Free Patterns – Simple Boucle Shawl

Touch Boucle Shawl - Free Pattern

This simple, elegant shawl pattern is as much part of Spin A Yarn history as the beautiful skeins of Touch Yarn hanging behind it! The perfect way to ease yourself into knitting triangular shawls, it uses 1.25 skeins of New Zealand Touch Boucle yarn which we stock in an amazing array of hand-dyed colours. If you’re buying the yarn for a shawl, we’re very happy to wind off the additional 0.25 skein for you – just ask.

Materials

Yarn: 125 grams of Touch Boucle OR 150 grams Rare yarns Boucle

Needles: 12mm

Note: Before knitting prepare for fringe by cutting 128 lengths at 10 inches long.

Pattern

Cast on 12 stitches

Next Row and Every Row: Increase at each end of every row until there are 140 stitches on the needle.
(If using Rare Boucle continue increasing for another 4 more rows).

Attach evenly the 64 fringes along the 2 bottom edges.

To download a PDF of this pattern for easy printing, please click here.

Free Patterns – Brushed Mohair Lace Scarf

Materials

Yarn: 100g Touch Brushed Superfine Merino/Kid Mohair OR 100g Rare yarns Brushed Alpaca/Merino (Misty)

Needles: 9mm

Before starting to knit, cut 68 tassels.

Pattern

Cast on 26 stitches using 9mm needles.

1st Row: Wrap the yarn purlwise around the needle then purl 2

stitches together (P2tog). Continue to the end.

2nd Row: As Row 1

Continue in pattern until yarn is almost finished.

Cast Off

Attach 2 tassels at a time evenly along each end of scarf.

You can download a printable PDF of the pattern by clicking here.

Customer Project – Sally’s Knitweave Shawl

Sometimes a customer project just bowls you over! Sally shared a photo of this stunning shawl she made with us and we had to find out the story behind it.

“I used Rooster alpaca 4 ply for the cream yarn, plus a variety of other 4 ply yarns from my stash for the pink, green, grey and turquoise segments. The variegated yarn is the Noro silk garden I bought from the shop last year, and the person who sold it to me was intrigued when I said I was going to use it on my knitting machine, as she thought it was too thick and “lumpy” for a machine. 

I explained I was going to knitweave with it, whereby the weaving yarn isn’t knitted through the latch needles, but is laid onto the surface of the work. The pattern is by reknowned machine knitting designer Iris Bishop. I have to say, the colour changes worked out more or less by accident, as the colours morphed through the Noro yarn to almost exactly match the size of the segments! 

It was knitted all in one piece with an integral fringe, and a mock crochet trim on the straight edge, also made on the machine. I knitted it over 3 days. I love it!”

We’re all fascinated by the idea of ‘knitweave’ and are hoping that Sally will bring in some more examples of her work next time she visits.

Seeing our customers finished products always makes our day here at Spin A Yarn, so be sure to bring them in or send us photos!

Joyce’s Travels Continued

Arriving  at Christchurch Airport  in the early hours of the morning on Saturday, 16 May we went straight to the Airport Motel. In the morning, David walked back to the airport to pick up a car for the next leg of our journey down to Alexandra to visit  Marnie, owner of Touchyarns, the Beautiful Yarn Company.

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At this point I should say that New Zealand is a spectacular country and I couldn’t stop clicking my camera. We arrived at Marnie’s and drove straight up to a spectacular hydroelectric dam at Clyde, on the Clutha River between Cromwell and Alexandra.

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Loved my photo of the cloud which looks like a giant whale!

Marnie looked after us wonderfully. We were very spoilt with our own little guest house, next to her beautiful home in Clyde, Central Otago.

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