Today we will look at Vibe™ and you can take a Web Gallery tour through Book #236, Forever Hip.

Vibe is a new wooly yarn with a very unique construction. A pure wool roving is spun and dyed in brilliant modern colors that run parallel and interlace with a strand of black Suede™. It’s a chunky, feltable wool that is very 21st century modern. Available in a brilliant palette of 7 colors that grab your attention from clear across the room, it knits to 2.75 sts to the inch on a #15 needle.

Our Forever Hip book has nineteen uber-hip knit items for fall. Harley, our knitterly homage to a classic motorcycle jacket, with all its zipper details, is knit in a “way cool” shade of Hip-Hop™. Or make a rock star entrance in our Native American deerskin jacket, Urban Cowgirl, with fascinating long fringe in a bold and beautiful new red Suede.
Also featured in this book are Darcy and Hildy, a pullover with matching knit helmet, and Anonymous, a fabulous funky vest. All are knit in Vibe.

For a complete guided tour of everything in #236, simply click on Web Gallery.

Today’s Free Patterns are fun projects that really show off our vibrant Vibe yarn. The first is a throw composed of mitered squares in colorful, contrasting shades of Vibe. The popularity of our Kim Chi throw in Foliage™ inspired me to create another blanket utilizing the complex looking (but actually very easy) mitered square. Our bright Vibe shades are perfect for this eye-catching design, Mu Shu Throw.

Our other pattern today is the next in our series of “Berroco Bears.” Our little Vibe Bear looks so at home on the throw, you may just need to knit both.
 





Often knitters will ask us to categorize yarn weights in our instructions. Here are some of the reasons that we have chosen not to do so.

We firmly believe that the information you need when substituting yarns is the stitch gauge, row gauge and suggested needle size. We always supply that information in our instructions and on our packaging. In today’s yarn industry there are many methods of making yarn. Some are spun, some are twisted, some are knit, some are woven, some are made of cut fabrics, some are extruded and some have fur and therefore appear wider than the actual width of the stitch. When substituting yarns, you must first swatch an alternative to be certain of the drape and hand of that fabric. You also want to make certain you are achieving the exact stitch and row gauge indicated in the pattern.

Regarding yarn amounts, you cannot always translate yardage from one yarn to another. Some yarns of the same width may be lighter or heavier and so you will need to adjust the yarn amounts.
There are many patterns available on the market today. These patterns were only tested on the yarn shown. We have hundreds of patterns still available in print and many free patterns to download on our website. Many visitors to our website download our patterns. I strongly advise that you use the recommended yarn for the project. If you substitute yarn, you then become the designer and you may come up with a brilliant alternative or your effort may fail. Yes, in the chain stores, the cheaper yarns do have assigned standard categories. This is very compromising. It’s like substituting margarine for butter. You may certainly substitute, but don’t expect a delicious cookie!

All the best,


Margery Winter
Creative Director