Stash Busting and Pattern Testing

This is the blog in which I test out free knitting patterns, discover new techniques, and (hopefully) get some of my yarn/fiber stash used up. Come in, put your feet up, and knit a few rows!

[dancingalongthestars]

My boi is so handsome

[dancingalongthestars]

Finished my shrug/vest!

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Okay, I gotta brag for a sec about how EVEN this spin is. Look at it! It’s so even! And I did it on a drop spindle!

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

In light of my recent plarn bag monster project, I came across this wonderful tutorial on youtube on how to make plarn into cord! It’s pretty simple and as a spinner I’m excited to try it out, so I thought I’d share it here before I do!

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And here’s what I was spinning last night! Love love love this fleece.

[ID: two white skeins of yarn hanging in front of a window. OP’s hand is holding the bottom of both skeins to show that it is lace-weight. A caption at the top of the image reads: ~240yd 3ply lace weight, Navajo plied cormo hoggat. This was in singles on two of my bobbins. I finally re-spun and plied then four years later. End ID.]

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A relaxing end to the day. 🧶 💜

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

I’ve been busy! Top photo is some handspun I just finished spinning & plying (still have more to do but this is the first skein). It’s from Abstract Fiber, 50/50 merino/silk, but I can’t for the life of me remember the colorway! It reminds me of Mardi Gras tho lol.

Bottom photo is my new monster WIP, which is a tote bag made from plarn (yarn made from recycled plastic grocery bags) and soda can pop tops. I’d have it finished if it weren’t taking me so long to collect the dang pop tops!

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So this little hat was made in the span of about 3 hours on a night when I couldn’t sleep. I seem to have developed a habit of insomnia knitting. (Oops?)

Anyway! This is made from the pattern “I See Stars” published online in Clandestine and Candour. It’s a very simple little hat pattern, and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to tackle knitting in-the-round but struggles with purling, so doesn’t want to do any ribbing. Further review is below!

Techniques needed

Knitting in-the-round (the original hat was made with DPNs, but the pattern writer does say you can use circs or another technique if that’s what you prefer! I used the magic loop method for this one).

Basic knit stitch

Basic increases (the pattern just says “increase 1 in next stitch”; I opted for kfb, but you could just do a m1 or a yo if that’s easier for you!)

Basic decreases (k2tog and k3tog)

Pros

Suuuuper easy design. There’s some flexibility to the pattern as well; the author provides two options for how to close off the top of the hat. (I opted for the second version listed, which gives a rounder finish.)

The stitch pattern is cute and simple

Edge of hat manages to stay in place due to how the edge is started

Like I said above, this pattern does not have purl stitches anywhere, so if you struggle with purling for any reason but want to challenge yourself with other types of knitting besides garter and stockinette stitch, this pattern would be a great place to start! However...

Cons

Because there’s no ribbing at the beginning, the edge curls upward. Personally, I don’t care for this, but if you don’t mind a little curling, then more power to you!

If you don’t tend to like flexible patterns and need more strict guidelines to understand the pattern itself, this is likely going to be a confusing pattern for you. It’s casually worded, which I tend to like, but I could see it being confusing for other knitters.

Overall, it’s not my favorite knitted piece, but I do like how it came out! This is actually a gift for a friend, too, so I hope they like it!

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Hey everyone! Been a while, I know. Life’s been pretty busy!

Among all the business of life, I’ve been working on this blanket for about 2.5 years. I never made an original post about it because I either forgot or didn’t want to pressure myself to finish it in a certain time frame. Regardless, I’m just now posting about it, since I (finally) finished it last night!

I made this blanket out of pretty much any acrylic yarn I could find in my stash (I have a lot). It’s large enough to fit over the top of my full-sized bed with a little extra to fold over at the head of the bed. It’s big and comfy and I love it in all its glorious ugliness!

The pattern is Ten Stitch Zigzag by Frankie Brown (the same designer behind the Ten Stitch Blanket!). The pattern review is below!

Techniques needed

Basic stitch increases (k1fb) and decreases (k2tog)

Picking up stitches

Basic knit stitch (or other stitch, if you want to do something besides garter!)

Pros

Super easy and more instant gratification than a blanket with hundred-stitch rows!

Great stash buster if you don’t mind color clash

Comfy

Gauge is flexible

Cons

Takes a long time to finish

Weaving in lots of ends, if you don’t do Russian joins between skeins

Things I would have done differently

I’m not sure I would’ve done anything differently, to be honest! I’m extremely pleased with the way this turned out.

Overall, this pattern is lovely and I will definitely be doing it again in the future. Frankie Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite designers for her simple and fun designs!

[coyacoonadillo]

This is lovely!!

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Thank you so much! :D

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Hey everyone! Been a while, I know. Life’s been pretty busy!

Among all the business of life, I’ve been working on this blanket for about 2.5 years. I never made an original post about it because I either forgot or didn’t want to pressure myself to finish it in a certain time frame. Regardless, I’m just now posting about it, since I (finally) finished it last night!

I made this blanket out of pretty much any acrylic yarn I could find in my stash (I have a lot). It’s large enough to fit over the top of my full-sized bed with a little extra to fold over at the head of the bed. It’s big and comfy and I love it in all its glorious ugliness!

The pattern is Ten Stitch Zigzag by Frankie Brown (the same designer behind the Ten Stitch Blanket!). The pattern review is below!

Techniques needed

Basic stitch increases (k1fb) and decreases (k2tog)

Picking up stitches

Basic knit stitch (or other stitch, if you want to do something besides garter!)

Pros

Super easy and more instant gratification than a blanket with hundred-stitch rows!

Great stash buster if you don’t mind color clash

Comfy

Gauge is flexible

Cons

Takes a long time to finish

Weaving in lots of ends, if you don’t do Russian joins between skeins

Things I would have done differently

I’m not sure I would’ve done anything differently, to be honest! I’m extremely pleased with the way this turned out.

Overall, this pattern is lovely and I will definitely be doing it again in the future. Frankie Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite designers for her simple and fun designs!

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

I finished my Garden Dreams Mittens! They’re so cozy and warm. Pattern review below :)

Techniques needed

Provisional/tubular cast-on

Stranded knitting

Color chart reading

Picking up stitches from waste yarn knitted into the work

Pros

Easy pattern to follow; I noticed no errors

Really cute! Look! There’s BUTTERFLIES! (you can’t really see them in this pic but look at the Ravelry page for it)

Beautiful pattern! 

The tension on the palms of the hand was very easy for me to keep consistent because of the quick color changes, and they’re so squishy because of the stranding! 

There are instructions for the Latvian braids that were very easy to follow. I feel confident that I’d be able to do them on other projects in the future.

Cons

My tension was not even on these mittens; I had trouble with the stranded colorwork on the back of the hands, and my left mitten is slightly larger than my right.

The Latvian braids on the cuffs don’t “match up” at the points they join in the round. I guess that’s to be expected for my first attempt at them, but it still bugs me.

Additionally, the number of rows at the beginning for the tubular cast-on is fairly confusing; it says to knit 7 rounds, but that by the purl row you should have 8 rounds in the MC. I ended up just doing 8 rounds (not including the cast-on), purling a round, then doing 8 more before joining back to the beginning. It honestly doesn’t make a noticeable difference, but still annoying to try and sort out.

Things I would’ve done differently

I probably would have picked different colors. I didn’t realize how Christmas-y they would look together. 

I would’ve tried to keep my tension more consistent on the second mitten. Oops? :P 

Overall, this pattern is pretty great! I think it’s really cute and pretty, and while it was a bit challenging for me, it was a lot of fun. I’m so glad I made them! 

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In a fit of anxiety, I may or may not have worked 42 entire rounds of stranded colorwork last night, heh. At least I just have the top decreases, thumb, and finishing left!

Pattern is Garden Dreams Mittens by Tiina Kuu (free pattern)

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Mitten #1 is done! 

Pattern is Garden Dreams Mittens by Tiina Kuu (free pattern on Ravelry)

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Does anyone else deal with insomnia and consequently start knitting entertainingly complicated garments? …asking for a friend. :P 

(But seriously, I’m gonna call these my insomnia mittens in my Ravelry notes, ffs)

Anywho this pattern is Garden Dreams Mittens by Tiina Kuu and it took me literal days to decide on a pattern for a two-color, stranded pattern for mittens. There are so many good patterns to choose from. Plus, it’s been ages since I actually sat down and knit something for myself, or so it seems, and it feels good!

I started these on Jan. 7th and so far I’ve worked through round 59 of the right mitten (chart B1). The pictures here are from a ways back before that, closer to round 30, only ‘cause I couldn’t upload the newer photos from my phone. 

The only trouble I’ve had so far has been in maintaining proper tension for the colorwork. The palm of the hand has a beautiful geometric design that’s simple enough to do, and a pretty good beginner pattern for stranding, but it’s been a while and the back of the hand has some puckering. Thankfully, it’s not too noticeable and doesn’t affect the size in any significant way! 

I’m hoping to finish the first mitten and start the second one by the end of the week, and I’m feeling optimistic about it. I’ll update as I go! 

[purple-rose-emporium]

I love the colour choice :-)

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Aw, thank you so much! :D 

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Does anyone else deal with insomnia and consequently start knitting entertainingly complicated garments? ...asking for a friend. :P 

(But seriously, I’m gonna call these my insomnia mittens in my Ravelry notes, ffs)

Anywho this pattern is Garden Dreams Mittens by Tiina Kuu and it took me literal days to decide on a pattern for a two-color, stranded pattern for mittens. There are so many good patterns to choose from. Plus, it’s been ages since I actually sat down and knit something for myself, or so it seems, and it feels good!

I started these on Jan. 7th and so far I’ve worked through round 59 of the right mitten (chart B1). The pictures here are from a ways back before that, closer to round 30, only ‘cause I couldn’t upload the newer photos from my phone. 

The only trouble I’ve had so far has been in maintaining proper tension for the colorwork. The palm of the hand has a beautiful geometric design that’s simple enough to do, and a pretty good beginner pattern for stranding, but it’s been a while and the back of the hand has some puckering. Thankfully, it’s not too noticeable and doesn’t affect the size in any significant way! 

I’m hoping to finish the first mitten and start the second one by the end of the week, and I’m feeling optimistic about it. I’ll update as I go! 

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

I also made another pair of Simple Garter Stitch Slippers (pattern) for my other housemate, Mark! I left off the crochet accent and opted for blanket stitch seams because he’s got a much more subtle aesthetic. He loved them! 

[stashbustingandpatterntesting]

Hey all! Thought I’d post some of my holiday gift knitting projects and reviews here since it’s been a while! 

This pattern is Eugenia’s Mittens by Molly Woodworth. I made these for my housemate Lauren as an oops-it’s-almost-Christmas-better-make-her-something-cute present. She loves them! Pattern review below. :)

Techniques needed

Knitting in the round

Picking up & knitting stitches

Cables (left & right)

Pros

It’s worsted weight so it’s a fairly quick knit

It’s such a cute pattern! 

Cons

A little finicky and I had to knit furiously to get them done on time (but that’s mostly on me)

Things I would’ve done differently

Started knitting them sooner than later

Perhaps picked a different color to better show off the cables

Overall, this is a really cute and simple pattern! I think it would actually be a great pattern to learn cables on, because it’s a quick knit and the chart is fairly easy to follow. The cables don’t use more than four stitches at a time either, so it’s very manageable.