Inspired by England’s stunning northwest region with its deep blue lakes and sheep-grazed fells and valley, Cumbria is a lustrous blend of brown wool from the English masham sheep breed, fine S. American merino wool and Argentine mohair. The resulting light brown-grey shade is then over-dyed creating lovely deep saturated colours. Cumbria is a light worsted weight staple yarn, perfect for garments and accessories alike.
Cumbria is named for the North West County of northern England, home to the picturesque Lake District. Many of the color names are taken from this stunning landscape, such as Scafell Pike, Windermere, and many more. The Fibre Co. founders, Daphne and Iain, now call Cumbria home. Daphne says:
My move to the UK inspired me to create a new yarn with English wool in the blend. The goal of this season’s new yarn was to add a staple line to the range of The Fibre Co. products. Specifically, I wanted a new yarn that would be great for sweater projects, long wearing and one that would be a mainstay in the collection for many years to come.
Cumbria is just that: a classic yarn with a thoughtfully selected blend of the finest natural fibers you’ve come to expect from The Fibre Co.
Cumbria is packaged in a vintage-inspired, large twisted hank which holds 238 yds (218 m)/100 g. Knit at a recommended gauge of 18-20 sts per 4″ (10 cm) on a US 6 (4 mm)-US 8 (5 mm) needle, this truly is the perfect sweater yarn. Cumbria is a 3-ply blend of 60% fine merino wool for softness, 30% brown masham wool to create a depth of color, along with 10% of the most luxurious mohair for its silken shine and strength. The masham sheep is native to England and is a cross between a rare breed Teeswater ram and a Swaledale ewe. The natural dark brown color blends with the white merino to make a beautiful light brown base which creates interesting depth of color and texture. Its long staple fiber adds to the long-wearing nature of the yarn and prevents pilling. The merino wool in the Cumbria blend comes from South America, where they do not practice mulesing. The merino in this blend provides softness, elasticity and memory. We added a touch of mohair, which is very lustrous as well as being quite strong. The luster adds to the color beauty and the strength provides the long wear that makes Cumbria great for sweaters that get regular use.
To pay homage to Cumbria, the Kelbourne Woolens team has designed a collection of ten garments and accessories gathering inspiration from the knitting tradition of the British Isles. The Cumbria Collection will be available in hard copy format at your local yarn shop, as well as in pdf format through Ravelry. We will be introducing the collection here on the blog in the coming weeks, including some excellent tutorials and new Tips and Tricks!
Find Cumbria at a Fibre Co. stockist near you, and experience knitting at its finest.