The Autumn A Year of Techniques patterns were a great excuse to spruce up cold weather wardrobes with fun accessories while also learning some fab skills. Let’s have a look at some of the brilliant projects AYOT knitters whipped up!

September’s pattern was the Wood Warbler Cowl by Martina Behm, which gave us a chance to practice garter stitch grafting. Martina’s clever cowl begins with a provisional cast on (building on skills learned in August) and had many of us wondering how the rather funnily shaped flat piece was going to resolve itself into a cowl.

Almost like magic though, garter stitch grafting brings the piece together into a symmetrical, kerchief style cowl. The pattern makes the most of two shades of Schoppel Gradient, and it was fun to see the different combinations people put together. I’m particularly fond of the turquoises and oranges of Anne’s version:

Many knitters chose to coordinate their Wood Warblers with October’s project, the Ruschia Hat by Woolly Wormhead, which taught short-row shaping while also giving us a chance to perfect the garter stitch grafting from September. Here’s Nancy (who is also one of our Ravelry group moderators) looking very cool in her coordinating set:

And here’s Julie’s particularly joyful combo. She paired a speckled yarn with a solid for her cowl and knit her Rushia hat in a complementary speckled shade — all of which go with her lovely handknit cardigan:

November’s technique was understanding charted cable symbols. Sarah Hatton’s Yellow Wagtail Scarf, with its plump cables and squishy garter stitch, provided a great way to practice. The clever asymmetrical shaping makes the scarf extra cozy around the neck, while minimizing bulk. You can see the gentle curve of the design in this lovely shot of Claire’s finished scarf:

Four-legged friends also approved of the design:

These are just a few of the great projects inspired by the Autumn techniques. If you’re after some inspiration, do have a browse of the projects on Ravelry — you’ll not only find beautiful finished objects, but also excellent project notes that are testament to the learning that happened back in Fall 2017! The Autumn video tutorials are all, of course, still available. And if you fancy learning something new and getting a warm neck in the process, we’ve still got Yellow Wagtail Scarf kits and Wood Warbler Cowl kits in the shop — though they’ll be retired next month to make way for new A Year of Techniques kits! If you’ve had your eye on the Ruschia hat, we have just a few skeins of Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran in select colours left (on sale to boot!), or I think it’d also look stunning in a cheery skein of Something to Knit with Aran!

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