Amano Palma: Choose Your Next Cotton Knitting Project

A cotton jumper for cooler evenings, a poncho to slip over a dress, or a shawl to keep close when the breeze picks up: summer knitting has plenty of room for another project.

Our Amano Palma range brings those ideas together with textured organic cotton yarn, individual patterns and knit kits. If you like to choose the project first and the colour second, here is where to start.

What is Amano Palma?

Amano Palma is a 10ply / aran yarn made from 100% organically grown cotton, with 150 metres per 100 g. Its gently uneven structure adds texture to the knitted fabric. Cotton also offers a different feel from wool: less springy, with a drape worth considering when you choose your project.

Palma is a useful option for warm-weather knitting when you want cotton with visible texture. The stitch pattern and tension still matter. An open stitch creates a different fabric from a firmly knitted stocking-stitch garment, even when both use the same yarn.

Choose your Palma knitting project

A cotton jumper for everyday layering

The Summer Jumper has a wide round neckline and set-in sleeves. It is worked flat from the bottom up, then seamed. Choose it if you enjoy familiar garment construction and want a cotton layer to wear when a T-shirt alone is not quite enough.

This is an intermediate project with shaping, seaming and a three-needle cast-off. Check the finished chest measurements against a jumper you already like before choosing your size. You can also buy the Summer Jumper pattern separately.

An open-textured poncho

The Mini Summer Poncho looks almost crocheted, but the fabric is knitted. You work a rectangle in an open stitch pattern, then fold and seam it and finish the neckline.

It is an intermediate project involving yarn overs, decreases and picking up stitches. This is a good direction if you want to explore an airy fabric and prefer a poncho shape to a fitted garment. The Mini Summer Poncho pattern is available separately too.

A long rectangular shawl

Martha Wissing’s Ulta Shawl is worked flat from end to end with a repeating charted stitch pattern. It is rated easy, for knitters comfortable reading a chart and working basic increases and decreases.

A rectangular wrap gives you several ways to wear the finished piece: across your shoulders or loosely around your neck. Browse the kit or choose the Ulta Shawl pattern on its own.

A shawl with lace and shaping

Also designed by Martha Wissing, the Urpi Shawl combines a wave lace border, knot texture and short-row shaping. It is worked flat from the bottom up and is an intermediate project.

Choose Urpi if the knitting process is part of the appeal and you enjoy a mix of techniques. The Urpi Shawl pattern is also available separately.

Yarn, pattern or kit?

If you already have a suitable pattern, buy Palma yarn separately after checking the tension and metreage. If you want one of these designs, the pattern gives you the flexibility to plan your own yarn purchase.

The four kits above pair Palma in your selected shade with the printed project pattern. Needles and notions are not included, so check the project list before you begin. Each kit makes one project.

Before you cast on

• Make a tension square. Use the stitch and needle size specified by your pattern, then wash and dry the square before measuring. Needle sizes vary between the Palma designs.
• Check the fabric as well as the numbers. Hold the dry square, let it hang and decide whether you like its feel and drape.
• Choose enough yarn together. Buy the full project quantity at one time to help keep the dye lot consistent.
• Check fit carefully. For garments, use the finished measurements and the amount of room you want around your body.

Frequently asked questions

Is Palma wool-free?

Yes. Palma is made from 100% organically grown cotton.

Are all the Palma projects suitable for beginners?

No. Ulta is rated easy but requires chart reading and basic shaping. The Summer Jumper, Mini Summer Poncho and Urpi Shawl are intermediate projects. Choose by the techniques you are comfortable using.

Does a kit include needles?

These four Palma kits include yarn and a printed pattern. Needles and notions are purchased separately.

Can I use the same needles for every Palma pattern?

Follow the individual pattern and use the needle size that gives you its required tension. A yarn-label recommendation is a starting point, not a replacement for the pattern tension.

Start with the project you would like to wear, then choose your Palma colour. If you need help matching a design to your knitting experience, ask us at Wild & Woolly.