New Yarns – Handknitting.com News

Wow! Vicuña

June 19, 2017 handknitting

It has been many years since we’ve seen any Vicuña yarn at TNNA. The vicuña is one of two wild camelids in South America, related to the alpaca. It is said that Vicuña fiber is the softest and silkiest in the world, and I cannot disagree. It is also very warm, which is of course how the Vicuñas survive in the Andes.

The fiber itself is very rare– there are not many animals, they are wild and have to be gently caught to be sheared. The fiber itself has to be manually picked over to remove the guard hairs, which is very labor intensive.

Naturally, this means that Vicuña yarn is quite expensive, and we were quite surprised to see some available.

Plotulopi Knit Along

October 30, 2015 handknitting

Hello Everyone! I hope you already know that we have begun importing Plötulopi, the classic unspun Icelandic wool. In celebration, I’ll be hosting a sweater knit-along in our Handknitting.com ravelry group for the beautiful Auđna pullover:

Isn’t that gorgeous? It is truly a special design, and has great design elements that are derived from the nature of the Plötulopi yarn.

This isn’t a beginners’ project; you should have some experience with knitting in the round, and with stranded color work like fair isle. On the other hand, you could very well learn some new techniques while we work through the sweater pattern!

Your investment in the project will depend on the materials you need, of course. You will need the yarn, Lopi Book #34, and US 7 & 9 circulars and dpns. You can see more details about this in my project listing.

There is no charge for this KAL. We have set up a kit package on Handknitting.com, but participation is not limited to people who buy the products from us. (If you are experienced with Plotulopi and have everything you need in your stash, that’s fine! We welcome your insights!)

I’ve been working and test knitting this pattern for the last month, and I will start posting my preparatory suggestions within the next week. Please help me spread the word with your friends who might be interested. Thanks so much, Laurel

[1]: http://www.handknitting.com/Audna_Plotulopi_Sweater_Kit_p/audna.htm

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Malou BiColor Cowl

November 15, 2013 handknitting

This is the drop stitch cowl I passed along to you last year, but reworked for 2 balls of Malou Bicolor. I knit this in one evening while watching a football game! Size 13 circular needle, 24″. Cast on 67 st, join circle by slipping last st to left hand needle and start 1st round by K2tog (66 st). You can put a full twist into the cast on row (shown), or leave the twist out as you prefer. Rounds 1 & 3: K Rounds 2, 4: P Round 5: Knit, double wrapping each stitch. Tip: be sure not to pull your second wrap tight! Round 6: Purl, dropping the extra wrap on each stitch. Repeat these 6 rounds 5 times, then repeat rounds 1-4 once and bind off loosely. Weave in ends, then snuggle up!