Tag Archives: brooklyn tweed

Show and tell at a distance.

Posted by on

Since we closed our doors to walk-in visits back in March, we’ve seen a lot less of our community, and though it’s the right thing to do in terms of safety, we sure miss seeing all of you! We also miss the inspiring works-in-progress and finished projects you’d bring in for show and tell. Fortunately, we can still see your creations from a safe distance – we’ve had some folks send photos, and others bring their knits with them when they pick up their orders outside the shop! Let’s have a look.

Amy made this “Juneberry” shawl with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight Targhee wool yarn whose sharp stitch definition does this pattern justice.

Katherine used Malabrigo Rios to knit this “Scalloped Shawl,” which looks just lovely in this pastoral setting. Rios has been more popular than ever, and we’re doing our best to keep it in stock in spite of production delays and backorders!

 

Sue has a fondness for Rios, too – she’s been keeping herself busy knitting hat after hat with this soft and squishy yarn! Here are some of the patterns she’s used, all free downloads from Ravelry:

Yet another project in Malabrigo Rios is above, at right – Margaretta’s second (or third, or fourth? I’ve lost count!) “Umaro” blanket. She made the one on the left with Berroco Ultra Wool DK.

Here’s another of Margaretta’s projects, a “Furrow Cowl” knit with Austermann Merino Silk.

Nancy was the first of many to order yarn from us for “Katie’s Kep,” the Shetland Wool Week hat for 2020. We helped her pick colors of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and it’s delightful to see how beautifully they came together in the finished hat.

 

Thanks to Amy, Katherine, Sue, Margaretta, and Nancy, for sharing your work with us! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next, and encourage anyone working with yarn from our shop to send photos or bring along your projects when you’re picking up an order. Stay in touch, and keep stitching!

Soulful Slouchy Hat + Peerie.

Posted by on

A recent Brooklyn Tweed restock brought some of the best-loved shades of Peerie back to our shelves. This got me thinking about Tif Neilan’s “Soulful Slouchy Hat,” just the kind of small colorwork project I love. It comes in a wide range of sizes, from toddler to adult large.

© Tif Neilan – tif handknits –

Brooklyn Tweed Peerie:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% American merino wool
  • 210 yards/50 grams
  • $17.25 each

One skein in each color gives you enough for at least two hats, if you rearrange the color placement. Below are the four shades Neilan used in her own “Soulful Slouchy Hat,” pictured at the top of this post, an intriguing mix of classic navy and white and a couple of unusual earth tones.

Here are a few more color combinations I came up with for Tif Neilan’s “Soulful Slouchy Hat.”

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Glass Art.

Posted by on

The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu.

Our most recent shipment from Koigu is Glass Art, another playful variegated colorway. These special skeins are predominantly silver gray, streaked and spotted with whimsical pops of purple, aqua, pink, and blue. It looks a lot like last month’s Barn Art colorway, which sold out in record time!

What to make with these pretty skeins? For a small project, try Laura Chau’s “Serviceberry Mitts,” knit with just one or two skeins of Koigu KPPPM, depending on the size. Want to play with more than one color? Check out Fatimah Hinds’ “Pigdale,” a striped hat with a bit of texture. We still have some Koigu KPPPM Ballet in stock, which pairs well with Glass Art.

Glass Art also pops against a true solid, like these three in Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

For a larger project, check out Rebecca McKenzie’s new “Francy Shawl,” or pair Glass Art with a semisolid hand-dyed yarn for Tamy Gore’s “Kymani” shawl. Here are a few color ideas with Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply!

  • Koigu KPPPM: $15.50 each
  • Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply: $24.20 each
  • Brooklyn Tweed Peerie: $15.25 each

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront is temporarily closed!

Sale Spotlight: Brooklyn Tweed Vale.

Posted by on

Everything in our shop is 15% off during July, our Annual Inventory Sale! All month, I’ll be shining a spotlight on the yarns we have in stock – today, let’s look at Brooklyn Tweed Vale!

Brooklyn Tweed Vale:

  • lace weight
  • 2 ply, worsted-spun
  • 100% Rambouillet wool
  • 450 yards/50 grams
  • $15 each

Like all Brooklyn Tweed yarns, Vale is entirely sourced, spun, and dyed in the US, reflecting the company’s steadfast allegiance to domestic textiles. The fiber is worsted-spun for a smooth yarn with sharp stitch definition, then skein-dyed at the Saco River Dyehouse in Maine. Vale is also spectacularly bouncy in the skein and in the hand, full of elasticity – one of my favorite yarn qualities.

What to make with Vale? Here are a few ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

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

Join us for a Dapple KAL!

Posted by on

Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn, Dapple, has captured our imagination.

Sample skeins acquired in advance of the launch allowed Anne to get it right on her needles, casting on for Gudrun Johnston’s “Kirigami” pullover in Honeycrisp.

Not wanting to miss out on this fun, I’ve decided to cast on with Dapple, too, and selected Anchor and Natural for a “Pātikitiki Hat,” by Francoise Danoy. I can’t wait to see how the striking geometric colorwork comes out in this simple, high contrast combination!

We’re excited to announce an informal Dapple knit-along! How to participate? Simply embark on a project of your choosing with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, and stitch at your own pace. There will be no deadline, just the camaraderie of working with the same yarn at the same time. Anne and I are here to answer questions as you select your pattern, colors, and needles, and will post our progress along the way.

Anne has already made great strides on her “Kirigami,” and we are both having fun watching it come together. This is a bit of a departure for her in terms of color, which is to say, it’s bold and bright instead of subdued and neutral. She sorted the skeins by value before casting on, making a gradient from light to dark. “Kirigami” is worked in the round from the bottom up, so she cast on the sleeves and body with the darkest skeins, making the sweater lightest at the textured yoke.

What else to knit with Dapple? It substitutes well for BT Arbor, for which there are a great many patterns available, but we’ve come up with all kinds of other projects for Dapple besides. Here are some ideas!

Garments:

Accessories:

Cast on with us this week, or next week, or whenever suits you – knit along at your own pace, and use the hashtag #HYSDappleKAL to share your progress on Instagram!

Hello, Brooklyn Tweed Dapple!

Posted by on

We’re excited to announce the arrival of Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn, Dapple!

Dapple is a 2ply woolen-spun blend of 60% merino wool and 40% organic cotton, a DK weight yarn with softness and bounce. Each 50 gram skein has 165 yards, and costs $15.25.

Dapple is tonally dyed, meaning skeins in the same colorway differ from one another even in the same dye lot. Some are lighter, some are darker, some almost look marled! This isn’t immediately apparent when looking at one skein of Dapple at a time, so I’ve laid out big groups of each colorway to give a better sense of the variety.

It’s a refreshing new look from Brooklyn Tweed, and one that invites new ways of playing with color. Bold stripes and colorwork come immediately to mind, but don’t shy away from using Dapple in a single-color garment; you can arrange the skeins in a gradient from light to dark, or arrange them randomly by value and alternate skeins for a more blended effect.

Like all Brooklyn Tweed yarns, Dapple is sourced, spun, and dyed in the US, an effort to produce beautiful yarn sustainably and ethically.

Part of that ethical production is acknowledging that cotton is a fiber with a fraught history in America, one whose impact is still felt. Cotton production is rooted in the displacement of indigenous communities, the exploitation of the labor of enslaved Black people, and the devastation of land through overproduction.

In contrast, Dapple’s cotton comes from members of the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative, who maintain safe labor practices for their employees while farming in a sustainable manner. It is as important to invest in this work as it is to learn about this history, and Brooklyn Tweed is doing both and inviting us to join them. Going forward, they are donating a portion of Dapple’s proceeds to the National Black Farmers Association, and are sharing a series of videos and essays on textiles and race as they introduce Dapple.

What to make with Dapple? This new yarn has launched with patterns from Jared Flood: “Ginn,” a raglan pullover, and “Urtia,” a half brioche hat. Stay tuned for more pattern ideas, and to see what’s on our needles – we’ve found so many exciting projects for Dapple!

Order Dapple online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail Shipping – thanks again for your support and understanding during our temporary closure!

Though we’re in the midst of our Annual Inventory Sale, Dapple will not be discounted during this time. Thanks for understanding!

On our needles.

Posted by on

What’s in Anne’s Plystre Project Pouch, besides a Baby Baggu?

A grandson-sized “Atlas (For Kids),” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Loft!

I love the color combination she chose – Flannel for the main color, Snowbound and Old World for the contrast colors.

Many of you know that Anne never limits herself to one project at a time. So what else is on her needles right now? Let’s take a look!

Anne’s “Calla” tank is growing, stripe by stripe. You can see how Anne keeps unruly plant fiber yarns in check, by hand-winding them into tight balls and storing them in ziplock bags as she knits.

Designed by Shellie Anderson for Shibui Koan, this is shaping up to be a lovely, lightweight summer garment.

Anne is almost done with another Shellie Anderson design, “Cather,” an elegant pullover in Shibui Echo. As she set in the first sleeve the other afternoon, she remarked on cocoknits Claw Clips – “I don’t know how I ever seamed without them!”

Another work in progress from Anne’s collection is this “Rainy Day Hat,” designed by Melanie Berg for her Balayage yarn. It’s a super-soft fingering weight blend of merino and alpaca, a treat for the hands.

I confess, I’m not quite as prolific as Anne, and my projects are coming along more slowly! Above is my “Kirigami,” designed by Gudrun Johnston and knit with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. I’ve been savoring this project for some months now, enjoying the simplicity of stockinette and the elasticity of Arbor, one of my very favorite yarns.

I’m about halfway through Churchmouse’s “Vineyard Cowl,” knit with one skein of Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn DK. It’s an easily-memorized stitch pattern, and a soothing knit in this wonderfully wooly yarn, shown here on another of my works-in-progress – a quilt I’ve been slowly stitching.

There’s a lot we miss about being “open” in the usual sense, but one of the main things is seeing what everyone is working on! What’s on your needles? Share in the comments, or post photos on Instagram, tagged #hillsboroughyarnshop – we can’t wait to hear from you!

Sale of the Week, Virtual Trunk Show: Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2019!

Posted by on

Though we’re keeping our doors closed during May, we’re still virtually open for mail orders, and we want to offer something fun during this uncertain time. Throughout May, we’ll have a special sale each week – 15% off a featured yarn, our Sale of the Week!

Another trunk show has arrived from Brooklyn Tweed – the Fall 2019 collection is here! We are truly sorry that our doors can’t be open to walk-in traffic at this time, when it’s such fun to see and touch these garments for yourself. However, you don’t have to miss out on the 15% discount we’re offering on featured BT yarns until May 30 – if you see something here that you like, email us with questions or to place an order!

It’ll have to be a Virtual Trunk Show this time – let’s take a look at the Fall 2019 collection!

 

 

“Auna,” by Gudrun Johnston, geometric colorblock shawl knit with 4 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Vale ($15 each; 2 skeins Thaw, 1 skein each Morel and Vernal).

 

“Cilfor,” by Gudrun Johnston, circular yoke pullover with pockets, knit with 8 – 14 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter ($16.50 each, shown in Yellowstone).

“Collomia,” by Gudrun Johnston, colorwork pullover knit with 9 – 17 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter ($16.50 each, Woodsmoke (MC), Nest (C1) and Bale (C2)).

 

 

 

“Dominy,” by Gudrun Johnston, A-line pullover knit with 5 – 9 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie ($15.25 each, shown in Burnished).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Dovera,” by Veronik Avery, colorwork tam knit with 4 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Loft ($18.75 each, shown in Meteorite, Tent, Birdbook, and Sweatshirt).

“Graff,” by Jared Flood, cabled hat knit with 2 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie ($15.25 each, shown in Marigolds and Nori).

 

 

 

“Lowra,” by Veronik Avery, belted cardigan knit with 10 – 16 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Arbor ($18.75 each, shown in Carob).

“Maremma,” by Norah Gaughan, cabled scarf knit with 7 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Quarry ($25 each, shown in Citrine) or 8 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Arbor ($18.75 each, shown in Mesa).

“Rockcress,” by Norah Gaughan, cabled pullover knit with 9 – 14 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Shelter ($16.50 each, shown in Wool Socks).

“Sagemoor,” by Veronik Avery, v-neck colorwork pullover knit with 9 – 13 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Loft ($18.75 each, shown in Cast Iron (C1), Embers (C2), Tent (C3), Pumpernickel (C4), Sweatshirt (C5), Cinnabar (C6), Button Jar (C7), and Meteorite (C8)).

 

 

 

“Sethera,” by Norah Gaughan, colorwork cardigan knit with 11 – 30 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Shelter ($16.50 each, shown in Caribou (C1), Fauna (C2), Embers (C3) and Meteorite (C4)).

“Tillage,” by Jared Flood, cabled turtleneck knit with 11 – 18 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Arbor ($18.75 each, shown in Treehouse).

Most every Brooklyn Tweed yarn is featured in these designs: the lace weight Vale, fingering weight Peerie and Loft, DK weight Arbor, worsted weight Shelter, and bulky weight Quarry – all of which are 15% off during the Virtual Trunk Show. Email us with your order by May 30, and take care!

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

Sale of the Week, Virtual Trunk Show: Brooklyn Tweed Holiday 2019!

Posted by on

Though we have to keep our doors closed during April, we’re still virtually open for mail orders, and we want to offer something fun during this uncertain time. Throughout April, we’ll have a special sale each week – 15% off a featured yarn, our Sale of the Week!

Another trunk show has arrived from Brooklyn Tweed – the Holiday 2019 collection is here! We are truly sorry that our doors can’t be open to walk-in traffic at this time, when it’s such fun to see and touch these garments for yourself. However, you don’t have to miss out on the 15% discount we’re offering on featured BT yarns until April 21 – if you see something here that you like, email us with questions or to place an order!

It’ll have to be a Virtual Trunk Show this time – let’s take a look at these select pieces from the Holiday 2019 collection!

“Marquam,” by Veronik Avery, knit with 5 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor ($18.75 each; 2 skein main color Fleet, 1 skein each contrast colors Hammock, Tincture, Driftwood).

“Bybee,” by Gudrun Johnston, knit with 8 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie ($15.25 each; 4 skeins main color Thaw, 2 skeins each in contrast colors Gale and Norway).

“Gammans,” by Norah Gaughan. Short cowl knit with 5 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (3 in main color Degas, 1 skein each contrast colors Arabesque and Carob). Beanie knit with 3 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (1 skein each in Vintner, Butte, and Ranier).

“Ardenwald,” by Jared Flood, knit with 2 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (shown at left in Tincture) or 2 skeins Brooklyn Tweed Shelter ($16.50 each, shown at right in Iceberg).

“Svenson (For Her),” by Jared Flood, knit with 10-17 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (shown in Hammock).

Some of our favorite Brooklyn Tweed yarns are featured in these designs: the fingering weight Peerie, DK weight Arbor, and worsted weight Shelter – all of which are 15% off during the Virtual Trunk Show. Email us with your order, and take care!

 

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

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

Posted by on

Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted a bunch in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, which is currently 10% off as it’s featured in our BT Sample of the Month. With its sophisticated colors and superb stitch definition, Arbor is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Last year, Amy taught a couple of classes on Norah Gaughan’s “Geiger,” an intricately cabled and tailored cardigan knit with Arbor. Above is Amy in her completed garment, a perfect fit!

Leslie, Jane, and Linda also used Arbor for their own “Geiger” cardigans – bravo to all on completing these impressive sweaters!

Nancy also taught a sweater class featuring Arbor last year – above is her lovely “Newhaven” gansey, from Beth Brown-Reinsel’s classic Knitting Ganseys.

Above is April in her “#14 Arbor Cardigan,” another striking cabled cardigan designed by Norah Gaughan. She had some Arbor leftover and made the “Brioche Knots” hat below.

Emily recently made this pint-sized version of Andrea Mowry’s “Weekender” sweater for her daughter, taking advantage of Arbor’s smaller gauge to get the perfect fit.

Thanks to Amy, Leslie, Jane, Linda, Nancy, April, and Emily for sharing their Arbor projects with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their project with a trip to our shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next. If these talented knitters have inspired you, place an order during April to get Brooklyn Tweed Arbor at 10% off!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks!