Tag Archives: silk

Hello, Amano Mayu Lace.

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Meet the very newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop: Amano Mayu Lace!

Amano Mayu Lace is a luxurious lace weight yarn, as soft and smooth as its fiber content suggests – royal alpaca, cashmere, and silk. These fibers provide drape alongside buttery softness, making Mayu Lace perfect for delicate lace scarves and shawls.

This yarn is dip-dyed for a tonal, semisolid effect, a slight variegation but not enough to distract from stitch patterns.

 

What to knit with Mayu Lace? So far Amano has two patterns for this new yarn: one skein makes an “Irene Bandana” (pictured at left), two makes a “Julieta Shawl.”

It would also work beautifully in Melanie Berg’s “Whiteout” shawl, Kate Davies’ “Hap for Harriet,” Ambah O’Brien’s “Alinda Wrap,” and Evelyn A. Clark’s popular “Swallowtail Shawl.”

Each 50 gram skein of Amano Mayu Lace has 437 yards, and costs $28. Use our online order form to place requests or ask for suggestions – we’re happy to help you plan your next project!

 

Shibui Sample of the Month: Stoa.

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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!

Hello, Shibui Koan.

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We’ve just unpacked the latest yarn from Shibui – meet Koan!

Shibui Koan is a fingering weight blend of 70% linen and 30% mulberry silk, with 248 yards on each 50 gram skein. These fibers are known for drape and sheen, qualities that define Koan.

Shibui is known for their penchant for combining yarns two or three strands at a time, a way of creating unique fiber blends. Because of this, most of their colors are available across most of their yarns, and all but two of the Koan colors are familiar favorites.

Crete and Paloma are brand new colors for Shibui, bright pops of aqua and pink that electrify the whole color palette.

What to make with Koan? A new pattern collection is coming soon to answer that question, but until then, look to the Shibui archives. Koan is a great substitute for Reed, so the “Athens” tank and “Octave” wrap would look great in this new yarn. From independent designers, I spotted the “Westbound” tee, “Albers Shawl,” and “Natsu Cardigan” in Reed – substitute Koan for a little extra shine.

Look for Shibui Koan in the fingering weight section here at our shop, and check out our other Shibui yarns while you’re here – we have them all, from lace to worsted weight!

Hello, Tweed Silk Cloud.

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Back in November, a new yarn from Shibui arrived without nearly the fanfare it deserved. Today I’m here to shine a light on it – meet Tweed Silk Cloud!

Tweed Silk Cloud is a luxurious lace weight yarn with the same fiber content as Shibui’s beloved Silk Cloud – mohair and silk – but the ratio is flipped for more silk than mohair. The result is an even more lustrous yarn, with extra drape and tweedy flecks.

Each 25 gram skein has 191 yards, and is composed of 65% silk and 35% mohair. Most patterns I’ve seen for Tweed Silk Cloud combine it with another yarn for a heavier fabric and larger gauge, but not all – here are four ideas for using it solo:

Beautiful things can happen when it’s paired with another yarn – here are a few ideas:

Look for Tweed Silk Cloud in our lace weight section here at the shop, and check out our full range of Shibui yarns while you’re here!

New colors in Shibui Twig.

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Shibui recently expanded their color palette for Twig, a unique yarn that has become a staple of our sport weight section.

Twig is a slightly textured, sometimes tweedy blend of 46% linen, 42% recycled silk, and 12% wool. Each 50 gram skein has 190 yards, and it knits up at a sport or dk weight gauge into an open, draping fabric.

Twig has a crisp feel and a plant fiber’s tendency to stretch rather than cling, qualities that make it ideal for warm weather garments and accessories like Shibui’s “Slope” and “Tier,” or Churchmouse’s “Simple Tee.” If you like a little more elasticity, consider holding Twig together with Cima, Lunar, or Pebble, as in Shibui’s “Apex” and “Crete,” or Julie Hoover’s “Wintour.”

Look for Shibui Twig in the sport weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we hope you find inspiration here!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Lyon.

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September 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 til the end of the month.

This month’s sample is “Lyon,” a versatile poncho knit with Shibui Pebble. Pebble is a lace weight blend of 48% recycled silk, 36% wool, and 16% cashmere, a carefully crafted blend of fibers that is soft and incredibly lightweight. Each of Pebble’s three plies is made of a separate fiber, so that you can see how each one takes the dye somewhat differently.

Come by the shop to before September 26th to see “Lyon” and get Shibui Pebble 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: Gradient.

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June is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! Shibui sends us a new sample to share with you every month, and we offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for that featured sample while it’s here.

June’s Shibui Sample of the Month is “Gradient,” knit with four shades of Shibui Silk Cloud, a lace weight blend of silk and mohair. The pattern is free when you purchase the yarn from our shop.

In the spirit of the Shibui Mix concept, which encourages the combining of Shibui yarns two or three strands at a time, “Gradient” is worked with three strands of Silk Cloud held together. Periodically, one of those three strands is switched out for a different color, which makes a gentle transition from one color to the next.

Here are a few color combinations I came up with, but there are so many more possibilities – we have over 25 shades of Silk Cloud in stock!

Inspired to make a “Gradient” cowl of your own? I can’t wait to see what other color combinations you creative knitters will come up with. Look for Shibui Silk Cloud in the lace weight section here at the shop, and come by before June 23 to get it at 10% off. See you there!

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

Dream in Color Pop Up! Club: April.

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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. April’s new limited edition colorway was somewhat delayed, but we’re pleased to announce that it’s here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Bonny is the featured yarn this month, a soft and squishy base of 2ply superwash merino. April’s colorway pairs ivory and pastels with bold streaks of blue, fuschia, and orange.

We also got in some special Dream in Color BFL Cash & Silk for Local Yarn Store Day this past Saturday.

The variegated Grand Canyon Centennial colorway pairs beautifully with any of these semi-solid shades for a “Riotous” or “Magical Thinking” shawl.

You’ll find these limited edition colorways in the fingering weight section here at our shop, and hurry in if you want to snag one – these special Dream in Color shades don’t last long!

Alchemy kits.

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Our Roadside Beanie Kits aren’t the only new kit in the shop – we’ve also made up kits featuring Alchemy yarns and patterns, designed and lovingly hand-dyed by designer Gina Wilde. These are truly unique yarns made of luxurious silk, sometimes blended with merino wool, sometimes with an added metallic sparkle.

The lacy “Simple Shibori Cowl” is knit with Alchemy Silken Straw and Sanctuary in a straightforward feather and fan pattern, then (gulp) thrown into the washing machine to be felted. The Sanctuary felts because of its merino wool content, shrinking into a fuzzy, velvety stripe whose individual stitches are no longer distinguishable. Meanwhile, the Silken Straw stretches out, becoming softer and draping gently.

The “Sparky Serpentine Scarf” is simple and elegant, a decorative accessory and a nice small project for trying Alchemy Sparky. The mesh lace pattern is easily memorized, and sparkles in this silk yarn, which is wrapped in a metallic thread.

Look for these kits and our full selection of Alchemy yarns here at the shop!

Hello, Shibui Vine.

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Meet Shibui’s newest yarn, Vine!

Vine is a unique combination of 41% paper, 31% cotton, and 28% silk. The texture is notable, too – a flat yarn wrapped in lustrous, overlapping threads.

Vine is in the DK weight section, though the suggested gauge ranges from 4.5 – 5 stitches per inch.

I knit a swatch on US size 6 needles, washed and blocked it, and the resulting fabric is lightweight and a little crunchy, though it drapes gently. It seems the perfect material for knitting spring and summer tops.

That’s just what Anne is making with Vine, in fact. Below is her “Amos” in progress, using Shibui Fern with Vine for subtle textural stripes.

Come by the shop to see Vine and other Shibui yarns – we keep Pebble, Cima, Silk Cloud, Lunar, Staccato, Reed, Birch, Twig, Fern, Rain, Echo, Maai, and Drift in stock, and have knit samples in most of them. We also have a new sample borrowed from Shibui each month, to spark project ideas and give a tangible sense of how these yarns knit up. We hope you find inspiration here!