A product tests giveaway from SOAK! US ONLY

Jacqueline from Soak sent me out some samples and large bottle of one of their limited edition of SOAK to giveaway to one of you felters. Soak™ the stuff you care about most. Keep the fibers you love looking great with Soak. The hat I just knitted (pictured) was felted using one of the samples of Soak that I received. It smells wonderful and you only need a small amount for your felting. You don’t have to be overly concerned about rinsing do to the gentleness of this product. If you would like to give this product a test run and report back to me and Soak how you like it as a felting aid, just type “I’ll try it” in the comment area! This promotion will run from May 13th through May 20th.

Launched in Canada in 2005, Soak enjoyed immediate success with everyone from knitters to quilters to fashion-conscious clothing shoppers. Over the next couple of years, we grew in the knitting and quilting markets in the United States and around the world. In 2007 we launched into the apparel and lingerie markets. Now, Soak can be found in Boutiques and Department Stores (intimate apparel sections) around the World. Our manufacturing is top-notch, and we supply all sizes of retail stores, including some of the world’s most prestigious boutiques.

About Soak

Design team Principal Jacqueline Sava heads up a talented team of designers, knitters, product developers and marketers. The company also partners with an extensive network of like-minded individuals, in order to offer a complete range of product development services.

Soak is a company inspired by Jacq’s Hats, an award-winning knit accessories business. We got started when we developed soak, a product that gave Jacq’s Hats’ customers a great new way to take care of their wool hats, scarves and sweaters.

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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