Tips for working with fluffy yarn

On Friday I shared my latest design, a Shaun the Sheep jumper knitted in King Cole Tufty,* a super-chunky weight fluffy yarn.

Image copyright Practical Publishing

If you haven't knitted with King Cole Tufty or similar yarns before, then they might be a little intimidating, so today I'm sharing some tips and hints that might help.

What's special about these fluffy yarns?
King Cole Tufty* and other eyelash yarns are made up of a central core that has strands coming off it to make the yarn fluffy. This means that the central core is quite thin, even though the knitted fabric looks quite dense.

When you're working with the yarn...
Choosing a pattern

• Simplicity is key with fluffy yarns; you won't be able to see any increases and decreases under the fluff, so choose simple ones, like backward loop increases and knit two together decreases, rather than anything more involved.
• Avoid patterns that require picking up stitches as it can be hard to make sure you catch the central cord.
• Try short rows for shaping - any holes from changing direction can be hidden by slipping the first stitch on the return journey.

Swatching

• It can be tricky to count the number of stitches and rows you've knitted in a fluffy yarn, so cast on a specific number of stitches, then work a specific number of rows before casting off (ideally twice the number of stitches/rows the gauge is given over in the pattern). Measure the piece that you've knitted and compare the measurements to those given rather than trying to count stitches.

Knitting

• Slow down! I found I needed to knit very deliberately with this yarn, making sure I caught the central cord every time I knitted a stitch.
• These yarns are usually worked on larger needles, so you might find you don't have any stitch markers that are large enough. Try using a loop of smooth waste yarn as a stitch marker instead.
• With fluffy yarns, it can be hard to tell the front of the work from the back, so place a removable stitch marker on the front of the work after you've worked a few rows.
• Before you start knitting, write a list of the rows you need to work and check them off as you knit them.

Placing stitches on hold

• If you need to place stitches on hold, work the whole item on interchangeable needles, and place the stitches you need to hold onto spare cables. This avoids having to thread stitches on and off needles.

Looking for the perfect finish?
Weaving in ends
I came up with two options for weaving in the ends of the fluffy yarn:

• Catch the ends in place using sewing thread the same colour as the fabric you've created.
• Trim the fluff off the central core to create a smoother yarn that is easier to thread through the eye of the needle and weave in.

Seaming

• Use oddments of thinner yarn, e.g. DK weight yarn, for seaming.

That's it! It's really not hard to knit with fluffy yarns if you take it slowly. If you found these tips helpful, comment below, or share this post via social media.

Happy knitting.

Image copyright Practical Publishing

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**Other yarns with a  similar construction include Stylecraft Eskimo* and Rico Creative Bubble*. Mohair yarns often have a similar construction as well.

New design: Shaun the Sheep jumper

You may recall that when Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, died, I wrote a post about the role Wallace and Gromit had played in my childhood. I adored Wallace and Gromit, and still do as an adult, so imagine my excitement when Kate, the editor for Knit Now Magazine, contacted me to ask if I would like to design a Shaun the Sheep jumper for kids! Of course I leapt at the chance, and the pattern is available now in issue 102 of Knit Now Magazine.

The jumper isn't my usual intarsia, instead it's a really playful appliquéd design, with Shaun's head and ears sewn onto a jumper that is knitted in fluffy yarn. The ear tips are left loose so that the child can play with them while they're wearing the jumper; this is a super-tactile knit!

The basic jumper is knitted flat from the top down in one piece with minimal seaming. Simple short rows are used to create the neckline shaping. Only basic increases and decreases are required to create the face and ear pieces, and Shaun's eyes and nostrils are embroidered at the end. The whole thing is knitted in super chunky weight yarn, making for a really quick knit.

The jumper uses a combination of King Cole Tufty* for the textured sections and King Cole Big Value Super Chunky* for the hems, cuffs, neckline and face details.

The pattern is written for 6 sizes from ages 2 to 12, and covers chest sizes 59 to 84 cm.

I really enjoyed knitting the Shaun the Sheep jumper, and hope that you do too. Both my older kids were fascinated by the fluffy yarn, and have each asked me to knit something init for them, so I may be revisiting King Cole Tufty in the future...

If you haven't worked with fluffy yarn before and are unsure where to begin, I've put together some helpful hints in a blog post that will go live early next week.

Want to knit your own Shaun the Sheep jumper? The pattern can be found in issue 102 of Knit Now Magazine, which is in UK shops now. Alternatively you can get a print copy delivered to your door, or purchase the digital edition.

All images copyright Practical Publishing.

*Affiliate link.