Kira K Designs

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Kira K Designs

Knitting and crochet patterns from Kira K Designs present a streamlined aesthetic featuring clean lines and interesting details. Hello!

Kits featuring indie dyed yarn make it easy to complete a successful project, and Kira teaches in the SF Bay Area and beyond. My name is Kira Dulaney and I have been designing knitting and crochet patterns since 2006, and selling kits since 2011. My kits pair my original patterns with beautiful hand-dyed yarns from a variety of indie dyers. When I design a new pattern, I start with a yarn that I l

ove and then figure out how to show it to its best advantage - for me it all starts with amazing yarn! Kira K Designs patterns have a streamlined and eminently wearable aesthetic, and with over one hundred knitting and crochet designs in a range of skill levels, you’re sure to find a garment or accessory that you’ll love to create. Kits with indie dyed yarn and any necessary notions make it even easier to knit or crochet a successful and stunning project. I have been teaching fiber arts classes and hosting crafty events in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond since 2002. I grew up exploring various crafts and sharing skills with friends, and worked in both a fabric shop and a yarn shop which inspired me to try new techniques and experiment with all kinds of projects. I love collaborating with other crafty small business owners, teaching new skills to students, and bringing groups to visit my favorite yarn shops and fiber farms. You can also connect on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Ravelry, and feel free to tag in any posts about projects made with my designs. I live in Oakland with my wife and two dogs, all of whom cameo on social media posts from time to time. https://linktr.ee/kirakdesigns

02/06/2025

Hope to see you there! I’m still on Eastern time so I might be getting a little sleepy towards the end, but I’d love to see your Bayshore Bandana Cowls and answer any questions you have about starting one.

Posted • TONIGHT!
Thursday, February 6, 6:pm
Craft and chat with the designers of the BAYCrawl Cowl Collection:

Registration required, link in our stores.
🧶
Tell us! What questions would you like to ask?

02/06/2025

I know you all like to see what I’m bringing home from fiber festivals, and here are my treasures from last weekend. Most came in the vendor goodie bag, which was quite generous! I purchased two embroidery kits from and some gift earrings from which aren’t pictured since they’ve already been gifted!

02/02/2025

I’m having fun at the today! I flew out so pared down my booth to the most popular and warm kits, making sure to bring both knitting and crochet.

02/02/2025

I’d like to extend a big thank you to the pattern testers for my Bayshore Bandana Cowl. In addition to some of my regulars, I had a lot of yarn stores test the pattern while making a shop sample. A few folks were entirely new to hybrid crochet (aka Tunisian crochet) which was helpful to ensure this is a good pattern for an adventurous beginner. Many of them loved the project so much they started another right away!

Today is the last day to use the code BAYCrawl for 20% off this pattern, and it also works with the Ceremonial Grade Cowl by and the Filoli Cowl by

If you can make it, please join the Zoom this Thursday evening (6pm Pacific) to get started or show your progress. It’s been so fun to see all these different versions, and I’m excited for even more leading up to and during the crawl in March.

02/01/2025

It’s definitely winter in Boston, with snow flurries and strong winds. Rachel and I are bundled up in layers of wool to explore the city before the festival tomorrow. I grew up in Vermont but it’s been decades since I’ve spent a winter in cold weather. So far we have seen people in shorts, leggings, no hats, and all kinds of surprising choices!

If you’re near Boston, come to the Cyclorama tomorrow for the New England Farm and Fiber Festival. There are vendors, demos, and more.

01/31/2025

Thank you for the warm welcome to my new Bayshore Bandana Cowl pattern! Here are some close-ups of the texture and details that were important to me when designing it.

The Bayshore stitch is delightfully squishy while still having drape - I’d call it a textured lace stitch. It causes one color to show as blips on the background of the other, so swapping the colors can make for very different looks. The top edge is the Tunisian knit stitch, for a smooth finish that slightly draws in to hug the neck. The cowl is finished with crab stitch for a sturdy and decorative edge that causes the point to curve slightly.

I recorded a video that shows all of these techniques, and had some testers new to the craft who were not only successful, but excited to start a second one right away!

Don’t forget to use the code BAYCrawl for 20% off through Sunday night, and to register for the make-along Zoom next Thursday 2/6. It’ll be so fun to see the yarns people have picked and to chat about our plans for the crawl in March.

01/30/2025

I'm so excited for my new Bayshore Bandana Cowl pattern and the Bay Area Yarn Crawl Make-Along. Three designers created a two-color cowl in a different craft: knitting, crochet, and hybrid crochet. The patterns have all been released this morning and many of the participating shops have kits available.

Have fun mixing colors and yarns with this squishy lace stitch pattern perfect for pairing single skeins with medium to high contrast of color and/or texture. The Bayshore Bandana Cowl is a quick and fun project that you’ll want to crochet again and again! It’s a nice introduction to Hybrid Crochet, aka Tunisian Crochet, which is worked with a long hook, and I recorded a helpful video to get you started. With most yarns you can make two cowls with two skeins, either matching or with opposite color placement.

We hope to see lots of people wearing these while attending the crawl, and they're all designed to be advanced-beginner friendly. Since the crawl takes place over ten days, you might want to make all three cowls for variety! We'll kick things off with a February 6th Zoom meeting where you can get started, ask questions, and show your progress. I'll also be joining the social crafting group at Avenue Yarns 5-7pm on Wednesday 2/26 if you prefer an in-person experience.

Use the code BAYCrawl for 20% off through the end of the day Sunday 2/2 on my website or on Ravelry, where this code should work on all three cowls in the collection! The crocheted Ceremonial Grade Cowl is by Kavitha Raman , and the Filoli Cowl is by Ksenia Naidyon who also took the photos.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/baycrawl-patterns

01/29/2025

I’m finishing up yet another Bayshore Bandana Cowl, with opposite color placement of my last one. It’s such a fun pattern and drops tomorrow morning! The make-along kicks off with a Zoom meeting next Tuesday.

Joining my email newsletter is the best way to be sure to hear all my news including the introductory discount for this pattern. Tomorrow morning’s newsletter will have a few other announcements as well.

Yarn by and
Project bag from

01/29/2025

Kira has some useful classes coming up at Aranea Craft Studio in February.

February 15: Visible Mending will cover woven patches and decorative embroidery as well as tips on when and how to mend clothing and household items. It’s exciting when a rip or tear is an opportunity rather than a tragedy!

February 15: Beginning Crochet will give you a smooth start or a reminder of the basics with special attention to beginnings and ends of rows for even edges. You’ll start a cowl in a bulky yarn and instructions for daily practice to solidify your new skills.

February 22: Knit Faster by Picking (aka Continental Knitting) will speed up your projects, especially knit/purl patterns or lace! This is a nice step on the way to stranded colorwork where you hold one color in each hand.

February 22: Correcting (and Avoiding) Knitting Mistakes will build your confidence and take the worry out of knitting. Learn techniques to fix mistakes on the next row as well as safe ways to undo your work when necessary.

01/28/2025

Here’s a funny little skein of yarn I made yesterday. I used an unlabeled sample of rainbow combed top to play around during a workshop with as part of Winterfest. The workshop was on spinning yarn consistently, but of course with all the variations we tried, I had quite a lot of inconsistency!

I plied it with a bobbin of mystery grey singles that’s been sitting around for a while which made it a little tricky to manage tension during plying. Pretty sure it’s 100% wool but no other info. It’s only 60 yards of DK weight yarn so may go into my Tapestry Weaving class supplies rather than into a project.

01/26/2025

I’ve had a busy weekend with Winterfest! In addition to teaching Visible Mending, Short Row Survey, and my Belle Époque Shawl, I attended the keynote with and a spinning class with

Now it’s time to get offscreen for a bit and take my dogs for a hike!

If your guild, LYS, or other group is looking for virtual classes, please get in touch! It’s so different from teaching in person but I enjoy both.

01/25/2025

All set up for teaching at Winterfest this weekend! Teaching remotely is so different from being in a classroom, but I enjoy both and it’s nice to spend time with students from across the country.

01/23/2025

I’m honored to be collaborating with the Bay Area Yarn Crawl, two talented designers, and local dyers.

01/22/2025

We are having perfect weather for layering woollies! Today it’s a handspun Cedar Lake Shawl topping a handspun Spoke Cardigan.

01/21/2025

Come get crafty with me at Avenue Yarns this month!

1/23 Correcting (and Avoiding) Knitting Mistakes
1/28 Sweater Workshop starts
1/30 Tapestry Weaving

01/19/2025

My latest handspun yarn, 4oz of BFL top from in Autumn Splendor. I started this by dividing the braid in half lengthwise, leaving one half as is and dividing the other into seven lengthwise strips. The small pieces I spun on a spindle in Nashville, Seattle, Århus, and Berkeley, although never at home in Oakland. I love spindles for their portability and it’s always fun to spin in public to see people’s reactions! The large piece I spun at home on my wheel to keep it in one continuous stand.

I plied them together for 432 yards of fi*****ng weight fractal yarn. The idea is that the yarn will have one slowly changing ply and one ply that repeats the color progression in shorter bursts.

I had some of the spindle spun singles left, so I plied them together for 68 yards of a more traditional two-ply with the colors aligning in places and marling in others. I like how having that little skein helps show the difference in techniques.

01/18/2025

On a break between classes, I’m crocheting with Jasper, the shop dog at in Hayward. He’s very chill for a large puppy and happy to snuggle while I crochet.

I’m finishing up the final sample of my upcoming Bayshore Bandana Cowl, and shop owner Erin is making one as well! I’ll have some of my kits here for the March 14-23.

01/17/2025

Hi friends! If you’re on Bluesky, please connect with me. I plan to stay on Instagram and Facebook, but know some folks are switching platforms rather than adding another, and would like to keep in touch. As always, signing up for my email newsletter is the best way to make sure you hear what I’m up to.

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http://www.kirakdesigns.com/

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Bottle feeding the bummer lambs was definitely the highlight of my ranch retreat at Meridian Jacobs yesterday! I’ll be heading back for another retreat May 11th but these babies will be a lot bigger by then.

I just dove into a giant box of Knitted Wit yarn and packed up kits for my Cyclic Cowl and Wind and Sea Shawl patterns. Kits include the printed pattern, a PDF download code, a full skein, and six coordinating mini skeins. These would be wonderful gifts for the crocheters in your life! I suggest ordering by this Friday, but I’ll continue to ship daily through 12/21. Orders over $100 ship free in the US and the Useful Tools section has nice options to tip you over that edge.

Kira K Designs

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