Tag Archives: mohair

alaska, Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Fuzzy Ombre Scarflet — A Free Knitting Pattern

February 23, 2015 alaskaknitnat 9 Comments

Boy, sending mail to Belgium takes a while! I’m so thrilled to finally be posting this pattern. I had to wait for it to arrive in my friend’s mailbox before I could publish it. Enjoy!

Last summer an old friend of mine got married on the Greek island of Paros, which is known for its brilliantly white buildings contrasted against the blue Aegean Sea. I wanted to send her a handmade wedding gift that represented the beautiful location of her wedding. Since I have limited artistic talent (I am not a brilliant illustrator as she is), I decided to knit her an ombre scarf. Ombre might still be considered trendy, but I know I’m a little past the height of ombre hype.

I had a difficult time finding yarn that was the right color, so I settled with a “Frozen”-esque ice blue. Elsa wasn’t whom I had in mind when I made this scarf, but I do love the colors anyway.

I wanted to try an unusual stitch pattern instead of doing my basic ribbing or garter stitch. I don’t have a great attention span for stitch patterns that take 14 rows to complete, so I found a lovely pattern that is repeated every 4 rows. This way I can set it down anytime and be certain where I left off. I went with St. John’s Wort Stitch.

St. John’s wort is a flowering plant that is used medicinally as a sort of cureall. It’s supposedly good for treating anxiety, depression and cuts. I made this scarf so my friend can feel cozy and safe, so it’s fitting it is named for a healing, cheer-you-up herb.

I hope my friend is able to think of this scarf as a warm hug from her past. We haven’t seen each other in more than 10 years, so I wanted her to have a little reminder of home and of her happy day in Santorini.

Fuzzy Ombre Scarflet

1 hank Heritage Cascade Sock Yarn, color 5630 (or any sport weight yarn in ice blue that is more than 200 yards). I’ll call this color B

1 hank Heritage Cascade Sock Yarn, color 5682 (white). I’ll call this color A.

1 skein Dale Påfugl mohair, color 0010 (or 100 yards of any mohair brand in white). I’ll call this color 1.

1 skein Dale Påfugl mohair, color 6815 (blue). I’ll call this color 2.

US 10 needles

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Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Alaska Knit Nat turns 4 — TBT Harlequin Cowl Pattern

November 7, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I was just sitting down to my computer to write a post today and I started to think about when I first started my blog. I logged into my old Blogger account and scrolled back to “Posting No. 1.” Turns out it was four years ago today!

I started this blog as a means to keep track of all the stuff I make. I never remember how many stitches I cast on here or how many tablespoons of soy sauce I mixed in there, so I began to keep an online record. It’s still a useful tool to me and I reference my own patterns and recipes all the time.

I soon realized that others might like what I was cataloging. That’s when I started Alaska Knit Nat’s Facebook page.

My first big break was when BuzzFeed featured my DIY T-shirt onesie tutorial. Then Pinterest was invented. Lots of folks find my blog via Pinterest.

But it wasn’t until I was contacted by AllFreeKnitting.com that I really started to see interaction on the blog. In one day alone last winter I got more than 7,000 visits to my Simple Striped Baby Blanket pattern. That’s pretty exhilarating! And totally out of the ordinary. I typically get about 400-800 visits a day.

It makes me happy to know that people enjoy the projects and recipes I share.

So I thought as a throwback Thursday I would share my very first post, which was a pattern for a lovely cowl.

Thanks to all my fans and supporters. I truly enjoy your feedback and interactions.

Posting No. 1

So I’ve been tinkering with the idea of starting a blog and I think it’s high time I do. It’s mainly for my own benefit — I make so much stuff I can’t keep track of it all. In addition to knitting (hence the Knit Nat title), I cook, sew and repurpose things. This blog is a catalog of all things Craft.

I’ve wanted to knit myself a cowl for the winter and I finally used my $25 credit at the Quilt Tree to purchase the most beautiful yarns for it. I did a lot of Ravelry research yesterday and found a pattern that was simple enough. It’s an easy lace pattern.
Just how luscious is this yarn?

I shall call this project the Harlequin Cowl.
Ingredients:
24-inch size 9 circular needle
1 skien of Cascade Lana Bambu color 11 & 2 skeins of Ironstone Sunset color
1 stitch marker

Cast on 104 stitches. Place marker and join yarn, being careful not to twist the work.
k4, p4 for three rows (or however wide you want the trim to be)
row 1:*k2tog, yo*, repeat ** till end of row (don’t forget that the last stitch of the row is a yarn over.)
row 2 and all even rows: knit

Repeat this pattern till project is wide enough to your liking

k4, p4 for three rows and bind off.

Here’s what I have so far:

###

It took me a long time to finish the cowl, so I didn’t post the finished product until later. Here’s what it came out like:

Knitted Harlequin Cowl | A free pattern from Alaska Knit Nat

xoxo,

Natasha

Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Pink Elephant Scarf

November 20, 2013 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

A few years back I got hooked on a pattern from Pickles.no called the Simple Luxury Scarf. It was indeed simple and I must have made five or six of them.

The pattern calls for two different high-quality yarns to be knitted at once. Each scarf was setting me back about $28.

Now that I’m not able to splurge on every yarn desire I decided to try the pattern with an inexpensive yarn. It turned out great and totally gift worthy. Patons Divine Yarn contains a little wool and mohair so you still achieve the fluffy, luxurious look and feel. I call it scrumptious. And at $4 after a JoAnn’s coupon, I call it a great deal.

I didn’t refer to Pickles’ pattern this time around and it turns out I made it slightly differently, which is why I’m providing my pattern below; but I want to be clear that it originated from Pickles’ pattern.

This pattern is for any level of knitter. It’s a great way to pass winter weekend where it’s -3 degrees outside.

Materials:

1, 100-gram ball of Patons Divine Yarn (I used the Chantilly Rose color)

a long size 15 circular needle

darning needle

Abbreviations:

M1FB = Make 1 stitch in the front and 1 in the back of the same stitch, thus increasing your work by one stitch.

M1 = make 1 stitch

Special note: You’ll be using a circular needle only to easily hold a large number of stitches required for this scarf. You will not be joining the work in the round.

Directions:

Cast on 4 stitches.

M1FB into the first stitch. Knit to end of row.

Repeat previous row until you have used most of the yarn.

Final row: M1FB, K1, M1 *K3, M1. Repeat * to end of row. It’s ok if you have a few extra stitches at the end. Just knit those. Cast off final row. Using darning needle, weave in ends.