Berroco's Voyage yarn was one of my all time favorite yarns- it had a beautiful heather color palette, a soft hand, and, because of the chainette construction, it was light—practically weightless despite being a chunky yarn. Sadly Voyage was discontinued—so what yarn should you choose to use to make some of the great patterns that… Continue reading Substitute yarns for Berroco Voyage
Month: October 2016
Quick Cozy Knitting: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Chunky
The weather has sharply turned here in New England—at the Berroco offices, located in northern Rhode Island, we had an awful lot of chilly rain yesterday, and some of our co-workers just a smidgen north in Massachusetts had snow! Times like these call for projects that can be worked up quickly and will keep you… Continue reading Quick Cozy Knitting: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Chunky
GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Nord Cardigan pattern and Berroco Vintage DK
Thanks to everyone for commenting! This giveaway is now closed. We like treats here at Berroco, not tricks, so we're treating you to the opportunity to win a cardigan knitting pattern and the yarn to knit it! The folks at Annie's, under lead designer Lena Skvagerson, create beautiful collections of knitting and crochet patterns for… Continue reading GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Nord Cardigan pattern and Berroco Vintage DK
The 11th-Hour Sweater: Introducing Malmo
Bright cheerful colors, quick knitting, and a sweater in a weekend? That's the short version of my new Malmo Sweater, published today as part of the HollaKnits Winter 2016 collection. Malmo is inspired by the bright colors and bold shapes of Scandinavian designs—cheerful prints and repeating motifs that catch the eye and make me happy. I… Continue reading The 11th-Hour Sweater: Introducing Malmo
Knitting with Gusto… Berroco Gusto!
This week we're taking a look at Berroco Gusto®, a thick-and-thin yarn that can suit a variety of knitting needs. This bulky weight yarn comes in bold variegated tones as well as soft, sophisticated neutrals, perfect for any project. Gusto is a blend of 45% wool, 45% acrylic, and 10% rayon. The synthetic fibers help the yarn… Continue reading Knitting with Gusto… Berroco Gusto!
Shaping Shoulders with Short Rows
As I shared in last week's KnitBits, I sometimes like to shape the shoulders of a sweater using short rows, rather than binding off the shoulders over several rows. This prevents the "steps" that you might see when doing the traditional bind off method, creating a cleaner line and also making seaming the shoulder a… Continue reading Shaping Shoulders with Short Rows
Knots! And what to do when you find them.
Knots can be the bane of a crafter's project. During the industrial spinning process, the yarn is pulled with a fairly high tension through the machinery. As the machinery pulls on the fiber, occasionally breaks happen and the machine operator, rather than lose all the work, will tie a small knot to rejoin the yarn. It… Continue reading Knots! And what to do when you find them.
Lightweight Luxury: Berroco Briza
This is the time of year that I want to knit sweaters and accessories that are warm but not heavy. Heavy sweaters are for snowy days and we're not there just yet. Enter a yarn such as Berroco Briza®, a super lofty yarn that's light and airy. Berroco Briza is a 51% mohair, 43% nylon, and 6% wool yarn… Continue reading Lightweight Luxury: Berroco Briza
Cabling without a cable needle
Berroco Tuscan Tweed™ is my favorite of our new fall yarns, and I especially love it in cables, which is why I used cables on all three of the designs I created in this yarn, Adelaide (a free cardigan pattern from Berroco), Ravenna (a tam I designed for Creative Knitting magazine), and Wickford (a cardigan… Continue reading Cabling without a cable needle
Crochet Sweaters from the Top-Down with Dora Ohrenstein
Dora Ohrenstein's new book is all about top-down sweater construction in crochet—seems pretty straightforward, right? But as any sweater maker will know, choosing the right yarn is an integral part to a successful sweater project (this applies to knitting, as well). Read on for more from Dora about yarn choice and crochet! One of the… Continue reading Crochet Sweaters from the Top-Down with Dora Ohrenstein