GB Socks Away KAL 17

Yes the GB Socks Away KAL is returning for a third year! The chatter has already started in the BritYarn Ravelry Group but don't worry as we don't cast on until Friday 22nd September 2017.  There is plenty of time to place that little BritYarn order or to have a stash or patten rummage. Also in the chatter thread are the rules but for those that have taken part previously they are the same as previous years. 

A selection of socky yarns available at BritYarn

There will be prizes for both FO's and for chatter.   If you have never knit socks before come and join us.  This KAL in previous years has been the starting point for lots of new sock knitters.  Also it is not just knitting socks..... crochet socks are of course always welcome.  

For pattern ideas you can browse the special sock section of the BritYarn website.

Look forward to chatting with you in the BritYarn Ravelry Group.

Samite Silk Blend - A New Yarn from Blacker Yarns

The new yarn from Blacker Yarns, Samite Silk Blend launches on 23rd March and of course BritYarn will be stocking it.  

I thought it might be useful to share some of the thoughts of bloggers and podcasters who have tried this amazing yarn already.  

First up is a blog post by Sue Blacker explaining in a lot more detail about how the blend was created.

The lovely Lisa from the Erika Eckles blog gave Samite a road test a few weeks ago. 

Louise Scollay chatted about Samite on Episode 78 of the KnitBritish podcast.

Louise Tilbrook (I am a big fan of her sock and shawl designs) wrote a review recently after knitting a little sample in the gorgeous Drowsy Flowers shade. 

Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade chatted about Samite during episode 162 of her podcast.

I have started a Samite thread on the BritYarn Ravelry group page, feel free to chat there about your Samite cast on plans.

Photo used with kind permission from Blacker Yarns.

Samite is a permanent addition to the Blacker Yarns range.  This 3 ply woollen spun yarn is a blend of 30% Bluefaced Leicester, 40% Shetland, 20% Ahimsa silk and 10% Gotland from Sue Blacker's own flock.  

Samite will go on sale Thursday 23rd March. 

Blacker Cornish Tin 11th Birthday Blend

Many of you will remember this time last year we were all getting very excited about Blacker Yarns 10th Birthday and their very special limited edition 10th Birthday Blend.  It sold out so quickly, it wasn't long before both the shelves at BritYarn and Blacker were looking quite bare. 

Cornish Tin II in all its glory.

The wonderful people at Blacker have decided, as so many of you missed out last year, to create another unique limited edition blend to celebrate their 11th birthday - Cornish Tin II. 

BritYarn is delighted to be stocking this amazing yarn in both 4 ply and DK.  The yarn comes in 100g skeins (350m for 4 ply and 220m for DK).  This time there are seven rich dyed shades and one undyed natural grey all named after Cornish Tin Mines.  

The 11th Birthday Blend has been created by blending together Alpaca, Portland, Saxon Merino, Gotland, Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, Mohair, and English Merino.  All the sheep live in the UK and come from Blacker Yarns favourite small producers. 

I was very lucky to be sent a little sample to have a play with before the big boxes started arriving at BritYarn.   

To the squish the yarn feels very bouncy and has a silkiness to it but not a squishy soft silkiness (if that makes sense!).   As different fibres (and their natural shades) react differently to dye the seven dyed shades have lovely subtle variations and you can still see some of the amazing darker fibres.  The undyed Levant Grey is a stunning silver shade with lovely hints of lighter and darker fibres.

My little skein of Poldice Pink.

I wanted my swatch to test out as many things as I could. I picked out the Cascading Leaves pattern from 750 Knitting Stitches.  I decided to alter the background stitch for the bottom and top sections to stocking stitch rather than reverse stocking stitch.  Sadly I ran out of yarn so that last few rows and cast off was actually done in my leftover sample mini skein of Cornish Tin 10th Birthday Blend.

The yarn was a real pleasure to work with.  It flowed through my fingers really smoothly (the 10th Blend had more of a rustic and sticky feel to it).  While knitting the yarn felt substantial and strong and I am sure it would love being ripped out! 

The stitches in my unblocked swatch look wonderfully defined and sit nicely together making the yarn brilliant for colourwork projects. My unblocked swatch was noticeable softer then my precious blocked 10th Birthday Blend swatch. There was a slight halo to the swatch and it had a lovely drape.  I should add my yarn was DK and I used 4mm needles.

Unblocked

As we all know giving our projects a nice bath and a block does magical things.......

My blocked swatch

Now I loved the 10th Birthday Tin but I have to be very honest and say I love this even more!  The yarn has bloomed and my swatch just feels devine.  It has a substance to it that is really pleasing but a lovely softness to it (I don't mean buttery BFL soft but I can't think of the right word).  

Cornish Tin II would be amazing for pretty much everything.  It would be great for open work, colourwork and cables.  It would equally be just wonderful in relaxing garter or stocking stitch projects.  Accessories would be amazing such as hats, shawls, gloves.  It would also make a very special garment.  I am thinking jumpers and cardigans by Tin Can Knits especially.  The only thing I personally would not use it for is socks..... why you ask?  Because this yarn just needs to be shown off to the world and not hidden in shoes and boots! 

Cornish Tin II 11th Birthday Blend goes on sale Tuesday 20th September 2016.  Remember this yarn is limited edition and will only be made this once.

If you are thinking about using Cornish Tin II with perhaps Tamar or Classic 4 ply I highly recommend you check out the amazing blog by Erika Eccles.  

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A chat with Sue Blacker from Blacker Yarns

Could you introduce yourself to BritYarn’s readers?  (Who you are, what you do, little bit about your background)

I’m Sue Blacker, Managing Director of The Natural Fibre Company and Blacker Yarns.  The two businesses are partners so that we both spin for many crafters, farmers, smallholders and commercial customers as well as designing and making knitting and crochet yarns for the Blacker Yarns brand.

I was born and grew up in Cornwall, UK, and then after university worked for many years in London, mainly in the City as an investment analyst.  Eventually the call of Cornwall grew too strong and I came home and worked on community and economic development projects for partnerships and charities.  While doing this we also got some sheep to keep the grass down around our holiday cottages and so I got into wool production.

I sent the wool for processing to Myra at The Natural Fibre Company, then in Wales, and eventually when she wanted to retire, I managed to buy the company and relocate it to Cornwall, where we have been busy ever since …

How and when did Blacker Yarns come about?

In Wales, Myra had a business called Naturals, which made yarns and textiles from her own and bought-in wool.  So there was a pattern for doing this.

After we had fully established our spinning operation for The Natural Fibre Company, we looked again at the idea of making yarns for sale, carefully distinguished from those of NFC customers, who sell single farm yarns.  For the quantities we knew we need to buy from several farms and we also recognised that we could support the British breeds this way, and regional wool, without cutting across the single farm producers.  Also some of our best producers were either growing more wool than they themselves needed, did not want to set up a yarn or craft business, while some continued with the animals but retired from their yarn sales business, so there was a ready supply of really high quality wool.

So we set up Blacker Yarns, initially focusing on individual breed yarns, which is still our key emphasis.  We specialise in ensuring that the yarn is the “right” one for the style of fibre, as working with single breeds means we need to be very specific to maintain the quality and best performance of the fibre through into the corresponding yarn.

As we have grown we have developed a series of blended ranges, Classic, Swan, Lyonesse, Tweed, our Birthday Tin and the new Tamar, as well as maintaining a selection of limited edition rare and regional breed yarns, and also patterns to support the style of each yarn and blend.

What does your ‘typical’ day look like?

There’s really no such thing!  When I’m at home, the day always includes one or more visits to my Gotland flock of sheep, depending on the time of year.  Then some days we are away at shows or visiting customers, some days I work from home when writing or designing or planning and the other 25 days a week are spent at our mill!

Here the work can be anything from answering the phone, responding to enquiries, loads of email (of course), proof reading copy of our newsletters, planning new yarns and products, training and supporting staff, working with our Production Manager on scheduling, buying in fleeces, paying the bills, making the coffee … we are a small team of only 15 so we all do multi-tasking!

What are your favourite woolly / fibre crafts?

I do like knitting best – less keen on crochet, though it’s very useful structurally and very portable!  I also love sewing, embroidery and tapestry. I’m less keen on making felt though I love working with it.  I also enjoy, but am very bad at, hand spinning!

If you were only allowed to knit with one British grown base what would it be and why? (a blend or 100% pure)  

If I were limited like this I might have to give up knitting all together!  Part of the joy is the enormous variety of styles of yarn which are possible with British breeds.  Generally I think a woollen spun  Gotland is pretty useful though, for most things … which is why I also love our Classic and Tweed … and then …

The stunning Tamar has recently launched….. could you tell us a bit more about the base and how you decided what breeds of sheep to use?

We felt that there was a gap in our range, and the market, for a lustre yarn which was not too “shiny” or mohair-like but which would take dye as stunningly as Gotland and Mohair.  We wanted a leaner yarn with drape, to complement our bulkier and lofty yarns, while of course seeking the softness we know people love.

We also knew that any serious volume of yarn would require quite a lot of lustre fibre, and generally the lustre long-wool sheep are amongst the smallest of flocks and breed populations so we decided to create a blend of several lustre breeds.  

This meant that we could help promote rare breeds and encourage their survival and possibly even growth in numbers, while not having to rely on a tiny supply from just one breed.  Teeswater and Wensleydale in particular are relatively few, while there are more Cotswold but even so they are not numerous.  Adding the Leicester Longwool also gave us the opportunity to include naturally coloured fibre, which is one of our major trademark attributes, giving our yarns a softness and depth of colour whether natural or dyed, which is very attractive and natural in appearance.

So in the end it was a bit of a mixture, based on what was available and at the right quality.  We then needed something with a bit of bulk to reduce the slight tendency to hairiness from a pure long-wool yarn and also hold the yarn together better and give it some body, so we added Cornish-sourced Mule wool, which is around half Blue-faced Leicester and half local sheep, blended at the breeding stage, rather than in the wool! 

Tamar comes in fifteen dyed shades and two natural shades…… what was your inspiration behind them?

Seeking a locally inspired name for a flowing, draping yarn, it seemed our local Tamar river, which is a lovely word anyway, was the right choice for the range name.  The Tamar is also the largest local river, so when deriving the colours, it seemed fairly obvious to go for complementary rivers or even tributaries of the Tamar!  And some of them also have great local names …

Then it was a question of seeking the names to fit the colour palette.  We wanted to make the shades all able to mix and match either complementing or contrasting with each other, as with our other ranges.  We started with the idea of having two bases, one slightly darker and one more silvery, and then aimed for a dip-dye range of greys, purples, pinks, greens and blues, plus a stand-out gold.  This was based on our experience of what our customers like in our other ranges, the current popular colour trends and of course a few local likes and dislikes amongst the team!

We shall aim to refresh the range in the future, so will be keen to hear suggestions?

It’s tea break time…. What is your favourite biscuit?

I’m slightly lucky in that I don’t like many biscuits, or my waistline would be even more disastrous.  I have a weakness for oat and raisin cookies and for the Bahlsen or Co-op chocolate-covered biscuits, which disappear all too quickly when I’m around!

Are there any future Blacker Yarns plans / projects you can share with BritYarn’s readers?

At present we have just updated our Classic colour palette and have plans for refreshing the Swan shade palette, adding some more colours to Lyonesse and possibly Tweed, updating our worsted spun Jacob yarn and adding a few shades to our main Shetland. Gotland and Blue-faced Leicester breed yarns.  We have several new rare breed limited edition yarns in the pipe-line too.

In addition …. Well, we did enjoy our 10^th birthday so we think it will be good to have an 11^th birthday this year, and then there might be another new range to come early next year.  Plus we have some very interesting plans to work with more partners, along the lines we started with Blacker Swan: so watch this space!!

Many thanks Sue for taking the time out of your busy day to answer out questions.

All images featured in this blog post are used with kind permission from Blacker Yarns.

Tamar: A New Yarn from Blacker Yarns

We have lots of new things landing at BritYarn HQ at the moment. Last week we received Kate Davies new book Buachaille: At Home in the Highlands and this week (ready for its launch on 3rd March) the new yarn from Blacker Yarns Tamar Lustre Blend arrived.  

I was very lucky receive a sample of this yarn a little while ago and loved every minute of knitting my swatch.  

We will be stocking all seventeen shades (fifteen dyed shades and two undyed) in 4 ply (Edited to add we now have the DK in stock).  Just like Cornish Tin, the yarn comes in 100g skeins and there is 350 metres per 100g.  

Unblocked Swatch and Shade Card

Tamar is a lustrous blend of British grown Wensleydale, Teeswater, Cotswold and Black Leicester Longwool, all famed for their elegant ringlets of wavy fleece.  These breeds are all classified as either 'at risk' or 'vulnerable' by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. 

Added to these amazing longwools is 30% Cornish Mule which gives the blend body and bounce. Blacker Yarns have selected the finest Cornish Mule lambswool to compliment the long staple length of the longwools which have then been worsted spun together.

I have to say I was very excited opening up my little parcel containing my samples and shade card.....  the dyed shades are stunning and work brilliantly together, making the yarn ideal for colourwork projects.  The two natural greys compliment the dyed shades beautifully.  

The skein feels soft but not squishy (I hope that makes sense!) with lots of bounce.  And yes it absolutely shines with lustre as you would expect.  The yarn also has a slight halo from the longwools.

Knitting my swatch was a dream, even ripping out part of it and starting again was a pleasure!  Tamar felt incredibly smooth to work with and has produced a swatch with well defined stitches.  The swatch before blocking had plenty of drape and felt soft with some body to it. 

Blocked Swatch

The swatch bloomed during its bath and once dry felt silky and soft with a nice degree of drape.  In true Knitbritish swatch along fashion I also wore my swatch all day..... it just melted away and I cold not feel it.   

Once again Blacker Yarns have produced another stunning yarn and the good news is that this one is not limited edition!!  

For your chance to win a skein of Tamar 4ply and a BritYarn Canvas 'Ethel' bag keep on eye on the BritYarn Ravelry Group.

In case you are wondering the yarn is named after the River Tamar which acts like a border between Cornwall and Devon.  The shade names are all after the tributaries of the Tamar river.

Tamar 4ply. Image used with kind permission
from Blacker Yarns

Sock and Yarn Ideas for the Great British Socks Away KAL

Have you decided on what socks and yarn you will be casting on for our GB Socks Away KAL?

Here are some of my favourites sock patterns and yarns if you are still undecided (as I am).

If you are new to sock knitting and fancy joining in the KAL you might want to have a look at Sock Anatomy by Clare Devine.  The book includes nine designs sized from baby to adults.  East design looks at a different technique and there are lots of diagrams to support you.  It is also a great book if you want to learn about different sock construction methods.  All the patterns use West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply, a great value British sock yarn which comes in a wide range of shades.

Another brilliant pattern is Rye, a free pattern by Tin Can Knits.  The socks are worked in Aran weight yarn and the super Tin Can Knit ladies have created some tutorials to accompany the design.  I think these would be great for wearing around the house to keep your feet warm and would be particular toasty in the WYS Bluefaced Leicester Aran.  If you don't fancy making adult size socks the pattern covers baby and children sizes also.

Rye by Tin Can Knits.
Image used with kind permission from Tin Can Knits

If you are looking for a book that will take you through a range of skill levels then Rachel Coopey's Coop Knit Socks V2 fits the bill.  Included in the book are twelve designs ranging from Dave, a plain top down sock to the pretty cables and twisted stitches of Eula.  These socks would look simply stunning in The Knitting Goddess Britsock.  If you were looking for a yarn which contained no nylon, Blacker Yarns Classic 4 ply fits the bill.

Britsock in the Tiffany colourway

When I looked on Ravelry there were 24,535 entries for sock patterns!  Here are a few links to my favourites.

• If you fancy making some crochet socks Ravelry has a large selection including Lounge Around Socks by Sarah Reed. 

• Joeli Caparco's Toasty Explorer Socks have been in my Ravelry favourites since the pattern was released.  These would make excellent hiking socks as they are made in a DK weight yarn.  Joeli has made herself a pair in the WYS Aire Valley yarn.

Joeli's Toasty Explorer Socks

• I tackled my first afterthought heel with these next socks.  It is Rosthwaite by Louise Tilbrook.  The design features easy cables which look really effective.  I made mine in West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply.

My Rosthwaite Socks

I also hear that Karie Westermann will soon be releasing her sock patterns which she designed for the Old Maiden Aunt Sock Club earlier this year.  

I hope that has helped you on your way to choosing what to cast on for the #GBsocksawaykal.  The sign up thread is open so pop over and share what you will be starting on the 1st October.

BritYarn #9 A trip to London and Cornish Tin

Show Notes

• INTRO 
• Me
• Where you can find me Website www.brityarn.co.uk , IG, Twitter, Ravelry as BritYarn and blog http://brityarn.blogspot.co.uk, subscribe our You Tube channel and on Periscope.
• NEWS
• New yarns Cornish Tin from Blacker Yarns.  Limited edition 10th Birthday yarn launched Friday 18th September.  I forgot to mention the little giveaway we are having.  Full details can be found on our blog http://brityarn.blogspot.com/2015/08/happy-10th-birthday-blacker-yarns.html
• #scollayalong KAL with Louise KnitBritish.  Only a few weeks to go.
• GB Socks Away KAL #gbsocksawaykal Sign up thread in the BritYarn Ravelry group is open.  Cast on 1st October.
• Yarndale 26th and 27th September Skipton Auction Mart.  Scollayalong / BritYarn meet up 2pm 26th September.
• FO’s
• Scollay in Blacker Lyonesse DK Rose Quartz www.brityarn.co.uk/product/blacker-lyonesse-double-knitting-dk-british-wool
• Whats in the Jam Pan AKA WIP’s
• A selection of my current projects…….
• Show off socks by Anne Campbell
• Talavera by Amanda B Collins using Eden Cottage Yarn BFL sock Pom Pom Summer pattern www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/talavera www.brityarn.co.uk/product/Eden-Cottage-Yarns-BFL-Sock-4-ply 
• Mahy by Karie Westermann Lincoln Longwool Laceweight hap construction ravel.me/Isla111/rtpt5 
• Yarn in the City Great London Yarn Crawl and Market Place 

Saturday  5th September - was great to see so many of you.  Purchases from:

The Wool Kitchen

Knit Sonik

Yellow Bear Wares

Wild and Woolly LYS Sunday afternoon

Happy 10th Birthday Blacker Yarns

Blacker Yarns is 10 years old on Friday 18th September, so it is only fitting that September's Yarn of the Month should be their new celebratory birthday yarn, Cornish Tin.  Not only that, read on for details of a giveaway!

Cornish Tin, launched on the 18th September will be a limited edition yarn celebrating all things Blacker Yarns and British wool.  It will be available in 100g skeins in both 4 ply and DK weights.  Cornish Tin will only yarn be made once so when it has gone there will (sadly) be no more. 

Cornish Tin
Photo used with kind permission from Blacker Yarns

The yarn is woollen spun and is a blend of ten of the highest quality fibres Blacker Yarns knows and loves.  These are Alpaca, Mohair, Gotland, Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, Texel, English Merino, Falklands Merino and Gotland / Romney Cross.

Cornish Tin comes in one natural shade (a gorgeous silver) and four stunning toning, dyed shades all named after Cornish minerals.  I was very honoured to be one of the first people to see this yarn outside of Blacker Yarns and yes I fell in love with it at first sight.   It was not long before I cast on my first swatch! 

Unblocked stocking stitch swatch

Textured unblocked swatch

The yarn was nice and smooth to knit with and feels nice and springy in the skein.  I particularly liked the darker fibres still being visible.

The two swatches were knit in DK in the Dolcoath Turquoise shade.  They were a pleasure to knit and I was busy planning projects in my head as I was knitting them! The stocking stitch swatch has produced a really even square with great definition and it has some drape.  I really love how the textured swatch has turned out.  Not only does the pattern really stand out it feels really bouncy.

I didn't notice a massive difference after blocking. There is a slight halo on both swatches and both have formed a really nice looking and feeling knitted fabric.  The swatches have a medium softness to them.  I think if you are a sensitive to woolly yarns then this might not be suitable for next to the skin wearing.  However, worn with layers it will make a brilliant winter garment or accessory.

After blocking

Negatives? I wish, as it is coming up to winter, that there was an Aran weight version and that this yarn would be around forever!   

To celebrate Blacker Yarns 10th Birthday, BritYarn will have a little giveaway during September.  From the 1st September to midnight on 30th September (GMT) any order which contains two or more balls of any Blacker Yarns wool (not including Cornish Tin) will be automatically popped into a prize draw. The winner will be selected at random and will receive 1 skein of Cornish Tin 4 ply and a BritYarn canvas shopping bag.  I will announce the winning order number here on the blog and over in our Ravelry Group.

Image used with kind permission from Blacker Yarns

Cornish Tin will be available to buy from Friday 18th September. 

The Great British Pattern Pick Autumn 2015 by Jo Milmine

Welcome to the second Great British Pattern Pick at BritYarn. In this series of blog posts, we’re aiming to bring you some of the best British-based design talent out there at the moment. We’ll also give you some suggestions as to which lovely yarns you could use for the project. All of our pattern enabling is fully compliant with BritYarn’s Woolly Principles, so you can be sure you’re shopping local!

The equinox has been and gone, and although we’re still enjoying the final, fitful bursts of the British summertime, thoughts are already turning to cooler weather. As the nights draw in and the promise of (yet more) knitwear weather, the mind drifts to pumpkins, turning leaves and cosying up in front of a roaring fire. Chunky knitting weather may well not quite have arrived yet, so in this edition, we’re looking at transitional pieces for the changing seasons. 

Scollay by Karie Westermann

Unless you’re been hiding under a rock, you’ll already know about the fabulous Scollay-along that BritYarn is hosting, along with Louise of KnitBritish podcast. I’m sure you’re already taking part, but if you need a little more encouragement, let me tempt you with this combo.

Scollay by Karie Westermann is a perfect cardigan to take you into Autumn. With the pretty lace detailing and straightforward construction, it’ll be an item that is as fun to knit as it is to wear. You can layer up whilst kicking through piles of fallen leaves with your pumpkin spiced latté or ward off a chill whilst on a country walk, before heading to the pub for a hearty meal. Yarn-wise, you could opt for Blacker’s West Country Tweed, to replicate that heathered look in the original sample. I’d recommend to silky lustre of Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop in Ruby, a colour recently added to the BritYarn line-up.

Earl Grey by Clare Devine

What’s Autumn about if it isn’t versatile accessories with beautifully cabled details to snuggle into? Step forward Clare Devine with the Earl Grey Duo. Timeless texture is sure to be popular both with the knitwear fanatic and the fashion-forward. The big question is: to pom, or not to pom?

If you want a real treat for this project, why not try the fabulous Chilla Valley Alpacas Alpaca and Lambswool, a single-farm blend of 70% Alpaca and 30% Shetland? This special yarn would have bags of fluffy warmth. For the more budget-conscious, opt for West Yorkshire Spinners Aire Valley Aran: a great workhorse yarn in a wide range of colours.

Lamitra Copyright Woolly Wormhead

If you have a penchant for lovely, handpainted yarns, you’ll always be on the hunt for patterns that showcase these yarns to their best effect. Luckily for us, the fabulous Woolly Wormhead has created an entire collection of hats that do just that, in Painted Woolly Toppers. A current favourite is Lamitra, a slouchy beret/tam with an eye-catching, rotating eyelet and garter stitch detail. The collection was designed to celebrate handpainted yarns; that being said, this design would work equally well in a solid as it would a variegated yarn. For a lively effect, choose Yarns From The Plain Mobberly 4ply in ‘Blackpool Illuminations’, or opt for the more tonally variegated ‘Ironbridge’ for a more subtle result.

Rainbow Pipes and Linen Stitch Socks Copyright Aurélie Colas

Socks are a great project to have on the needles any time of the year and they are also an ideal way to try out new techniques on a smaller canvas. You’d have to be made of stone to not see yourself in a pair of the gorgeous Rainbow Pipes and Linen Stitch Socks by Aberdeenshire-based Aurélie Colas. Not only do they look great, but you can expand your sock knitting repertoire a little at the same time!

Luckily, there’s a plethora of mini skein sets dyed by Joy at The Knitting Goddess in Harrogate available from BritYarn, along with a good selection of main contrast colours dyed on Britsock. This yarn is 100% British, including the 20% Nylon content, added for strength. What’s not to love?

Colossus Copyright Eden Cottage Yarns

Not quite cold enough for a full DK cardigan? Get your tank on to keep your core warm whilst allowing the arms to stay free, for those days when the weather doesn’t know what it’s doing. Knitted in the lustrous and silky Eden Cottage Yarns Milburn 4ply (and part of BritYarn’s featured pattern collection for August) Colossus is an intricately cabled tank. Style it over a shirt for a more formal look, or throw it over a plain, long-sleeved tee for more casual occasions.

Milburn 4ply would be the optimal choice for this pattern, but if you need a more cost effective alternative, consider the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply.

Fuss Free Baby Cardigan Image Copyright Louise Tilbrook

Whilst we’re keeping warm, it’s also important to keep the smaller folk in our life toasty as well. With its simple, button down detail, the Fuss Free Baby Cardigan by Louise Tilbrook is a great option for this. It’s a free pattern for a cardigan that goes up to size 3-6 months, making it a perfect baby shower or new arrival gift. Coming in at under 100g of DK, it’s fantastic for stash busting and very easy on the pocket if you do need to buy yarn.

Being a huge fan of babies in bright knitwear, the West Yorkshire Spinners Aire Valley DK range gives a huge range of colour options at a very competitive price point. For a more traditional, muted palette, with a touch of luxury, UK Alpaca Baby Alpaca and Silk DK would fit the bill nicely. Supremely soft, this yarn would also be a superb choice for an heirloom blanket for the precious bundle.

That’s the round up of Autumn patterns for you. I’ll be back in Winter with some more great British designers and yarns!

Bio

Jo Milmine is a podcaster and blogger based in Scotland. She co-owns The Golden Skein, the company that brings meticulously curated luxury yarn clubs showcasing the finest hand dyed yarn the world has to offer. 

Through her bespoke consultancy business Jo works closely with independent dyers, sharing her business and yarn expertise and supporting them to achieve their goals.

Passionate about crafting (and comedy knitting patterns), you’ll find her podcasting as Shinybees, as well as on Ravelry, Twitter and Instagram as Shinybees. 

Website: www.shinybees.com