February 2023

Newly-published books

Knitting or crocheting your own furniture covers can be a cost-effective way to update the look of your home without having to buy something new. I just wish I had read Melanie Porter's book, Knitted Home, before revamping my own kitchen stool.

Melanie emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the upholstery is in good condition before covering it. My pictures below show what can happen if it's not.

As you can see from the picture on the left (taken in 2018), the original faux-leather covering of my stool was ripped. I tried to hide the rip with a crochet cover, but the edges of the rip wore through the cover in just a couple of years. I'm annoyed that I didn't realize how damaging that rip might be—just covering it with duct tape might have been enough to stop the problem.

Melanie also suggests felting your furniture covers to make them more durable. I have a feeling that my cover would still be going strong if I'd followed her advice.

If you don't fancy re-covering your furniture, Knitted Home has patterns for cushions, baskets, rugs, plant pot covers and even lampshades. So it has plenty of options for giving a little love to your home.

Modern Daily Knitting have teamed up with designers Arne and Carlos for their latest Knitting Field Guide, Glow. The book contains four designs in Arne and Carlos's signature modern Nordic style. Three in particular caught my attention.

The first, Valdres Pullover (shown below left), is particularly striking. The contrast between the black and white in the upper part of the sweater creates a lot of its impact. I find the black a bit too stark personally, but that's no problem as other high-contrast color schemes would work just as well. I'm envisioning replacing the black with a rich purple, and perhaps using a vibrant green instead of the red in the lower section.

The Kos Neckwarmer (middle picture above) would be great if you struggle with cold drafts at the back of your neck. Scarves and even shawls don't always protect this problem area, but Kos extends far enough to cover all but the lowest of sweater necklines. Also, you need less than 100g of yarn for the main color and even less for each of the contrast colors, so it's potentially something you could make from stash—always a bonus.

Finally, I was interested in the techniques used to make the Rosy Mittens (shown above on the right). The images appeared to show four or five colors per row in some places, leading me to wonder whether the pattern requires stranding all those colors throughout the row, or if some were added later using duplicate stitch. As it turns out, the pattern offers both options—along with instructions for each. And if both techniques seem too daunting, there's also a simpler two-color version of the same mitts.

Instructions for stranding while holding one yarn in each hand are included in the book, so don't worry if you've not done any stranded knitting before—Glow might still be for you. And if you're a seasoned strander, I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on knitting the Rosy Mittens with five colors all at once!

New and discontinued yarns

New

Adriafil
Matita – Worsted – 76% Cotton, 24% Hemp – Slubby tweed – Self-striping (gradient transition), Gradient

BC Garn
Big Bio Balance GOTS – Worsted – 55% Wool, 45% Organic Cotton – Plied – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors

Berroco
Gaia – Worsted – 70% Cotton, 30% Polyester – Tweedy – Tweed colors
Splash – DK – 70% Viscose, 30% Organic Cotton – Chained – Zip colors

Biches & Bûches
Le Sock Yarn – Fingering – 80% Wool, 20% Nylon – Plied – Marled colors

Cushendale Woollen Mills
Irish Wool Sport – Sport – 100% Galway Wool – Z-plied – Heathered colors

Cygnet
Baby Colour Soft DK – DK – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Self-striping (gradient transition)

Darn Good Yarn
Triple Twist DK – DK – 100% Silk – Plied – Marled colors
Waves Of Cotton – Sport – 100% Cotton – Slubby tweed – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors

Dornröschen-Wolle
Luxus Mohair/Seide – Lace – 77% Mohair, 23% Silk – Brushed bouclé – Tonal colors, Multicolored

Fleece Artist
Organic Chinook – Worsted – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – Plied – Solid colors, Tonal colors, Multicolored

Hand Maiden Fine Yarn
Eden – Worsted – 80% Merino Superwash Wool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors, Tonal colors, Multicolored

Hoooked
Odyssey Lurex – Aran – 60% Cotton, 20% Metallic, 20% Other (Unknown) Recycled Fibers – Chained – Solid colors with metallic

King Cole
Super Yummy – Jumbo – 100% Polyester – Chenille – Dotted

Loops & Threads
Luxe Merino – DK – 55% Merino Superwash Wool, 45% Acrylic – Plied – Solid colors, Self-striping (gradient transition)
Twisted Tones – Super Bulky – 100% Acrylic – Single wrapped with thread – Multicolored, Semi-solid colors, Self-striping

Mountain Colors
Mountain Frost – Lace – 72% Superkid Mohair, 28% Mulberry Silk – Brushed bouclé – Tonal colors, Multicolored

Novita
Linen Love – Worsted – 60% Cotton, 40% Linen – Plied – Solid colors

Phildar
Phil Artisane – Worsted – 70% Viscose, 30% Linen – Chained – Solid colors

Premier Yarns
Very Plush Big – Jumbo – 100% Polyester – Faux fur – Solid colors

Rauma
Fivel – Aran – 100% Wool – 2 ply – Solid colors

Rico Design
Creative Chic Unique Chunky – Heavy Worsted – 75% Acrylic, 15% Wool, 10% Nylon – 2 ply – Multicolored marls
Creative Chic Unique DK – DK – 75% Acrylic, 15% Wool, 10% Nylon – 2 ply – Self-striping (Multicolored marls)

Schachenmayr Original
Rugiada – Fingering – 93% Cotton, 4% Metallic, 3% Nylon – Chained – Solid colors with metallic

The Farmer's Daughter Fibers
Reminisce Worsted – Worsted – 100% Rambouillet Wool – Plied – Solid colors, Tonal colors

The Plucky Knitter
Tweedy DK – DK – 87% Merino Wool, 13% Viscose – Tweedy – Tweed colors
Tweedy Fingering – Fingering – 87% Merino Wool, 13% Viscose – Tweedy – Tweed colors

West Yorkshire Spinners
Re:Treat Super Chunky – Super Bulky – 100% Bluefaced Kerry Hill Wool – Single ply – Solid colors

Discontinued

Aara
Liina – Fingering – 50% Alpaca, 25% Linen, 25% Silk – Plied – Semi-solid colors

Alize
Miss Batik – Thread – 100% Mercerized Cotton – Thread - size 10 – Self-striping (gradient transition)

Berroco
Chai – Worsted – 56% Linen, 44% Silk – Tweedy – Semi-solid colors
Dulce – Worsted – 50% Cotton, 20% Nylon, 16% Alpaca, 14% Wool – Fuzzy – Heathered colors

Big Twist Yarns
Spice – Aran – 100% Acrylic – Plied with a soft haze – Solid colors

Cascade Yarns
Color Duo – Aran – 70% Baby Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool – Single ply
Highland Duo – Aran – 70% Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool – Single ply – Solid colors
Longwood – Aran – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – S on S plied – Solid colors
Paradigm Shift – Worsted – 100% Mercerized Cotton – Plied – Gradient
Venezia Sport – Sport – 70% Merino Wool, 30% Mulberry Silk – Crepe – Solid colors

DROPS Design
DROPS Baby Alpaca Silk – Sport – 70% Alpaca, 30% Silk – Plied – Solid colors

Debbie Bliss
Rialto Lace – Lace – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – 2 ply – Solid colors

James C. Brett
Masquerade Chunky – Bulky – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Multicolored marls
Rustic Chunky – Bulky – 77% Acrylic, 20% Superwash Wool, 3% Viscose – Tweedy – Self-striping

John Arbon Textiles
Knit by Numbers 4-ply – Fingering – 100% Merino Wool – 2 ply – Solid colors, Heathers, Gradient set
Knit by Numbers DK – DK – 100% Merino Wool – Plied – Solid colors, Heathers, Gradient set
Viola – DK – 100% Merino Wool – Plied – Heathered colors

Knit One, Crochet Too
Après Ski – Aran – 70% Wool, 30% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors
Crock-O-Dye – Fingering – 65% Superwash Wool, 20% Nylon, 15% Silk – Plied – Semi-solid colors, Self-striping

Lana Gatto
Sorrento – Sport – 50% Linen, 50% Viscose – Plied – Semi-solid colors

Lion Brand
Mandala Tweed Stripes – Worsted – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Self-striping marls

Loops & Threads
Ariel Big! – Jumbo – 70% Polyester, 29% Superwash Wool, 1% Spandex – Plied – Solid colors

Loopy Mango
Big Loop Yarn Merino – Jumbo – 100% Merino Wool – Single ply – Solid colors

Phildar
Phil Otello – Sport – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – Single ply – Self-striping

Premier Yarns
Ciao Baby – DK – 70% Acrylic, 30% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors, Self-striping

Trendsetter Yarns
Poet Mohair – Lace – 75% Superkid Mohair, 25% Silk – Brushed bouclé – Gradient

If you'd like to get in touch, please send a mail to hello@yarnsub.com (you can simply reply to this mail) or find me on Instagram.

See you in March!

Wendy

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