Elodie

MATERIALS

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

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

PATTERN:

Cast on 42 stitches 

Knit 30 rows of garter stitch

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

Bind off loosely using a stretchy bind off stitch

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

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

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

Zephyr

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

MATERIALS

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

PATTERN

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

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

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

Bind off and weave in the ends.

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

Emmagene

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

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

MATERIALS

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

PATTERN

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

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

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

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

View fullsize

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

Convertible TuniCowl

This tunic top can be worn frontwards or backwards, or as a cowl. I love creating art yarn pieces that are multi functional. For the front of my tunic I used 30 yards of recycled sari silk ribbon. This ribbon was sewn together from black to a small strip of blush pink and then ivory. Then for the back of the tunic I used 30 yards of handspun boucle textured yarn in a double elongated stitch. I knit the sari silk into a rectangle, and the boucle into a rectangle, and then I seamed the shoulders and sides - leaving plenty of room for the armholes. To wear this tunic as a cowl, just drape it around your neck and use one of the armholes as the second wrap to shorten. 

MATERIALS

• 30 yards recycled sari ribbon yarn or handspun yarn
• 30 yards handspun yarn
• Size 35 knitting needles
• Crochet Hook for seaming
• Extra matching yarn (I used black) for seaming

PATTERN

Front

Cast on 12 stitches with your recycled sari ribbon yarn (or handspun)

Knit in a double elongated stitch until the piece reaches 20 inches long.

Bind off tightly (this is the neckline)

Back

Cast on 14 stitches with your handspun yarn

Knit in a double elongated stitch until the piece reaches 30 inches long

Bind off tightly (this is the back neckline)

SEAMING

• Seam the shoulders together with a crochet hook and yarn, matching the necklines of the front and back. You can adjust the width of the shoulders by seaming more or less yarn from the sides.
• Seam the sides together with a crochet hook and yarn - leaving large holes for the arms. For a ruched effect, pull the extra ten inches of the back up and seam to the corner of the front side. 

Bias Bulky Blanket

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

MATERIALS

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

NOTES

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

PATTERN

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

Now start decreasing to make a square.

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

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

Instructions & Photography by Ashley Martineau