For our third installment in my mini Andorra love series, I wanted to share some projects by knitters shared on Ravelry over the last two years. First, for the wee babes, Kristy knit the cutest little top down hat with earflaps for Floyd, and Dana worked up an Animal Bonnet by Jenny Gordy for Nora….
Year of Hats: December Hat
Its here! The final hat in our Year of Hats! Wahoo! The December Hat, designed by Irina Anikeeva, is a lovely cabled hat that shows off Germantown’s excellent stitch definition. It begins with a tubular cast on and has a 2 x 2 ribbed brim. The brim beautifully transitions into cable panels that make up…
December Andorra Love: Published Designs
Time for some more Andorra love! Today I wanted to showcase some lovely designs published over the last two years. Paule Lemieux from Canadian yarn shop La vie laine de Rimouski designed Shawl Moira, an homage to Moira from Schitts Creek, and we love the stripes in ink black and snow white paired with the…
December Andorra Love!
December marks the two year anniversary of the release of Andorra, so we wanted to take some time out this month to share a little love for our first Kelbourne Woolens yarn! First up, some highlights from Instagram. Showing off Andorra’s gorgeous stitch definition when worked in knit purl patterning, Kristi knit her Fragment Scarf…
Year of Hats: November Hat
I haven’t been able to walk the dogs without a hat to keep my ears cosy, which is how I know fall has officially arrived in Philadelphia. Hats – arguably one of the most useful fall accessories – are perfect for fall knitting, wearing, and gifting! The November Hat by Meghan Kelly is a cute…
Eco Wash Bags are Here!
Just in time for the holidays, we have the new Eco Wash Bags from Soak! These laundry bags are perfect for crafters who want to take special care of their handknits. Made from 100% post-consumer plastics, each Eco Wash Bag is made from at least 8 plastic bottles! Saving those from the landfill and making…
Nordic Night Christmas Stocking by Randi Hjelm Debes
With Halloween behind us (and perhaps a few pumpkins still rotting on the porch), it’s time to look ahead to the holiday season! If you are anything like me, you are faced with the realization that everything you wished you had done last year has yet to be accomplished and you only have eight weeks…
Designer Feature: Gaze Cowl by Rachel Kieselburg
I gasped yesterday when I saw images of Rachel Kieselburg’s latest design, the Gaze Cowl, while looking through Instagram for a few minutes. There was something so striking about the color work pattern, contrasting colors, and moody images that stopped me in my tracks (er, scroll)! Rachel designed the cowl using Kelbourne Woolens Andorra in…
The Knitter: Florin by Meghan Kelly
The Knitter #142 was released this month, and the issue includes a lovely feature on Meghan Kelly, and an original design by her, Florin, a sporty and feminine pullover in Scout! From the issue: Perfect for autumnal days, this cosy sweater by Meghan Kelly has an understated elegance. Subtle details include an eyelet pattern on…
Interweave Crochet Fall 2019: Pie Bake Cardigan and Wheatfield Cabled Capelet
I had the overwhelming pleasure of spending last weekend at Camp Workroom Social, a 4 day sewing intensive extravaganza in the woods of upstate New York. Besides the extraordinary experience of making my own pair of jeans (more on that later…but I am obsessed!), it was the most perfectly perfect fall weekend filled with crisp…
Year of Hats: October Hat
Is there a better month in the year than October? We think not! The leaves are changing, the air is crisp and clean, and firewood is stacked and ready for the first fire of the season. October is perfect hat knitting and wearing weather, so grab your needles and get ready for the October Hat…
Swatching: Navia Deluxe and Brushed Tradition
Fall is here and I am very eager to cast on a new sweater using one of our favorite wooly yarns from Navia. Two of their newer lines, Brushed and Deluxe Tradition, are cousins to Tradition, their wooly, rustic 100% Faroese Wool yarn, but both offer a unique twist on the original! Navia Deluxe Tradition…
The Knit Vibe: Chaleur by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Vickie Howell’s new book, The Knit Vibe, was released today and I’m delighted to share my contribution, Chaleur! Chaleur is a quintessentially “Kate” hat: deep ribbing, intricate cables, integrated increases and decreases, and a slouchy fit are all incorporated into the design. Knit in Scout in orchid heather, Chaleur is a wooly, modern, and functional…
Designer Feature: Nili by Christina Danaee
Designer Christina Danaee released her newest design, Nili, yesterday, and it is a beauty! Designed using Germantown, Nili is a top down pullover that features a yoke in a unique and bold colorwork pattern reminiscent of ceramic tiles. Christina described her inspiration behind the design: When I saw these three colors of Germantown together, I…
Designer Feature: Assemblance by Amy Gunderson
You may remember we had a chat with Amy Gunderson a little while ago about Canyon, her design in our KW Crochet Collection, and we’re delighted to feature another design by her for fall in Germantown! Assemblance, from Knitty Deep Fall 2019, is a fun, inventive, and unique exercise cables. Amy said it best: “Assemblance…
Sloped Bind Off
I can’t remember when I first discovered the beauty of the sloped bind off, but it was most likely when I read something by Julie Hoover or Julie Weisenberger – both exceptionally skilled designers and finishers. Once I tried it out, I was hooked, and made a pact with myself to never bind off multiple…
Invisible Cast On
We created two new Tips and Tricks for the Lucky Tweed Collection. The first, the Invisible Cast On, is used in Courtney’s Dover hat. This cast on is reminiscent of a crochet magic ring and creates a beginning that is perfect for the tops of hats, mittens, or when working socks from the toe up….
September Hat: Slipped Stitch Stripe Tutorial
The September Hat by Caroline Dick features an intricate slipped stitch stripe pattern. This two round pattern looks confusing at first, but is incredibly easy to work once you get the hang of it! Slip Stitch Stripe (in the rnd over a mult of 5): Rnd 1: *K2, sl1 wyib, k2, psso 2 knit sts;…
#mojavesummerKAL – Winner!
As the last days of summer fade into fall our #mojavesummerKAL comes to a close as well, which means unveiling the winner of our giveaway! A few weeks ago, we rounded up some of our favorite projects from #mojavesummerKAL, our KAL Instragram hashtag. There were so many beautiful projects to choose from, but there was…
Year of Hats: September Hat
Grab your pencils, erasers, protractors, and knitting needles! It’s back to school time and also the third Tuesday of the month, which means we’re unveiling a new (free!) hat in our Year of Hats series! Caroline Dick is one of our guest designers in this series and we’re delighted by her sweet September Hat. It’s…
Meghan Kelly’s Farewell!
It’s with mixed emotions that I sit down to write this post. I was proud to be a part of the Kelbourne Woolens team for over 7 years and it’s been one awesome experience after another. It’s been a truly special place to work. Allow me to share a little bit of what my experience…
Olde City and York from the Lucky Tweed Collection
Projects that require very little from the maker, but give back happiness ten-fold are commonly referred to as “candy knitting”. Cowls and hats fall under the category of “candy knitting” and Olde City and York from the Lucky Tweed Collection are two sweet treats! Olde City is SO Meghan; she loves a hefty, plump cowl…
An Interview with: Amy Gunderson
Earlier this month we premiered our first crochet collection, featuring Canyon by Amy Gunderson. Her laid back camisole is the desert-vibe, hippie queen jewel of the collection that everyone at KW is itching to make. Amy’s designs (both knitting and crochet) are always fresh and appealing, so we wanted to have a chat with Amy…
Introducing Palms and Saguaro from the KW Crochet Collection!
Over the last two weeks we released the first four pieces in our six piece KW Crochet Collection, Sub Rosa, Summer Sunset, Succulent, and Canyon. Today we’re unveiling the last two pieces of our desert-inspired, laid back designs, Palms by Padma R and Saguaro by Natasha Robarge! The final pieces include another first for us,…
Year of Hats: August Hat
We love hats—we love designing them, we love wearing them, we love giving them to our friends and family, but we also love our friends design hats, too! Fortunately, we know many talented designers, so for the second half of our Year of Hats series we’ve invited a few of our friends to share the…
Happy Granny Square Day!
It’s Granny Square Day! In honor of Granny Square Day and #crochetsummer2019 we prepared a colorful little surprise—the Sub Rosa Earrings by Lana Jois! While Lana was crocheting up her Sub Rosa for the Kelbourne Woolens Crochet Collection she also whipped up a petite version of her granny square motif into earrings with a note…
An Interview with: Shannon Cook (So Very Shannon)
Last month, Shannon Cook (@soveryshannon) launched Courage—a knit shawl design featuring our Germantown and Spincycle Yarns Dream State. It shot to the top of Ravelry’s “Hot Right Now” list and caught the attention of knitters all over the world, including all of us at Kelbourne Woolens. Shannon says Courage “is meant to soothe your soul….
Perennial for Shawl Season: The Crochet List!
At Kelbourne Woolens, summer is the season for crochet and lightweight yarns. Last week we put together a list of our most coveted shawl projects on Ravelry to pair with our buttery soft and light as a cloud Perennial. This week we’re following up with a crochet shawl list that we’re all eager to hook…
Design Feature: Sanctuary in BC Garn Bio Balance
Have you seen the new summer issue of Pom Pom Quarterly? Issue #29 is full of gorgeous design for everybody, including Sanctuary by Stephanie Earp in BC Garn Bio Balance. As Pom Pom’s Instagram post describes, this top is “inspired by ornate, domed ceilings” reminiscent of stunning, old world architecture. Sanctuaryis a top-down, circular yoked…
Perennial for Summer Shawl Season!
It’s that time of year again when shawls are the star of the season. It’s summer, a season full of events that require a little extra “something”, and shawls are the perfect We’ve compiled a list of our favorite shawl designs to pair with our soft and sweet Perennial. We compiled a few of some…
Get Your Hooks Out! It’s time for the Crochet Summer 2019
Bust out your hooks! It’s our 5th annual Crochet Summer and we’re excited to start stitching with our favorite plant fibers as the weather gets warmer. If you are new to our Crochet Summer it’s exactly what it sounds like. We’re focusing on crochet during the summer to celebrate our sister craft and provide ourselves…
Year of Hats: June Hat
Are we halfway through the Year of Hats already?! I guess we are because it’s the third Tuesday of June, and that means the June Hat is ready for you! If this is your first time coming across our Year of Hats series, we are releasing a new, free hat pattern made in our Germantown…
Mojave Summer KAL (and Giveaway)! ☀️
Join us this summer for a low-key Make-Anything-In-Mojave KAL! We couldn’t settle on one design for our KAL, so we’re just making whatever we want together. We’ve been pulling together a list of our most coveted designs that’s we’d love to either make in Mojave. We’re all taken with Ranunculus and LOVE The Happy Squash’s…
Light, Lovely Lino: Linen for Summer Knits!
Summer knitting—it’s a thing that people do, and we do a lot of it here at Kelbourne Woolens. We are all-seasons knit (and crochet) wearers, so when we come across timeless, simple summer basics we take note. Today we’re talking about BC Garn Lino and several gorgeous, wearable Eileen Fisher-esque tops that will have you…
Year of Hats: May Hat
It’s the third Tuesday of the month, which means it’s time for the May Hat in our Year of Hats series! When spring shifts into summer, our knitting projects tend to get a little smaller, both for portability as we spend more time outside at the park or beach, and also for comfort, as sweaters…
Soak Wash: For The Things We Love
We use Soak Wash for all our hand knits and delicate garments. Luckily, we have every scent and scentless stacked up at our office, and with the spring/summer season rolling in we thought this was the ideal time to talk about washing knits for summer storage. There is nothing worse for a knitter than finding…
In Bloom: BC Garn Alba for Spring/Summer Knits
Do you love to knit year round, but don’t know what to make? Well, we’ve got you covered! At Kelbourne Woolens, we not only knit (and crochet) year round, but we wear our knits, too. It’s all about pairing a breathable fiber with a beautiful pattern. BC Garn’s range of yarns includes several plant fiber…
Spring Warehouse Sale!
It’s time to clear out the warehouse and make room for new, beautiful yarns and products! Join us on May 11, 10 am -5 pm for our quarterly warehouse sale. We’ll have piles and stacks of sale products, including: yarn FREE knitting patterns signed books coned yarns mill ends mugs, pins, and more KW merch!…
A Bow in the Sky: Local Yarn Store Day!
The second annual TNNA Local Yarn Store Day is coming up on April 27th, and we’re really excited to share a new design, available exclusively at your Local Yarn Shop—A Bow in the Sky by Courtney Kelley! What is a rainbow? Have you ever thought to ask? The human ability to see the world around…
BC Garn Bio Balance: Never Say Goodbye to Sweater Weather
It’s spring in the northern hemisphere, and generally that means saying goodbye to sweater weather, regardless if we’re ready for it or not. My personal stock of knitwear consists of simple, everyday knits that are easy to make and wear, and I always miss my comfortable staples during the warmer months. What I need is…
Year of Hats: April Hat
Forget the showers, bring on the flowers! It’s the third Tuesday of the month, which means it’s time for the April Hat. This month Courtney had enough of gray skies and cold, so she made her own flowers so she could feel bright and spring-like year round. If this is your first time coming across the…
Introducing Somer Jordan to the KW Team!
We’re pleased to announce the newest edition to the Kelbourne Woolens team – Somer Jordan! Somer is our new in-house sales representative; if you are one of our retail partners you’ve probably received an email or phone call from her. If not, expect one soon! Somer (aka the former Miss Black America Pennsylvania 2017), is…
Stitch Your Pride: International Transgender Day of Visibility
Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility, and in celebration we decided to design a cute crochet hat for you to stitch up to show your pride and solidarity. The hat is crocheted using Kelbourne Woolens Germantown, in the colors Old Blue, Pink, and Natural in a stripe pattern based on the Transgender Pride Flag….
Introducing Kelbourne Woolens Perennial
This spring season we are excited to announce the release of our newest addition to the Kelbourne Woolens family – Perennial. Specifications 60% superwash Merino, 25% Suri alpaca, 15% nylon 497 yds (454 meters) / 100 gram skein 28-36 sts = 4″ (10 cm) US 1-3 (2.25-3.25 mm) Why Perennial? Because we think it will…
Cast-On-Itis: BC Garn Semilla Melange
Do you suffer from cast-on-itis? It’s a problem I’ve suffered from since the invention of Ravelry. Every day a new, gorgeous, must-start-right-now design popped up on the feed and a fugue state later I was surrounded by fresh pile of yarn and a newly cast on project. This tendency has only gotten worse over the…
Year of Hats: February Hat
Today is the third Tuesday of the month, and that can only mean one thing – the February Hat is here! This year we’re releasing a new, free hat design the third Tuesday of each month here on the blog made in Germantown. Germantown is a soft, durable, 100% N. American Wool with ample yardage…
Happy Little Accidents: My Humulus Sweater (Dress)
Did you all watch or grow up with The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross? Well, when I tried on my freshly blocked Humulus his famous phrase was my first thought: “There are no mistakes, only happy little accidents.” Humulus by Isabell Kraemer called to me from the moment I saw its hop-filled yoke last…
Designer Feature: Germantown Hats by Chiaki Hayashi
Our Germantown yarn is one of those go-to-for-anything yarns we keep reaching for over and over again. It’s ideal for plain, textured, and stranded knitting. While we’ve been busy knitting piles of textured swatches and sweaters, two new designs by Chiaki Hayashi popped up on Ravelry showcasing Germantown’s colorwork capabilities. Chiaki Hayashi’s new Germantown Rolled…
Navia Duo Makes a Colorwork Knitter Out of Me
Now that the holidays are over, I can finally show you the hats I made for my best friends two daughters! (Full disclosure, I made them pose for me in the middle of Christmas Day festivities, so we were having fun!) One of the frequent conversations we have in the office concerns the ability and,…
We Want You!: Crochet Summer ’19 Submissions Call
We’re in the frigid depths of winter in Philadelphia, so naturally, it got us thinking about warmer climates and crochet! At Kelbourne Woolens, we think summer and crochet go together like peanut butter and jelly. Crochet works up quickly and beautifully using lighter weight yarns and natural fibers, is a versatile medium, invites color play,…