Free Patterns

New Free Pattern: Cumberland Falls Hat

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When I start a new project I always begin with a hat (or hats). It’s a perfect way to practice your pattern, check your gauge, and try out color combinations. Swatches are great, but I like to have something I can use after all that knitting! (This is also why I have quite a few mismatched hand warmers.) For the initial planning for Cumberland Falls, I cast on just enough stitches to fit a 16” circular comfortably, and worked different colorwork stripes to try out pattern repeats and color combos in order to narrow down my palette. My idea was to make this hat for my youngest, who is 2, but it is too small for her. Luckily, I’m expecting again (!), so the new baby has a ready-made ridiculous hat - which is a thing all babies require. It just needs a pompon or tassel to make it complete. (No, there is no pattern for this hat, the beauty of the tester hat lies in its improvisation!) With my color choices, stripe sequence, and patterns now worked out - in my head, on paper, and with this little tester hat as a reference - I started on the sweater...

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Swatching

Swatching: Get to Know Andorra

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This year I'm individually going over each Kelbourne Woolens yarn, and will discuss the characteristics, gauges, and go over a few different swatches and stitch patterns. Enjoy! View the first post on Lucky Tweed here. Whew! Where does the time go? I didn't mean to take such a long break in between these posts, but c'est la vie, eh? Next up in this series is Andorra, the first yarn released in the Kelbourne Woolens lineup!
Yarn Label
As mentioned previously, yarn labels tell you a lot about the yarn, and ours are no exception. A few notes: Fiber content: Although Merino and Highland are the same fiber (wool), we thought it was important to differentiate the percentages in Andorra. Merino wool is very well known amongst knitters and crocheters due to its softness and popularity. Highland wool, native to Peru - where Andorra is made - is a cross between Corriedale and Merino. It is not as soft as Merino, but it is stronger and adds durability and strength to the yarn. Mohair, known for its strength and luster, adds the halo and sheen unique to Andorra.
Yarn Characteristics
Currently our only sport weight yarn, Andorra is fine without being too...

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BC Garn

Introducing BC Garn Summer in Kashmir

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We're lovers of wool and year-round knitters and crocheters, but have a special place in our hearts for quality cellulose based yarns and fibers. (This love was the impetus for our Mojave, and why we're such fans of BC Garn Alba and Lino!) BC Garn released a brand new yarn this season, Summer in Kashmir, a GOTS certified blend of 90% cotton and cashmere. Finely spun into 2 plied strands that are then plied into a 5-ply sport weight yarn, the combination of cotton and cashmere makes Summer in Kashmir a popular option for year round use. The cotton is grown on GOTS certified farms in Turkey, and the Cashmere is from Mongolia. The yarn is spun and dyed in Turkey. I searched online for some pattern options for this versatile yarn and some of my favorites are below: Velen by Camille Descoteaux / Naughty pants by Veronika Ryzhkova Senecio Top by Ksenia Naidyon / Quetzal by Rachel Brockman Dawn Pullover by Paula Pereira / Tsubaki Pullover by Hiroko Fukatsu You can see the colors available here, or ask for Summer in Kashmir at your favorite LYS!

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Collection Feature

The Camper Collection and LYS Day 2021!

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Yesterday we published a 7 piece collection in conjunction with the release of Camper. We love colorwork, fine yarn, and wool, and the Camper Collection is a perfect combination of all three! We're working on adding the files for download from our site, but in the mean time, you can buy the PDFs on Ravelry!

Local Yarn Store Day 2021

Visit your LYS on Saturday, April 17th, and receive a postcard with your purchase of Camper with a code for one free pattern from our Camper Collection! Check out the list below for participating shops! 614 Knit Studio, OH Apricot Yarn and Supply, CA Baa Baa Sheep, VA Babetta’s Yarn and Gifts, CA Bad Amy Knits, OH Blossburg Company Store, PA Busywork, MO Cozy, OR Crazy For Ewe, MD Darn Knit Anyway, MN Ewe and Me Yarn Shop, PA Fiber Gallery, WA Fibre Space, VA Finley the Knitting Corner, PA For Yarn's Sake, OR GarenHuis Yarn Studio, MI Grafton Yarn Store, WI Read more

Finished Projects

Finished Project: Very V Neck Raglan

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Yay! Another finished sweater! I started my Very V-Neck back in September, and it was a really enjoyable sweater to work on in between other, more complicated projects. The yarn I chose, BC Garn Semilla Melange in moss, is such a quintessentially Kate yarn. It is woolen spun, 100% wool, and the perfect sport weight. I loved knitting every stitch and would cast on another sweater in the same yarn right away! The top-down, seamless construction of the Very V neck by Jessie Maed Designs is not quintessentially Kate, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making something different than my norm when knitting this sweater for myself. The one modification I made was to decrease the sleeves for a more fitted cuff in lieu of the bell shape as written. Otherwise, there isn’t a ton to say about the sweater itself, as it is such a classic, simple shape, but I am delighted to have such a lovely, light garment in my wardrobe. I brought it up to Vermont last week to take some photos and was very happy to have it with me for the week, as it snowed multiple times while we were there!

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Swatching

Swatching: Germantown Unicorns!

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They're here! More Unicorns! The Germantown Unicorns are created using mill ends that result during the plying process. The mill selects the unique combinations, so the result is as much of a surprise to us as it is to you! We recently received an order of Germantown from the mill, which included six excellent color ways! Since the Unicorns are a little different, I thought it would be fun to swatch to show what they look like when knit or crocheted. I swatched four different colors: Persian red and rhododendron, salmon and peacock, honey and old blue, and jade and sage. For each, I wanted to show the colors in stockinette stitch and a granny square. It was fun to play around with motifs and see how the yarns looked when knit versus crocheted! Hopefully this gives you a good idea of what the yarns will look like worked up. As you can see, they all look great and are so fun! You can find the limited edition Unicorns here, the full line of Germantown here, or ask for them at your favorite LYS!

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Finished Projects

Finished Project: September Sweater

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It has been a little over a year since sharing my 2020 Make 9 picks, and even though 2020 did not turn out like anyone imagined, I'm actually surprised by what I managed to accomplish! One of my most recent finished projects is the September Sweater by PetiteKnit. Knit using one strand of Andorra in ink black held with Navia Alpakka in black, the end result is a fluffy, soft, light, warm delight! Part of my interest in knitting this sweater was the construction. I probably sound like a broken record, but I don't typically enjoy knitting or wearing top down seamless sweaters, but I love the look of the shoulder and neck shaping on the September Sweater, especially in brioche. Picking up the stitches for the neck added stability, as did picking up the sleeve stitches. I knit the sweater pretty much exactly as written, but found the double decreases as written on the sleeves to be too drastic. They created a very awkward stair-step, so I added more decreases and spread them out so they were smoother. Holding the Andorra and Alpakka together created an amazing fabric in the brioche, and the combination...

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Swatching

Swatching: Get to know Lucky Tweed

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It is a new year, and high time for a new swatching series! Over the next few months, we'll individually go over each Kelbourne Woolens yarn, discuss the characteristics, gauges, and go over a few different swatches and stitch patterns. Enjoy! I thought it would be fun to start with Lucky Tweed, our cosy, wooly, tweedy authentic Donegal yarn.
Yarn Label
Yarn labels tell you a lot about the yarn, and ours are no exception. When designing the labels for our yarns, we wanted to create something that contained all of the relevant information, and was clean, modern, and aesthetically pleasing. We designed the labels with the team who helped us with our new branding in 2017, and absolutely love the final result! A few notes: Recommended needle and hook sizes: We've said it before, and we'll say it again: needle size doesn't matter, gauge matters. That said, our labels provide a recommended range to help you determine where to begin. The needle size recommended on the label is based on 1) an average of the sizes used when creating the swatches that produced the best fabric and 2) the yarn weight. In the case of Lucky, the yarn is an aran...

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Knit-A-Long

Olive Knits January Workshop KAL – Fiadh

I'm typically not one to go all out at the New Year, but I will be wide awake and toasting the end of 2020 for sure. I am also delighted for the year to end because it means the newest Olive Knits KAL is about to begin - and Marie's design, Fiadh, featuring Lucky Tweed, is stunning! Like her previous January Workshops, Marie has created an educational component to the knit along, ensuring a quality, wearable garment for years to come. From the website: "This year we will explore the history of traditional Irish Aran knitting, combined with Marie’s modern tutorials and new techniques. This workshop-style knitalong includes the pattern and 8 weeks of lessons and tutorials to go along with your making journey." Marie has elected to use our Lucky Tweed for Fiadh, the perfect yarn for an Aran sweater! Lucky Tweed is a woolen spun aran weight authentic Donegal yarn made in Donegal, Ireland. The nature of the woolen-spun yarn means there is ample yardage - 210 yards! - in a 100 gram skein, and the airy yarn has a lofty hand, tweedy texture, and soft feel. Check out the full Workshop listing on...

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Finished Projects

Finished Project: Lucy’s Fabel Sweater

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Back in March, we planned on attending VK Live in Seattle and organized joint freight with our buddy Theresa of Ewe-Nited States of Fiber. Theresa dropped her bags of yarn off at our warehouse in preparation for shipment, which gave me the opportunity to pour over all of the lovely hand dyed colors. Knowing how well hand dyed yarn works with Perennial, I pulled out a skein of her Fingering Weight in dragonfruit to pair it with Perennial in raspberry. Not sure exactly what the skeins would become, I did know Lucy would love the combination! Pouring over patterns, I found the Fabel Sweater by Danish designer Vaskavullaknit. Ridiculous intarsia unicorn? Check. Gold embellishment? Check. Rainbow mane? Check. It is basically the garment of Lucy's dreams. The only issue was the gauge: the pattern calls for 16 stitches to 4", while Perennial is best for garments at 28-30 stitches to 4". Holding the yarn doubled on US 5 needles produced a gauge of 20 stitches to 4". Still not a match, but it was closer, and the schematic in the pattern and measurements provided me with enough information to make the proper length and size...

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