Monthly Archives: May 2025

Lacey Loop Tee: Perfect for Summer Knitting

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Lacey Loop Tee

One of the tops I’ve seen trending lately is the Lacey Loop Tee by Other Loops. The Lacey Loop Tee has a loose fit, a classic round neck and is detailed with stripes consisting of purl stitches, a feminine eyelet pattern and a unique ribbing edge. You can make this classic top in Berroco Modern Cotton or Sandnes Garn Line for a comfortable summer knit!

Construction

The t-shirt is worked from top to bottom. First stitches are cast on for the back piece, which is worked back and forth with short rows to shape the upper back. Then stitches are picked up along the shoulder edges and the shoulders are worked back and forth individually. The two shoulders are joined for the front by casting on stitches mid-front. The front and back piece are then joined, and the body is worked in the round and finished with a ribbing edge consisting of eyelets and purl stitches. Neck stitches are picked up around the neckline and the neck is worked in the round in ribbing. To create a nice finish, the last four rounds are worked in double knitting, followed by Italian bind off. Sleeve stitches are picked up around the armholes and sleeves are worked in the round. Stripes are created with purl stitches and eyelets according to a chart across the whole t-shirt. The first part of the pattern describes the chart row-for-row.

Size

  • XS (S) M (L) XL (XXL)
  • Finished Bust Circumference: 109 (116) 120 (125) 131 (138) cm.
  • Length: 52 (52) 52 (57) 57 (57) cm, measured from under the neckline on the back piece.
  • The t-shirt has a positive ease of 25-30 cm which gradually decreases for the larger sizes.
  • The t-shirt shown is size S with a positive ease of 30 cm.

YARN OPTIONS

NEEDLES

In Berroco Modern Cotton:

In Sandnes Garn Line:

HOUSEKEEPING: A Knitting Cruise & The Postal Strike

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Update on Canada Post Strike & Delivery

I just wanted to give you a heads up about the upcoming Canada Post strike … yes, Canada Post are expected to go on strike again starting this Friday. Canada Post delivers reliably to ALL destinations, and because of that I prefer to use them for shipments at home and abroad. But while they are on strike we’ve got you covered and will work to make more options available for shipping your orders, including our city-wide courier Trexity, as well as UPS, Purolator, DHL, etc.

Knit Purl Cruise Norway: Sept 2026

One of our sales reps, Joanne O’Brien, is also a travel agent who organizes fabulous Knitting cruises. I’m passing along the information for her latest enterprise, a knitting cruise in September 2026 to Norway & Scandinavia.

DOWNLOAD DETAILS INCLUDING FAQ SHEET HERE

To find out more about the cruise or to book, contact Joanne O’Brien at 647-588-4259 jobrien@expediacruises.com, and tell her you heard about it from Knit-O-Matic. If enough people book I get to go with you … wouldn’t that be fun?! We can stroll the deck, taking in the fresh sea air in our Sophie scarves and Sophie hoods and Sophie shawls …

  • Prices are in Canadian Dollars, check online for the exchange rate for your currency, you might be pleasantly surprised if you are paying in US dollars!
  • Because it’s an Expedia Cruise, ask about how you can pay with travel miles.
  • You can come with someone who doesn’t knit: spouses, children, friends, caregivers, etc are welcome!
  • If you want to participate in the knitting classes you don’t need to know much: You should know how to cast on, knit one, purl one and keep your tension consistent. Don’t stress! You have a year and a half to get the basics down! You can do it!
  • If you’re traveling alone you can ask to bunk with someone else so you don’t have to pay a premium fee for a room of your own (unless you want to, in which case go to town).
  • If you are traveling with 2 friends and you all want to stay together you can do that, just talk to Joanne and she’ll figure it out for you.
  • You don’t have to do everything as a group, take as much alone time as you like.
  • If you have dietary restrictions, a CPAP machine or other special requirements just let Joanne know; it’s the cruise line’s jobs to take care of you and they do it well.
  • If you are a crocheter you can definitely go, the excursions will still be of interest to you, but you should confirm with Joanne about the content of the classes being offered (plus you have a year and a half to learn rudimentary knitting skills, so its not a big hurdle).
  • I don’t think the instructors or excursions are confirmed yet. Talk to Joanne to find out what they have in mind.

Have More questions? Download the FAQ sheet HERE

SUMMER STORE HOURS Start Now!

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Summer Store Hours

The weather is FINALLY gorgeous, so it’s time to shift to our summer store hours … starting MAY 31st we will be closed on Sundays:

May 20 to Sept 8, 2024:

Monday to Saturday: 12 pm to 6pm

Pyramid

Since summer weather is starting, here’s a summer tee for your summer knitting & wearing – Pyramid! Pyramid is a seamless tee worked from the top down; and you can easily adjust the length of both the sleeves and the body. It comes with a finished bust size from 86.5 cm / 34 inches to 158.5 cm / 62.5 inches, and is designed to be worn with 10-12 cm / 4-4.75 inches positive ease.

NOTE: the tension of this pattern is a bit loose, so you might want to wear it with a cami under it. If you want to go down needles size and knit it at the yarns normal tension I suggest making a size larger in the pattern.

See Finished Projects

Size

  • Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4) {5, 6, 7, 8}
  • Finished chest circumference: 86.5 (97, 107, 117.5) {127.5, 138, 148.5, 158.5} cm / 34 (38, 42.25, 46.25) {50.25, 54.25, 58.5, 62.5} inches
  • This garment is intended to be worn with about 10-12 cm / 4-4.75 inches positive ease.
  • Shown in size 1, modeled with 10 cm / 4 inches of positive ease.

Materials

Alternate Yarn

To get a bit of texture, you can also use 2 strands of Berroco Remix Light held together: 2 (2 to 3, 3, 3) {3, 3, 4, 4} balls

Update on the Zeme (Earth) Sweater

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Zeme (Earth) Sweater

A little while ago I shower you my personal project, the Zeme (Earth) Sweater by Linda Skuja, and I feel like it;s time for an update! I’m sorry it’s taking me so long, I haven’t had as much time at night to focus on it and my progress has been slower. By the way, it;s not the pattern, it’s me, if you’ve got time you should make your way through it easily, I just needed to get new glasses and a bit more sunlight!

Mods

I’ve made some modifications as I’ve gone along, and I included everything in my Ravelry notes for both of us.

  • I’m using a smaller hook than the pattern calls for because the finished sweater is pretty oversized (and make it harder for myself) – so CAVEAT, my tension is NOT matching the pattern and I’m screwing around with the pattern a little (see my Ravelry notes). I’m using Berroco Remix Light, which is super light and delicate, and it’s working up beautifully with a little bit of texture. I’ll only use 3 balls for the smallest size. If you DO NOT want to jump through the hoops of screwing with around with the tension I suggest using the 5mm crochet hook recommended in the pattern. You can also use a slightly thicker yarn like Sandnes Garn Line.
  • I’m using a thinner yarn and hook, so my size has come out smaller. This is fine through the body since the style is oversized, but the arms were a bit too tight for me. I’m following the Size 1 instructions for the body, but I adapted the sleeve instructions for Size 2.
  • I made the body shorter to a slightly cropped length since I’ll be wearing it with my little summer pants and skirts. I skipped a few rows on the bottom section and went straight to the ribbing. It is VERY easy to make it longer or shorter, there are instructions in the pattern and you can try it on as you go.

Observations

I’m learning to count my stitches at the end of each round. When the count is off it make a big difference moving forward, and I’d rather rip out one round than several. Locking stitch markers have always been my friend, but we have become especially close on this project. I use them to count my stitches and the two colours help me keep track of which stitches are which.

Before I started the the sleeves I tried it on and I gotta say, if you like knit or crochet tees it works perfectly without the sleeves, you could skip them completely.

When I started I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the techniques in the pattern, but they really haven’t been a problem. I initially made a youtube playlist for the skills I was a bit iffy on, but the pattern has good written instructions and the only video I’ve ended up using was the first, the foundation single crochet (which I’ve honestly always needed a video to do, I can never remember how to do it without instructions). If you feel like you want to make something similar it but need more video support, the designer has a different sweater she teaches in her online Madara Domestika Sweater course.

PROJECT Satawal Top

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Satawal

Satawal is a cropped tee with a simple lace pattern around a boat neck, which looks a bit like a Macramé texture. You can use various weights of yarn, from fingering weight for airy and transparent texture to worsted weight yarn for mid season garment (we used Berroco Modern Cotton on 6mm/US10 needles).

Our Project

We made the second size (size small) with 2 skeins of Berroco Modern Cotton in colour 1648 Abbot Run). It measures approximately 20″ wide (40″ bust circumference) and 20″ tall from top of shoulder to hem (you can of course make it longer if you want to). If you feel like the neck is too wide you can always seam it and make it a closer neck. The fabric has a lot of stretch, and at this tension you’ll probably want to wear it over a light camisole. It’s meant to be worn loose and oversized, with lots of ease!

Modern Cotton is a soft, easy to knit, and very machine washable blend of cotton and Modal Rayon (which is viscose, a plant based cellulose fibre, much like bamboo). It’s easy to wear in warmer weather, and it’s also great for people with allergies to wool or other animal fibres, or who knit vegan.

Many thanks to Erica for whipping up this beautiful top!!! And many thanks to Gru for sitting for photos without having to be bribed or making a mess.

Construction

The pattern is worked seamlessly from the top down. The lace pattern for the yoke is worked in the round with increases at the both right and left shoulders, then the body is divided into the front and the back and worked flat separately to the underarm, where they are joined again. The lower body is knitted in one piece in the round. Sleeve stitches are picked up along armholes and worked in the round.

Note

Size

  • XS (S, M1, M2, L)( XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL)
  • To fit an actual bust circumference of: 81 (86, 92, 97, 103)(109, 115, 120,126) cm / 32 (34, 36, 38, 41)(43, 45, 47, 50)”
  • Finished bust circumference: 94 (100, 106, 111, 117)(123, 129, 131, 134) cm / 37 (39¼, 41½, 43¾, 46)(48¼, 50½, 51¼, 52¼)”

Materials

STORE HOURS Victoria Day Weekend UPDATED

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Victoria Day Weekend Store Hours

Saturday May 17: 12 to 6 pm

Sunday May 18: CLOSED

Monday May 19: CLOSED

Victorian Knitting Manuals

Normally I post a little pattern for you, but I feel like a national celebration of the birthday of a long-dead Monarch (Queen Victoria) deserves something a little more …. today I share the digitized collection of Victorian Knitting Manuals, gratis the Univerity of Southampton’s Knitting Reference Library & JStor (I also found a large collection of vintage patterns from Sirdar, but that’s a story from another era).

I like the Silkworm Series: Myra’s Knitting Lessons no.1, it has lots of stitch patterns you can swatch & experiment with. You can also find free old-timey (and more recent) knitting books on the Internet Archive. The Art of Knitting from 1892 (brought to you by the Smithsonian), has a bunch of patterns worth exploring.

For my beloved Crocheters, there’s lots of Crochet Resources in the Internet Archive for you too (both old-timey and more recent)!

It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of the library and put her in a store full of yarn, but apparently, you can’t take the library out of the girl!

PROJECT Ranunculus in Remix Light

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Ranunculus

We worked up this little top (Ranunculus) as an experiment to see how far we could stretch one skein of Berroco Remix Light – it turns out it can go the distance! Remix Light is a very popular little sprig and summer yarn that ticks a lot of boxes:

  • It’s very light and has double the yardage of an average cotton summer yarn (100g/400m)
  • It’s machine washable
  • It’s soft and comfortable to wear
  • It’s comfortable and easy to work with
  • It’s eco-friendly, and made from a blend of recycled fibres: Cotton, Linen, Silk, Acrylic, and Nylon.
  • It’s made in the first world (France), so no slave labour involved, just unionized, properly paid EU workers
  • It’s affordable and only costs $16.47/ball

We made the smallest size in the short sleeve and it only took ONE ball. Most of the sizes, long and short-sleeved, use two balls … making it a VERY affordable project. The pattern has instructions for both a short and a long sleeve version, and it is knit from the top-down, so you can make your sleeves any length you want.

Size

We made the short-sleeved version in Size 1 on 5.5mm/US9 & 4.5mm/US7 needles, and the combination of the needle size and the unique qualities of the yarn’s fibres made ours come out smaller than the pattern. Our tension was 18 sts & 26 rows = 4″/10cm (un-stretched) – this is a big difference to the pattern, which is a gauge of 14 sts & 20 rows = 4″/10cm.

Our garment ended up smaller than the pattern specifications: it measures 18″ across the chest (36″ bust) and 16″ high from the back of the neck to the bottom ribbing … a big drop from the pattern’s 46″ bust circumference. That said, I’m extremely happy with the finished project! It’s am amazing little top, and the size is just right for someone who wears a size XS or S. The fit is cropped, and after trying it on I’d say it’s a roomy fitting size small, or oversized XS. The fabric is very stretchy, it has a lot of give and a surprising amount of memory! It is very light and doesn’t have a ton of drape. We used the majority of 1 skein of yarn, and only had about 3g left (we used approx. 375m, or 5m more than the pattern suggested).

If you choose to follow our lead and use the yarn & needle combo we did (and your tension is the same) you can probably estimate the size will come out 20% smaller than the pattern recommends (ours was 22% smaller), so multiply the finished size by 0.78 got get a good idea of where yours will end up (see the measurements in bold below, I did the math for you).

  • 1 (2, 3, 4)(5, 6, 7)(8, 9, 10, 11)
  • Pattern’s Finished bust circumference: 117 (123, 129, 134) (140, 146, 151)(157, 166, 174, 180) cm / 46 (48.5, 50.75, 52.75)(55, 57.5, 59.5)(61.75, 65.25, 68.5, 70.75)”
  • Our Finished Bust Circumference (corrected to 18 sts/4″): 36(38, 40, 41.25)(43, 45, 46.5)(48.25, 51, 53.5, 55.25)”

Yarn

We used Berroco Remix Light, a very light and airy bend of recycled plant and synthetic fibres – perfect for warm weather! Because we used up a good amount of our yarn, I have factored that into the yardage suggestions below and leaned on the side of caution so you won’t run out.

Remix Light has a light, nubbly, tweedy texture, which lends itself perfectly to this particular project. See finished Ranunculi made with Berroco Remix Light.

Berroco Remix Light:

  • Short sleeve: 1(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2, 2) balls
  • Long sleeve: 2 (2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2)(2, 3, 3, 3) balls

Other Great Spring & Summer Yarn Options

The pattern is written to be knit in a variety of yarn weights, from Lace to Worsted. Ideally, you want a solid or semi-solid coloured yarn, or a yarn that knits up in a very long, gradual ombre colourway, so you can see the details in the lace and textured stitches. The thinner the yarn, the lacier the sweater will be (yarn thickness goes from the thinnest at lace weight, then fingering, then DK, then worsted).

Berroco Modern Cotton (worsted weight – see finished projects):

  • Short sleeve: 2(3, 3, 3)(3, 3, 3)(4, 4, 4, 4)
  • Long sleeve: 3 (3, 3, 4)(4, 4, 4)(5, 5, 5, 5)

Berroco Modern Cotton DK (DK weight):

  • Short sleeve: 2(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2)(2, 3, 3, 3)
  • Long sleeve: 2 (2, 2, 2)(3, 3, 3)(3, 3, 3, 3)

SALE Cascade Ultra Pima (DK Weight – see finished projects);

  • Short sleeve: 2(3, 3, 3)(3, 3, 3)(4, 4, 4, 4)
  • Long sleeve: 3 (3, 3, 4)(4, 4, 4)(4, 5, 5, 5)

SALE Berroco Pima Soft (DK weight):

  • Short sleeve: 4(4, 4, 4)(5, 5, 5)(6, 6, 6, 6)
  • Long sleeve: 5 (5, 6, 6)(6, 7, 7)(7, 8, 8, 8)

Schoppel Zauberball Cotton (fingering weight – see finished projects):

  • Short sleeve: 1(1, 1, 2)(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2, 2)
  • Long sleeve: 2 (2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 2)(2, 2, 3, 3)

Materials

  • 5.5mm/US9 circular needles
  • 4.5mm/US7 circular needles
  • stitch markers
  • tapestry needle
  • Pattern

Quick Knit: Nanaimo Cardigan with Berroco Macro Yarn

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Nanaimo in Macro

Erica made a Nanaimo cardigan with the Berroco Macro that’s currently on Sale. I know it’s past the season for thick sweaters, but it turned out beautifully and I thought you’d want to see it (plus I know some of you can’t get into summer knits, you skip over the season and start your fall knitting as soon as you hear the word “cotton”). Erica made the XL/XXL and used 4 skeins, so I think the very thick yarn went the extra distance! Thank you Erica!

Berroco Macro is a very soft, super bulky yarn that knits up very quickly on 15mm/US19 needles. It’s been discontinued, so don’t wait on this one because it won’t be around forever, but it also means that we can provide it at a discount and share the savings.

Nanaimo is knit in the easy top-down raglan style using circular needles for a seamless simple construction. This may be the fastest sweater your ever knit!

The pattern has been updated and includes a Companion PDF for all Good Night, Day top-down sweater patterns. This guide includes instructions for adding German Short Rows, an alternative to separating and picking up sleeves, and an Italian sewn bind-off tutorial complete with photos.

Size

  • XS/S, (M/L), (XL/XXL), (XXXL)
  • finished chest approx 49.5 cm / 19.5” (56 cm / 22”), (62. 25cm / 24.5”) ( 68.5 cm / 27”) (75 cm /29.5”)
  • Body length approx 42 cm / 16.5” (46 cm / 18.5) or desired

Materials

Guayaba Pretty Summer Knit Tee

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Guayaba

I love the floral patten motif of the Guayaba tee, the overall shape reinds me of a tulip or a lotus. Use Berroco Modern Cotton or Sandes Garn Line to make this pretty summer top!

The Guayaba tee is an oversize and slightly cropped summer top. It is decorated with evenly spaced, round lace patterns. This project has lots of ease, making it airy and comfortable during the greatest heat. The entire project is minimalistic, easy, quick and fun to make, as I believe, the perfect summer piece of garment should be. It will match both shorts and skirts or dresses!

Construction

The designs is worked almost completely seamlessly from the top down. Front stitches are cast on using a provisional cast-on method and, after shoulder and neckline shaping, joined and worked straight down to the underarm. Stitches for the back are picked up along the front shoulders and cast on for the back neck. After shoulder shaping, back is worked straight down to the underarm. Shoulders are shaped using German short rows. Back and front are joined together and continued straight in one piece down to the hem. Sleeve stitches are picked up around the armholes. Hem and sleeve scallops are shaped using German short rows. Neckline stitches are picked up around neck opening and finished with one row of purl stitches.

Size

  • 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
  • Top circumference in chest: 97 (104, 112, 120, 128, 136, 144, 156, 164) cm / 38.25 (41, 44, 47.25, 50.5, 53.5, 56.75, 61.5, 64.5)“
  • Suggested positive ease: 12-20 cm / 4.75 – 8”
  • The pictures show size 2, with 18 cm / 7” ease.

Yarn Options

Other Materials

NEW PROJECT Castle Hill

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Castle Hill

When I saw Castle Hill I felt sooooo nostalgic for my early days of knitting. It reminds me of the endless parade of cabled pullovers that were all the rage in knitting magazines in the mid 90s. I had a subscription to Vogue Knitting, and even though I didn’t really know what I was doing, I loved looking at the pictures and imagining all the sweaters I could make. And now here it is, back again, and I know what I’m doing now, and this time round there’s an absolute universe of YouTube videos to help me with anything I don’t know. This updated version has a shorter, cropped length and elbow-length sleeves (although you can make them longer if you like).

Knit in Berroco Modern Cotton yarn, Castle Hill is knit in the round from the bottom up to the underarms, where the back and front are completed separately and seamed at the shoulders. Sleeves are knit flat separately and seamed during finishing. The cable pattern is written out, not charted.

Size

  • Finished Bust: (34½, 40, 45¼, 50½) [56, 61¼, 66½, 72]“/(87.5, 101.5, 115, 128.5) [142, 155.5, 169, 183] cm
  • Length: (19, 19½, 20, 20½) [21, 21½, 22, 22]”/(48.5, 49.5, 51, 52) [53.5, 54.5, 56, 56] cm
  • Shown in size 4 (50½“/128.5 cm).
  • Recommended ease: Approximately 2–4”/5–10 cm positive ease.

Materials