Tag Archives: chunky

Inspiration: Bulky, Bulky Pins

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As I mentioned on Friday, I’ve started Pinning (Pinteresting? Someone tell me what the proper word is!).  And, well, I can see it becoming something of a problem.  I’ve been spending way more time than I probably should poking around Pinterest and looking at all the beautiful things that I will never have time to make.

(Also, sometimes I like to look at the Everything tab.  It’s about 15% hair tutorials and makeup tips, 30% extra-calorie cheesecake recipes, 25% diet salads that “Actually taste good!,” 15% workout routines, 5% inspirational quotes, and 10% stuff I’m actually interested in.  Point in case, I just spent 20 minutes looking at “Super Simple Manicure Ideas.”  Why?  Because they were there.)

Anyway, I looked over my pin boards (is that what they’re called?)  and I found a trend in some of the knitting I’ve been pinning:  Super bulky stuff.

This scarf/shawl/shoulder blanket is part of the new Ferragamo Men’s collection, and was shown in Milan (so you know it’s chic).  I’d wear one, even though I’m not a dude.  It looks like a great long swath of stockinette, maybe knit in the round, so that there isn’t a “bad side.”

628x471And I just love this fantastically chunky Brioche Cowl from Diane L. Augustin.  Aren’t those colors to die for?  I would like to just wrap myself up in a cocoon made from this.IMG_4128_50_medium2[1]If we’re talking about chunky knitting, you can’t get much chunkier than this amazing arm-knit blanket.  It’s of super-thick yarn, but you could use slightly felted wool roving, if you wanted.  Using arm-knitting for this project is really smart; that way, you don’t have to worry abut finding knitting needles two inches in diameter.Untitled-3-copy-1024x854Well, now I’m off to dream of Pinterest and spend more time looking at a particularly interesting list of “the 52 easiest DIYs.”

Pattern: Sailor Jane

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September in Seattle means fog rolling in and waving goodbye to the sun until next Spring. But, it also means breaking out your favorite squishy, cozy woolens and curling up with hot apple cider. This scarf is the perfect accessory to keep the winter drizzle at bay and protect against the chilly winds that come off the Puget Sound.

Sailor Jane is knit on the bias, starting from one corner and finishing at the one opposite. A thick cable, reminiscent of nautical sweaters works its way continuously around the entire border, framing a pane of thick and cozy garter stitch. It’s a remarkably quick knit, worked in bulky yarn, the scarf is finished in no time. And, the suggested undyed superwash merino makes the scarf both cozy and virtually indestructible.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGet the pattern for free here:

Sailor Jane

It’s Cold As Balls (of Yarn)

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I’m spending my Christmas break with family in the Great White North (of northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin).  It’s cold, it’s snowy, it’s windy. I’m spending the week curled up with my leftover Christmas knitting and a cup of hot cocoa.

But, when I leave the house, there’s nothing I want more than to wrap myself up head-to-toe in three sheep’s worth of woolens.

I’m going to go fill up the kettle again and daydream about these super chunky patterns.

150-4 Little Red Riding Slippers – Slippers with cables in Eskimo by DROPS design

4-2_medium2[1]Twiggy Cardigan by Jane Richmond

Twiggy_Cardigan_070_medium2[1]wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer by Susan Chang

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Inspiration: The League

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I just started watching The League recently.  And it’s kind of hilarious.

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It’s not so surprising that it’s taken me so long to start watching the League, since it’s a TV show about a bunch of guys playing fantasy football.  I know nothing about fantasy football.  And almost nothing about football.  (That’s the one with the pointy ball, right? Just kidding.  I totally knew that.)  But you totally don’t have to know anything about football to enjoy this show.

At it’s core, it’s a comedy in the vein of Seinfeld or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  It’s a group of friends that hang out a lot and are generally terrible people and do terrible things to one another.  It’s a little bro-y, with lots of guy jokes, but it’s still entertaining if you don’t mind that sort of thing.

Anyhoo, I finally made it to season 4, where this happened:

The-League-Season-4-Episode-10-11-Our-Dinner-with-Andre-12.12-6-550x366[1]The gag is that one of the characters (in a long-running joke) has the worst taste in clothes of anyone ever in the history of the world.  The rest of the gang is trying to get on his good side, so they let him take them shopping.  And, well, that leads to these fantastic outfits.

Then, in one of my favorite lines in the show, one of the characters asks Kevin (in the blue shirt) “Where’s the rest of your turtleneck?” when he sees his new scarf.  Which I think is hilarious.

Now, I don’t recommend wearing a cowl scarf like Kevin’s with that outfit.  But I kind of want to make one for myself.  If you want to make a sweater-less turtleneck of your own, try one of these cozy patterns.

GAP-Tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley

IMG_6696_medium2[1]My Kind of Town Cowl by Trish Woodson

IMG_2070_medium2[1]Climb and Swirl Cowl by Craig Rosenfeld

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Pattern: The Sculptor’s Scarf

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I designed this scarf as a Christmas gift for my boss, who is a ceramics artist.  It’s inspired by some of his most recent works which are big chunky sculptures inspired by themes of of antiquity and archeology.  He creates great big thick slabs of clay, textured to look like weathered stone, and stands them up with brightly-colored legs.  (I’m describing it poorly, they’re actually really cool.)

This scarf is my interpretation of his sculptures, but in wool.  It’s a big, chunky scarf that’s manly enough for guys to actually wear, but is technically challenging enough to keep a knitter’s attention.  The scarf is knit shortways, on great big needles with bulky yarn, so you only have 16 stitches per row, which will get you screaming along in no time!  The background is textured in seed stitch, which will keep the scarf lying flat.  Intarsia is used to work the bright red 2×2 cable running up the middle of the scarf.   Finishing is minimal, and the final project is sure to please.

Sculptors Scarf

Pattern: Super Hat

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Looking for a super-quick hat to knit up?  Who isn’t at the end of April?

This hat is made with super-chunky yarn to knit up super-fast.  The finished product is super-warm for the coldest parts of winter.  It’s knitted flat, which makes it great for super-beginner knitters who are afraid of knitting in the round.  The ribbing is worked super-long  to give a nice flipped-up brim.  Super!

(I think I need a thesaurus.)

If you’re looking for a child-sized hat, use worsted-weight yarn and medium-sized needles.  If you want a doll-sized hat, use sock yarn and matching needles.

Materials:

Person-sized hat:

1 Skein Lion Brand Bulky Yarn or other super bulky yarn

Size 13 needles, or size needed to get gauge

Doll-sized hat:

A small amount of Mini Mochi, or other sock yarn

Size 2 needles, or size needed to get gauge

Scissors, tapestry needle

Gauge:

Person-sized hat: 2.5 sts/in

Doll-sized hat: 8.5 sts/in

Instructions:

Cast on 10 stitches, work back and forth as follows:

  • Row 1 (and all other odd-numbered rows): Purl
  • Row 2: K1, (K1, inc 1) 8 times, K 1 (18 sts)
  • Row 4: K1 (K2, inc 1) 8 times, K 1 (26 sts)
  • Row 6: K1 (K3, inc 1) 8 times, K 1 (34 sts)
  • Row 8: K across
  • Row 10: K1 (K4, inc 1) 8 times, K 1 Row (42 sts)
  • 12: K across
  • Row 14: K1 (K5, inc 1) 8 times, K 1 (50 sts)

Work in stockinet stitch for 15 more rows (ending with a wrong side row).

Begin ribbed brim as follow for 20 rows as follows:

  • Row 1 (and all odd-numbered rows): P2 (K2, P2) across
  • Row 2 (and all even-numbered rows): K2 (P2, K2) across
  • Bind off and cut yarn with a nice long tail.

Using the tail from the cast-on edge, sew up the crown of the hat, making sure the seam is on the inside (the purl side). Don’t forget to close up the hole at the top of the hat, too! Hide the end of your yarn in the inside of the hat, and cut off any extra yarn.

Using the tail from the bound-off (brim) end of the hat, sew up the brim, making sure the seam is on the outside of the hat. This seems weird and backward, but since this hat is designed with a fold-up brim, the outside of the hat is actually hidden when the hat is worn.  Sew in the tail and cut the yarn, making sure the remaining tail is on the inside of the hat.