Tag Archives: fingering weight

Sunday and friends.

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Sandnes Garn Sunday has fast become a favorite here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a soft and springy fingering weight merino wool. Though it’s lovely on its own or held double, it plays well with others – here are some yarn and pattern ideas for holding Sunday together with other yarns!

Sunday + Fyberspates Cumulus

Pattern ideas: garments

Sunday + Isager Silk Mohair

Pattern ideas: hats

Sunday + Malabrigo Mohair

Pattern ideas: cowls, shawls, and scarves

Anne’s “Oslo Hat – mohair edition” in progress, knit with Isager Silk Mohair (color 12) and Sandnes Garn Sunday (color 4632). Pattern by PetiteKnit.

We can’t wait to see what other color combinations and patterns you come up with – see you at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Tourmaline.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

Tourmaline is a saturated golden orange colorway, with little streaks of olive, red, and pink.

There are so many fun ways to use variegated hand-dyed yarns like Koigu KPPPM – here are a few ideas!

Pair it with another fingering weight yarn in a contrasting color

Hold it together with an alpaca or mohair yarn

Look for Koigu KPPPM, Malabrigo Ultimate Sock, and NFC Studio Sock in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out the lace weight section to see Isager Bouclé, Silk Mohair, and Fyberspates Cumulus!

“Lento” in Isager Bouclé & fingering weight yarns.

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We’ve got a brand new sweater on display at the shop – here’s my version of Jonna Helin’s “Lento” pullover knit with Malabrigo Ultimate Sock and Isager Bouclé!

Bouclé is a fine alpaca yarn with one looped ply, which makes a fluffy, textured fabric when combined with the soft and smooth Ultimate Sock.

This yarn pairing is ideal for this simple stockinette pullover. While I was working on it, Anne would ask anyone passing through, “Have you touched Julia’s sweater? It’s so soft!”

I love watching two different yarns come together in a marled project – it always seems to make a fabric that’s more beautiful and intriguing than either yarn would be on its own.

Here are some color combinations in Ultimate Sock and Bouclé that I think would make gorgeous “Lento” pullovers!

  • Isager Bouclé: lace weight, looped bouclé texture, 100% alpaca, 190 yards/50 grams; $11 each
  • Malabrigo Ultimate Sock: fingering weight, hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways, 75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon, 420 yards/100g; $21 each

Bouclé is unique, but we have many fingering weight yarns to choose from – seeking even more softness? Hold Bouclé together with Isager Alpaca 2!

  • Isager Alpaca 2: light fingering weight, 50% alpaca, 50% wool, 275 yards/50 g; $12 each

Perhaps, like me, you prefer a bit of structure in your sweaters – look to Brooklyn Tweed Tones Light.

  • Brooklyn Tweed Tones Light: fingering weight, woolen-spun 2 ply, overdyed, 100% Columbia wool, 225 yards/50g; $16.75 each

Look for Isager Bouclé in the lace weight section here at our shop, and browse our entire fingering weight section for just the right match to make a “Lento” of your own!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Azurite.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

Azurite is a saturated mix of blue and purple, with lively streaks of aqua, lavender, and lime.

As soon as Amy Christoffers released her new “Pressed Flowers Socks” pattern, my mind went to Koigu – Anne used it in her “Pressed Flowers Hat” earlier this year, and the variegated yarn was perfect in this floral mosaic pattern.

“Pressed Flowers Socks,” by Amy Christoffers, photo © Amy Christoffers

Here are “Pressed Flowers Socks” color combinations pairing Azurite with Kelbourne Woolens Perennial, one of our go-to solid sock yarns.

I couldn’t stop there, of course – it’s too fun to play the color game!

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Hello, Isager Bouclé!

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We’re pleased to introduce a brand new yarn from Isager – meet Bouclé!

Isager Bouclé:

  • lace weight
  • looped bouclé texture
  • 100% alpaca
  • 190 yards/50 grams
  • $11 each

Isager is a Danish yarn company led by designers and co-owners Marianne Isager and her daughter, Helga Isager. They are known for their sophisticated color palette, and for combining yarns to create unique fiber and color blends.

Bouclé is a fine alpaca yarn with one looped ply, which makes a fluffy, textured fabric. It especially shines when held together with a smooth yarn, enhancing simple stockinette.

While we wait for the Isager design team to release patterns for this intriguing new yarn, I’ve been swatching to satisfy my curiosity. I began with US 5 needles and a single strand of Bouclé, and while the fabric was pleasing, the yarn was a little tricky to work with. When I moved up to a US 9 and added a strand of smooth fingering weight yarn, it became much easier to manage, and the fabric that came out was soft and fluffy, like a teddy bear.

Though I kept swatching, through a few more needle sizes and a colorwork motif from Anne Ventzel’s very appealing “Robinia Sweater,” it was the teddy bear fabric I kept coming back to. The gauge was a match for Jonna Helin’s “Lento” pullover, which is what I’m making now, holding Bouclé together with Malabrigo Ultimate Sock.

Here are some other pattern ideas for Isager Bouclé, when held together with a fingering weight yarn:

Look for Isager Bouclé in the lace weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with many other Isager yarns – Alpaca 2, Highland Wool, Sock Yarn, and more!

Malabrigo Ultimate Sock + Mohair KAL.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh supply of Malabrigo Ultimate Sock and Mohair, just in time for Malabrigo’s upcoming KAL!

Lora Marin designed this stunning lace shawl for Malabrigo Ultimate Sock and Mohair, using the yarns separately to highlight the difference in texture.

For this shawl, she used these yarns in the same colorway, Aniversario, though more contrast or variation in colors would also have a nice effect. Here are some color ideas!

Want to join the Malabrigo KAL, which starts in September? Head to their blog to register in order to receive the pattern, and come by our shop to pick out your yarn. You’ll need 2 skeins of Ultimate Sock ($21 each) and 3 skeins of Mohair ($15 each).

We’ve highlighted a few of these color combinations in a display here at the shop – look for it as you walk in.

You can also see our full selection of Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in the fingering weight section, and our full selection of Mohair in the lace weight section. We can’t wait to see your shawls take shape when the Knit-Along begins next month!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Reishi.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s limited edition shade is Reishi, a fiery variegated red streaked with burgundy and orange. We have so many fingering weight yarns that could pair well with this shade, whether you’re seeking high or low contrast, solid or variegated.

What to make? Here are some pattern ideas for mixing many colors!

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Back in stock: Isager Alpaca 2.

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Over the past month or so, we’ve replenished our supply of Isager Alpaca 2 twice, bringing some bestselling colors back into stock – there always seems to be a steady demand for this fuzzy blend of merino and alpaca, beloved for its soft hand and harmonious color palette!

Isager Alpaca 2:

  • light fingering weight
  • 50% alpaca, 50% merino
  • 275 yards/50 g
  • $12 each

Anne’s seasoned “Stole” sample has hung on the wall for years now, yet it regularly catches the eye of knitters seeking a soothing, repetitive project, one that’s easy to execute, but with graceful results.

Rather than work each stripe to a specific measurement or number of rows, Anne knit until each ball of yarn ran out, then began the next color that suited her, using only 8 shades, rather than the suggested 9. It’s easy to adjust the thickness of the stripes or the size of the piece, making it narrower or wider than the pattern dictates. Anne’s  “Stole” is decidedly wider, leaning towards blanket-sized, in fact.

With over thirty colors to choose from, each “Stole” is unique – come by the shop to put together your very own colorway!

Look for Alpaca 2 in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We love Isager yarns and carry a lot of them – Japansk Bomuld, Bomulin, Silk Mohair, Spinni, Alpaca 1, Alpaca 3, Tvinni, Highland Wool, Jensen, Sock Yarn, and more.

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: assigned pooling, June 2023.

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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. There’s a special theme this time: assigned pooling, a clever way of showing off hand-dyed yarns like these. June’s new limited edition colorway is here, better late than never!

What is assigned pooling? As designer Dawn Barker describes on her blog, assigned pooling is a technique where “different stitches are assigned to the color changes within the skein. In other words, knit the background color of the yarn using one stitch and then stop and make a special texture stitch when the accent color occurs.”

Assigned pooling patterns by Dawn Barker, photo © Dawn Barker

June’s special colorway is mostly shades of pink, with a gold streak that pops up regularly as you knit through the skein.

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

Curious about assigned pooling? Check out these patterns!

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Hoof Mushroom.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s special colorway is Hoof Mushroom, a vibrant variegated mix of green, blue, and marigold. As soon as I saw it, I pictured holding it together with a strand of lace weight mohair, a solid color to blend with the many shades in these skeins, like a drop of water into watercolor paints.

We have several colors of Isager Silk Mohair that match shades in this Koigu colorway – some that will soften it, others that may intensify it.

If mohair’s not your thing, try holding KPPPM together with Fyberspates Cumulus, a soft and fuzzy blend of alpaca and silk!

How to use these pairings? Think “Sophie Scarf” or “Oslo Hat – mohair edition,” by PetiteKnit, Andrea Mowry’s “Birds of a Feather” shawl, or Tin Can Knits’ “Simple Yet Effective” cowl.

Look for Koigu KPPPM, Isager Silk Mohair, and Fyberspates Cumulus here at the shop!