Lately we’ve been focusing on wrapping up summer and transitioning your wardrobe for fall, but with the passing of Labor Day, we all know the fashion rules change to showcase fall trends. Beginning this month, we’ll be spotlighting all the great fashion styles for autumn & beyond. Our focus for September is the cardigan jacket in all its many shapes, a great item to team up with those fabulous seasonless tops we featured recently.
The key words for the cardigan jacket this fall are “sculpted” according to designer Yigal Azrouel, “cropped” as described by designer David Rodriguez, even “shrunken” from the ever popular Betsey Johnson. Definitely no longer than hip length is the focus, and as short as possible wows us in several designs. The Desdemona Jacket from Twisted Sisters is one of our favorite hip-length creations with wonderfully slimming diagonal stripes. Also the Lara Wrap Jacket is beautifully crafted of Alpaca Silk from Debbie Bliss and easy to make as fitted as you wish with a brooch or pin closure. Then the Amelie Cropped Jacket, the Sherrie Zodiac Cardigan, the Puccini Jacket and the Round Shaped Cardigan will all give you the short look becoming so popular. Also with the quick-to-knit Knitted Jacket and Zippered Caldo Cropped Jacket, you’ll get fast results with chunky yarns & large needles.
The ultimate design for the cropped jacket is the bolero or shrug you’re seeing in every store this fall from Neiman Marcus to Wal-Mart and selling at a wide range of prices. It’s easy enough to keep yourself in fashion along with your favorite teens and little ones though, so check out some of our favorite projects. We like the funky approach of the new, soft, furry Frenzy yarn from Sirdar, so check out the Frenzy Bolero Jacket for adults and the Frenzy Girl’s Bolero for sizes 1 to 12 years old.
Other adorable bolero designs for little ones include the Funky Fur Girl's Bolero Jacket (long & short sleeves), the Bolero Jacket with Ribbing, the Snuggly Bolero, the Snuggly Waist Wrap Sweater and the Bubbly Bolero (long & short sleeves).
Then for eveningwear you can go extra short with the Marilyn Dressy Shrug worn with the coordinating Marilyn Dressy Tank Top. Or go with a cropped, elegant look in the Sesamo Evening Jacket.
Of course, consider your own personal tastes and what looks best on you when updating your wardrobe. But we bet with so many cardigan jacket lengths & shapes to choose from you’ll find the perfect jackets for your body type & shape so that you can “make a statement” as Vogue magazine challenges.
Well, the end of August definitely brings those first days back to school, and you know what that means. Your little ones now want to keep up with the latest fashion trends & even have cool school supplies. According to fashionabout.com, one of the biggest trends for girls & teens is the cap, so take a look at the newsgirl style featured in the Girl’s Malibu Crochet Cap and the Crocheted Zodiac Cap along with the retro, 1960s-style Gia’s Cap knitted from cotton-blend Kim by Needful Yarns. Small, furry or retro purses and bags are big news too, and we recommend the Deco Ribbon & Splash Cell Phone Bag, the Children’s Caldo Print Bag, the Bigga Fringed Shoulder Bag and the Malibu Crochet Shoulder Bag. Also check out the Sirdar patterns for trendy bags like the Funky Magic Striped Bag and the Frenzy Bag.
Even school supplies can be fashionable, and what's more important to little girls and boys than a brand-new backpack? And what could be better than making a special one in your child’s favorite colors? Several of our recommended projects are felted and come from Cherry Tree Hill such as the Potluck Bulky Felted Backpack and two from the popular Rainbow Knits for Kids book –- the Felted Backpack & Purse and the Felted Mouse Bag & Treasure Pouch.
And we must remember those college students moving to campus who need some reminders of home for their dorm rooms. How about knitting up a pair of Fuzzy Flip Flops for her to wear while she’s studying or several Cotton Chenille Washcloths for him? The added benefits to these two projects are they start with a free Crystal Palace pattern and cost less than $20 each even including the knitting needles! Or consider the Flower Washcloth, also made of Crystal Palace’s velvety soft Cotton Chenille, for a more feminine bathroom essential.
Then we know your favorite guy or gal will enjoy snuggling up in a blanket or afghan lovingly crafted by you. Check out the Charlene Chinchilla & Glace Throw available in so many terrific Berroco color combinations of Chinchilla and Glace that your toughest decision will be narrowing down to just one. Or take a look at 200 Crochet Blocks For Blankets, Throws & Afghans, Gorgeous Knitted Afghans, Easy Afghans: 50 Knit and Crochet Projects, and Under Cover: 60 Afghans to Knit and Crochet. You also can’t go wrong with pillows, cushions and other decorating ideas to jazz up the dorm, so check out the Home Décor section of the Project Ideas department along with the fun book 25 Cushions to Knit.
Whatever you choose to make, your favorite little ones, teens & college students will appreciate your efforts and proudly show off their new possessions.
We at Yarnmarket are so excited to welcome Kollage Yarns to our high-quality yarn collection we can barely control ourselves. The entire line of Kollage Yarns and the terrific support are the brainchild of designer Susan Moraca. With the company slogan “Simple Stitches, Fabulous Yarns,” Susan promises to deliver the highest quality yarns for boutique-quality results. What’s extra special about the yarns she develops is that with each one you’re really getting three to four yarns combined. Measured and wound parallel to each other, the multiple strands give you multi-textures and multi-colors for spectacular works of art.
In our launch of the Kollage Yarns line, we have added three of these superb creations: Passion, the brand new yarn introduced this fall with four different yarn strands for the ultimate in multi-textures & colors; Radiance, the best-selling mohair/rayon blend with a touch of whimsy; and Illumination, which works equally well knitted alone or combined with another for additional shimmer & shine.
We’ve also added terrific pattern support for these Kollage Yarns, so check out the Kollage Pattern Collection. From the Passion By the Sea Vest to the Forever Cardigan, you’ll enjoy several sweater options. Also the fashion-forward Precious Passion Jacket and the stylishly short Twilight Magic Jacket will work superbly this fall & winter. Then for your accessories & outerwear collections, create the unique Ruffled Lava Wrap and the shimmering Sheer Radiance Poncho. No matter which pattern you choose or if you design your own creation, you’ll love working with Kollage!
In addition, we're expanding our multi-media materials especially in the way of instructional tools. The eagerly awaited Art of Knitting & Crochet 2 -- the 2nd DVD in the popular series -- is now available and includes 3.5 hours of review of the basics, intermediate skills, overview of crochet and features on both socks & felting. It even has more of the "music to knit by" you enjoyed on the original Art of Knitting DVD. Another great instructional DVD is Point Click Knit! from Saving Time Productions. Learn from the experts everything a beginner needs to know and enjoy patterns to make scarves, shawls, baby blankets & ponchos.
As you can tell from our last Bulletin, our shipping department has been extra busy lately unpacking and processing lots & lots of new yarns. Since last month's newsletter, we've added 22 new yarns besides those from Kollage! For this overview, we'll focus on some of our favorite yarn companies, and then you can also check out the "What's New" column on the Home Page for other recent arrivals.
You've learned over the past few years you can always rely on Berroco for fashion-forward styles in the fiber arts. Just this past month we've added 6 more yarns from Berroco bringing our total to a whopping 44 varieties of these fine quality yarns! One that's immediately sparking everyone's imagination is Suede Deluxe, the glitzy version of the casual and ever so popular Suede. Just substitute Suede Deluxe in any Suede or Suede Tri-Color pattern, increase the number of balls by about 20% because of different yardages, & voila -- instant glamour! Also take a look at Runway and Icon, two other shimmering, glittery new additions to the collection.
Besides these glamorous options, check out Hush for a super-soft, ultra-fun trim yarn that's color coordinated with Lullaby to make terrific baby & children's clothes and Zap, an excellent, long eyelash, novelty yarn for all your worsted-weight projects. Then for a quick-to-knit option, choose Hip-Hop, a terrific, thick & thin yarn that's colorful, fun & feltable. Your biggest challenge will be deciding which color combo to use in your next sweater, jacket, poncho or scarf project!
Another of those special designers on whom we rely for outstanding quality is Debbie Bliss, & she's been busy over the spring & summer building on the popularity of several of her existing yarns. Expanding the wonderfully soft Cashmerino line, she's developed Cashmerino Chunky so that now all yarn weights are covered, and you can substitute a Cashmerino option for any weight project from DK (Cashmerino Baby) to super bulky (Cashmerino Superchunky). Then in order to add multi-textures to the group, Debbie Bliss has created Cashmerino Astrakhan, a terrific boucle lovely. Her very latest yarn to hit the shelves is buttery soft Alpaca Silk DK with the same softness & drape of her original Alpaca Silk from last fall but in a lighter weight option for even more sophisticated stitch definition.
As Debbie describes it on her website, "Designing these yarns has been a real journey of discovery for me -- the lightness of Alpaca Silk DK has me rediscovering texture in stitch patterns such as cables and bobbles, while by contrast the texture inherent in Cashmerino Astrakhan has led me to concentrate on shape and fit." Her latest two books -- Alpaca Silk Two and Simply Soft -- certainly reflect these paths of rediscovery and are filled with lovely cardigans, shrugs, boleros, jackets, pullovers & coats.
Other new yarns in our Yarnmarket spotlight give you a wide range of colors, textures & weights from more of your favorite yarn gurus. Take a look at:
Velvet from Cherry Tree Hill, a luxurious Limited Edition yarn shown to beautiful advantage in the Velvet Ponchette & the Velvet Shawlette;
Super-soft Plush, also from Cherry Tree Hill and ideal for quick-to-knit gifts year round;
Gedifra's Super Gigante, an absolute fave for the season & the ultimate in quick-to-knit chunkies;
Self-striping Silver Thaw, one of the latest yarns from the creative genius of Eisaku Noro;
Ultra-modern Aurora, also from Noro and a magical DK-weight alternative this fall & winter;
A shimmering creation from the S. Charles Collezione -- Galaxy, superb when worked alone or in combination with other outstanding S. Charles yarns;
And last but never least, Nordic Print from Katia for a super-soft, feltable alternative.
One final item to note in our Yarn department: We now have a special, orange "New" banner in the upper left corner of the color image so you can quickly & easily identify the latest colors in your favorite yarns.
One of the hottest knitting crazes for the fall & winter is felting, and we've just added a Felting section to our Project Ideas department. We already have 10 fun projects for your knitting pleasure ranging from tea cozies to kitty cat beds, and we promise to keep adding terrific, fun suggestions throughout the season. Just as a quick, introductory sampling, check out the lovely Musique & Fizz Felted Bag, the wonderfully whimsical Kureyon Tea Cozy, the kid-pleasing Potluck Bulky Felted Backpack and the beautifully decorative Mossy Labrador Basket.
We've also added 5 new patterns to the Free Patterns department -- 2 featuring lovely silk yarns by Artyarns & 3 showcasing the classic & novelty yarns available from Crystal Palace, so enjoy creating the:
Versatile His or Her Silk Necktie crafted of just 1 skein of Regal Silk from Artyarns;
Lacy Silk Tank Top also designed exclusively for Regal Silk and wonderful to wear with one of your new cardigan jackets you're getting ready to make;
Beautiful Musique & Iceland Felted Bag combining classic Iceland with modern Musique;
Spectacularly lovely Kid Merino & Little Flowers Shawl using the novelty yarn Little Flowers to accent the classic mohair-blend Kid Merino; and
Musique & Fizz Felted Bag already featured.
In addition to these freebies, we've expanded our Artyarns Pattern Collection to include additional modular pattern leaflets (identified with a "P"), easy patterns from Iris Schreier (look for the "E") and her brand new book Modular Knits just brimming over with superb designs and fabulous creations for all skill levels. You'll love the Silk Striped Scarf, the Turkish Shawl, the Flower Shawlette, the Textured Silk Scarf and the Silk Diamond Scarf/Sash. We know you'll enjoy her latest designs as much as you have her Exquisite Little Knits collection.
And we have even more new items to feature in this issue! First off, we have worked with Twisted Sisters to develop four Yarnmarket exclusive color combos for the Double Happiness Jacket Kit. You're sure to love the Gin Blue, Kaffir, Lapis and 2nd Lemongrass option, all centered around the specially designed YM51 colorway. Then check out the exclusive color combos in your favorite Twisted Sisters yarns (look for the YM in the color designation) including Mirage Hand Paints and Daktari Hand Paints.
We also love the new, spectacular, easy-to-create Dazzling Dangles Neckwear Kits from The BagSmith. With 7 different designs, you're sure to find your new favorite adornment to knit or crochet (both sets of instructions included). Take a look at these 7 creations & we know you'll agree:
Blue/10002: Features Ironstone "Gum Drops"
Neutral/10004: Features Trendsetter "Spruce"
Pink/10005: Features Ironstone "Hot Stuff"
Red/10006: Also features Ironstone "Gum Drops"
Black & White/11002: Features Erdal "Antalya" & Trendsetter "Aura"
Blue/11004: Features Great Adirondack "Fancy" & "Charmeuse"
Multi/11005: Features 5 Adirondack yarns
One more new feature -- we've started making available to you issues of several knitting and crocheting magazines for your convenience including Vogue Knitting International, Family Circle Easy Knitting and our latest addition Family Circle Easy Crochet. So in your next Yarnmarket order, just add any or all of these informative publications and never have to even leave your home or office to shop. Also if you have other magazines you'd like us to carry or any recommendations you'd like to make, e-mail us at recommend@yarnmarket.com and give us your suggestions.
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Gatsby & Little Flowers Scarf designed & modeled by
Our Talented Knitter
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Our special congratulations this month go to Mignonne Ng from Calabasas, California, as our September knitter showcasing her talent. A friend taught Mignonne to knit just a few months ago, & she's already designing her own scarf patterns! In the lovely scarf she submitted to our "Showcase Your Talent" feature, she picked two shimmering yarns with very different textures she liked: Gatsby from Katia and Little Flowers by Crystal Palace. Then she developed her own yarnover/drop stitch pattern for an open-weave effect, and before she knew it, she had a beautiful creation that deserves recognition. Way to go, Mignonne, and we think this one's even more spectacular coming from a newbie!
So shouldn't you be the next one to submit your entry to the “Showcase Your Talent” monthly feature? Don’t you wish you were just like Mignonne and enjoying a $30 gift certificate right now to use on your upcoming project? Well, it takes only a few minutes to e-mail us at photos@yarnmarket.com with the details of what yarn, pattern, etc. from Yarnmarket you’ve used along with a clear digital photo of the finished project. Who knows? Your talent could be the next showcased!!!
In keeping with the new format for this monthly feature, we've been checking the media for articles about the crafts we all love. Here are several related themes we’ve noticed recently to challenge, entertain and educate you, so Happy Reading!
As a follow-up to last month's news about the Knitting Night at the Seattle Mariners' baseball game, check out Ban on crochet at footy, & you'll realize that such an idea isn't welcome everywhere in the world.
Also consider how controversial and inspirational the crafts we love can be when used as part of the criminal justice system:
Ex-convict sentenced to 320 hours of crocheting,
Inmates knit for chemo patients, and A stitch in time: Young prisoners take up sewing and crochet projects.
And on a final educational note -- learn how one college professor has used her love of crochet to teach mathematical concepts, even has an exhibit currently at The Smithsonian: Crochet cure to students' knitted brows, and inspires others to develop exhibits across the U.S. in Well now, isn't this a cozy little cosmos.
As you’ve come to expect at www.yarnmarket.com, we pride ourselves on our customer service and low error rate. Each order is carefully packed by Suzy, Phyllis, Kim, Tina or Alma. We have an occasional glitch, but if something does go wrong, we’ll do everything we can to make it right for you . . . right away! Just send us an e-mail at orders@yarnmarket.com or call us at 1-888-996-9276, and we’ll take care of it for you. Our customer service hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or you can leave us a message and we’ll get back to you by e-mail or by phone.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to make time & enjoy some relaxed weekends with your family and friends.
Also if you haven't already done so, be sure to try out Yarndex.com, your new yarn reference resource, and give us your feedback. Yarndex is a great tool for finding all kinds of yarn information whether you’re looking for the best substitution for a discontinued or hard-to-find yarn or general information to choose your new favorite for the season before going shopping.
And as always,
