What to crochet in autumn colours

Think of autumn and gorgeous red, browns, fading greens, bright limey yellows  and coppers come to mind. There is something special about wearing the colours of the season and this year the yarn producers have done us proud with choices from saffron and turmeric to copper, brown blends, dull purples and greens.

Scheepjes have used  lovely saffron, turmeric and subtle deep purple from their stonewash range to create patterns for crochet hats, scarves, shawls and throws. This season I love their crochet throw in dull purple yarn decorated in surface crochet in a gold/turmeric yarn. The design is reminiscent of aged wooden panelling and the yarn used is lovely Scheepjes Stone Washed XL 70% Cotton, 30% Acrylic in Deep Amethyst and Enstatite. The pattern is a real stunner! 

Sirdar has produced a number of new yarns for the autumn many of which feature autumn colours and this year’s must have glitter and shimmer. Sirdar Jewelspun cleverly blends an enticing selection of coloured fibres into one sumptuous single ply strand, giving you soft stripes that look great on both garments and accessories. Made from 100% acrylic I love northern lights and setting sun colours.

If you love blended colours one of my all time favourites is Sirdar Colourwheel which comes in 140gm cakes and you can use the blend in different ways, I used Natures palette to create small motifs and a long scarf and the blends works well for both the patterns. You can see them here.....
Also new this year is Sirdar Mystical yarn soft and chunky with a glittery thread running through it. All the blends are very subtle I used glittering amber to create a cowl scarf made with corner to corner crochet. Check out the pattern here.....

Lion Brand has a free pattern for a crochet mesh scarf made in autumn colours. It’s an elegant scarf made using  Chimera – 204 in Tomato, fuchsia, mahogany, sapphire, olive, brass, mustard. Find the pattern here.....

Scarves and hats are an obvious choice for the lovely rich colours of autumn, but a selection of autumn colours would make a stunning throw, seasonal cushions and stunning crochet jackets.

This autumn Mercerie has a pattern for an absolutely stunning crochet Sunflower Blanket, a beginners project, made using autumn colours with blue and grey added made in Woolyknitarran in denim,  yellow, orange, grey and light grey natural it makes a lovely winter crochet project.The main body of the blanket is worked on a 5mm hook. The centre is simply one very large granny square, and the edging is made up of 36 sunflower motifs. The lovely bobble trim is worked on a 4mm hook and finishes it off beautifully.

My Ten Favourite Yarns of 2018

I love yarn and I love that we have so many stunning yarns to choose from, from big brands to independent spinners and dyers. The quality of yarns today is generally excellent. These are my favourites from this year. It was very difficult to choose, but I can tell you I have used all of these and I love all of them! All the yarns here are double knitting (light worsted) apart from no 10 which is a 4ply (sport) weight.

1. Schjeepes Soft fun cotton -  64 colours to choose from in this 60% cotton and 40% acrylic yarn. It combines the best of both components, soft and lovely to work from the cotton and hardwearing and easy care from the Acrylic. Use this yarn for soft scarves, big squishy cushions and children’s clothing.

2. Wensleydale Longwool - I have wanted to sample Wensleydale wool for a long time so when I visited their shop in Leyburn North Yorkshire I was in my element!  The Wensleydale shop is a treasure trove of yarn, accessories and finished items made using this local Yorkshire wool. This is a traditional 100% wool yarn in a range of colours. It’s warm and has excellent crochet stitch definition. It’s perfect for winter scarves and hats.

3. Di Gilpin Lalland – 100% lambswool this yarn is double stranded. It’s soft and shouts out quality. It crochets beautifully and creates a lovely textured finish. It’s perfect for neck warmers and scarves and would make a gorgeous crochet jumper or jacket. The colours are reminiscent of the Scottish countryside, heather, deep greys, bright yellows and coral pinks are some of my favourites.

4. Sirdar Colourwheel - In 150gm balls and for this you get 520m/568 yards of yarn. Sirdar created 150gm balls so that one ball of yarn would be enough to knit or crochet a scarf and this definitely works for small infinity scarves. Made up of 80% Acrylic and 20% wool Colour Wheel is a warm and easy to crochet yarn. The colour way effect is very pretty giving you a whole range of colours all of which blend together beautifully. Colour wheel is great for scarves and shawls, but I've also tried it for small bags and this looks really pretty. I'd like to try baby jackets in ‘Follow the Rainbow’ and a summer cover up in ‘Flower Garden’.

5. Katia Azteca - a double knit (light worsted yarn), made in Spain. It’s a blended yarn with random slubs. The fantastic range of 17 blended colours includes blues, green, autumn colours and pinks. I used the pink/beige/orange blend to make a hat and scarf set and a clutch bag. Azteca comes in 100gm balls and one ball for me the hat and scarf set. Katia with a large wool content (53% wool, 47% acrylic), is perfectly designed for autumn/winter jumpers. This yarn is one of my all time favourite yarns!

6. Sirdar No.1 - Sirdar No 1 DK 50% Acrylic is soft and has a lovely sheen. Made up of 50% Nylon 230m/251 yards it comes in 100gm balls and it goes a long way! No 1 reminds me of crepe style yarns that were fashionable in the 1980’s. I used it to make a lacy summer shawl and it drapes beautifully.

7. Rowan tweed - This lovely Aran weight yarn is made up of 75% wool and 25% hemp with flecks. It comes in a wide range of lovely soft tweedy colours. Choose from fabulous almond, plum, denim, treacle, pine, duck egg, paprika and moss. I’d be happy with any of these! Nothing says Autumn and Winter more than Rowan Tweed. The great thing is this lovely Rowan yarn is machine washable at 30°C. I used Kelp shade to make a tweed hat. Dense, warm and super cosy Rowan Tweed hemp would be perfect for scarves, winter jumpers or ponchos. I can’t wait to try some cables with it!

8. Dalton border Leicester - Doulton Border Leicester comes in 100gm skeins and the DK has 200metres per skein. 100% pure worsted spun wool, is gorgeous quality with excellent stitch definition and does not split when crocheting. This is not a prickly wool yarn! This range of yarn from a rare breed herd of sheep includes 4ply, DK and Aran. The range also includes a mini skein selection, all close colour tones that have won a wool award, good for a try out of this lovely quality yarn.

9. Debbie Bliss Summer Tweed  - is sold as DK (light worsted) but it feels more like a 4 ply to me. It comes in a lovely range of beautifully blended colours from violet, daisy, poppy, rose, begonia, marigold, honeysuckle and petal. I used honeysuckle. The yarn has slubs which makes for a more interesting finish and gives and extra level of interest. Made up of 52% cotton 48% acrylic Debbie Bliss summer tweed is brilliant for shawls, scarves and lightweight summer knits. Wash at 30C 50 g balls. Yardage is 120m/131yds and Debblie Bliss summer tweed comes in 50g balls. This yarn would make a lovely cover up or summer jacket or a gorgeous holdall style bag particularly blended with a plain double knit yarn (light worsted).

10. Aurinkokehra Yarn - Every now and then a really special yarn comes along, something that stands out from the rest. I found just such a yarn, Aurinkokehra, tucked away on a stall at Yarndale this year and I fell in love with the colour of a hank on the display, a subtle pink/deep lavender blend. Aurinkokehra Yarn comes in a range of weights from chunky to double knit and 4ply. I used the 4ply not a weight I usually use,  but with the subtle blend of colours in a lightweight warm yarn, I knew it would be perfect for a delicate crochet scarf.