With the season of gift knitting in full swing, we find that our needles are quickly clicking away to create all the wooly goodness for our loved ones. But then there is also that sweater WIP we wanted to have finished for that upcoming family gathering… eek! We’re sure you can relate!

One of the WIPs on our needles includes the Lost Seaglass cowl by Gretha Mensen. This quick and fun knit is perfect to knit up for yourself or would make a great gift for someone else! Despite its look, the tube shaped cowl is beginner friendly to knit with only one color per round. Our favorite kind of colorwork! 

But then of course there is “dream knitting.” We've been itching to cast on a Pressed Flowers shawl by Amy Christoffers. Such beautiful texture created by mosaic knitting. Definitely a must have knit for the winter!

But of course, all this knitting has us thinking about the tools we use to knit with. The true core of what makes knitting possible: our needles. So let's explore some of the differences we find in the needles we see on the market, and we'll share a little tip on how to get those working stitches in place quick and easy.

There is definitely a difference in all the various needle brands and materials we see on the market. And different needles produce different results. Some needles can bring us joy as we knit, whereas others are just not suited to the project, and we probably all know that frustration! 

First, let’s look at what types of needles we can use. Most often we see Fixed Circular needles when we're in our LYS. These are designed to have the flexibility to knit in a circle, say for like a cowl or hat. The needle tips can vary from 2" up to about 5" in length depending on the circumference you are trying to achieve. That too can vary anywhere from 9" around up to 60" in diameter! 

Circular Needles

Circular Needles

But, maybe you learned to knit on Straight needles and you prefer having your stitches all lined up as you work them. We don't really see these needles as often now, but they still are very useful for knitting scarves or pieces for a seamed sweater. Many knitters love these!

Straight Needles

Now that you have settled with the type of needle you prefer, it’s time to decide whether you should use wood, bamboo, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, plastic? The choices seem endless! But really, it comes down to what you prefer. One thing we've found that helps when choosing what material to use, is considering your yarn.

Many times wooden or bamboo needles make working with cotton, linen or other plant-based yarns easier to work with because they have more drag, allowing you to control your stitches from sliding off the tip. However, many tight knitters prefer a super slick needle material so they can slide their stitches more easily. Our best advice on this would be to try a few different materials out on various blends of yarn and go with what feels best for you and your making.

One of our favorite tips when knitting in the round and using interchangeable needles is that you can have your gauge needle on the right hand side as your work is facing you, then you put a needle tip, one or two sizes smaller on the left side, which makes it so easy to slide those stitches over to continue working them. Give it a try, but remember this only works if you're knitting in the round!

We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what’s on our needles and you’ve also enjoyed this little journey into your most used tools, your needles! Let us know what type of needles you prefer along with any quick tips you’ve discovered by emailing us at customerservice@thepluckyknitter.com!

As we take a step back and reflect on the past year, we want to express our gratitude for you, not just for being our customers, but more importantly, for being part of this wonderful community of makers we are delighted to be a part of! 

We are so grateful that you choose to use our yarns to inspire your creative journey. It truly warms our hearts when you share what you make with us, whether it be in our Ravelry group, or via Instagram, or the sweet notes we receive through customer service. You inspire us to keep creating colors and blends that fill you up as you create with them.

We are deeply touched by your love and support for Plucky. As a way to thank you for ALL of the support you have shown, we hope you will enjoy the special sales events we have put together this week for you! 

Big Horn, Beets Me, Honey Pot

Grumpy Old Sailor, Palazzo Pants, Rosé

Hello Gourd-geous, Bleu, Corduroy

Rosé, Remember When, Lucy

Hello Gourd-geous, Honey Do, Utility

Honey Do, Grimace, Love at First Sight

Bleu, Take a Hike, Hayride

Palazzo Pants, Take a Hike, Bell Bottoms

Grumpy Old Sailor, Kelly Kelly Kelly, Fancy Free

Take a Hike, Love at First Sight, Grumpy Old Sailor

Honey Pot, Remember When, Rosé

Baby Boom, Bootlegger, Happily

Love at First Sight, Bleu, Corduroy

Decorum Dictates, Grumpy Old Sailor, Rosé

Powdered Sugar, Remember When, Lucy 

You’ve probably noticed that there is a lot of buzz around all the fluffy or fuzzy yarns. Looking at you, Mohair and Suri Lace! They can be great for adding extra warmth without adding bulk and weight to your knits. They are also amazing for adding texture and whimsy to the simple stockinette stitch. 

If you’ve been acquainted with Plucky yarns for a time, you know we can’t get enough of the fluff! So, we thought you might enjoy a deeper look at what fiber blends each of our fluffy bases contain, how they are different, and why we love each and every one of them dearly. 😍

Who doesn’t love a Mohair/Silk blend? The Mohair in our Aura blend is super-fine and of the softest variety. This fluffy yarn produces a beautiful halo and being blended with silk, you get a stunning sheen and a touch of extra strength. One of the benefits to this blend is the durability that both the Mohair and the silk provide! Making it a great match for garments, accessories and even socks! (Although, be careful with socks, they can be very slippery with this type of yarn.)

Aura Lace

72% Kid Mohair, 28% Silk  |  Non-Superwash  |  Fancy Worsted Spun

Sophisticate Fingering

50% Superwash Merino, 30% Mohair, 20% Silk  |  Worsted Spun

Then there is our custom Sophisticate blend, which is a little bit heavier, more of a light fingering weight, but can get away with being lace weight at times. That extra heft equals extra great though! Sophie, as we affectionately call it, contains 50% Merino wool with the addition of Mohair and Silk, so this base has added bounce from the memory that wool is known to produce. That extra elasticity from the wool content makes it easier to work with, while still giving you all the added fluff and shine that you expect from a Mohair base.

If you’re looking for a few patterns that would be great for these fantastic bases, we highly recommend Joji’s Instant Crush sweater or Melanie Berg’s Wayworn shawl.

Instant Crush by Joji Locatelli

Instant Crush is a seamless, top-down, colorwork pullover worked using only 2 strands of silk/mohair yarn throughout the entire project. Even though this is a colorwork project, so the fabric is warm and thick, this sweater is light as air due to the fibers used in the design.

Wayworn Shawl by Melanie Berg

Luxurious and luminous, Wayworn adds that perfect touch of elegance to accompany you on all life’s journeys.

The construction creates a lovely combination of color and texture stripes, the generous size offers millions of styling options, and the silk-mohair yarn blend keeps the fabric airy yet warm.

But, maybe you’re allergic to Mohair, as we know many folks are. Our Plume Lace base is a great alternative to a Mohair blend! Plume Lace is a delicate blend of Baby Suri Alpaca and Silk. The scrumptious, delicate fiber of the Suri Alpaca is so buttery-soft and light as a feather!! Although Alpaca fiber is not strong all by itself, the silk added in gives this base strength and a touch more durability. 

Plume Lace

74% Baby Suri Alpaca, 26% Silk  |  Non-Superwash  |  Fancy Worsted Spun

The Sunday Crew by Kate Oates is a perfect example of how beautiful a Suri/Silk blend can knit up! Or use it, in addition to a fingering weight yarn, to create the most delicate Birds of a Feather shawl!

Sunday Crew by Kate Oates

It’s so comfy you’ll want to wear it with your pajama pants and lounge around all weekend but so cute you’ll need to find somewhere to go to show it off.

Birds of a Feather by Andrea Mowry

Starting at a single point and growing and shifting from ethereal mohair or alpaca to silky smooth 4 ply into a piece that begs to be wrapped up in.

Now for our favorite of all the fluffy yarns… Spiffy Lace! This delicate blend of Cashmere and Silk is what knitting dreams are made of! 😍 Its soft, lightweight nature gives your garments and shawls an extra touch of luxury that is unmatched. And it gets even better when you pair this blend with our custom-milled Primo Fingering! Oh my… It’s a match made in yarn heaven!! But in all seriousness, this is a stunning yarn to work with and is best matched in garments or shawls because of the more delicate cashmere fiber, however, it does contain a generous amount of silk to give structure to the yarn as you work with it. 

Spiffy Lace

60% Cashmere, 40% Silk   |   Non-SW

We love this base so much, we designed the Nantucket as a special way to showcase how light and airy Spiffy Lace knits up, but if you are looking to hold it double with a fingering weight base, we think the Lento would be a great match!

Nantucket Sweater by Plucky Knitter

The Nantucket sweater is lighter than a whisper and perfect for those times when you need a feather-light topper.

Lento by Jonna Hietala

Lento is a simple and timeless sweater. It is knitted from the top down in the round with raglan increases.

With Autumn here and sweater weather in full swing, have you ever found yourself reaching for your favorite knit only to find it’s grown some unsightly pills since last season’s wearing? It happens to the best of us, and the good news is there’s a handy tool to freshen up those pill-ridden sweaters in no time! 

In our previous post we promised to share with you one of our favorite tools for this job that gets our hand-knits in tip top shape. So, to accomplish this, we turn to our Gleener Fabric Shaver. It's definitely a game changer. This tool has made it possible to get the longest life out of all the beautiful handmade items in our wardrobe.

The Gleener helps you get the longest life from your knits by removing those unsightly pills after wearing. It is lightweight and easy to use. It comes with 3 different Fabric Safe Edges™ so you don't hurt your precious woolens.

Anytime. Anywhere. It's portable and comes with a little travel pouch to keep everything in one place.

You simply lay out your fabric on a flat surface. Then attach the proper edge for your fabric. Once the edge is attached, you simply "shave" your fabric of all the unsightly pilling.

In our last post we briefly touched on some sweater construction methods that are great for both beginner and experienced knitters. But today, we wanted to touch on some construction methods you may not be as familiar with or that are just not as mainstream as they once were.

One method that comes to mind is a seamed sweater. This used to be very popular a couple decades ago, but we just don’t see it as much anymore. That being said, it is still a fantastic way to make a sweater. By seaming a sweater, we are creating more structure for the garment, thus helping the fabric keep its shape through much love and wear. Another benefit to this type of construction can be the portability of the knit. Because it is knit in pieces, you can easily take it on the go with you! Some more modern examples of a seamed sweater are the Colvin by Julie Hoover and Broadleaf by Wool & Pine.

Colvin by Julie Hoover 

A Worsted weight, relaxed turtleneck pullover with perfect proportions that delivers all the subtle details you would expect — a subtle curved hem, decorative center front/back stitch detail, visible back shoulder decreases.

Broadleaf by Wool & Pine

A stunning sweater featuring a highly textural brioche motif on the front and back. The pattern calls for one strand of mohair and one strand of sock yarn, creating a beautifully cozy fabric that drapes elegantly. Plus, with the option to include a stockinette back, you can customize your Broadleaf to your desired level of texture.

Ziggurat is a construction method designed by Asa Tricosa. This method integrates beautiful shaping for the neckline and back, along with a set-in-sleeve look without any seaming. Included in her designs are button band and pocket integration. Her Ziggaurats book walks you through knitting sweaters, cardigans, but also features many tutorials. This is definitely a bucket list knit!

Dusala by Åsa Tricosa

The simple, chic silhouette of this classic cardigan provides a perfect palette for all kinds of colour play.

Fubarite by Åsa Tricosa

All the virtues of a Ziggurat with the added bonus of exquisite detailing.

Julie Weisenberger is a renowned knitwear designer known for her Cocoknits seamless garment method. She is also a fabulous teacher and known for making tools for knitters that make our precious time with our projects easy and enjoyable. She has published a Sweater Workshop for her Cocoknits Method that takes you through her designs with a color-coded chart and corresponding stitch markers to create a seamless garment that is tailored to your specific body.  Julie sums up her method perfectly by saying, "The Cocoknits Method brings together a distinct system for knitting top-down, seamless sweaters with streamlined designs that women will actually wear – and have the time to knit."

Molly version A by Julie Weisenberger

The Molly pullovers are a sophisticated take on a basic sweatshirt. The simplicity of the pattern allows a beautiful yarn to take center stage.

With the temperature dropping and the leaves continuing to change, here in the northern hemisphere, Autumn is just beginning! Our sweater-making hearts LOVE this season! It's the season we all affectionately refer to as Sweater Weather! 

Raglan sweaters most often are knit top-down with the shaping taking place along 4 diagonal lines from the shoulders to the underarms. One of the benefits to knitting a raglan style sweater is they are usually designed to have more of a sweatshirt fit, so this would be a good option for a first-time sweater knitter. The Flax or Flax Light sweaters by Tin Can Knits are beginner friendly patterns with simple instructions for fantastic results!

Flax by TinCanKnits knit in Worsted weight, would be the ideal in Luxe Worsted, available 24/7 as one of our fall PK Essentials bases.

Flax Light by TinCanKnits is knit is knit in a fingering weight yarn, some great bases for this sweater would be Feet Fingering and Primo Fingering, also available 24/7 in our fall PK Essentials.

A yoke sweater is typically knit in a circle, with the shaping happening only on a few rows of the pattern as a way to mask the armhole shaping. Most often these types of sweaters are knit top-down, but they can also be knit bottom-up. This type of sweater construction is great for showing off stranded colorwork designs! Some examples are the Misurina by Catlin Hunter and the recently published Georgiana sweater by Amy Opie. (Kits available in the shop).

Misurina by Caitlin Hunter is a top-down, fingering weight, yoke sweater featuring lace, cables and colorwork for a trifecta of knitting techniques!

Georgiana Sweater by A.Opie Designs is a stranded color work design, featuring a 3-color octagon motif that creates the look of an abstract honeycomb.

Drop Shoulder sweaters are designed as either top-down or bottom-up. They are usually oversized, as that accounts for a lack of armhole shaping. The sleeve seams drop down off the shoulder. Once again, this style of sweater can be easy to knit once you know some basic techniques. Joji Locatelli’s The Easy One (top-down) or Andrea Mowry’s The Weekender (bottom-up) are great examples of ways to construct this style of sweater.

The Easy One by Joji Locatelli is the perfect first sweater for those knitters who’ve always been afraid of making one. With its comfortable relaxed fit, you’ll be sure that it will fit you no matter what.

The Weekender by Andrea Mowry combines some of Andrea's favorite attributes - texture, faux seams, drop shoulder, and some positive ease to create this versatile, flattering sweater!

In our inaugural blog post we took a deeper look at Plucky’s proprietary custom-milled Primo yarn line and why it is such a special blend. 

However, at Plucky, we know it’s about more than the yarn we sell, it’s what YOU do with our yarn. It’s the very act of YOU making something with YOUR hands. It’s about creativity, expressing individuality, putting heart and soul into every stitch, and making something that captures emotion and lasts for years, sometimes even generations.

Baby Adela in her baptism sweater knit by Carmen Bauer in Primo Fingering in Dreamy. Photo used with permission.

Dreamy on Primo Fingering

We thought our inaugural blog would be an ideal place to talk about Plucky’s oldest custom milled base, Primo. 

Primo Fingering and Worsted have been with us since 2011! Over a dozen years later and we’re pleased to say the Primo line has stood the test of time, with DK and Sport weights added over the years. (Thank you, customers and friends around the world, for loving this base so much!) 

First, a bit about the name: Primo is defined as “first" or "exceptionally good at its kind, most valuable." Being Plucky's first custom milled base, the name Primo certainly fits, but now you may be wondering, why is it an exceptionally good base to work with?

How does Primo stand apart from other Merino/Cashmere/Nylon (MCN) blends?

One of the primary ways the Primo line is different from other MCN’s is the amount of Cashmere blended into the yarn. It contains 20% of this exquisite fiber! In addition, the Merino is also very special (more on that in a bit.) And, with only 5% nylon, the Merino and Cashmere really shine! 

Discover a seasonal palette of 30 colors hand-dyed on our Primo yarns available 24/7 in PK Essentials!