We have gift knitting on the brain at Wool & Grace. I know I’ve been writing about gift knitting a good amount lately! I like to pace myself through the season of gift knitting, so I’m not stitching like crazy at the last minute trying to get things done. That said – time is a luxury for most of us and we are big believers in keeping gift knitting manageable by working with thicker yarns. Our knitters bang out tons of Vermonters, Her Beanies and Red Rasta Cowls each holiday seasons using super bulky favorites like Malabrigo’s Rasta and Loopy Mango’s Merino No. 5. That said, we have some recent arrivals from Madeline Tosh and Baah that add a special, hand-dyed touch to your hand knit gifts.
We have those all-season favorites like Vintage, Tosh Merino Light and La Jolla. Come October, we like to bring back bulkier, hand-dyed favorites like Madeline Tosh Home and Baah Sequoia. They’re nice and warm and knit up into cold-weather accessories in a snap. These yarns are gorgeously soft and each skein is like a special work of art – so they naturally transform beautifully into hand-knit gifts.
Madeline Tosh Home is plied, super-wash, bulky weight merino wool that comes in Madeline Tosh’s signature painterly hues. Baah’s Sequoia is their super bulky yarn, a single and incredibly soft super-wash. While Sequoia is considered a super bulky, it’s on the light side of that weight, and I feel like it can straddle the line between bulky and super bulky nicely – working well for both weights of projects! These skeins are beautiful on their own, and knit into awesome gifts. There are so many great patterns out there – here are a few that we think will wow some of the knit-worthy people in your life!
One of my favorite projects that I’m itching to get on my needles is Chuckanut Drive by Diana Walla. I love these long, cabled fingerless mitts. These mitts feature wide, simple cables that serve nicely as a canvas for a beautiful hand-dyed yarn, and add just enough texture to not fight with the colors. They have minimal shaping and a simple cable stitch, making them a good project for aspiring cable-knitters! Chuckanut Drive calls for a super bulky yarn just like Sequoia – this is a perfect match for this project.
Northward is similar to Chuckanut Drive in that it incorporates simple cables and it’s a free pattern. This hat is another great project for new cable-knitters as it incorporates one simple cable into its design. We also love that Northward is written for all ages, so you can gift this beauty to your loved ones of any age! Northward is written specifically for Madeline Tosh Home – so grab a skein and knit up this no-brainer!
River Deep Mountain High is another awesome (and free) pattern that you can knit up with one skein of Home. This chevron lace cowl is written in two lengths, so you can knit up a tidy little cowl or a generously sized one. Plus, the designer gives us easy modifications to change up the size a little or a lot!
Since we’re riding the free-pattern wave here, let me mention Frost & Rime, a duo of patterns for mitts and a hat. This great free pattern nicely shows off hand-dyed yarn and let’s it shine. As mentioned in another recent blog post, I love giving a mitt/hat duo as a gift. It’s like you’re telling your gift recipient that you went above and beyond to make them something awesome! Frost & Rime calls for a super bulky yarn – so check out Sequoia for this perfect gift.
One more pattern for you: Everyday Brew is a wonderful, textured hat and I love it because it’s as it’s just as great for a man as it is for a woman. It’s just enough texture to be interesting and not overshadow what hand-dyed yarns like Home and Sequoia bring to the project on their own.
There are so many patterns out there that would be fantastic for these yarns, and these are just a few of our favorites! Comb through Ravelry if we haven’t found the right pattern for you – we know you’ll find something that is just right!
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