Tag Archives: color combinations

“Simple Yet Effective” cowl.

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If you’ve been to the shop in the past few weeks, you might have seen me working on this cowl, “Simple Yet Effective,” by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is aptly named, alternating sections of stockinette and reverse stockinette – a nearly blank canvas for showing off some special yarn. The pattern calls for DK weight, but I’ve held a fingering weight and a lace weight yarn together, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft, respectively.

It can be tricky to visualize how different colors and textures of yarn will look when knit together. Luckily, Tin Can Knits has a super helpful blog post about just that, “Layering With Mohair.” I was inspired after reading it, and learned that you can achieve a fascinating effect when you combine a darker mohair with a lighter yarn. As Tin Can Knits designer Emily Wessel puts it, “When you blend a darker or more saturated mohair with a lighter yarn, the paler colourway seems to glow underneath a deeper halo.” I tried out that strategy in this cowl and am so pleased with the result – each yarn seems to be enhanced by the other, and of course the fabric is fuzzy and soft!

Here are a few more color combinations pairing Cricket and Loft, which seem to me like they’d blend beautifully.

I couldn’t stop there, when there are so many shades of Isager Silk Mohair to play with – here are a few more!

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at our shop, not far from the lace weight section, which holds Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft and Isager Silk Mohair. We can’t wait to see what other color combinations you come up with for your own “Simple Yet Effective” cowls!

Isager Alpaca 2 + Vertices Unite.

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Isager Alpaca 2 has a particularly harmonious color palette – each shade is lovely on its own, but they are even happier in combination. Looking through multi-color projects on Ravelry, Stephen West’s “Vertices Unite” caught my eye – a five color shawl in two sizes, composed of various geometric shapes that build on one another as you knit, in a playful modular fashion.

“Vertices Unite,” by Stephen West, photo © Stephen West

Stephen West is well known for his whimsical and sometimes wild use of color, but this particular piece is more muted. Inspired by this colorway and by the yarn itself, I’ve created some “Vertices Unite” combinations of my own, using Isager Alpaca 2.

Isager Alpaca 2: light fingering weight, 50% alpaca, 50% wool, 275 yards/50 g; $12 each, $60 for bundles of 5 to make the small size shown above.

Come by the shop to put together a “Vertices Unite” colorway of your own; we have 30 shades of Isager Alpaca 2 to choose from! We are still taking online orders as well, so if any of these color combinations grabs you, order online for local pickup or shipping.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Winter Flowers.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s limited edition shade is Winter Flowers, a rosy colorway streaked with shades of pink and burgundy.

This new colorway made me think of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks,” a striped, slip-stitch pattern that’s great for pairing solid and multicolored yarns. Isager Sock Yarn makes a great Main Color, letting the variegated KPPPM take center stage as Contrast Color.

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Isager Sock Yarn and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Cumulus and friends.

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Fyberspates Cumulus is the newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a soft and fluffy lace weight alpaca/silk blend. Though it’s lovely on its own, it plays well with others – here are some yarn and pattern ideas for holding Cumulus together with heavier yarns!

Cumulus + fingering weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Isager Alpaca 2 and Kelbourne Woolens Cricket (above) and Isager Merilin and Kelbourne Woolens Perennial (below).

Cumulus + DK weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Fibre Co. Acadia and Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (above), and Kelbourne Woolens Scout and Isager Jensen (below).

Cumulus + worsted weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Malabrigo Rios and Berroco Ultra Alpaca (above), and Brooklyn Tweed Tones and Shelter (below). 

We can’t wait to see what other color and yarn combinations you come up with – see you at the shop!

Back in stock: Isager Alpaca 3.

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Once again, PetiteKnit has made Isager yarn popular enough to clear our shelves. Having nearly sold out of Alpaca 3 in the past month or so, we are relieved to announce that we now have a fresh supply!

Isager Alpaca 3:

  • bulky weight
  • chainette
  • 50% alpaca, 50% wool
  • 137 yards/50 grams
  • $10 each

Due to it’s chainette construction, Alpaca 3 is soft, lofty, and highly elastic – a pleasure to work with, all told.

“Novice Cardigan – Chunky Edition,” by PetiteKnit, photo © PetiteKnit.

Though it’s lovely on its own, it’s irresistibly soft when paired with Isager Silk Mohair, as PetiteKnit knows well.

“Sunday Sweater,” by PetiteKnit, photo © PetiteKnit.

Here are a few color combinations to consider when planning a “Sunday Sweater,” “Novice Sweater – Chunky Edition,” “Novice Cardigan – Chunky Edition,” or “Holiday Slipover.”

If mohair isn’t your thing, you can substitute Isager Alpaca 1, a lace weight 100% alpaca yarn. It will add a little weight to the Alpaca 3, and can alter the color if you like, but won’t be as fuzzy as Silk Mohair.

Come by the shop to see and touch these yarns for yourself, and plan your next project! Look for Silk Mohair and Alpaca 1 in the lace weight section, and Alpaca 3 in the bulky weight section.

Koigu Collector’s Club: The Wool Shed.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

The Wool Shed is a variegated mix of greens with subtle flourishes of raspberry, auburn, and cream.

“Pressed Flowers Hat,” by Amy Christoffers. Photo © Amy Christoffers

Anne has had her eye on Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” for a while now, so when this Collector’s Club colorway came in, I thought I’d put together some color combinations. 

I’ve paired Koigu KPPPM with semisolid shades of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk that is relatively new to our shop. One skein of each should make two hats, with NFC Capital Luxury Sport as the main color and Koigu KPPPM as the contrast color.

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: December 2022.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. December’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

December’s special colorway is vibrant and variegated, a mix of turquoise, cobalt, purple and ice blue.

Variegated skeins like these are beautiful on their own – one skein makes a “Sockhead Slouch” hat or “Reyna” shawl – but they always inspire me to create color combinations. Here are a few I put together with the “Temperance Shawl” in mind, a three color garter stitch and eyelet pattern that works well in low, medium, and high contrast color combinations.

Isager Sock Yarn: fingering weight, 40% Easy Wash alpaca, 40% Easy Wash merino wool, 20% recycled nylon, 423 yards/100g; $20 each

  • Malabrigo Ultimate Sock: fingering weight, hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways, 75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon, 420 yards/100g; $20 each
  • Kelbourne Woolens Perennial: light fingering weight, 60% superwash merino, 25% suri alpaca, 15% nylon, 497 yards/100 g; $26 each

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We’ll be closed December 24-26, then reopening at our regular business hours, 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesday – Saturday. You can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

NFC Loft + fingering weight.

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There are so many popular patterns that call for a lace weight mohair paired with fingering weight wool – sometimes in a matching color, sometimes a contrasting one, always creating an enticing fuzzy fabric. Neighborhood Fibre Co. Loft is just the yarn for this, and we’ve got loads of options in the fingering weight section here at our shop – you’ll find a few ideas below, and keep scrolling for patterns!

  • Brooklyn Tweed Peerie: fingering weight, 100% merino wool, 210 yards/50 grams, $17.25 each

Sweaters:

Accessories:

It can be tricky to visualize how different colors and textures of yarn will look when knit together – Tin Can Knits has a super helpful blog post about just that, “Layering With Mohair.” Read it and you are sure to be inspired – we can’t wait to see what yarn and color combinations you come up with!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: November 2022.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. November’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

November’s special colorway is a pale lavender grey, with speckles of plum and burgundy.

It pairs beautifully with the David Hess colorway in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft – this trio of skeins is perfect for Andrea Mowry’s “Birds of a Feather” shawl!

“Birds of a Feather,” by Andrea Mowry, photo © Andrea Mowry

Here are a few more such combinations using other Pop-Up Club colorways, a flock of shawls-to-be.

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We are open between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Maie Landra’s Original Paintings.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s limited edition shade is Maie Landra’s Original Paintings, a variegated mix of deep blues and purples, streaked with shades of gold, berry, and sky blue.

Above is one of Koigu founder Maie Landra’s paintings – head to the Koigu blog to see more, and learn about Landra herself!

We have quite a collection of Koigu KPPPM right now, so much that the yarn has outgrown its cubby – here it is freshly reorganized, a tantalizing color palette. It got me thinking about Churchmouse’s “Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf” pattern, which blends disparate variegated shades into a harmonious fabric that almost looks woven. Here are a few color combinations using Maie Landra’s Original Paintings along with other Koigu Collector’s Club colorways!

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.