January 2024

Newly-published books

I think Knitted Socks is an unusual collection of patterns that would be great if you're a knitter looking for a challenge—and a pretty pair of socks.

The book contains twenty ornate sock designs using lace, cables, and stranded knitting. The socks range in length from super-short to knee-high and are made with yarns from fingering/4-ply to worsted weight.

The author, Niina Laitinen, is a prolific designer from Finland, with an incredible 377 designs listed on Ravelry. According to her website (and courtesy of Google Translate), she's also an entrepreneur, accountant and CrossFit coach, and mum to three presumably well-socked children.

Niina has used cities and landmarks from around the world as a theme for the designs in the book. She says she wants to "introduce you to different cultures from the comfort of your own sofa". For some designs the link with the location is direct, as with the Eiffel Tower on the 'Paris' socks:

Other times the link is subtle, like the cable design that represents the "rushing rivers" of Finland:

All the socks are worked from the top down and end with a barn toe. I like this choice because a barn toe avoids an uncomfortable seam without requiring fiddly grafting at the toe. With a barn toe, all you have to do is keep decreasing to create a rounded toe and then run a thread through the last few stitches left on the needles. It's effective, and you don't have to remember a lot of steps.

Knitted Socks is aimed at confident knitters, rather than beginners. There are no photo tutorials for any of the techniques, so you'll either need to know how to do them already, or be prepared to look them up elsewhere. You'll also need to be comfortable working from a chart, because there are no written options for the charted part of the designs. As you'd expect though, all the abbreviations are explained, as are all the stitches used in the charts.

New and discontinued yarns

New

A Verb for Keeping Warm
Lambkin – Super Bulky – 70% Highland Wool, 30% Superfine Alpaca – Bouclé – Solid colors

Adriafil
Allegria – Aran – 100% Organic Cotton – Tape – Solid colors, Multicolored, Speckled colors
Viceversa – Fingering – 58% Viscose, 42% Cotton – Chained – Self-striping

Big Twist Yarns
Carousel – Bulky – 100% Acrylic – 2 ply – Self-striping (gradient marl)
Posh – Super Bulky – 100% Polyester – Chenille – Solid colors

Elements
Colours Organic Cotton Blend – DK – 60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic – Plied – Dotted colors

Gründl
Camello – Bulky – 80% Merino Wool, 20% Camel – 2 ply – Semi-solid colors
Melange – Super Bulky – 50% Acrylic, 50% Superwash Wool – Plied – Tonal colors

Himalaya Yarn
Pamira – DK – 100% Acrylic – Crepe – Solid colors

Hobbii
Happy Place Melange – DK – 50% Cotton, 50% Superwash Wool – Plied – Semi-solid colors

Ice Yarns
Bamboo Wool Handpaint – Bulky – 48% Bamboo Viscose, 44% Wool, 8% Acrylic – Thick and thin – Multicolored

Imperial Yarn
Lottie – Bulky – 99% Wool, 1% Nylon – Single wrapped with thread – Tonal colors

King Cole
Cloud Nine DK – DK – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Multicolored marls

Knit Picks / We Crochet
Altiplano – Worsted – 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca – Plied – Solid colors

Lana Grossa
Spuma – Bulky – 80% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon – Chained – Solid colors, Heathered colors

Lion Brand
Wool-Ease Roving Origins – Heavy Worsted – 100% Wool – Single ply – Solid colors

Northern Yarn
Selina 4 ply – Fingering – 100% Shetland Wool – Plied (woolen-spun) – Undyed

Patons (Australia)
Sierra Chunky – Super Bulky – 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool – Single ply – Self-striping (gradient marl)

Plymouth Yarn
Baby Alpaca Sport EC – Sport – 100% Alpaca Easy-Wash – 2 ply – Solid colors
Highland Wool Soufflé – Super Bulky – 100% Highland Wool – Single ply – Solid colors

Rosários 4
Romaria – Sport – 100% Wool – Plied – Solid colors

Scheepjes
Arcadia – Fingering – 75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors, Self-striping

Tahki Yarns
Aurora – Worsted – 70% Merino Wool, 30% Nylon – Single ply – Multicolored

Woolfolk
Fleck Bulky – Super Bulky – 90% Merino Wool, 10% Viscose – Chained – Tweed colors

Zitron
Natura – Fingering – 40% Merino Superwash Wool, 30% Cotton, 30% Linen – Plied – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors

Discontinued

Amano Yarns
Mayu Lace – Lace – 60% Superfine Alpaca, 20% Cashmere, 20% Mulberry Silk – 2 ply – Tonal colors
Skinny Yana – Fingering – 100% Highland Wool – Single ply – Solid colors

Big Twist Yarns
Mellow Solid – Super Bulky – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Solid colors
Natural Blend – Super Bulky – 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool – Plied – Solid colors, Multicolored
Reverb – Aran – 100% Acrylic – Z-plied – Multicolored
Static – Bulky – 100% Acrylic – Single ply – Self-striping

Cascade Yarns
Cotton Puff – Super Bulky – 63% Cotton, 37% Nylon – filled_tube – Solid colors
Llama Lace – Light Fingering – 100% Llama – 2 ply – Solid colors

Dream in Color
Bobby BFL – Light Fingering – 85% Blue Faced Leicester Superwash Wool, 15% Nylon – Plied – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors
Butterfly BFL – Light Fingering – 80% Blue Faced Leicester Wool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Silk – 2 ply – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors
City – Heavy Worsted – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – Plied – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors
Classy Cashmere – Worsted – 70% Merino Superwash Wool, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon – Plied – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors
Jilly – Fingering – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – Single ply – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors
Juliette – DK – 85% Blue Faced Leicester Wool, 15% Silk – Plied – Tonal colors, Multicolored, Solid colors

Estelle
Crazy Ball Prints – Fingering – 75% Merino Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon – Plied – Self-striping

Hobbii
Soft Starlight – Heavy Worsted – 86% Acrylic, 14% Reflective Polyester – Plied – Solid colors with reflective thread

Knitting Fever
KFI Luxury Collection Indulgence 6-ply with Silk – DK – 55% Merino Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon, 20% Silk – Plied – Multicolored
KFI Luxury Collection Indulgence Cashmere – Sport – 70% Merino Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon, 5% Cashmere – Plied – Self-striping

Lana Grossa
Cashmere Moda – Heavy Worsted – 65% Merino Wool, 25% Cashmere, 10% Polyester – Chained – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors
Setacotone Hand-Dyed – DK – 50% Cotton, 50% Silk – Plied – Multicolored

Madelinetosh
Impression – Lace – 70% Mohair, 30% Silk – Brushed bouclé – Tonal colors, Multicolored

Noro
Silk Garden Lite – DK – 45% Mohair, 45% Silk, 10% Wool – Single ply – Self-striping (gradient transition), Tweed colors

Novita
Merino DK – DK – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – Crepe – Solid colors

Plymouth Yarn
Mushishi – Worsted – 95% Wool, 5% Silk – Single ply – Marled, Tweed colors

Tahki Yarns
Classic Superwash – Worsted – 100% Superwash Wool – Plied – Heathered colors

Viking of Norway
Kid Mohair – Aran – 70% Kid Mohair, 18% Merino Wool, 12% Nylon – Fuzzy – Solid colors

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 February!

Wendy

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