berroco design studio

Berroco Abroad

amandakeep — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:19:09 +0000

Berroco yarns and patterns are readily available in hundreds of yarn shops around the United States and Canada, but what if you live in a different country?

With the help of the Internet, our patterns and yarn lines are gaining fans from all around the world. Of course, this often leads to questions:

How can I get Berroco yarns where I live? How can I purchase a Berroco pattern internationally?

We do have a small list of international shops, so if you live in Australia, Mexico, or the UK, check out our international directory for details. Otherwise, you can place an order with one of our online retailers in the US. These stores sell downloadable PDFs of our more recent pattern booklets, so you can make a purchase and download the pattern instantly to your computer. They also ship internationally, so our yarn and printed pattern booklets can be delivered right to your door, wherever you live.

And if you happen to visit the US or Canada, you can check for nearby shops on our Yarn & Shop Finder, just by entering the city name or zip code. It’s also a quick and easy way to find out exactly which yarns are carried at each shop!

Amanda

Swatch Collage

amandakeep — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:42:23 +0000

I’ve made it a habit to save my swatches. I think it stems from my knitting classes in college – our homework every week was to develop 4-6 knitted swatches,and at the end of the semester we needed to display all our best swatches so that professors could analyze our progress. After my school days were over, I still found reasons to keep my swatches. Sometimes a swatch I’d previously disregarded as a failure will turn out to be the key to inventing a new stitch pattern, making it the starting point for a new project. Other times I’ll knit up a swatch without any idea what it could be used for, keep it, and eventually think of the perfect design months later.

I’ve continued to save my swatches at work, too. I collect them in baskets, and Norah and Donna both toss their finished swatches into them as well. Here’s one of my swatch receptacles:

I started thinking that it would be nice to see a bunch of the swatches all laid out together, so I grabbed a bulletin board and pinned them up together. Here’s my board:

It reminded me of a patchwork quilt, so I started duplicating it for different effects. Here it is, repeated four times:

And then I flipped them to mirror each other:

And of course I can never resist applying a kaleidoscope effect, just to see what happens:

These swatches just keep coming in handy!

Amanda

App Happy

amandakeep — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:29:39 +0000

In the design office, our iPads are becoming our most indispensable tools. They accompany us to our weekly meetings, assist us at our desks with our daily tasks, and even entertain us during our lunch breaks. As the most recent member to join Berroco’s unofficial iPad club, I’ve been spending a few weeks catching up to Norah and Taro (both iPad aficionados) and getting their advice on all the coolest and most helpful apps.

Here’s a list of our current favorites:

Sketchbook Pro – Norah’s been faithfully using this app for years, and even wrote a blog post about it in 2010. It eliminates the surprisingly fiddly process of scanning a paper drawing, then cropping and color-correcting afterwards. And there’s a mirror-image function, which means that both armholes in a sketch can finally have the exact same slope, every time.

Zite - Another of Norah’s favorites, this magazine app tailors its content based on your preferences, and continues to personalize it further every time you use it. Norah’s been using it to keep up-to-date with knitting blogs.

Evernote - Norah introduced me to Evernote during my first week at Berroco, and I’ve learned to love it as much as she does. While preparing to design a new season, we’ll share Evernote notebooks so that we can each see what the other has been researching, and it’s much easier to develop an overall mood for the season.

Paper by FiftyThree – Norah, Taro and I all count this drawing app as one of our favorites. It magically translates simple gestures into beautiful, balanced lines. There are fewer tool options than in Sketchbook, but the ease of use and overall layout are so nice that it doesn’t matter.

Minimal Folio – Taro’s favorite folio app lets you to sort your images and videos easily into columns, allowing you to scroll down as well as side-to-side. It’s simple and straightforward, which makes it especially handy when you’re trying to jump quickly from one grouping to another.

Style.com -Norah and I both routinely find inspiration while flipping through the runway shows on Style.com, and with the iPad app it’s even easier.

It seemed important to mention that no one asked us to review our iPads or the apps, and we paid for them all – except the free ones, of course!

Amanda

Even More Independent Patterns

amandakeep — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:14:53 +0000

We’re always delighted when independent designers choose our yarn for their patterns, and lately I’ve come across some really great designs…

First off, check out the Winter Wheat Hat in Flicker, designed by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich. The hat’s stitch pattern is a perfect match for Flicker’s bouncy elasticity, and the slightly slouchy fit is very flattering. I’d love one of these in every color.

Next, take a look at the Miyoko short-sleeved top from Cheri Christian. Cheri mentioned to me that she’s a big fan of Seduce, and it shows. She’s clearly an expert when it comes to understanding the drape and texture of the yarn, and created a beautifully ruched panel that runs down the front before curving to one side.

If you’ve been looking for colorful project ideas, you should definitely consider Cara Key’s Zonkey Knitted Toy, worked in Weekend. This adorable toy (inspired by the real-life zebra/donkey mix) features stripey limbs and a cute little donkey tail. I also love the colors Cara chose – bright and perfect for kids!

Last but not least, we have Heather Ramsay’s irresistible February Toddler Tunic in Comfort. This sweet little top features lace and garter stitch details inspired by Elizabeth Zimmermann’s February Baby Sweater, but is reinterpreted in tunic form with features perfect for an energetic toddler.

Thanks so much to all the designers for using our yarns – I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

Amanda

The Winner

amandakeep — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:58:48 +0000

Near the end of February, we were excited to receive an email from About.com congratulating us on making the finals for their Knitting Readers’ Choice Awards. It’s a yearly contest About.com does to find out about their readers’ favorite things, and we were nominated for the Favorite Yarn Brand category.

We were up against four other yarn companies, and thousands of knitting enthusiasts had one month to cast their votes. After all the results were tallied, we were proud to hear that Berroco had won by a landslide, claiming 52 percent of the vote! You can read about the rest of the contest results here.

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us!

In Motion

amandakeep — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:33:33 +0000

We recently upgraded our video editing equipment, and I’m having a great time exploring all the new features. The possibilities for color, titles, effects and transitions are now almost endless, so my new challenge is trying to keep my videos from turning into effects-laden carnival rides.

Probably the best way to stay on the straight and narrow is to give in to temptation once in a while. Just to get it out of my system, of course.

Decreasing Gracefully

amandakeep — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:01:44 +0000

It’s a phrase that pops up pretty frequently in knitting patterns: “Decrease X sts across the row.”

It saves print space and keeps patterns concise, but if you’re not a whiz with quick calculations, it can seem a little discouraging…

With a piece of scrap paper, though, you can easily work out a simple plan for spacing out the decreases, without even breaking a sweat.

Casale (left) and Pinaretta (right) are two examples of patterns that instruct you to decrease across a row.

I like to approach the problem in steps, figuring out one thing at a time. When you break it down this way, it’s pretty easy and painless. And as Norah pointed out in one of our conversations on the topic, it’s not the end of the world if your decreases aren’t absolutely, amazingly, perfectly even. If your stitch count is still off by a stitch or two at the end of the row, even it out on the next row and forget about it.

Corbie, the pattern I’m using for my first example.

For this tutorial, I decided to work through two different examples, explaining the process as I go. Let’s get started with an example from this week’s free KnitBits pattern, Corbie. I’m going to follow the directions for a size 2 sweater, so imagine that I cast on 74 stitches for the back and have finished the K2, P2 ribbing, ending with a RS row as the pattern directed.

Here’s what the pattern tells me: “Change to MC and p the next row, dec 30 sts as evenly spaced across as possible – 44 sts.”

Here’s how I’ll decide to space my decreases:

1. If I need to decrease 30 stitches, that means I’ll be working p2tog 30 times. Every p2tog involves 2 stitches, so I’ll multiply 30 by 2 to get 60. Now I know 60 stitches will be involved in the decreases.

2. Now I’ll subtract 60 from my current stitch total, which is 74. That leaves me with 14 stitches that won’t be involved in decreases, but will need to be purled.

3. Here’s what the basics of the row will be: 30 sets of 2 stitches, and 14 stitches sprinkled in between them. Since I don’t like to decrease at either edge of my row, I know I’ll place a few of my 14 stitches at each end.

4. If I only put 1 stitch at each end, that would leave me with 12 stitches to distribute evenly between my 30 p2togs. 30 isn’t exactly divisible by 12, so I’d like to find a number that would divide more evenly. If I decide to put 2 stitches at each end, that leaves me with 10 stitches to distribute between my 30 p2togs.

5. If I plan to work one single stitch after every three p2togs, that will distribute my stitches very evenly and get me down to 44 stitches by the end of the row.

So, for this row, I would work it as follows: P2, [p2tog three times, p1] 10 times, p2.

The successful result of evenly decreasing across a row: the fabric lies flat, with no puckering.

Now let’s try a second scenario. Let’s say that I’ve cast on 82 stitches for a project and just finished working the ribbing, and the pattern instructs me to decrease 14 stitches across my next knit row, leaving me with 68 stitches.

1. If I need to decrease 14 stitches, that means I will be working k2tog 14 times. Every k2tog involves 2 stitches, so I’ll multiply 14 by 2 to get 28. Now I know 28 stitches will be involved in the decreases.

2. Now I’ll subtract 28 from my current stitch total, which is 82. That leaves me with 54 stitches that won’t be involved in decreases but will need to be knitted.

3. Here’s what the basics of the row will be: 14 sets of 2 stitches, and 54 stitches sprinkled in between them. Since the number of decreases is outnumbered by the number of single stitches, I don’t need to worry about keeping my edge stitches free. Instead, I need to divide the 54 stitches up so they’ll fit evenly between my decreases.

4. 54 divided by 14 is approximately 3.8 so I know that if I work 3 stitches before each decrease, I’ll have some stitches left over to put at each side. 14 times 3 equals 42, so that means I have 12 stitches left to distribute before I get to 54. Since I’ll already have 3 stitches before my first decrease, I’ll put 4 of my 12 stitches at the beginning of the row, and leave the remaining 8 stitches at the end.

So, for this row, I’d work it as follows: K4, [k3, k2tog] 14 times, k8.

Now that we’ve gone through two examples, let’s review the basic steps so you can apply them to your own situations:

1. Identify how many decreases need to happen, and determine how many stitches are involved in each decrease. Multiply these two numbers to determine how many total stitches will be involved in the decreases.

2. Subtract the answer to Step 1 from the current stitch total. This tells you how many additional stitches still need to be worked, even though they’re not involved in the decreases.

3. Compare the resulting numbers from Step 1 and Step 2 to determine how many stitches will need to be divided up and spaced evenly.

4. Choose a dividing number that works out easily, placing any remainder stitches at both ends of the row.

Once you break down the individual steps and concentrate on just one part at a time, calculating even decreases becomes a quick and relatively painless task!

Amanda

Postcard from Woodstock

amandakeep — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:48:27 +0000

Norah and I are back in the office after our photography session in Woodstock, New York, near Norah’s hometown. It was a crazy week – we had more than 70 fall/winter sweaters and accessories to photograph, and record high temperatures almost every day. Our models managed to look snug and cozy when wrapped up in our wooly yarns, but the rest of us spent the days wearing t-shirts and sandals. Thanks to our great team, including our talented photographer and our clever stylist, we ended up with lots of beautiful photographs. It’s too early for me to post any of the photos, but in the meantime, here are some behind-the-scenes pictures from our trip:

Mary Jane and Norah carefully plan the outfits for our first day of shooting.

My favorite spot at our location – I love the round window on that door.

There was an hourglass inside the house, and it proved irresistible – someone was always flipping it.

Tree branches at dusk, near a quiet pond.

We can’t wait to show off the final photographs in June!

Amanda

Fall Photography Prep

amandakeep — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Next week, Norah and I are off to upstate New York for the photography for our Fall 2012 pattern collection. In the meantime, we’re busy taking care of last-minute details…

Our styling rack is loaded with clothes, ready to be packed up.

We’ve got lots of buttons to sew to the finished sweaters…

And we’re doing our best to stay organized.

It should be quite an adventure! Stay tuned for a recap after we return…

Amanda

Great Independent Designs

amandakeep — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:08:44 +0000

I’ve stumbled across some beautiful independently designed patterns lately, all making great use of Berroco yarns. Some are available online, and a couple are included in Weekend Hats, a brand new book by Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre. Here they are, in no particular order:

First up, Xandy Peters’ lovely Nouvelle hat knit in Flicker. I love the textural detail on the side, and the subtle sparkle of Flicker is a perfect match for this sophisticated style.

Next, I love Karen Templer’s use of Blackstone Tweed in her Super Simple Mitts pattern. As the name suggests, these wristwarmers are delightfully uncomplicated, and they put Blackstone Tweed’s gorgeous texture in the spotlight.

From the Fall 2011 issue of Petite Purls, we have Capuchon, an adorable red cape designed by Tagil Perlmutter and knit in Lustra. Lustra’s deep, saturated red color makes it a great choice, and the wool/Tencel blend drapes perfectly.

Weekend Hats includes 25 intriguing hat patterns, and two of them feature Berroco yarns. The first one is a Fair Isle masterpiece from Mary Jane Mucklestone. Called the Chroma Cap, her design uses seven shades of Ultra Alpaca to create a mesmerizing pattern.

Another hat pattern from the same book, the Lea Cloche, uses Blackstone Tweed. Designed by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, this cute cloche has a stylish but simple shape that shows off the subtle tweed flecks. A contrasting ribbon and button are added afterwards for extra flair.

It’s always inspiring to see what other designers are doing with our yarns. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

Amanda