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- Annika Scheer | Rosemary & Pines Fiber Arts
- Ayano Tanaka
- Barbara Gottwik
- Crystal Hiatt
- Elena Solier Jansà
- Emily Joy Rickard
- Emma Ducher
- Fiona Alice
- Fiona Munro
- Imke von Nathusius
- Jennifer Brou
- Jill Thompson Beach
- Joan Forgione | Paper Moon Knits
- Julia Exner
- Kjerstin Rovetta
- Ksenia Naidyon | Life is Cozy
- Madeleine Renarde
- Makenzie Alvarez
- Making Stories
- Maria Muscarella
- Marina Skua
- Marthe Forodden
- Rebekka Mauser
- Renate Kamm
- Susan Schädler
- Tania Dejoie
- Valentina Cosciani
- Vanessa Pellisa
We're here to help you stitch sustainability into every aspect of your making.
With our carefully curated selection of non-superwash, plastic-free yarns and notions, we have everything you need to get started on your next project - and the one after that.
Here's to a wardrobe of knits we love and want to wear for years to come!
Thought's On Yarn Shopping
Knitting season is in full swing and along with planning which patterns we'd like to work on, we're all having all sorts of fun choosing our yarn! Whether you're online shopping or visiting your LYS it's one of the most exciting parts of the project. As we all know though, a sweater's quantity of yarn can often come with a hefty price tag and can make that exciting new pattern feel like a huge investment. For today's post, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some more sustainable approaches to yarn shopping to make that new pattern feel a little more accessible!
Bundle Shipping
For our European Yarn series, we have explored some amazing yarn producers creating beautiful and sustainable yarns. We realise though that you can't always find these yarns at your LYS and often have to order online which can include costly shipping options. Firstly, check to see if the yarn company you would like to order from has a stockist in your country. Our yarn partners will often list physical and online stores that carry their yarn all over the world that may make a more sensible option for ordering. If not, how about reaching out to other local knitters who may be interested in ordering from the same place. Maybe others in your knitting group would love to try that yarn as well! By placing an order together you not only reduce the shipping cost by sharing it (or possibly even eliminating it all together if you qualify for free shipping!) but help to reduce the carbon foot and packaging waste created by shipping transportation. This is a similar idea to our Shipping Pods!
Stash Diving Instead of Buying
We've all be guilty of this, I know I have! We've built up quite a collection of yarn in our stash, yet when the time comes to cast on our new project we get excited and order new yarn. If one of the reasons is you don't feel confident using a different yarn to the one suggested in the pattern then there are two rules for choosing wisely!
Weight: Rather than simply matching a DK to a DK or a Worsted to a Worsted, try to compare yardage instead. This gives you a much more accurate idea if the yarn you would like to use is similar to the suggested yarn. If your new yarn is within 20 yards of the suggested yarn then you are good to go! Any more or less then you may find it trickier to get gauge. Always swatch
Fibre content: If the fibre content in your substituted yarn is very different from the fibre of the suggested yarn it's good to bear in mind that your finished project will probably differ to the sample pictured. For example, if the suggested yarn is a woollen spun 100% wool yarn the finished fabric will be pretty light and lofty, whereas if you substitute with an alpaca/silk blend the outcome will be very drapey. Both give very different looks to a finished object.
As you try different yarns your confidence will build and you'll start to get a good sense for what will work and what won't. If you would like to get even more tips on substituting yarns we have an amazing article in JEWELS from Katie Green of Blacker Yarns. You can read a little excerpt of it here!
Recycling Yarn
Once you've got the hand of substituting yarn you can always advance to yarn recycling! Second-hand stores can be an amazing source for yarn with a small price tag by finding old wool sweaters and unravelling them. This can feel pretty daunting but there are some fantastic tutorials out there to help you spot the difference between a yarn jackpot and a future pile of unusable knots. This post by Dawn Prickett gives us a mine of information from finding the right sweater right through to getting out all of those kinks. It's such a lovely image, taking an unwanted item and breathing new life into it by transforming it into a new, loved piece.
Do you have any tips of your own for yarn shopping you would like to share with us?! Let us know in the comments below!
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Also in Blog
6 Joyful Spring Knitting Patterns - My Current Favorites!
Hi lovelies! Spring has sprung here in Berlin – as I am typing this (mid March), the buds on the chestnut tree out the window are a few days away from bursting, the forsythias are in full bloom, and our strawberry plants have started their comeback as well (leaves so far, but Aurin checks every day for berries :)).
So it's no surprise at all that today's blog post is very much inspired by the sun and the warmer days to come! I have put together a sweet roundup of 6 joyful spring knitting patterns, all of which I'd love to have on my needles soon. (If someone can get me an extra day or two per week to knit (oh, and to spin), I'd love that!)
The three yarns I've paired them with are my favorite spring / summer yarns: De Rerum Natura's Antigone, a delightful sport-weight linen yarn, Wooldreamers' Saona, a 50% Spanish cotton, 50% Spanish wool blend, and Natissea's Pernelle, our newest spring yarn: A 100% European hemp yarn!
Get to Know: Pernelle, our first 100% hemp yarn!
Hi lovelies! As you might know, we are slowly, surely expanding the portfolio of the shop – I am always on the lookout for wonderful sustainable yarns that might fill gaps we still have, and one that was on the list since last summer was an additional spring / summer yarn.
When I learned about Natissea, a French yarn company dedicated to organic plant yarns, from Audrey Borrego last year, I immediately contacted them to order some samples. As soon as I had Pernelle, their 100% European hemp yarn, on the needles, it was love – grippy, but not ropey, with a lovely drape that only got stronger after a good washing and blocking session.
The shade cards had me swooning too – a really comprehensive, well-composed range of colors with something for everyone in it, from neutrals to spring-inspired pastels to deep jewel tones.
So I was so pleased when Natissea accepted us as a stockist – and I am extra excited to introduce Pernelle to you. Our first 100% hemp yarn, perfect for summer tops, T-Shirts, and lightweight sweaters!
I reached out to Mathilde over at Natissea and she graciously agreed to answer a few questions about Pernelle. I loved reading her answers!
Issue 11 - in and out by Liza Laird
Hello lovelies!
I am back today with a slightly unusual post that starts with a big, big apology to Liza Laird. Liza is a wonderful author (you might know her book Yoga of Yarn), knitter, teacher and yogi, and we were supposed to publish her beautiful poem "in and out", inspired by the ocean, in our Issue 11, "Seashore".
While I was putting the final touches on our layout, I realized that we had a spread too many (we always print in increments of 4 pages, or 2 spreads) and inadvertently cut the spread with Liza's poem instead of the photo spread I meant to delete.
