Yarn Review - KnitPicks Stroll Sock Yarn

KnitPicks.com offers a lot of very reasonably priced yarns. Among them is their sock yarn, known as Stroll. Their solid color, multicolor, and glimmer (silver sparkle spun into the fiber) yarns come in balls of 231 yards each, so you'll need at least 2 for a pair of socks. Their Tonal and Hand Painted versions of this yarn come in 462 yard hanks, so you'd only need one of those for one pair. The price range on this yarn is between $3.50 and $11.00. Compared to most other brands that cost somewhere within the $15.00 to $20.00, that is a very competitive price! They're 75% wool and 25% nylon, and they're machine washable!

The color selection for this particular yarn is very good, with the only really limited color selection coming from the multicolor and glimmer versions. There is something for nearly every color preference out there in this yarn! They also offer a version that you can dye yourself to any color you please.

Now, how does it measure up?

I'm notorious for being very hard on footwear. And when I knit socks, I knit them to wear them, not to hang around in my sock drawer and look pretty. So, I've knit up a few pairs of socks in this yarn and have put them through the same punishment anything that goes on my feet endures. The results actually kind of surprised me.

After a full 8-9 hour day at work they had little to no felting. They went through the wash just fine and didn't seem to lose much of their dye in the process of washing. Several more wearings and washings later, they're still not showing much for felting or general deterioration. The color is still bright, the fiber is still soft, and there has been only a slight amount of felting along the back of the heel where my heels rub on the backs of my shoes, as well as a little under the foot. Those very slightly felted areas feel a little stiffer than the rest of the sock, but it has not made the sock uncomfortable or in any way fit poorly.

If you haven't tried KnitPicks Stroll sock yarn, then I encourage you to give it a shot. With a wide selection of colors, you're sure to find something you like. Their sock yarn has received a rating of 4 out of 5 stars by members of Ravelry, but I personally give it a solid 5 out of 5.

8-Pointed Round Ripple

Back by popular demand. I didn't realize people liked this pattern so much...



8-pointed Round Ripple Afghan

There isn't much that's different from one round ripple to another except for how the center is created. This pattern's center creates 8 points, which was something I had not seen anywhere at the time this pattern was created.

Materials needed:
Worsted weight 4-ply yarn in any brand (Red Heart Super Saver and Caron One Pound - also known as Perfect Match - were used for my example)
Size H 5.0 hook (or size you prefer for best results)

Pattern*:

Ch5, slip stitch into beginning chain to form a ring

Row 1: Ch2, 12 hdc into ring, slip stitch to top of first ch2 to join

Row 3: Ch3, dc into same stitch, 2dc into next stitch and each stitch around, slip stitch to first ch3 to join a ring - 24 dc

Row 3: Ch5, skip next 2 dc, sc into next dc, ch5, skip next 2 dc, ch5 round to first ch5, slip stitch to first chain of ch5 to join - 8 ch5 spaces

Row 4: Slip stitch into first ch5 space, ch3, 2dc into space, ch2, 3dc into same space, (3dc, ch2, 3dc) into next ch5 space repeating around to first ch3, slip stitch to join - 8 (3dc, ch2, 3dc) points

Row 5: Slip stitch into next dc, ch3, dc next dc, (3dc, ch 2, 3dc) into first ch2 space, dc into next 2 dc, skip next 2 dc, dc into next 2 dc, (3dc, ch2, 3dc) into next ch2 space repeating around, slip stitch to top of first ch3 to join

Row 6: Slip stitch into next dc, ch3, dc into next 3 dc, (2 dc, ch2, 2dc) into next ch2 space, dc into next 3 dc, skip next 2 dc, dc into next 3 dc, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) into next ch2 space repeating around, slip stitch into top of first ch3

Continue on with the pattern in this way until it's as large as you want it. Make sure that once you've slip stitched to join the rows that you then slip stitch into the next stitch. As you go, be sure to alternate the number of double crochets in your "shells" (the "shells" are the series of stitches places into the chain 2 spaces on the points). The pattern begins with 3dc, ch2, 3dc, then switches to 2dc, ch2, 2dc, and then should switch back to 3dc, ch2, 3dc on the next row, and so on. This will ensure that you don't get any an uneven puckering effect in your blanket.

If you find that your work is not laying flat, I recommend going up a hook size or two. This will generally correct that issue.




This is a FREE pattern for your personal use ONLY. It is not to be sold in any way. Appropriate actions will be taken against anyone found to be selling this free pattern in any form.

More Yarn Dyeing

I've been keeping at my yarn dyeing for a couple months or so now. I have progressively gotten better and learned where I was making errors and how to stop it from happening again. Here are some of my favorite completed yarns:
The top one I called "Antique". The middle one is "Walking With Strangers". And the bottom one is "Truffle". The first two have been sold, and the bottom one - as of this writing - is for sale in my Etsy shop.

I feel my progress has been quite good, and am very satisfied with the finished products I've created. I think they're about as nice as anything you find that's been commercially produced. It's difficult to part with them sometimes, because I would love to work up some socks in these colorways. But they weren't made to stay with me. So I eventually will be saying goodbye to them all.

Still, I will likely dye some for myself at some point. One can never have enough sock yarn!

If you're interested in "Truffle" or want to see some of my other finished yarns, please drop in and take a look at my Etsy shop!

My adventures in yarn dyeing

I've decided to pick up yet another yarn related hobby: yarn dyeing. I figure, it's cheaper and easier for me to get the yarn in the colors that I want if I just do the dyeing myself. Heck, maybe I can get good enough at this to make a little extra income on it, even!

Unlike when I started knitting and crocheting, my first attempts were not as... presentable. I started with 2 skeins of 100% wool fingering weight yarn I'd intended to use as socks. The very first one I dyed a sunny yellow. It was a pretty, happy yellow. I'm not normally a fan of that color, but this was pleasant. Sadly, the skein was so tangled up and felted that it was not usable. The second skein was a cobalt blue, which came out much better. Here it is drying a day or so after being dyed:


I was skeptical about it while it was drying. It looked like it was going to turn out too frizzy. But, after drying all the way, it smoothed out. Now here it is rolled into a hank:

Muuuch nicer looking, as you can see! Looks like the kinda stuff you might find at a festival booth, maybe. And, as it turns out, it's very soft! I'm currently knitting it into a pair of socks.

I had 3 skeins of 100% wool to begin with, but after it's used up, I don't think I'll be working with it anymore. I have some wool/nylon that seems softer and just a nicer quality than this was. So I may just continue to use that yarn instead if the results turn out favorable.

My unpopular opinion

This opinion is not always popular amongst some in the knitting and crocheting communities. Though I don't believe many people will venture to my blog here and read this, I am still going to do a write up on it.

This is what I think of the way a lot of knitters/crocheters act about copyrights...

I find it over the top and downright stupid. In fact, I have a former friend who acts as uneducated and extreme about this issue as some of the moderators of certain communities do. And by no means can you call me a thief, because that isn't the case in any sense. Just because I have this opinion does not make me a thief or a cheater.

There's something about working from patterns that just downright pisses some people off, whether they knit or crochet or not. The former friend I mentioned doesn't do either one, and she was very upset that I had crocheted a few amigurumi toys based on patterns in a book I purchased and later sold them to people. The fact is, I had no real use or place for those toys, but the people I sold them to did. I see no point in keeping the items when I've been offered money for them. The money paid for the materials I used to make the toys and for the time I spent in making them. I figure, in that former friend's case, that it was jealousy that caused her reaction. I can't say I know what's up the butts of the people who really do know how to crochet or knit, though.

My first run in with what I like to call a copyright extremist is when I shared a scan of an old Red Heart flier I got from one of those tablets of free patterns you see in retail stores like Walmart. What made it all the more ridiculous is that the pattern was literally for a simple granny square pattern. Red Heart DOES NOT own any kind of rights to the granny square, and they never will. Granny squares have been around since forever, and probably nobody even knows who made them up. Also, those fliers are FREE to the public. Red Heart, or whatever company it's from, puts those out in hopes of luring you into buying their yarn to make that project with. It's a marketing tactic. If you choose to share the pattern, they won't sue you over it. They have better things to do with their money than try to sue personally owned websites or individuals over the distribution of free fliers. They probably LIKE it when you share those free fliers because you just convinced someone else to buy their yarn to make that project with. If you really do think that your website will get sued because of something like that, then you're full of yourself and you're too busy thinking you're the shit to realize you're not worth jack to these corporations. Get over yourself.

There was another case in which I saw this that comes to mind right now. It was a pattern I saw somewhere. It's a free pattern, and I copied it down. It's for a "button tab hat". The pattern is extremely simple, and I could have figured it out on my own if I had the gumption to do so. At the end of the pattern, however, there are explicit warnings not to reproduce the hat for sale. Not even a week after copying that pattern did I see the same style of hat in my LYS. In fact, a FREE PATTERN for the hat was being offered to anyone who purchased the yarn that was used to make it with. And I've seen other similar style hats for sale by people who created them from their "own pattern".

You can't copyright a spiral. You can't copyright a knit or a purl - a double crochet or a single crochet. These things are just basic parts of how knitting and crocheting is done. They create certain shapes, regardless of who does the stitch work. The concept to create a doll's head or a ribbed scarf can't be copyrighted.

And then there's just style. Everybody has it. You can copy a pattern as closely as you possibly can, but your own personal style WILL show in it in some way or another. In the amigurumis I made, I could see my own style very easily. When people saw my dolls, they KNEW that I had made them just by how they looked. What's more is that I don't follow patterns 100%. A lot of the time I'll veer off in some other direction with it to add my own flare. So the finished product is more like an inspiration worked from a base rather than something copied exactly from the words in a book.

Not everything I create comes from a pattern, either. I've worked hard to build the skills necessary to make my own designs. But, even at that, I see nothing wrong with working from a pattern if I like what that pattern makes.

So, yes. I DO distribute free patterns, both online and in real life, and I DO sell work created from patterns I find here and there. And there's no reason to freak out and have a stroke over it, either. So just chill the hell out, would you?

Another tam hat

I've been really into tam hats. Which is funny, because I used to hate hats and had no desire to make any. Tam hats and berets seem to be popular right now, though, and after having seen a couple, I got on a kick of knitting and crocheting them. I'm faster at crocheting, so those are the hats I've finished first, but I do have knitted tams on my needles, too.

I tried this pattern before, but it didn't turn out right somehow. I thought it might be the kind of yarn I used or that I couldn't find the hook the pattern specified anywhere, so I used one that was a millimeter larger. I ripped out the first one, then tried again with some Lion Brand Homespun yarn instead. I liked this result MUCH better.


With these kinds of hats, I prefer something bigger and flopper, so I like this one better than the wool one I posted about earlier, even though it's not as soft and bouncy, really.

In truth, I didn't follow the pattern very well... I ended up going it alone on the second row or so, but if you want to make a similar hat for yourself, the original pattern is located here: http://creativeyarn.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-soft-tam-beret.html

Ribbed Tam Hat

I have a health condition that has caused my hair to thin out. It's been affecting me since I was a teenager, and I figure it'll only keep getting worse despite all my efforts. But rather than despair over it, I'm looking for a silver lining. Hey, it's an excuse to knit and crochet lots of cute hats, right? ;)

For this hat, I used this free pattern: http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/phannie/phannie.html
I did, however, change the first few rows because I didn't like how they were turning out. It wasn't very drastic, though.

Here's how it turned out:

I look a little dejected in the first photo because I was tired and had just gotten home from work... and someone had hurt my feelings.

I forgot to take a picture of it while it was blocking, so I don't have a picture of the very top of it. But it looks very much like the top view photo shown with the pattern I linked to. My only gripe is that after blocking it, it left a "ridge" along the side that makes it look lumpy. Not really much I can do about that, though. Even though that happened, it still looks better over all after having been blocked.

I used a 100% wool yarn called Luxor, which is an Italian yarn. It's really light and soft. I love it! Wish it was sold in the States. I happened to find 2 balls of it at a thrift shop.

Cloud Nine

It's been quite some time since I've posted any of my finished work here, so I decided I would start off getting caught up by posting one of my favorite shawls. I've done very few shawls, though I am planning to make more. You could say I've "grown up" when it comes to my yarn craft, I suppose. I want to make wearable and useful items now, rather than so many blankets and toys. This shawl was done for a friend of mine as a commission some time ago.



The yarn I used here was from Hobby Lobby. It's Yarn Bee's Lambie Pie. Personally, I would never buy this yarn for myself. While it's cuddly soft and has cute little boing-boing curls in it, it's a devil to work with. You can't see your stitching and the curls get tangled up with each other, so if you make a mistake, it's almost impossible to take back out again. In the end, it turned out alright.

I almost want to make another shawl like this one for myself. But I can't think of what yarn I would want to use for it. I like the fluffy look and feel, but I hate working with that stuff!