Be Inspired Hand spun wool and mohair yarns for knitting and crocheting sweaters and accessories.

I'm so excited to share this pattern by the newest addition to the Knit Collage team, designer Danielle Shields, with you!  Since the summer she's been helping us immensely with the patterns for our knitting kit collaboration with Free People, but this is our first time publishing one of her patterns here, especially for us.  She's blown us away with her knitting prowess, so expect much more from her in the future on our blog! For more info on her and to be wowed by her finished knitted projects, visit her Ravelry page here: www.ravelry.com/projects/tworedsocks  In her first pattern for us, she used a combination of our Sister and Rolling Stone yarns and took inspiration from a vintage knitting book. Check out the initial inspiration and finished headbands below.  Also important to note, she has written the pattern in a kids size too! If you wish, our Gypsy Garden yarn would also work instead of the Rolling Stone.

I love her Knit Collage take on it! Soft Ivory Sister yarn for the headband part and Buttercup Glow Rolling Stone yarn for the pom-poms & braid.

This combo is in Camel Heather Sister yarn and Boho Dance Rolling Stone yarn on the pom-poms.

The combo on the left is the kids size in Turquoise Heather sister yarn and Morning Glory Rolling Stone for the pom-poms.

Vintage Skating Headband Pattern

One Size: fits average child (female) head

Finished Measurements: 3" x 11.5" child  (4.75" x 13.5" adult), not including braids

Materials:

one skein knit collage sister yarn (more info by clicking here: sister) 

one skein knit collage rolling stone or gypsy garden yarn (more info by clicking here: rolling stone & gypsy garden) 

US size 13 needles

embroidery floss

pom pom maker (if you prefer!)

gauge: 2.25 stitches per inch

abbreviations: k knit

kfb knit into the back and front of stitch

k2tog knit 2 stitches together

garter stitch knit every row

Cast on 3 stitches, leaving a 14" long tail.

Row 1: kfb, k1, kfb (5 stitches).

Row 2: knit.

Row 3: kfb, k3, kfb (7 stitches).

Row 4: knit.

Row 5: kfb, k5, kfb (9 stitches).

Row 6: knit.

Row 7 (adult only): kfb, k7, kfb (11 stitches).

Work in garter stitch until piece measures 9" (11").

Next Row: k2tog, k5 (k7), k2tog.

Next Row: knit.

Next Row: k2tog, k3 (k5), k2tog. 

Next Row: knit.

Next Row: k2tog, k1 (k3), k2tog.

Next Row (adult only): knit.

Next Row (adult only): k2tog, k1, k2tog.

Bind off stitches, leaving a 14" tail. Cut 2 28" lengths of Rolling Stone yarn and run half of the length through a spot near the yarn tail on each side. Braid the 3 yarn strands on each side and tie all together into a knot at the end. With the Rolling Stone make 2 pom-poms, ours are about 3" in diameter. Using embroidering floss, securely attach pom-poms just above the start of the braid.

If you're interested in purchasing our new Sister & Rolling Stone yarns, they're currently available here: www.purlsoho.com and potentially at your local yarn shop.  To check to see which LYS stock our yarn please visit our stockist page. 

Hope everyone is having a lovely week! I'm anxiously preparing for our first big sea shipment to come in...hopefully Monday! It definitely feels like the calm before the storm.  Some of you may remember our extreme excitement when we found out that Anthropologie's new wedding retail venture, BHLDN (which stands for Beholden), planned to use our yarn in one of their designs.  They chose our Pixie Dust Snowflake yarn and handknit a gorgeous capelet out it.  Take a peek below. Would be perfect for a wedding gown cover-up a la Kate Middleton!

For more details about the capelet and BHLDN please visit: 

http://www.bhldn.com/the-shop_cover-ups/rocky-shores-bolero

On another note, Vogue Knitting Live Los Angeles is fastly approaching- NEXT WEEKEND!  Even though we're not making the trip out there for it, we're so excited to be collaborating with one of our favorite LA based yarn shops, Knit Culture.  They've teamed up with a slew of designers who will debut some fabulous new patterns at the event.  We're thrilled that our yarn will be featured in 3 designs by insanely talented Heather Dixon of Army of Knitters and Alex Tinsley.  For more info about Army of Knitters and what's in store, check out the Knit Culture Blog here: http://www.knitculture.com/our-blog/vkl-designer-profile-heather-dixon/  and if you're on the west coast and headed to VK Live, don't miss their booth!

Hope everyone had a fantastic end of the summer! I'm sad it's all over but starting to get excited about wearing sweaters and cozy accessories again! Last week I worked on finally putting together inspiration boards for our two collections of yarn that are full of trims, Gypsy Garden and Rolling Stone.  Take a peek below...

The Gypsy Garden yarns are the first collection of yarn that I designed and spun.  The idea behind these yarns was probably mulling inside my mind for a long time before I actually sat down to spin them.  The main idea I hoped to infuse them with was a feeling of happy dreamlike freedom. The image of the dancing girl and embellished bicycles show here embody that essence.

I’ve always loved flower chains and they were a natural inspiration for me as well as wrists

stacked high with bright friendship bracelets.  

Below are the images and materials that inspired the Rolling Stone yarns...

Our Rolling Stone yarn is inspired by all things India, mainly the collection of trims and

materials that I brought back after countless trips while starting Knit Collage there.

When I first began traveling to India I instantly fell in love. Just being there and watching life around you unfold is amazing. 

A few of my favorite things from India are the insanely gorgeous flower markets, the

intricately painted elephants and the trucks that their male drivers fill with colorful

plastic chandeliers to decorate them. The collection of colors, fabrics and sparkles

present everywhere here are the main inspiration. This collection of yarn features

recycled sari silk, trims from local markets like rhinestone paisleys and metallic

flowers as well as hand-printed fabrics from Jaipur. This is just a small glimpse

into what inspires us but hope you enjoy it! Our big shipment of yarn arrives soon and

we're super busy prepping for that...but we will have a few new free patterns

coming soon, so stay tuned!