Huggy Neck!

I got a little package in the mail this week and here's what was inside.


Two new yarns from Cascade--Alpaca Lace and Soft Spun. (My little Pilgrim friends are mesmerized as well). Don't you love the labels? Well, wait'll you get some of these yarns. The lace is, of course, very fine and soft. I have done a little crochet swatching with it. More to come on that.


This post, it's the Soft Spun I want to focus on. As soon as I held this yarn in my hands, I knew it had to go around my neck--it's that soft. It's 100% highland Peruvian wool in a very soft (have I said soft enough?) single ply.


The last time I was this inspired was when my buddy Clif got me some of the new Heritage sock yarn almost a year ago. What came from that was the Snow Lake Socks and the Vertigo Socks. What came from the Soft Spun was the Huggy Neck!


First I looked in my stitch dictionaries for something with some horizontal action so the drape would be nice. When I found the Eyelet Ridge in my Vogue Stitchionary Volume One, I knew it would work. I worked to suggested gauge on the label and started with a 25-inch circumference, decreased 10% after one rep, did that whole shebang one more time and stopped in time to make it wearable as a headband as well.

As I was working on this first one, it dawned on me that I had found just the right project for some lovely Guttersnipe yarn I bought a couple of months ago. It's been waiting for just the right thing. Eureka--two of these yarns made perfect Huggy Necks!



Modeled by my friends at Julie's Hair Care here in Tacoma (yep, I ambushed them in the middle of a workday and they were sweet enough to go outside in the chill and don the Huggies), are on Julie on the left, Guttersnipe Dragon Scales and on Cyndi on the right, Guttersnipe Poor Rita.


The blue one shows how this would fit if you keep going a while after all the decreases. The Huggy Neck can be customized however you like. It works wonderfully in artsy yarns like Guttersnipe. I think I forgot to mention what utter fun it was making these. But I think you got that hint. Ha!


I decided to make the Huggy Neck pattern free for all of you to knit for one another during the holidays and beyond. I made these three in a matter of hours in between doing all kinds of other work, and I've already cast on my fourth and fifth ones! I can't stop!

After my good friend Beth checked out the little pattern for me, Fred uploaded the PDF onto the site and I have parked it over in the sidebar. Here's the link.


Huggy Neck


Click, print, and enjoy!

Happy Holidays to you all!!