Dear KnitBits subscribers,

Today we are focusing on 2 yarns that have superb eye appeal, TuTu™ and Bling Bling™. TuTu is pure fantasy to the extreme. With diaphanous layers of colors and textures that are sheer and opaque and soft and willowy, the yarn itself is practically already a fabric. Simply cast on a few stitches on a very big needle. Knit for a few minutes and you will have a creation that will turn heads. Named for its ballet costume inspiration, soft streamers of tulle make this unique and wonderful yarn the talk of the town.

Bling Bling is a foil effect yarn created in a brand new way. First a fabric is machine knit from the finest quality dyed cotton blend yarn and then the yardage is printed with a metal foil transfer. Then it is unraveled, returning it to a yarn that is subsequently steamed and finished to a luxurious and superbly soft and supple hand. You will love knitting with this yarn and you will marvel at the finished product.

In our pattern collection for this season we have explored many possibilities of things to make with TuTu and Bling Bling including sweaters, handbags, scarves, throws and pillows.

We are posting 2 free home décor knit patterns, Fontainbleu and Carnaby, from our collection for you to download.

If you want some instant gratification, here is a way to decorate with yarn and fabric glue. I have lots of ideas for how to take existing home dec items and style them for 2005 hip interiors using nothing more than some Berroco fantasy yarns and some fabric glue from the craft store.

Perhaps you are in the process of moving into a new home or redecorating your apartment and you want to give a new look to your lamps without having to buy new ones. For an elegant living room, to complement your leather furniture and animal prints, why not try covering a lampshade with Bling Bling and some fabric glue? If you like, you can finish it off with a twisted cord and tassel as shown.

Maybe your daughter has finally outgrown her Barbie® phase and she’s looking for a more hip and contemporary refuge. If you are making the Carnaby throw and pillows for her room, you can also decorate some lampshades to match. The color range in Tu Tu is very hip and you will be able to completely coordinate colors in her room with the linens and bed clothes that you see right now in your favorite home furnishings catalog or outlet.

This is only the tip of the iceberg as far as decorating with Tu Tu and Bling Bling is concerned. I have so many ideas that I will have to show you more in the next Knitibits #90. I am psyched.
 



Sydna from Chestnut Hill, MA wrote "I have been knitting for 30 years and I have made many very expert projects. I love your patterns and I find them very inspirational, however for me this is a simply a place to start. I look at your website and admire what you have created with your wonderful Berroco yarns. For me, working wtih yarns and patterns is like having a box of crayons and a coloring book. I rarely stay within the lines. I am more of a free spirit than that. These days I like to make up my own sweaters. I make rectangles in colors and textures that I love and then I sew them together in unusual ways to make garments. With draping, wrapping and tying, I have developed a way of knitting garments that are unique and lovely."

Thanks, Sydna, I would love to see your latest creations. I too cannot follow written instructions without being terribly bored. This is why I became a designer in the first place. I can conceive of an idea, execute it and then I am on to the next idea. We may be among the minority, however, creativity is doubtless the future of knitting.

All the best,


Margery Winter
Creative Director