Kira K Designs

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Oakland, CA
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

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.

01/15/2025

I’ve finished four samples of my upcoming Bayshore Bandana Cowl pattern and love all of them! This one combines Entropy DK and Cormo Sport and the fabric feels amazing. I’ve already started a final sample swapping the main color and contrast color and it’s fun to see the difference (third photo).

Many of my pattern testers have already made or planned another cowl because they loved making the first one so much! I have other designs to work on but am sure I’ll return to this when I need a quick and fun project.

This pattern drops on January 30th along with two others by Bay Area designers, as part of a make-along hosted by in advance of the crawl in March. Many participating yarn shops will have sales and kits available.

01/13/2025

Chilly weather means extra opportunities to layer handmade items! Today, it’s a dress with some embroidery (covering stains), an Essential Cropped Cardi in yarn, the prototype of my upcoming Bayshore Bandana Cowl combining and yarns, a Bramble Hat in . Oh, and rainbow striped socks in that nobody but me can see!

01/13/2025

Join me at starting this Wednesday for a five part workshop on making sweaters. You can knit or crochet any sweater, any size, including a baby sweater or miniature sweater to learn the basics. We’ll meet twice in January then once a month through April to help you work through the various steps.

01/11/2025

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival’s Winterfest is a wonderful way to learn from the comfort of your own home. Join the virtual sessions live to ask questions, or watch the recording which will be available for a full month.

My Visible Mending class is sold out, but there is room to join my other two classes:

My Belle Époque Shawl design is a wonderful skill builder for crocheters and even for knitters who have only done a little crochet! We will start at the top of the shawl and get through the first row of eyelets, then make a sample of the edging. Kits are available or you can use your favorite fi*****ng weight yarn (or even scale up for a thicker shawl).

Knitted Short Rows can be tricky, and most people have only tried one or two methods, with mixed results including unexpected holes or messy areas. In class we will practice four methods of short rows on both knit and purl stitches, transform a stair-step bind off into a smooth edge, and talk about using short rows for custom shaping including raising back necklines and accommodating full chests.

Sign up through to join me January 25-26 for one (or both!) of these fun classes, which are a great deal at just $45.

01/11/2025

I spent the past four days teaching at for this Intersession. I taught a total of ten classes at the middle school and high school, and here is some of the student work in crochet, needle felting, and tapestry weaving. I forgot to snap any photos of embroidery, cross stitch, and knitted cables, but those were fun as well. This is such a cool program with sessions in more subjects than you can imagine!

01/02/2025

I’m making one more sample of my upcoming design, and I just love the look of this slowly striping Entropy DK yarn from paired with Cormo Sport as the contrast color. It’s such a fun and quick project I think it’ll become my go-to for using up leftover yarn and stockpiling gifts.

This pattern will be released January 30th along with a knit pattern from and a crochet pattern from who I get to see soon for a photo shoot! There will be a make-along leading up to the in March and many of the shops will have samples and kits.

I hope lots of people will wear these cowls while crawling, and maybe make all three designs! It’ll be so fun to see all the different versions and I think this will be a nice intro to hybrid crochet (aka Tunisian crochet) for those who haven’t tried it yet. My pattern testers have reported back loving the squishy fabric and rhythmic stitch.

12/26/2024

I’m testing a pattern for and it’s nice to be making something without needing to take notes along the way! It’s a fun texture and always cool to see a gradient yarn slowly change.

Kavitha’s pattern will come out in January as part of a make-along that will also include a pattern of mine that’s currently being tested and one from Ksenia. I appreciate pattern testers so much that I figure I should offer to be one sometimes. This is also a nice way to use discontinued yarns which I don’t like to do in my own patterns.

I’m working on some new designs but those tend to get stuck in places where they need some R&D or at least undivided attention, while this is always ready to go.

12/22/2024

I spent some time with Brooke dyeing yarn for a top-secret project for today! We dyed with indigo and I got to pet and play with Indigo the dog. My own dogs were very curious and did some heavy sniffing when I got home.

12/15/2024

I just dropped off this donation for the second annual March 14-23. The Odysseus the Octopus kit will be part of one of the bingo prizes, and each of the 22 participating stores will have one of my patterns to give away as a door prize. This is such a fun event and the ways to participate are growing this year, with a make-along featuring three new patterns from local designers - here’s a sneak peek of mine!

12/14/2024

I’m teaching at Aranea Craft Studio today and was thrilled to meet new shop dog Jasper. My tapestry weaving class was fun and the students weren’t afraid to get creative! I’m staying warm wearing a prototype of a new pattern that’s being tested now and will be part of a make-along.

12/12/2024

Join me Saturday at Aranea Craft Studio for a fun class or two, with most materials included!

Intro to Tapestry Weaving feels like coloring with yarn, exploring different textures as you make a unique wall hanging. No experience necessary and fun for all ages!

Crochet an amigurumi owl while learning to read a pattern and work in the round. Basic crochet skills required. Best of all, you’ll leave with an adorable new friend!

Both classes have a couple seats open, and it would be fun to attend with a friend!

12/10/2024

Never has blocking felt so much like pinning a specimen! I’m happy with this prototype and will be getting the pattern ready soon.

$I finished the first half of this fractal spin and have moved onto the second part. I first divided my fiber in half len...$

12/09/2024

I finished the first half of this fractal spin and have moved onto the second part. I first divided my fiber in half lengthwise, then for one of those halves, I divided it again seven times to make narrow strips and spun them on a drop spindle.

Now I’ve moved on to the second half of the fiber and I’m spinning it end to end on my Ashford Joy wheel. When I ply them together, I will get a complex marled yarn, with one ply changing rapidly while the other shifts slowly.

Fiber is BFL top from in the color Autumn Splendor which is out of my usual palette but still very pretty.

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Oakland, CA

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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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