Tag Archives: self-patterning

West Yorkshire Spinners holiday colorways!

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Each year, British yarn company West Yorkshire Spinners creates a special holiday colorway in their Signature 4ply sock yarn. This year they made three – Robin was the first to arrive, and now Holly Berry and Fairy Lights!

Signature 4ply is West Yorkshire Spinners’ self-patterning sock yarn, composed of machine-washable bluefaced leicester wool and nylon, for strength. These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, colorwork comes out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

Along with these two new colors came complementary solid colors, drawing some of the more prominent shades out of these festive colorways.

How to use the self-patterning skeins along with the solid ones? Trim your patterned socks with stripes, solid cuffs, heels, and toes. WYS is offering just such a pattern for free with each purchase of Robin, Holly Berry, or Fairy Lights – ask us for a copy when you pick up a skein!

Look for WYS Signature 4ply here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

New from West Yorkshire Spinners: Robin.

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Each year, British yarn company West Yorkshire Spinners creates a special holiday colorway in their Signature 4ply sock yarn, and this year we’re expecting three. The first of the bunch has arrived – meet Robin!

Signature 4ply is West Yorkshire Spinners’ self-patterning sock yarn, composed of machine-washable bluefaced leicester wool and nylon, for strength. These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, colorwork comes out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

Robin flew in with three complementary solid colors, drawing some of the more prominent shades out of this autumnal colorway – bright red, pumpkin orange, and slate gray.

As I unpacked these new colors, I admired how versatile they are, how well they pair with other shades of WYS Signature 4ply beyond Robin.

How to use the self-patterning skeins along with the solid ones? Trim your patterned socks with solid cuffs, heels, and toes. WYS is offering just such a pattern for free with each purchase of Robin – ask us for a copy when you pick up a skein!

Look for WYS Signature 4ply in our fingering weight section here at the shop!

New Arne & Carlos sock yarns.

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We have not one, but two new sock yarns designed by Arne & Carlos!

Both are sturdy superwash wool and nylon blends from Schachenmayr Regia, self-patterning yarns just perfect for sock-making.

These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, stripes or faux fair-isle colorwork come out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

The Mountains & Fjords colorways come in 100 gram balls, each with 459 yards, enough for an average adult pair of socks.

The Pairfect Kids Color, however, comes in 60 gram balls, with only 276 yards – perfectly sized for children’s feet.

Furthermore, Pairfect yarns are designed to make an identical pair of socks, and do so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread.

Look for these Arne & Carlos colorways in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out our upcoming Churchmouse Basic Socks class if you’re not yet a sock-knitter!

Hello, West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply.

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I’m happy to announce that a new sock yarn has found a home here at the shop! Meet Signature 4ply, from West Yorkshire Spinners.

West Yorkshire Spinners is a yarn company in the UK, and like Baa Ram Ewe, their focus is on producing high quality yarns from British wool, and revitalizing the textile industry in their home of Yorkshire.

Signature 4ply is their self-patterning sock yarn, composed of machine-washable bluefaced leicester wool and nylon, for strength. These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, colorwork comes out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

Look for WYS Signature 4ply in our fingering weight section here at the shop!

Hello, Pairfect Cotton.

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Our latest acquisition here at the shop is one for sock-knitters: meet Schachenmayr Regia Pairfect Cotton.
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Pairfect Cotton is a self-patterning fingering weight blend of 72% cotton, 18% nylon, and 10% polyester. You wont usually find fibers like these on our shelves, but for some sock yarns we make an exception to our all-natural-fibers rule. Small percentages of nylon or polyester are often blended into sock yarns for strength, and in this case, also for elasticity.

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Occasionally we get requests for a non-wool sock yarn, but we’ve rarely found one that seems to have enough elasticity for sock-making. Though we haven’t knit with it yet, we can feel the elasticity of Pairfect Cotton just by tugging on it a bit; it bounces back in a way 100% cotton never could.

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Just like the original woolen version of Pairfect, Pairfect Cotton is designed to make an identical pair of socks, and does so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread. Simply cut off the yellow thread at the beginning, cast on and knit a sock, unwind the yarn til you see another stretch of yellow, and repeat.

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Look for Pairfect Cotton and other self-patterning Regia sock yarns here at the shop! See you there.

Hello, Regia sock yarns.

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We’re happy to announce that we now carry self-patterning sock yarns from Schachenmayr Regia!

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These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, stripes or faux fair-isle colorwork come out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

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The fiber content is a sturdy blend of 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon, to ensure that garments made in these yarns can hold up to the hard wear that socks typically endure.

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Some of these colorways are from the Design Line by Arne & Carlos, and some are Pairfect. The Pairfect yarns are designed to make an identical pair of socks, and do so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread.

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Look for Regia sock yarns in the fingering weight section of the shop!

Select Opal sock yarns: now on sale!

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UPDATE: As of 4/22/2016, we are totally sold out of these Select Opal sock yarns!

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In an effort to clear space for new Spring yarns, we’ve moved some of our Opal sock yarns into the sale trunk, and discounted them by over 30%!

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These Opal yarns are fingering weight blends of superwash wool and nylon, tightly-plied to make sturdy, long-lasting socks. Like many Opal yarns, they’re also self-patterning, meaning that the yarn is dyed to create a color pattern in the knitted fabric. This makes for fun and sometimes surprising socks, entertaining to knit even in simple stitch patterns. Above is Opal Mosaik, with short lengths of each color that make wild patterned stripes, and below is Opal Krokodil, with longer stretches of color that pool for staggered, irregular stripes.

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Check out our sale trunk for great yarns at a discount, and help us make room for new yarns to come!

 

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges, nor special orders–the discount applies only to what we currently have in stock. Thanks!