Knit using Kelbourne Woolens stunning 100% cotton yarn, Skipper, Ketch is a classic Kate design: it has clean lines, graphic patterning, and simple shapes with small details such as short row shaping, sloped bind offs, and seams finished with mattress stitch. In case you missed it with the first pattern in the collection, Catalina, you’ll notice we did…
Category: Uncategorized

Introducing Collaboration: Kelbourne Woolens x Fairmount Fibers
We have known Lisa, founder of Fairmount Fibers, the U.S. Manos del Uruguay yarns distributor, since the early 2000s. Lisa played a large role in the start of Kelbourne Woolens, as we met working together at her shop Rosie’s in Philadelphia. We then shared warehouse space with her after starting Kelbourne Woolens in 2008. Manos introduced a…

Color Stories: Houston Meadows and Andorra
One of my favorite things about Philadelphia is how close and accessible nature is. Houston Meadow is part of the Wissahickon trail system in the Andorra section of the city. I went for tons of walks here during quarantine and it’s an amazing place to checkout throughout the seasons as the colors and plants change….
THANK YOU!
A huge THANK YOU to all who shared our Instagram, Facebook, and blog posts, liked the posts, left a nice comment, and purchased patterns over the weekend. Because of you, we were able to donate over $1000 to Color of Change! As the saying goes, in times of tragedy, look for the helpers. We…
A Weekend for Change
I had a few posts planned for the end of this week to promote the Laura Chau Collection but the events this weekend in Charlottesville and the subsequent remarks by the president left us sad, angry, and confused. Our dear friend Karen (I’d be tempted to say “remarkably” here, but I am actually not surprised…
Happy New Year from Kelbourne Woolens!
2016. What can we say? It’s been quite the year. Let’s get ready to ring in the New Year by taking a look back at some of our favorite knitterly memories of 2016! The Year of Mittens Our Year of Mittens KAL will continue into 2017, but your response to our July announcement of the project…
Happy Holidays from Kelbourne Woolens!
Tonight is the longest night, the winter solstice, and the official beginning of the holiday season. We at Kelbourne Woolens wish you the happiest of holidays, however you choose to celebrate the season. Please note that our offices will be closed on December 24th and we will reopen on January 3rd so we can spend…
Coming Soon!
We’ve been working on something special for the coming year and cannot wait to share it with you! Stay tuned for more on Friday 7/15.
Bright River Winner!
And the winner is….. Theresa Govias! “I would love to make Bright River in the Ash color and then wear it while hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer!” Congratulations Theresa! Sounds like you have a really great adventure coming up! Send us an email with your shipping address at info{AT}kelbournewoolens.com to claim your…
Aleda KAL: Beads vs. Bobbles
We’re almost at the end of our KAL for May, the Aleda Shawl. Many of you are at, or well into, the edging. I just started my edging over the weekend, and have gotten through just four very time consuming rows thus far! A number of our bunch are opting out of the bobbles in the…
the Zen Variations from The Fibre Co. + Renee Callahan
Renée Callahan designer based in the UK, originally from Seattle, and just yesterday she released a stunning collection of garments in collaboration with The Fibre Co. Renee says, “The Zen Variations is a collection of six sweaters featuring The Fibre Company’s Acadia yarn that embraces the idea that knitting is a physical mediation. Each sweater begins in…
10K Giveaway!
We hit a pretty big milestone this week on Instagram, so as a thank you to our 10,000(+) followers, we’re having a giveaway! Instagram is a fun tool for knitters, and we use the platform a lot. We’re following the progress of our Aleda KAL on Instagram this month using the hashtag #aledakal. It’s a quick…
Aleda Knit Along Kickoff!
All month long we’ll be knitting the Aleda Shawl by Kate Gagnon Osborn. I know many of you will be knitting along, and we are happy to have so many eager knitters joining us! Originally published in our book Little Things, Aleda uses just two skeins of The Fibre Co. Canopy Fingering yarn. You can find…
Cumbria Fingering Giveaway: Hill Top Shawl
Last week we announced a giveaway on our Facebook page for two skeins of Cumbria Fingering to knit Curious Handmade’s new design, the Hill Top Shawl. The winner is Annie Wilcoxson Wenstrup! Congratulations, Annie! Want to make your own Hill Top Shawl? Join the KAL on Instagram using the hashtag #hilltopshawl.
Happy Holidays from Kelbourne Woolens!
Our offices will be closed on Thursday December 24th, Friday December 25th and Thursday December 31st and Friday January 1st. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! We’ll see you in 2016!
Yarn Shop Love: Daisy Chain Shoulderette
Not only is December’s Yarn Shop Love pattern a cute and quick knit, but it uses one of my favorite yarns, Daisy Chain by Knit Collage. Last year, at TNNA, Kelbourne Woolens and Knit Collage had booths back to back and we traded some yarn at the end of the show (one of the many…
Yarn Shop Love: Galway Scarf
At Kelbourne Woolens we are always trying to find new ways to support our stockists. Local yarn shops are the lifeline of the yarn industry. Our program, Yarn Shop Love, is our way of supporting our local yarn shops and stockists. This pattern, and all of our Yarn Shop Love patterns, will be available exclusively through participating…
Free Pattern: Hewson by Leah McGlone
Someone recently asked me if I knit in the summer months and my immediate internal response was, “I’m sorry, have we met?” However, after thinking about it, I realized that I keep two projects in rotation at all times. The first being a moderate to experienced project to keep my knitting brain active and the second being a…
See You at TNNA!
Tomorrow we’re headed to sunny, ice cream filled Columbus for TNNA! We’ll be in Booth 837 with a brand-spankin’-new yarn that we’re crazy about, new Kelbourne Woolens patterns, and a collection designed in collaboration with Norah Gaughan and The Fibre Co. European distribution. We’ll also have samples of the popular Road to China Lace collections, Pathways, and…
make. wear. love. retreat 2015
We’re delighted (thrilled, honored, excited) to share that Courtney and I will be teaching at the 3rd annual make. wear. love. retreat organized by Amy Herzog in the stunningly gorgeous Sebasco Harbor Resort in Maine on October 1-4th. (Check out that harborside saltwater pool!) Amy was kind enough to let us design our classes around two of our…
KW Me Made May 2015!
It is that time of year, again, Me Made May! We decided it would be fun as an office to officially participate in order to encourage one another to wear the countless items we have knit, crocheted, and sewn. We, Leah, Courtney, Kate, and Meghan, are signing up for Me Made May 2015 with the goal of…
Vermont Designers Retreat at Seyon Lodge
Last weekend, Courtney and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to rural Groton, VT, to the Seyon Lodge State Park to attend a weekend designers retreat. Since it was on our way (and really, I would have insisted we visit, even if it wasn’t), we started the weekend visiting Green Mountain Spinnery, an amazing…
Winners (and THANK YOU!!)
First, thank you so much for all of your thoughtful, well written, constructive, positive comments! I know it was no small feat to take the time to provide the quality feedback that you all did, so it is much appreciated! There were also a few new-to-us blogs mentioned, so I am really excited to add them…
Let us know what you think – and win!
We have some really big plans for 2015 – more Tips + Tricks, another awesome Crochet Summer, but since, ultimately, this blog is for you, we want to know what you think! My request is two-fold:1) Tell me your favorite blog, and why! It doesn’t have to be a knitting blog – heck, it doesn’t…
(Another!) Sneak Peek!
Besides the big move, we were busy this fall working on developing a new yarn (more on that later this week) and 3 new pattern collections! On Friday, we shot the photos for 2 of the collections, and shared a bunch of sneak peeks on Instagram. Stay tuned next week for the brig reveal with all…
Join us for the Second Annual Kelbourne Woolens Pop-Up Shop!
With the weather becoming colder, and the the holidays getting closer and closer, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be hosting our second annual Kelbourne Woolens Pop-Up Shop! From knit checks to mill ends, project bags to exclusive pop-up shop kits, we’re here for your last minute gift shopping for friends, family, or yourself (we won’t…
OUR BIG MOVE!
We’re so excited to announce that we’ve moved our office to a new (to us), bigger, brighter, and better location! After moving into an 18th century manor house in August of 2011, we thought we were safe in terms of our office space and square footage needs for some time. Luckily for us, though, we…
From Mama, With Love: Individual Patterns available now!
Back in May, we announced a collaboration between myself, and 4 other amazing designers, From Mama With Love. Now that the collection has been out for 6 months (where does the time go?), I’m delighted to share that my three designs in the collection, the Isadora Lopapeysa, Petunia’s Blanket, and Bluebell Pullover are now available…
Craftsy BIG Fall Sale!
Wondering what to knit this Fall? Looking to improve your skills? Want to gain more confidence in your lace work? Then take advantage of Craftsy’s Big Fall Sale and sign up for our Craftsy class, New Directions in Lace: Hats for a 50% savings! We had such a great time filming this class with Stephanie Japel and…
And the Winner is…
Last week the fall issue of Knitty was released featuring the Connectivity by Mari Chiba. Connectivity calls for The Fibre Company Canopy Worsted as well as the Feel Good Yarn Company SilverSpun. Last week we announced a giveaway for a Connectivity gloves kit featuring a skein of Canopy Worsted and SilverSpun. The lucky winner of our Connectivity gloves…
amirisu Fall 2014: Crop Top by Lori Versaci
Fall is almost here and to say I’m excited is an understatement. Sweaters, scarves and hats are starting to pop up on my Ravelry feed adding to both my excitement and Ravelry queue. A recent addition to my queue is the Crop Top pattern from friend and fellow designer, Lori Versaci featured in the fall…
Knitty Fall 2014: Connectivity by Mari Chiba
The fall issue of Knitty was released today and we couldn’t be happier to see one of our dear friends, Mari featured in this issue. Mari’s Connectivity gloves, features The Fibre Company’s Canopy Worsted as well as The Feel Good Yarn Company’s Silverspun to create a pair of smart phone friendly mittens perfect for the upcoming…
Knitter Projects: Hawkes
We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our new yarn, Knightsbridge, and we’re excited to see projects popping up on Ravelry already! Jane knit the Hawkes pullover by Hillary Callis Smith from the Knightsbridge Collection. She used Knightsbridge in Poole. All images © Bleuberrie, used with permission. Jane knit this for her LYS, Fibre Space, as…
And the Winner is….
Sarah with her comment: “I’m in love with the bluegrass colorway! Something cheery for fall. My husband calls this style of cover a “swacket,” not quite sweater, not quite jacket. I’d wear it with the collar open until late at night.” Congrats Sarah! we love your husband’s term, “swacket”, plus the Moto Jacket in Bluegrass…
Knightsbridge: It’s Here!
I’m sneaking away from packing boxes to officially announce that our latest yarn for fall, Knightsbridge, is in our warehouse! After seeing the yarn arrive, and the pattern PDF’s recently available on Ravelry, I knew it was time to pick a pattern to knit for the upcoming fall season. So, with a little help from…
#tbt Blog Edition
Back in the spring of 2010 we were getting ready to announce an exciting development: Our first yarn made entirely in the US, Savannah. Perhaps it’s the knit-a-long we’re in the midst of, but I’ve been thinking back to this exciting time in our Kelbourne history. I thought many of you might not have been…
Independent Designer Feature: Haven River by Laura Nelkin
As I’m sitting here typing this blog post my recently completed Meadowsweet Shawl (featuring Meadow in Bergamot) is drying and I can’t stop thinking of other shawls featuring Meadow. The combination of merino wool, baby llama, silk + linen was perfect to work with especially with the weather taking a turn for a humid. Luckily…
May Day Mystery Knit-A-Long Round Up!
The May Day Mystery Knit-a-Long wrapped up last weekend when the final clue was issued, and we are so happy to share some finished projects! The MKAL is always a good time, and if you haven’t done one yet we hope you’ll join us next Spring when we do it all over again. We always…
Craftsy Final Projects!
Some of you hopefully remember this priceless selfie: From Kate and Courtney’s time teaching at Craftsy which was later revealed to be their class entitled, New Directions in Lace: Hats. We’ve received a couple of emails asking what the final hats look like, and with a little bit of nudging I got Kate and Courtney to…
Knitscene Fall 2014: Dauphine Hat by Julia Farwell-Clay
With June coming to an end (wait, wasn’t it just March?) some of our favorite magazines are releasing their fall issues and I’m already queueing up a storm. Despite the array of sweaters featured in the Fall preview of Knitscene, I can’t bring myself to knit an entire sweater for fall just yet. Throughout the…
Summer Knitting: Sweaters + A Shawl
Although it is still technically mid-spring, the hot, humid weather has hit us hard here in Philadelphia. (It was 95 here yesterday! Wowza.) We’re feeling torn in many directions – finalizing collections for fall, dreaming of winter designs, yet all we want to do is knit and wear breezy, light summer garments. As always, when…

Mattress Stitch
Seaming. Some people love it (ME!), some people hate it. I truly believe that properly seaming a finished piece of knitting makes the difference between “hand made” and “home made.” I also believe that once you know how, seaming is actually quite easy and rewarding. Seaming also adds a multitude of benefits to your knitting –…
Hello Summer (and a little discount!)
Last week Kate and Courtney announced a new Craftsy they had filmed back in April entitled, “New Direction in Lace: Hats” – featuring three hat designs, all using Canopy Worsted and build on different skills attained through lace knitting. This weekend, until Monday June 9th at Midnight MT, you can purchase any Craftsy class, including “New…
Knitters Project: Vertices Unite
A couple of weeks ago friend, and office favorite, Stephen West released his West Knits Summer Shawl Knit-A-Long featuring three new designs – Smooth Move, Vertices Unite and Lumpy Space. Each design contains West’s knack for color and stripe variation while playing with texture. Add that to his dream-worthy photo shoots and you have a lovely…
KW: Staff Picks!
We have been enjoying these cool Spring days following all the rain we’ve had this week on the East Coast. It’s been making us all think about Spring and Summer knitting, and while many of you are diligently working on the May Day Mystery Knit-a-Long, we’ve all finished ours (!) and need a new project!…