Blog
Published March 26, 2024 | By Julia
Spring is here – time to reach for plant fiber yarns! Meet our newest arrival, Cascade Botanika.
Cascade Botanika:
- sport weight
- speckled with natural dyes
- 100% organic cotton
- 328 yards/100g
- $12.50 each
Botanika is a soft and smooth organic cotton yarn, dyed with natural pigments sourced from plant leaves, roots and flowers. We have six speckled colors, dyed with the likes of indigo, madder, marigold, and mulberry leaf.
What to make with Botanika? Here are some pattern ideas in adult sizes:
Soft, smooth, machine washable cotton is ideal for baby things, too – here are a few patterns to consider:
Look for Cascade Botanika in the sport weight section here at HYS, along with other plant fiber yarns, like Kelbourne Woolens Skipper, Mojave, and Cascade Ultra Pima Fine!
Published February 25, 2016 | By Julia
It’s been a while since we had a new book about sock knitting, so we were delighted when this one showed up on our doorstep! Take a virtual peek at Ann Budd’s New Directions in Sock Knitting. We’re all familiar with the two most common directions of sock knitting, cuff-down and toe-up. New Directions in … [more]
Published February 22, 2016 | By Julia
Anne and I breathed a sigh of relief when we opened a box from Malabrigo last week, full of Malabrigo Mechita. Malabrigo Mechita is a single-ply superwash merino wool in fingering weight, and though it’s only been in production for about a year, it’s become a kind of staple here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. … [more]
Published February 20, 2016 | By Julia
We love to see what yarns from the shop grow up to be, and as I’m often taking pictures of these finished pieces, my collection of show-and-tell photos continues to grow. Time to share some of the projects you’ve so generously shared with us! Today, let’s look at hats. Above is Jeannie’s “Seathwaite,” a free cabled … [more]
Published February 18, 2016 | By Julia
A new stack of books have found a place on the teacart here at the shop, Jennifer Wood’s Refined Knits. Refined Knits is a collection of patterns for garments and accessories, focusing on lace, cables, and stitch patterns that combine the two. I spied some of our very favorite yarns in this book, like Shibui … [more]
Published February 15, 2016 | By Julia
Last week, we got another shipment from Cutthroat Yarn in Leesburg, Virginia. Meet the newest of our yarns, Gradient Cotton. Like Cutthroat Yarn Gradient BFL, Gradient Cotton is a hand-dyed fingering weight self-striping yarn, where each shade is many yards long, for wide stripes. The big difference between these two yarns is in fiber content. … [more]
Published February 12, 2016 | By Julia
We’re delighted to announce the arrival of Shibui’s newest yarn, Rain. Rain is a dk weight mercerized cotton, but it’s unlike any mercerized cotton we’ve seen. First, its chainette construction sets it apart from more traditional plied cottons, adding a bit of elasticity where plant fibers typically have none. Second, its smooth, shiny texture suggests … [more]
Published February 10, 2016 | By Julia
Our first Trunk Show of 2016 has arrived, and we’ve decorated our walls with the Kelbourne Woolens Cumbria Collection, featuring garments knit in Fibre Company Cumbria Worsted. These designs are inspired by the knitting tradition of the British Isles, from ganseys to stranded colorwork to cables. The Cumbria Collection features a variety of sweaters and … [more]
Published February 8, 2016 | By Julia
Everyone’s knitting needles have been busy lately, it seems; we’ve seen so many beautiful finished projects over the past couple of weeks. I’ve captured some of them to share with you here on the blog, and of my current collection, about half are cowls. Let’s devote this post to what has become one of the … [more]
Published February 6, 2016 | By Julia
The folks at UK yarn company Baa Ram Ewe dreamed up two new colors for their Titus and Dovestone DK yarns, and I’m happy to report that we now have them on our shelves here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! The two yarns take the dye differently, coming out bright and clear in Titus, but … [more]
Published February 3, 2016 | By Julia
The Spring 2016 issue of Interweave Knits is here! Flipping through this issue, the first thing that caught my eye was a review of Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering, a bouncy, naturally-dyed yarn that I’ve tried and loved. I spotted another familiar yarn put to use in this capelet, designed by Carol Feller; yep, it’s Baa Ram Ewe … [more]