With colder temperatures and changing leaves, Harmony is ready for an autumn Knit-Along! We think now is the perfect time to knit up cozy colorwork accessories. This post will walk you through the info you'll need to plan your project if you'd like to join us!
PATTERN
This autumn we are knitting the Autumn Doodle patterns by Jamie Lomax. Jamie has created a really fun set of infinitely customizable patterns! Harmony's knit-along is focused on her Autumn Doodle charts, but you can put them on just about any project you'd like! Jamie has designed a cowl, an infinity cowl, a hat, and a cup cozy. Experimentation and creativity is encouraged!
Harmony is so excited to stock Pacific Knit Co Doodle Decks for this KAL! Doodle decks are a deck of cards with the instructions to make a cowl or infinity cowl, plus 51 unique colorwork charts. It's the equivalent of buying both patterns plus the expansion packs, and makes visualizing your chart placement so much easier.
Jamie has designed a great range of colorwork charts, so you can pick the easiest ones if you're new to stranded colorwork, or more difficult ones for a challenge!
YARN
Jamie's patterns are written for DK-weight yarn, but include detailed instructions for modifying your project for different weights. We picked these patterns specifically to go with our new yarn, Jody Long Alba. Alba is a DK-weight tweedy blend of wool, alpaca, and viscose. The texture and tweedy flecks make it a dream in colorwork projects. Mel knit her infinity cowl (pictured below) in Alba and loved it.
Alba usually only comes in 100g skeins, but for the knit along we have made 25g mini skeins so you can finish your project with less waste! Mini skeins will be available by Saturday, October 14.
If Alba doesn't float your boat, we've got lots of other yarns that would be lovely! Please note that if you choose a yarn weight other than DK you'll need to do some simple math to make an effective cowl, and we can't guarantee how much yardage you will need. We will only be making mini skeins of Alba. We made swatches of all the yarns we recommend, listed from left to right, top to bottom:
- Harrisville Highland: worsted-weight, a good sticky wooly wool in gorgeous heathered colors
- Cascade 220: A classic for a reason! We currently have over 60 colors of this worsted-weight wool to choose from.
- Juniper Moon Patagonia: This yarn is a super soft sport-weight merino
- Harrisville Shetland: A fingering/sport-weight version of Highland
- Cascade 220 Fingering: This wool yarn comes in loads of colors and is super affordable! The small stitches look so cute in Jamie's colorwork charts.
- Cascade 220 Superwash Merino: This DK/worsted-weight yarn is great if you're sensitive to wool! The superwash merino is soft as can be. Superwash yarns make colorwork a bit more difficult.
- Cascade 220 Fingering held double: This created a surprisingly squishy fabric! Holding 2 strands of 220 Fingering is the most cost-effective way to make a DK-weight cowl.
- Noro Kureyon: Noro does the color-changing for you! This worsted/aran yarn would make a super fun cowl with gradual color shifts.
KNIT-A-LONG INFO
Our knit-along will begin on Saturday, October 14, and run through November 20. It will be held online through Instagram and this blog. WIPs are welcome!
We will have one grand prize and 3 runner-up prizes. They will be picked randomly. Please note, to qualify for the grand prize you need to use yarn purchased at Harmony in your project, but to qualify for the runner-up prizes you can use any yarn you like!
To enter, post your WIP or finished project on Instagram using the hashtag #DoodleWithHarmonyKAL. We will only be able to see and keep track of entries from public accounts.
Our grand prize will be a $75 gift certificate, and the runner-up prizes will be gift bags with Harmony merch.
Mel will be at the store to offer pattern support every Monday and Wednesday from 10 am-2 pm, and every Tuesday from 2 pm-6 pm.
Double-dipping with other KALs is allowed! Pacific Knit Co is also hosting a KAL right now, details are on her Instagram.