and Ravelry, and especially enjoy hearing when people say it was their first time working cables, charts, or a provisionally cast-on folded brim. I…

Acadia Collection Feature: Classic Accessories
Most of the designs in the Acadia Collection are simple garments with minimal patterning, but we wanted to have two accessories that were still classic but featured a little bit more in terms of the pattern texture and structure. JORDAN POND SCARF Those of you who looked closely at the Jordan Pond Scarf may have…

KW Style It: Seathwaite Hat
Karen and I have been really please with the positive response to the Seathwaite Hat, so I thought it would be fun to work up a few outfit possibilities for the hat to show both its functionality and versatility. STYLE ONE: Urban Office It may seem counterintuitive to pair a heavily cabled hat in a…

Fringe Hatalong: Seathwaite
When Karen Templer first approached me about the Fringe Hat Along series she was scheming up on her blog, I was firmly on board. Originally, the intention was to provide a free pattern from our existing collection, but the logistics of that were a little wonky, so it made sense to design something new exclusively…

Working from Charts: Cables
Like most of our patterns, many of the designs in the Little Things collection utilize charts as part of the instructions. There are four types of charts featured in the collection: Knit/Purl patterning, Stranded Colorwork, Cables, and Lace. While most of the basic principles of knitting charts are the same regardless of the type of chart, we’ve broken it…

Tuck Stitches
Gillam features a Tuck and Cable patterning that is worked both in the round and flat. The stitch pattern is 6 rounds, with a cable every 6th round, and the tuck stitch worked every 3rd round. As a result, you will work the tuck stitch on both right side and wrong side rows after the armhole division….

Cabling Without a Cable Needle
I exclusively work cables without a cable needle for a few reasons: a) I am notorious for never having notions. I use snippets of whatever yarn I’m working with for stitch markers, I don’t think I’ve met a darning needle I’ve used more than once, and I own about 10 tape measures but only know where…