Back in stock: Isager Japansk Bomuld.

Our most recent Isager order included a bundle of Japansk Bomuld, a lustrous lace weight cotton tape.

Isager Japansk Bomuld:

  • lace weight
  • flat tape
  • 100% cotton
  • 344 yards, 50 g
  • $15 each

Japansk Bomuld has been around for about five years, but remains one of the most unique plant fiber yarns in our shop. The knit fabric is crunchy and cool to the touch, ideal for spring and summer tops and accessories.

I used 3 shades of Japansk Bomuld to knit a Churchmouse “Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf” as a shop sample, a trio that made high contrast stripes towards the middle of the scarf, and low contrast at one end.

Though the Isager Japansk Bomuld palette is small, there are plenty of intriguing color trios available – here are a few to consider.

What else to knit with Japansk Bomuld? Hold it together with Silk Mohair for Midori Hirose’s “Ranunculus” or Ragnhild Vaaland’s “Blink” pullover, or hold 3 strands together for PetiteKnit’s “French Market Bag.”

Look for Isager Japansk Bomuld in the lace weight section here at HYS!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Stoa.

March is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

This month’s sample is Anne Ginger’s “Stoa,” a flared ribbed scarf. The pattern is available for free when you buy Shibui Echo here at our shop.

“Stoa” is knit with Shibui Echo, a DK weight blend of 48% fine merino wool and 52% silk noil, where each ply is only one of those fibers. The two strands of silk noil stand out against the merino for a slightly marled look, just a bit of texture in the knit fabric.

Come by the shop to before March 26th to try on “Stoa” and get Shibui Echo at 10% off to make one of your own!

 

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Scroll.

February is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on the Shibui yarn used in our featured sample til the end of the month.

This month, Shibui sent us Scott Rohr’s “Scroll,” a lightweight scarf knit with Shibui Pebble and Silk Cloud held together intermittently for a transparent effect.

Short rows create a curved chevron running down the center of the scarf, which is worked lengthwise.

The pattern is free when you purchase Shibui yarns from us to make it. We’ll have “Scroll” on display through February 26th – visit us before then to get Shibui Pebble and Silk Cloud at 10% off to make one of your own!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

Back in stock: Isager Japansk Bomuld.

Last week brought a big box from Isager, filled to the brim with Japansk Bomuld.

Japansk Bomuld is a lustrous lace weight cotton tape, with 344 yards per 50 gram ball. It was one of Isager’s new yarns last Spring, and remains one of the most unique plant fiber yarns in our shop. The knit fabric is crunchy and cool to the touch, ideal for spring and summer tops and accessories.

I’m making a Churchmouse “Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf” as a shop sample, so I’ve spent some time with this unusual yarn. I cast on with this eye-catching chartreuse and planned to select the other two colors as I go. I was inspired by a bit of show and tell from last summer, Carribeth’s own “Airplane Scarf.”

While lower contrast combinations also appeal, I decided to go for a high contrast color combination like Carribeth’s, and I’m liking the results so far.

Though the Isager Japansk Bomuld palette is small, there are plenty of intriguing color trios available – here are a few to consider.

 

Look for more pattern inspiration on our Lace weight Pinterest board, and come by the shop to see Japansk Bomuld itself!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Stoa.

March is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

This month’s sample is Anne Ginger’s “Stoa,” a flared ribbed scarf. The pattern is available for free when you buy Shibui Echo here at our shop.

“Stoa” is knit with Shibui Echo, a DK weight blend of 48% fine merino wool and 52% silk noil, where each ply is only one of those fibers. The two strands of silk noil stand out against the merino for a slightly marled look, just a bit of texture in the knit fabric.

Come by the shop to before March 26th to try on “Stoa” and get Shibui Echo at 10% off to make one of your own!

 

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Madison.

December is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

December’s sample is “Madison,” a tubular ribbed scarf designed to look like a sweater sleeve. The pattern is free when you purchase the yarn to make it from our shop, and the yarn is Birch, a single ply sport weight merino wool.

For this pattern, you hold three strands of Birch together as you knit, which makes a thicker gauge, a plush texture, and better stitch definition than you might expect.

Come by the shop this month to see “Madison” and get Shibui Birch at 10% off to make one of your own!

 

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

 

Back in stock: Crazy Zauberball.

Last week brought a colorful box of yarn our way – hello again, Crazy Zauberball!

Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball is a fingering weight yarn that slowly changes from one color to the next several yards at a time, so that whatever you’re knitting or crocheting with it comes out striped. The 2-ply construction of this yarn gives the finished fabric a marled look.

Over the years, we’ve seen Crazy Zauberball put to good use in all kinds of projects, from socks to shawls to cowls. Christy Kamm’s “ZickZack Scarf” (Winnie’s version is pictured above) has been an especially popular pattern around here, a simple chevron stripe made beautiful by the yarn and color selection. Our Fingering weight section here at the shop is full of possibilities for this pattern; here are a few ideas to start with.

We’ve had several knitters pair the self-striping Crazy Zauberball with a solid color for a dramatic effect. Consider the clear solid shades of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie or the gentle heathers of CoopKnits Socks Yeah! 

A semi-solid hand-dyed yarn works well here, too; here’s one possible combination in Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply.

I haven’t seen a speckled “ZickZack” yet, but I’d love to see how it looks! Try Malabrigo Mechita if you’re similarly intrigued.

Come by the shop to pick up some Crazy Zauberball for your next project!

Show and tell: Isager.

Time for another round of show and tell! Today I’m here to share some finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all knit with yarn from the Danish company Isager.

Above is Loretta’s “Girasole,” an intricate circular shawl designed by Jared Flood. She used two Isager yarns held together for this piece, both lace weight – Alpaca 1 and Spinni. The combination is perfectly balanced, with drape from the Peruvian alpaca yarn and structure from the Danish wool.

Hazel picked up Susie Haumann’s All You Knit is Love here at the shop and has been busy knitting from it, making dresses for her granddaughter.

She knit this “Smilla’s Dress” with Isager Highland, a light fingering weight wool sourced in Peru. The heathered color gives depth to the fabric of this piece, with its eyelets, cables, and panels of reverse stockinette.

Hazel went on to knit a second “Smilla’s Dress” in a different yarn – more on that in the next show-and-tell post!

Carribeth knit this Churchmouse “Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf” with Isager Japanesk Bomuld, a lace weight cotton tape. Knit up loosely like this, it’s somehow crisp and soft at once, a contradictory but delightful fabric for summer.

We love seeing what folks make with our yarns – thank you so much for sharing your projects with us. Look for more show and tell here soon!

Show and tell: Malabrigo.

It’s high time for another round of show and tell! Today I’m here to share some finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all knit with yarn from the beloved Uruguayan company Malabrigo.

Above is Janet’s first-ever knitting project, a ribbed scarf made with the worsted weight, hand-dyed Malabrigo Rios. Rios is one of the most popular yarns in our shop because of its versatility, smooth, soft texture, and vibrant colors. Well done, Janet!

Here’s another scarf in Rios, showing a more subtle, tonally variegated colorway. The pattern is “Rockcliffe” and the knitter is Donita, who comes back to Rios again and again, as so many of us do.

I knit this little “Dog Star” with Malabrigo Arroyo for a friend who’s having a baby next month, having made the same sweater for another pregnant friend earlier in the year. Malabrigo’s superwash yarns are perfect for baby things, as they’re easy to care for and soft to the touch.

Malabrigo yarns also play well with others. Glen used Malabrigo Sock in natural white as the background color in his “Broken Seed Stitch Socks,” letting another variegated yarn shine.

Winnie took a similar approach with her “ZickZack Scarf,” pairing a semisolid Malabrigo Sock with the self-striping Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball for a lovely effect.

Emily used a variety of leftover yarns, including bits and pieces of Malabrigo Rios, in this “Randolph Raccoon,” a gift for her son. Toys like these are an excellent use of odds and ends, which is why I never get rid of even the smallest length of leftover yarn – Emily did a great job putting some of hers to use!

Many thanks to the talented knitters who shared the projects above, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!

Hello, Brooklyn Tweed Quarry.

Since we first got Brooklyn Tweed yarns in stock back in January, there’s been one missing piece in our selection. We began with Shelter, Loft, and Arbor, then got Vale as soon as it came out. We’re delighted to announce that the one BT yarn we waited for is now on our shelves. Meet Quarry!

Quarry is Brooklyn Tweed’s heaviest yarn, a bulky weight, woolen-spun Targhee-Columbia wool. Each plump 100 gram skein boasts 200 yards, quite a bit for a yarn that knits up at 3-3.5 stitches per inch.

Like Shelter and Loft, colors in Quarry are created by blending dyed fiber together before spinning, for a heathered effect. Quarry is unique, however, because of its unexpected combination of texture and structure. It looks like a single ply, but is actually constructed with three loosely-spun plies for a smooth, round yarn.

I recently knit “Byway” with Quarry, a generous cabled scarf from Jared Flood’s Woolens. Bulky weight yarn is not often on my needles, but Quarry is a special one, and I thoroughly enjoyed this project. Like Shelter, Quarry is doughy in the hands, with a wooly softness that makes every stitch a pleasure. The pattern is a clever one, too, with blocks of moss stitch and cables framed by a satisfying i-cord edge.

Here are a few other patterns for Quarry that caught my eye:

Look for more pattern ideas on our “Bulky and super-bulky weight” Pinterest board, and look for Quarry in the Bulky weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!