Knitting with
Branson yarn
Michelle Nguyen
There are several patterns available for the Branson
yarn which highlights this thicker weight of yarn.
Let's go over these scarf, throw pillow and sweater
patterns and see what it's like knitting with Branson
yarn.
The Mirrored Cables Scarf is the first project that
drew my attention because a scarf is one of the
most universally acceptable gifts I have ever knit.
Some people don’t like wearing hats or mittens in
the winter, but scarves seem to always be welcome.
This scarf in particular has cabled edges and a
triangle stitch pattern in the middle. At first I was a
little put off because there was no chart to go with
the pattern, but once you start knitting the design is
very intuitive. You're able to see where you change
your stitches within the pattern.
If you're the type of person who's very attached to
charts, I would suggest making your own! You're
definitely able to do this with a bit of graph paper,
or if you have excel on your computer. With excel,
just shorten the column width so the cells are
square and place X’s in the boxes for purl stitches
and leave the knit stitches blank.You would have
to use your own symbols for cable left and right
though. It would be your own creation, but if it
helps you knit something this lovely, I would say it is
worth it.
A swatch in the Mirrored Cables Scarf
stitch pattern using Branson yarn
The next project that caught my eye is the color
work in the Drawing Room Pillow. I really love color
work and find it very therapeutic, so I'm a bit biased
towards this pattern. It's knit in two pieces, three
edges are sewn together, it’s stuffed and the last
edge is sewed up! Purling in Fair Isle is a slightly
more advanced technique and you have to keep
an eye on what you're doing; when you purl
your way back, you are reading the chart upsidedown. I find it useful to actually turn the chart
upside-down so I have a more realistic viewing
angle to concentrate on my knitting.
Give it a whirl!
KNITmuch | issue 2
25