As I have dove deeper into the world of fiber crafts and created often, I’ve become more conscious of the fibers I choose. Mainly because when a project doesn’t work, I feel like a jerk for making that mistake in hard to break down acrylic. I would feel less of a fool if my mistakes were constructed in biodegradable natural fibers like wool, cotton, linen, or bamboo. Starting in 2024, I began to migrate back to natural fibers, which I mentioned before in my Summer Knitting Plans post from last year. I had been hesitant to use wool before that, supposed allergies that I debunked in 2024, which led me to explore the many fiber offerings of Knit Picks.
When I was looking at sock yarns in the fall, a particular fiber caught my eye – Oceana. The Oceana line has this vibrant kaleidoscope of colors that evokes the tropical hues of a coral reef. It’s stunning! When my stepdad gifted me a Knit Picks gift card for Christmas, I knew exactly what I would order – the Oceana! Not just for the colors, but the innovative fiber content.
L to R: Sea Lettuce, Spirulina, Tiger Fish, Swordfish, Axoloti
This yarn is composed of 54% Superfine Alpaca and 46% Polyester SEAQUAL, which is made from marine litter cleaned from the ocean, and that plastic is then recycled into polyester (acrylic) yarn that is blended with the Alpaca fiber to create the Oceana yarn. The halo seems to be the Alpaca, based on my experience working with this yarn, and the interior chain fluffy fiber strand seems to be a combo of the recycled polyester and Alpaca fiber. Now, fiber blends are not the best for decomposing, but I like the motives behind this yarn. Instead of using newly created polyester, which doesn’t break down easily and is cluttering our environment, they are taking the trash out of the ocean and repurposing it into something useful. How cool is that? Can more polyester-based products start with recycling the plastic litter before making more? We literally have endless resources of trash, thanks to Shein and our rampant overconsumption.
So how does this yarn knit up? Excellently! It has this plush texture with a fuzzy halo that to me looks like those mohair strands knitters use to plush up a sweater.
I’d say the only cons I have are the price and the yardage. I didn’t find this yarn went far, and had to play yarn chicken a few times. I secondly was only able to order five skeins with my gift card, the yarn was on sale might I add, with a 50 USD gift card. When I ran out of yarn, I chose to supplement with Knit Picks Palette yarn in fingering weight, held in double strands to match gauge. I do understand that part of the price is the process of SEAQUAL and the Alpaca fiber costs as well, but it was just a bit too much for me to purchase more at full price when I ran out, especially when I had existing yarn in my stash that could work.
I had planned to have this project done by the time I reviewed the yarn, but as it is now April, and I’ve shifted to summer and spring knitting it is unlikely this project is wrapping up soon. Here’s a look at the project at its current state. 🙂
This collection was about upcycling, trying new techniques, and making things that expressed what I like wearing based on previous designs I have made, but with a twist. The items I designed were 75% sourced from existing materials. They were upcycled from items in my closet, hand-me-downs from my mom or grandparents. They were made from destashed yarn I acquired or fabric that had been in my stash for a long time. I focused more on creating with natural materials like wool, linen and as always, I love cotton.
Vests were made from pillow cases and flannels. I re-worked a sweater from the existing sweater and leftover yarn. I dyed denim, deconstructed denim, and made some interesting new shorts and skirts. I combined leftover flannel from Christmas stockings to create a plaid and denim kilt. I used the cut-off sleeves of flannels from my vest projects to create a skirt from four flannel sleeves. I dove deeper into the world of trousers with two new patterns – a floral and railroad stripe. With each pair, I experimented with fastenings and pockets. I constructed my first “Mr. Darcy” shirt from teal linen using Bernadette Banner’s instructions for the body. I put my own spin on the collar, choosing a wider collar similar to a sailor collar that is popular in anime and J-fashion.
This was the first season I experimented with colorwork in knitting. I made a knit star motif hat from yarn that was leftover from my Magic of Scrap Yarn Cardigan. I made leg warmers, a squirrel motif mitten, and a melange of acrylic and wool to create this ear flap hat that reminds me of medieval European helmets. Although this season of creation was chaotic, I’m not sure if I even included all the projects I worked on, it was a time of great learning. It taught me that fashion design is more than taking raw material and cutting it into a new form.
Great design utilizes new and old. Fashion is about reusing, not wasting, and making things beautiful with careful craftsmanship. It does not mean it needs to be expensive, or need to be made by a great master couturier, it just needs to serve a purpose. We have lost sight of the purpose of fashion, but these projects of upcycling have reminded me that fashion is more than shopping, it is more than consumption, it is about the materials, the vision, the function.
In the summer of 2024, I returned to an old fiber friend, wool, and introduced a new natural fiber – alpaca. When I began knitting in the early 2010s, I bounced between wool and acrylic fibers, not really looking at fiber content and instead looking at the pretty colors and my stitches so I didn’t drop one. Oh, how times have changed! When you love something you begin to obsess, dig, and it becomes a fiber woven into your identity. That’s where I found myself as a knitter for 10 years. I am constantly thinking about fiber content when planning a new project because it’s more than just the make that matters; it is how the garment is worn and washed for many years to come.
Wool
I think we have deep scent memories just like how wool fiber remembers the shape it is blocked into with water and pins. The scent of wool is woven deep into my memories of traveling to Ireland as a child in 2001. It is the fiber my Grandma wore most of the year. She was always cold, even in summer. Wool has always seemed a bit scratchy to me. It triggers my neurodivergent aversion to certain sensations. It was not a fiber I would choose to wear a whole sweater out of, although small accessories I could handle. Coats were fine too, until they weren’t.
After my grandparents passed away, within 6 months of each other I suddenly had things they used to own. Clothing being one of those things, a lot of those clothing items contained wool. I couldn’t stand the fiber being near me. I’d get a head, a migraine really. I’d feel stuffed up and allergic, at least I thought. From 2020-2024 I avoided the fiber. Begging my mom not to knit me anything in wool. I rounded up the wool items and put them in quarantine in a box in my house, the “allergy” being such a wave of anguish to my body. Looking back on it, I can see it was an expression of grief and stress. That smell of wool, it felt like a ghost lingering in the shadows of my mind not a normal fiber. Grief makes things so weird!
Acrylic
Under this belief of a wool allergy, I pivoted solely to cotton, bamboo, linen, and acrylic. If you are looking for a cheap and cheerful fiber acrylic is your yarn. It’s everywhere in the big box stores and that’s exactly what I did. I experimented with Red Heart, Big Twist, and Caron. They come in value packs and the worsted weight is an excellent fiber weight to use when learning how to create complicated garments such as wearables like sweaters that involve sleeves, shoulder shaping, and necklines. I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way, it’s part of the learning process, yet using these affordable and easy-to-source yarn options took the trepidation out of the creating process.
Acrylic is seen as the “low-brow” yarn for a lot of the knitting community. It’s looked down upon for not being a natural fiber. Take organic and insert natural fiber and it is the same sort of elitism. But honestly, aside from how it’s made, acrylic being a polyester fiber, I don’t get the hate. It’s washable. These garments I was able to block in the dryer. As a knitter who was new to blocking this process taught me how and why blocking matters without the high stakes of felting, shrinking, or destroying my hard work during the wool sweater blocking process. It’s an approachable fiber for beginners.
Fiber Curiosity
Acrylic was my bread and butter, but after a while, we all crave some variety. For winter sweaters the other fibers – cotton, linen, and bamboo aren’t going to cut it. This is where some field trips came in! I’ve mentioned Keystone Safari before on the blog, it’s a wildlife preserve and education center in my region and they have sheep, alpacas, yaks, camels, and llamas. All of which I feed and pet without any allergies! This is where I began to question my “allergy” to wool. How could I spend time around these fibers, in their natural state where there would be more allergens like hay and not have a reaction (when I’m actually allergic to hay and grass)? It didn’t add up.
So in 2024, I began to run experiments. In the yarn shops, I’d pick up wool and alpaca-specific skeins and feel them in search of the truth! At my mom’s house, I’d ask her to see her skeins of wool and I’d do the same, even sticking them in my face, demanding they show me an allergic reaction. Nothing happened. Nothing. Could it be, that was I ready to find my true knitting form? A natural fiber artist, possibly a spinner, with a vast knowledge of wool, alpaca, mohair, and more? Yes, it was time.
Magic of Scrap Yarn Cardigan
So how does felting come into play in this story? It doesn’t sound like a story of woe, but it is. I was quite inexperienced with wool and how one cares for wool, that lack of experience came back to bite me with this lovely cardigan. I made this cardigan from wool extra skeins from my mom. Some of those skeins I put right up into my face to see if the wool would make me allergic. But this cardigan was not just a project of wool, it was a project made of extra wool skeins, wool-acrylic blend skeins, and acrylic skeins. Those fibers require different strategies to care for them properly.
This was my first mistake. I mixed fibers willy-nilly without thinking about each one has unique advantages and disadvantages. Wool is naturally anti-bacterial and requires very little cleaning. You can spot clean and refresh in the air or the snow. But you can’t throw it in the washer, and if you wash you must be gentle to the fibers with delicate movements and gentle water temperature, or else it will felt. Acrylic on the other hand is very durable. You can wash it in the washing machine without worrying about the possibility of felting the fiber. Acrylic fibers do not felt. It does not have anti-bacterial properties though so you clean it. Can you see where this is going? I screwed up the washing portion of this project.
I washed it in the washing machine without thinking and the cardigan shrank. Next, I tried to stretch the cardigan as it dried, while it was wet. Not gently, although the washer had already set the stage for stressed wool fibers. The cardigan no longer fit my person. To remedy this I thought I would hand wash delicately and attempt to re-block the cardigan. This was the nail in the coffin. This fatal mistake transformed the project from a knit cardigan to a felted mess. It was too far gone, like a burnt cooking disaster. There was no coming back from this, the damage was done.
I began to panic. How would I continue using wool and alpaca? I was currently knitting wool socks, um how was I going to wash those? Was I screwed? I was convinced I could never hand wash again without feeling sick to my stomach. I had to find a new solution. Steam. Steam was the answer. I have an iron, an iron with steam. Could I use this instead of purchasing a garment steamer? The answer amazingly was that simple! I steam my wool and alpaca projects now and the steam helps them bloom, they almost block from the steam along. It’s incredible. Just a little steam and the fibers refresh, safely! It’s transformed how I care for my knitwear. Sometimes these creative misfires lead us to places we may not have tried without the failure as a catalyst to try something new. I feel equipped to work with natural fibers, confident that if I spend months on a project I can care for said item for years to come. Have you tried streaming your wool garments before?
Recently, I shared a Knit Star Plush Keychain Pattern, but that wasn’t the only keychain I’ve been working on. Behold, a knit bunny keychain made from repurposed fabric! This keychain was inspired by my Skzoo Quokka plush keychain which I have styled on my purse and belt loop. I was tempted to buy more as this trend has been all over my feed this year, but that’s unrealistic. So I thought, in Jeremy Clarkson fashion, how hard could it be?
This key chain was made by repurposing a pair of underwear, that was weirdly made without any stretch. They had no purpose but to be trashed, which I didn’t want to do because they were brand new and I liked the pattern and color story. So I wondered, could I translate this to a plushie and I could make this plushie into a keychain without buying any materials beyond the keychain hardware? The answer is yes!
I used a pen to draw pattern pieces onto the underwear by designating the fabric into four ear-pieces, two head-pieces, and a rectangle piece that would be used to connect the keychain hardware. The rest of the fabric was cut into small cut pieces that would be used as the stuffing. This worked like a dream!
I chose to sew this item by hand because of the small nature of the project. The pieces were too small and delicate to sew by machine with any semblance of control or care. It was a quick make and took one day to complete. I sewed 90% of the ears, turned them right side out, stuffed them, and then set the ears aside. Next, I repeated this process with the circle for the head and stuffed it. When I was certain that all the stuffing was divided between the three pieces adequately, I sewed closed the ears and head. Next, I attached the ears to the head. Finally, I sewed the rectangle and threaded it through the loop of the keychain before attaching it to the bunny plushie. I opted for an abstract look so I did not decorate the bunny plush with a face, therefore if it spins around it doesn’t matter what side is facing out.
Overall, this was a quick and thrifty project with the hardware coming in a pack of two for $2.99. I used the other clip on the knit star plush project. This type of plushie could be made with any scrap fabric you have and could be adapted into other animals. It would be an easy DIY gift too!
At the beginning of January 2024, I made a post for fun predicting what I thought would become popular trends in 2024. Now that it’s December, how well did I do? I accurately guessed 6 out of 10 of the predictions I made! So what were these trends that I predicted and what did I get wrong? Let’s jump in!
Gameday Outfits
The NFL had a moment this year with the spotlight of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, and her gameday outfits became a source of public fascination. This created a wave of gameday outfit inspiration online, sparked by Blokecore in 2023. This carried on through WAG fashion and trickled into the mainstream. The Paris Olympics created fashion buzz, as did the movie Challengers. There was a rising fascination for F1 in the US. Not to mention the popularity of the team-branded baseball cap and Adidas soccer shorts paired with a button-down shirt. This one was a big deal and was unifying to be honest because who doesn’t like at least one of these sporting events? There is something for everyone.
Patches and Visible Mending
This definitely became a trend as DIY fashion and upcycling continue to grow in popularity online for sustainability and creative expression. Mending and learning to sew continues to rise in popularity as people choose to opt out of the fast fashion loop in search of clothing that will last all while standing out in a crowd. I think we can agree there was a hive mind within fashion since the Tik-Tok “core” aesthetics took off at the beginning of the decade and we are all looking for original ideas again.
Colorful Knit Accessories
Similarly, knitting along with crochet has continued to grow in popularity as hobbies and as a way to create DIY fashion by hand. It was so popular that chatGPT patterns and AI-created crochet and knit images cluttered the creative space. With Balletcore being popular, so were leg warmers and slouchy socks. Fingerless gloves, colorful hats, and brightly colored vests made 2024 what it was – a fiber artist paradise.
Exaggerated Tailoring
This was seen on the runway, with tailoring having a moment with trousers, vests, and blazers finding popularity once again. Dramatic shapes were popular on the runway. I also saw vests and dramatic trouser shapes in mainstream stores. I think this should always be in style so let’s keep in that way fashion trends. It’s a classic.
Resurgence of the Flip Flops
Yes, these were hailed the “It girl” shoe of the summer after Gisele Bundchen (yes I know I’m missing the umlauts) was seen wearing them. The specific flip-flop brand Havaianas, was the iconic style of 2024, but luxury brands tried to corner that market with $900+ flip-flops. I think it makes sense for these to come around again after how long the Birkenstock sandal has been the favorite choice, followed by Tevas, it’s the next logical evolution from clunky to delicate. Personally, all three of these drive my feet nuts but I’d probably choose the Teva for comfort or flip-flops for sheer chillness. Flip-flops were also worn by athletes at the Paris 2024 games.
Jersey Shore Nostalgia
Indeed Ed Hardy and Von Dutch did trend again this year! Mainly with teens and tweens, but this styling returned to the runway with Kim Petras’ Spring 2024 collection which featured Ed Hardy’s iconic designs. I’m excited for this era of fashion to return because I enjoyed the late 2000s-early 2010s fashion and the over-the-top spectacle of it. I’m certainly more for this than the mob wife styling of early 2024.
Parasols for Sun Relief
This one I thought, was a long shot but it made sense for it to become a trend because of how practical they are while protecting skin from UV damage. They are technically better for the planet than single-use sunscreen. I was not wrong. This market is projected to grow from 2024-2032 as the parasol or sun umbrella market is anticipated to grow globally. In 2024, there was significant growth as a trend for Japanese men. That’s a result! 🙂
What Did I Miss the Mark On?
ARMY-core was not a thing even though all BTS members were in the military this year, no trends emerged from this across the K-pop sphere. The only popular examples of camo I saw were from Chappell Roan’s ‘Midwest Princess’ camo hats from her tour and the Harris-Walz campaign hats which copied the same style.
Gilded Age Finery did not take off like I hoped. The only instances I found were Bad Bunny’s Met Gala look and Paris Fashion Week using late Victorian and Regency era opulence as inspiration for glamour.
Bonnets this was a flop except for two key shifts. One I hope I explain right because I am not familiar with the hair culture. According to a few articles I found black men styled bonnets as a protective hair style in 2024. Secondly, hats became popular again with rope hats and pillbox styles being the most talked about.
Cosmic Cowboy or Sailor Cowboy would have been accurate if I had dropped the qualifiers. Cowboy was the most iconic aesthetic of this year with cowboy styling, media, and country music being a key player in pop culture. Americana in general had a moment which is odd but hopefully a turning point for unification in my divided land.
What were your favorite style moments of 2024? And did you participate in any of these trends?
Back in the spring, I had this grand idea that I would learn how to crochet. I had a friend who crocheted next door, I had recently found TL Yarn Crafts on YouTube. Toni made it look so fun. I was enamored by what I saw others creating with crochet hooks. Crochet rose in mainstream popularity again through 2020 and beyond in 2024.
My Impression of Crochet
The internet is chock full of crochet plushies, dresses, sweaters, bags – you name it you can crochet it. I didn’t see this kind of creativity from my corner of the knitting internet. I had this impression that knitters were serious and crocheters were mavericks. So the hook was calling to me.
I bought a crochet hook and spent a few weeks watching videos, perusing a book my neighbor lent me, and getting the hook into some loops. It’s a weird transition from knitting. I apparatus from two is a change. There is a posture, one hand, and yarn holding. There is a new way to keep yarn tension, and there are a lot of new stitches. There was more emphasis on turning your work than the orientation of the wrong side and right side. Single crochet and double crochet were not a one-for-one of knit and purl. That surprised me.
Granny squares were a bit more involved than I expected. It’s an art form that deserves respect. I definitely respect it. It kept me back, I had the tightest tension and felt like I had never done yarn crafting before. I was shocked, shouldn’t this be a piece of cake? I’ve been knitting off and on since 2012. Yeah, it’s not that simple.
Fluff Around and Find Out
To be honest, the way that I learn best is to just go for it, and doing these basic crochet stitches on a project that was a rectangle, all while it looked like a tattered mess was discouraging. I wanted to make one of the little plushies or shapes that seemed to be a sculpture that only crochet could create. But I was seriously not getting it. So I paused and thought about it. Is there any way to apply this creative point of you, the sculpting of yarn that only crochet can, but try it with knitting needles?
This might seem weird to consider if you don’t knit or crochet but the processes seem vastly different to me. There’s a strategy to knitting. You have to do things in stages, like knitting a section and transferring stitches to a stitch minder or picking up stitches that were bound off or are just part of a knit edge. While crocheting builds on itself and is an amorphous thing that is truly sculpting and adding as you go.
So I decided, what if I made something with the sculpting element of crochet but with knitting steps. I decided on a star as you can see above that was crafted out of multiple knit sections that were stitched together. This pattern has a lot of little steps but I think it was effective.
Repeat four times until five are made. Then using a tapestry needle, join the five points together at the center so that you have the base for a star, then join the sides of the diamonds together so that you have a flat star. Repeat the whole process one more time so that you have two flat stars and then sew them together with the tapestry needle.
So we pivot to the bag decoration trend of 2024. This is a combination I’d say of Kpop, Xiaohongshu style trends, and the Japanese Ita bag becoming popular in the West. If you would like to learn more about Ita bags, I would highly recommend Addy’s video on YouTube. And these little stars in the original green and its pink starfish cousin have made excellent DIY plushie keychains.
Finished Product Used as a Keychain
Final Thoughts
I think creativity is about experimentation and learning as you go. I think sometimes it is important to do it the normal way and other times it is more satisfying to try a new method, a new medium, and make something you may not have thought you could. I still have incredible respect for crochet and I also think knitting has more potential than I thought. I have also learned that if a key chain or other small trinkets are not specifically branded I should try making them before I buy. It’s a great way to use up materials in my stash, level up my skills, and keep my consumption down and my wallet happier.
Going into June, after being in a yarn stash busting low-buy for the first half of 2024, I knew I wanted to break away from the acrylic in my stash and go for something lighter. In preparation, I watched a summer yarn review from NE Knits (I recommend her channel) to get a lay of the land for these lighter yarn and the best projects in her opinion to make with them.
Now if you look at my summer pickups below, they don’t really match what I thought I would buy based on her review. I gleaned a ton of fiber knowledge from her video that I plan to apply to future purchases (and one I already did from Knit Picks) to try silk, linen, and bamboo yarn.
As far as what I am actually working on this summer, these were capricious finds from the sale and clearance bins, as well as one destashed lot from my mom. Going into these purchases, I knew what to expect from some because of NE Knits review which helped me lower my expectations of one brand that has led to me being pleasantly surprised. It also helped me get in a good mindset for shopping so that I browsed with intention instead of reckless abandon. Let’s get into it!
Big Twist Cotton in Blueberry Speckle
Based on the online reviews, Big Twist Cotton is not a fan favorite, which is probably why these balls of cotton yarn were marked down to $0.97/107 yard skeins. This blend of 85% cotton and 15% polyester in composition is delightfully soft and easy to knit up. I instantly felt in love with the dye work on this yarn. It looks like blueberry ice cream! There were 10 balls of yarn left at my local store so I gathered the lot in hopes of making a long sleeve knit tee. The label calls for 11 balls to make a sweater so I hope it pans out because this project is stitching together so well! The fabric it makes feels cozy, breathable and like a garment I will enjoy wearing in multiple seasons.
I’m currently 6 skeins into the project, wrapping up the back panel. I’m about to split for the neck and shoulder pieces. Next I’ll split the remaining 4 balls of yarn between two sleeves and sew up. I’m knitting on size 6 needles.
Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend in Chai Latte
This set of yarn was an unexpected plan, but was graciously given to me by mom from her de-stashing project we worked on over the fourth of July weekend. It is a yarn that I was familiar with but as a knitting novice, I didn’t understand how to use at the time. It has a blend of colors that somewhat stripe and somewhat cluster throughout the stitches to make a knit fabric that resembles a meadow or hillside dotted in flowers.
Instead of calling this color way “chai latte” I prefer ‘seashell’ for its subtle variations of creams, a soft peach, and a purple-gray that is reminiscent of the variety of seashell colors you find washed up on the sand. I get distracted as I knit, looking at how the colors deposit across the rows. It’s a beautiful play on highlight and shadows.
I am currently knitting a cardigan, unless I change my mind to a sleeveless sweater dress, time will tell. I enjoy the weight of the yarn, the only thing I don’t enjoy is how the strands split whilst knitting them. It’s caused me to drop stitches and have some messy yarn work. In spite of that it is comfy, cozy, and a lovely yarn to behold. I have 5 balls of 392 yards that is a wonderful amount of yarn to be gifted. I’m knitting on size 7 needles.
Big Twist Cotton in Sea Glass
This yarn is vibrant and exciting – I can’t wait to get started on this project. It was on the same sale as Blueberry Speckle and is the same composition and yardage. I bought 12 balls of yarn for 1274 yards in total. I am planning to make a garment, probably a knit shirt because I’d like to knit more basics. If not a shirt a very short sleeveless sweater dress. This colorway combines my favorite shades and looks like salt water taffy. It was a win-win of a find!
This kind of blend I have been wanting to try again since I bought a blend like this as my first knitting project after a 5 year knitting hiatus. I ended up leaving the project as a UFO (unfinished object) and I regret that decision. I’m excited to see what comes of this multi-color blend and how I will style it once its done. I plan to knit my garment on size 6 needles.
Loops & Threads Everyday Cotton Yarn in Peacock
This was my first yarn purchase of the summer, a pick up during a big week, the week of our closing and this was definitely a stress purchase. I was wanting a new project to distract myself with and I’d say I got what I paid for. This yarn is not my favorite. It dyed the ends of my bamboo needles. I have actually taken my first project off the needles and put it back in my stash because I was so frustrated.
This was on sale for $1.99 per 120 yard skein and I bought 8 balls. I’m not certain what I’m going to make with it because of the dye transfer issue. I had originally thought of a knit top. I’ve also brainstormed a skirt, a bag, and wash clothes, but again the dye transfer. Will it stop after the first wash? I’ll have to try and find out.
Overall, I was dissatisfied with my experience with Michael’s this time. They did not give me the remnant price for the end of the bolt I purchased and their yarn seems subpar to Joann Fabrics and Walmart. It was also more expensive for both yarn and fabric with the fabric being but not fantastic. I think I’ll stick to Michael’s art supplies next time.
Eddie Bauer Cotton Adventurer in Blue Bird
This delicate yarn was an unexpected sale find with a yarn weight more like a fingering yarn for socks. It was an exciting and affordable way to plan a delicate project while seeing the yarn in person. I love this shade of blue and think a cardigan would be a great piece to make from this yarn. It’s lightweight and natural fiber should allow this finished garment to used almost 12 months a year. It seems gimmicky when I see clothing brands put out a yarn collection, but these skeins of “adventurer cotton” felt like good quality that I would purchase without the fancy label.
I haven’t worked with this yarn yet but plan to knit this with size 5 needles or possibly smaller if needed. I don’t want an open weave. I bought 6 skeins with 344 yards per ball in fingering weight yarn. If I like this yarn I think fingering weight will be a permanent fixture in my stash because I have plans to learn sock making.
Final Thoughts
Now, this can’t be a complete review because I haven’t worked with all the yarns I purchased yet, but I do have some takeaways from this experience. I highly recommend watching yarn reviews. Not because you have to take their word as law, but it was great inspiration. It helped me go into this season of knitting with ideas of what I wanted to look at. I went into the yarn store with a plan and took the time to read fiber content, examine the yarn weight and needle size, and to be particular about what I was buying.
My original plan without the clearance finds, was to buy Coboo instead of Truboo based on NE Knits suggestion of how the yarn knitted up. I took the time to look at each version and decided that Truboo also seemed like a better yarn for my needs. If it had been on sale I would have purchased but the price compared to some of the other finds did not make sense at the time.
I bought a yarn that was not reviewed well by customers because of the under $1 price per skein and because I wanted more time to practice with cotton yarn. That made sense to me before I splurge on a Coboo, a Truboo, and eventually a mulberry silk or linen for summer. More experience was my tipping point. So far I haven’t found the Big Twist Cotton to split like the reviews said, I hope this stays true for the rest of my projects.
This was the most organized I’ve been for a knitting shopping trip and a knitting season of project planning. I liked having a plan for each project, as silly as that sounds because I don’t believe I over bought which is important to me since the storage in my new studio is tricky at the moment. I don’t want to be overrun with materials. If you are a knitter or crocheter I hope this mini-review is helpful for your future projects, or that you just enjoyed the yarn content. If you are not a yarn junkie I hope this was still fun, I appreciate you being here and taking the time to read my blog. Have a wonderful day ❤
Stray Kids. More specifically, Felix’s hat on stage at the Music Bank Paris performance in 2023 and Hyunjin’s striped crochet beanie during a video in 2023.
The Plan
It seemed simple at first glance but then again, new knitting patterns can be a bit confusing so I did research, to be safe. The cat ear is a corner and the point or drape, depending on the structure of your beanie is created by the length of the hat horizontally across. Once I understood that the shape would be determined by these top corners it was easy to jump in!
So I cast on 50 stitches on size 8 needles with worsted-weight acrylic yarn (I’m allergic to wool) and alternated between olive green and teal every three rows. After 55 rows, I cast off and sewed the two panels together to form this lovely cat-ear beanie. Honestly, such a fun and easy project once the ear structure clicked. 🙂 I’d say if you are an intermediate knitter you could make this over a weekend for sure, potentially in 24 hours if you were in a super rush. As a beginner, I’d say give yourself a week and take your time to keep the stitches even across. Sew up the sides and top with a tapestry needle.
I think the trickiest part was choosing what colors of yarn to use for the striped pattern. I didn’t want to make an exact copy this time, well I couldn’t anyway because I don’t currently crochet, but I wanted to use a unique color palette from my existing stash. These colors are some of my favorites in my stash. I’ve found the color story versatile to style with both cool and warm-toned accessories. I think the earth tones help keep it neutral. I love it and reach for it the most out of all the hats I’ve made in 2023.
One Rabbit Riot 