Plymouth Yarn Company Blog

Penn State Pride

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Our company is located in Bristol, Pennsylvania.  We are local sports fans and show our pride throughout our offices and warehouse.  On January 22, Penn State University lost their ” winningest coach”  Joe Paterno to lung cancer.  In honor of  “JoePa’s” career, that spanned 61 years at the school, we wanted to share this pattern with you as it was originally designed with Penn State in mind.

Pattern P260

P260 Pdf Download

ENCORE WORSTED
Team Hat and Scarf

Actual Finished Measurements:    Scarf  8 X 50  , Hat  23 X 8    inches
Materials: Encore Worsted (50g) Color A/Color B  Scarf   1/1  ,  Hat  1/1    balls

Gauge: 12 sts = 4” in garter stitch on a US 11 needle, or size needed to achieve gauge.
Needles: 24” circular size US 11 for the scarf, 16” circular size US 10½, and size US 10 or US 10½ double pointed needles for the hat.
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Team Scarf:
With 1 strand of color A, very loosely cast on 150 stitches, leaving an 8” tail.  Cut yarn, leaving another 8” tail.  Attach a strand of color B, leaving an 8” tail.  Knit 1 row.  Cut yarn leaving another 8” tail.  Attach a strand of color A, leaving an 8” tail.  Knit 1 row.  Cut yarn, leaving another 8” tail.  Continue in this manner, knitting only 1 row with a color before changing to the other color.  Leave an 8” tail at each end of every row.  Continue until almost out of yarn, or until desired width, ending by knitting last row with color B.  Bind off very loosely with color A.  Knot tails together in such a way as to give you 5 groups of fringe on each end.  Trim fringe as desired.

Team hat:
With 16” size 10½ needle and color A, loosely cast on 70 sts.  Join. **Drop color A, attach color B, knit 1 round.  Drop B and purl 1 round with color A.  Repeat from ** until total length is 8”, ending with a purl round.
Begin decreasing, changing to double pointed needles when necessary:
With B, *(knit 8, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 7, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 6, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 5, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 4, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 3, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 2, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(knit 1, k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.  Purl 1 round with color A.
With B, *(k2tog), repeat from * to end of round.   Cut yarn and pull through remaining sts. Draw up tight and fasten.  Weave in all ends.

©2001 Plymouth Yarn Company.  Designed by JoAnne Turcotte.  All rights reserved.  No portion of this design may be photocopied or stored in an electronic retrieval system without prior written permission.

Oh yeah, we love crafts too.

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I started my Christmas knitting but I’m also planning which cookies I am making and starting to piece together some of my holiday cards.  I realized there are probably lots of other knitters and crocheters out there just like me.  Your craftiness doesn’t end with yarn and you aren’t always using it with hooks or needles.  I was first introduced to yarn while making plastic canvas tissue box covers with my grandmother when I was 6.  Then, a decade or so later, I used a furry, eyelash type of yarn and wrapped it around a large wreath form.  That wreath, which is a bit tattered, still goes on my inside door every Christmas season.  It wasn’t until my early days at Plymouth Yarn that I started knitting almost daily.  I am always looking for deals on blocks of paper and scrapbook supplies.  I’ve tried at least half of Martha Stewart’s recipes.  I own hundreds of buttons but rarely use them in clothing.  Finally, anytime I go on vacation I try to find a ceramic studio to take my son to, as they are few and far between where I live.  My yarn stash lives down in my basement but I have 3 shelves of non-yarn goodies too.

Where am I going with this?  Most of us who like to play with yarn, also like to craft, bake and create.  We had a rare snow in Bucks County, PA over the weekend and it was a wet, cold, slushy mess.  I opted to stay in and found a fun website that caters to all of my crafting needs.  If you are looking for a project, of any type, check out Craftfoxes.  I found this adorable free pattern for a crochet zombie from the book  Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots To Make by Nelly Pailloux. Image by Andrew Perris.  Encore DK would be perfect for this project.

Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make

I also found this fun free pattern for a crochet sandwich from the book Yummy ‘Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make by Christen Haden and Mariarosa Sala.  Image by Jeremy Hopley.  You’ll find the perfect colors in Encore Worsted.  Everyone needs a crocheted sandwich, it has only a fraction of the calories a real sandwich has!

Yummy 'Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make

I also found how-tos on recycling old books, DIY decor, recipes from pickles to cookies, and so much more.  They even have instructions on coffee dying!  So if you want to make your holiday gifts this year, craftfoxes is the place to start. Become their fan on facebook and follow them on twitter.   Find a yarn shop near you to start with those knitting and crochet patterns!

August at Plymouth(free pattern link too!)

Friday, August 5th, 2011

August is always an exciting time here at Plymouth Yarn.  New yarns are arriving and fall orders are leaving.  I love when customers call and thank us for all the boxes of beautiful yarns. We use this next week or two to get ready for the upcoming season.  We kicked it off yesterday with our employee breakfast.  After breakfast, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to snap an employee photo or two.

The Plymouth Gang

Dick Jr, Butch and Betty

Some of those new Plymouth yarns you might see in your favorite local yarn shop include

Bazinga

You can find the Bazinga color card here

Stiletto

You can find the Stiletto color card here

DeAire

You can find the DeAire color card here

Holiday Lights

You can find the Holiday Lights color card here

I love this time of year also because I get to chat about Christmas knitting projects with everyone.  Usually, there is a lot of Encore colors 1386 and 54 heading out the door and I’m excited to use Holiday Lights in some of my projects this year.  It has the same gauge and about the same yardage as Encore Worsted.  Log into Ravelry today and download this free Encore Christmas Stocking pattern (hint- you can also use Holiday Lights).

Encore Worsted Christmas Stocking Pattern F167

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, Happy knitting & crocheting!

Helping others in need

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

I just received an email about a local knitting and crochet group from,  Gods Love of Newton.  This wonderful group of woman knit garments to help those who are less fortunate than they are.  Plymouth Yarn Company donated  Encore Worsted to help these ladies help others.

Norwegian Star Earflap Hat

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

There is nothing more rewarding than making a hand made gift for a loved one;

especially when you know it will keep them cozy and warm.

Aiden's Hat, made in Happy Feet DK and Encore DK

(My favorite touch is the whimsical braided ties!)

This hat can be made in adult size as well by using a heavier yarn, like Encore Worsted or Galway. Aiden’s hat, knit by Mary, is knit in Happy Feet DK and Encore DK.

The pattern is by Tienne and can be found here

Pumpkin

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Pumpkin knit in Encore Worsted colors 1383, 6003, & 045

Designed by Jan Lewis, this festive hand knit pumpkin will never spoil.

You can find the pattern here.

View more patterns using Encore Worsted

Encore Worsted

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Encore, our most popular yarn to date, is loved by all!

Encore Worsted

Yarn Content: 75% Acrylic, 25% Wool
Yarn Gauge: 5 sts = 1″/US8 needle
Yarn Length: 200 yds/100g ball

The softest, most versatile yarn in the whole yarn market, Encore Worsted is known by name nationwide. Boasting over 150 colors, this is the go to yarn for any project. Our durable blend of Wool and Acrylic is machine washable and dryer safe. Babies, Kids, and Adults can wear this yarn comfortably.

Our patterns are immense for this yarn- it is so versatile in many, many designs from the simply stockinet to the advanced cabling patterns.

JoAnne, our Creative Director, has been designing easy blankets for babies, kids, teens, and adults. Her secret to quick knitting? Use Encore Worsted double stranded with size 13 knitting needles for an effortless, rewarding result! You can find these pattern books, #636, #638, and soon to be released #644 at a yarn shop near you.

One of our knitters, Laurie, has made a toy dog using Encore