Yarns Untangled Blog

Our first (annual?) Autumn Sweater Makealong!

You may have heard we are turning eight. And we heard you when you asked for a sweater-themed makelong, so please get ready for:⁠⁠YU Autumn Sweater MAL!⁠⁠We will kick things off this coming Saturday, October 7th (our 8th anniversary!), and we’ll have three full months til the Makealong ends on January 7th.⁠ The criteria is pretty broad. In order for your project to qualify, it must follow these basic rules:⁠🧶 The yarn must have been purchased from YU (at any time)⁠🧶 You may not cast on until October 7th (or after), but you may swatch in advance. In fact, we …

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Summer Top Makealong, 2023!

Thanks to an overwhelming response on our recent poll, the YU Summer Top Knitalong is back for a third year!⁠⁠To participate, you need to pick one (or more!) patterns to make. The criteria is simple: if the yarn is 40% plant fibre or more, any top or dress in an adult size counts. If it’s less than 40%, then the item must have sleeves above the elbow.⁠⁠The Knitty Gritty Details:⁠⁠1. KAL begins on Wednesday, June 1st and ends on August 31st, 2022.⁠(This means you can’t cast on for your first top until 12:01 in the morning on June 1st, but …

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Makealong: Summer Tops, 2022!

Summer is finally back, so we’re bringing back our popular makelong: Summer Tops! If you’ve never done a makelong (knitalong, crochetalong, weavalong, what have you), then this is an excellent place to start. Our Summer Top MAL is a wide open topic. All you need to do to participate is start making a top for summer weather! That means it needs to meet our twofold criteria: that your top has a short sleeve (above the elbow) or no sleeve at all, and as always, your project needs to be using at least some yarn that was purchased from Yarns Untangled. …

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Knitalong: Summer Tops!

How long has it been since we hosted a knitalong? Too long, let’s not count. Welcome to Yarns Untangled’s latest knitalong: SUMMER TOPS! It’s already gotten hot here in Toronto, so it’s time to bust out your favourite plant fibres and that queue of short-sleeves or sleeveless tops you’ve been wanting to make. This is a wide-range topic; our criteria is that the sleeve must fall above the elbow, and that the fibre should be plant or a plant-blend OR no thicker than a DK weight. Basically, if it’s plant based, it can be as thick as you want. If …

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YU Project: Colourful Wedges Baby Blanket in Trailhead Appalachian Trail

Made in: April, 2021Craft: knittingPattern: Colorful Wedges Baby Blanket by Purl SohoYarn: Trailhead Yarns Crews and Appalachian TrailSize: one size = 70x76cmNeedles: 3.75mm/US 5Gauge: 24 sts per 10cm/4″ in garter stitch Our notes: the Appalachian Trail Crews are such fun little boxes of joy, and we were really excited to stumble across a pattern that works just perfectly for them. We used one full skein of Appalachian Trail combined with one Crews set – our colourways are Unicorn Tears and Carny Crew. The pattern calls for a yarn that is a bit thicker than this one, so we didn’t actually …

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YU Project: Velvet Morning in Topsy Farms 2ply Worsted

Made in: 2016Craft: knittingPattern: Velvet Morning from knitty.com by Julie CrawfordYarn: Topsy Farms 2ply WorstedSize: 40″ bustNeedles: 4.50mm/US 7Gauge: 20 stitches x 22 rows = 10cm/4″ in stocking stitch Our notes: We love Topsy Farms yarn, especially for outerwear and big snuggly sweaters. This was a fun knit, although we did tweak the chart a bit as it appears that this pattern was steeked but then rewritten to be knit flat. It means that you end up with extra ends to weave in unless you double up some of the rows, so we don’t recommend this for your first colourwork …

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YU Project: Options Cardigan in Estelle Eco Andean DK

Craft: knittingPattern: Striped (or not) Cardigan Option by Amy HerzogYarn: Estelle Eco Andean DK in three colourways, see notesSize: 38.25″ bustNeedles: 4.00mm/US 6 for main, 3.75mm/US 5 and 3.50mm/US 4 for edgesGauge: 23 stitches x 32 rows = 10cm/4″ in stocking stitchNotions: coconut buttons Our notes: You can’t go wrong with Amy Herzog, the sweater architect. This pattern is available for free on Ravelry but we aren’t linking to them anymore, so you’ll have to look it up yourself 😉 This is a great pattern for a first time cardigan (or pullover in the corresponding pattern) as she holds your …

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YU Project: Devils Backbone in Lichen & Lace 1ply Superwash Merino Fingering

Made in 2016Craft: knittingPattern: Devil’s Backbone by Nicole Tavares (YU alum!)Yarn: Lichen & Lace 1ply SW Merino Fingering in “Lichen”Size: n/aNeedles: 4.00mm/US 6Gauge: 20 stitches x 30 rows = 10cm/4″ garter stitch Our notes: such a great one-skein project. We love that it just stays on your shoulders without having to be fussed with. Would work beautifully for bridal outfits! Changes made to pattern: none. Location: this is a store sample and can be visited in-shop (when we’re open)

YU Project: Wonder Woman Wrap in Lichen & Lace 80/20 Sock

Made in summer, 2017Craft: knittingPattern: Wonder Woman Wrap by Carissa BrowningYarn: Lichen & Lace 80/20 Sock in “Beet Root” and “Amber”Size: “wondrous”Needles: 4.00mm/US 6Gauge: 17 stitches x 33 rows = 10cm/4″ Our notes: this will always be a favourite. A great way to practice your short rows and works great in Wonder Woman colours or whatever colours speak to you and make you feel powerful! Changes made to pattern: none. Location: this is a store sample and can be visited in-shop (when we’re open)

YU Project: Notched Hem Tank Top in Juniper Moon Zooey

Made in April, 2017Craft: knittingPattern: Notched Hem Tank by Purl SohoYarn: Juniper Moon Zooey in “Rigging”Size: 38″ bustNeedles: 3.50mm/US 4Gauge: 21 stitches x 28 rows = 10cm/4″ Our notes: a nice easy knit that keeps you paying just enough attention. This gets a lot of wear as it’s incredibly comfortable in the hottest of heatwaves. The light linen/cotton blend breathes beautifully and the texture takes the colour in a really interesting way. Changes made to pattern: none. Location: this is a store sample and can be visited in-shop (when we’re open)