Tag Archives: worsted weight

“Baa-ble Hats” in Brooklyn Tweed.

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Donna Smith’s “Baa-ble Hat” has been charming knitters since it was first published for Shetland Wool Week back in 2015. We’ve seen it knit up in many different yarns over the years, but lately, our favorite recommendation is Brooklyn Tweed.

Nancy knit this “Baa-ble Hat” with Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Worsted, a soft and smooth merino wool.

Above are the colors Nancy chose, and below are a few more ideas I came up with.

Brooklyn Tweed Tones is a great choice for a “Baa-ble Hat,” too, a columbia wool whose colorways are overdyed in vibrant, playful colors, starting with two baseline shades of undyed natural gray.

I love the subtle colors Nancy’s student, Haleh, chose for hers!

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter has more colors to choose from than either Tones or Imbue Worsted – here are a few more “Baa-ble Hat” color combinations in Shelter!

Inspired to make a “Baa-ble Hat” of your own? Come by the shop and see all the options in our worsted weight section, from Brooklyn Tweed and others!

Seasonless: Patterns for Life, by Karen Templer + Amirisu.

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A new book has arrived to inspire your knitting this fall and beyond – let’s look inside Seasonless: Patterns for Life ($28), by Karen Templer + Amirisu!

You may recognize Karen Templer’s name from her years of slow-fashion blogging, or from Fringe Supply Co., where she used to sell wildly popular project bags. She’s a knitwear designer, too – perhaps you’ve knit her “Log Cabin Mitts,” “Improv” sweater, or “Anna Vest.”

For this new collection, a collaboration with Amirisu, Templer wanted to create “patterns that are endlessly adaptable and, therefore, priceless, while also presenting the opportunity for a newer knitter to build skills along the way.”

Seasonless: Patterns for Life features 5 fundamental patterns: fingerless mitts, a hat, a vest, a pullover, and a cardigan. For each of these accessories and garments, Templer + Amirisu offer 4 stitch pattern variations, multiple finishing and shaping options, and thoughts on yarn substitution.

 

Each pattern is knit at a worsted weight gauge, and Kelbourne Woolens Germantown is one of the featured yarns. There are so many others we carry and love – think Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted, Malabrigo Rios, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, Tones, and Imbue Worsted.

Look for Seasonless: Patterns for Life ($28) here at HYS, or order online for local pickup or shipping!

New colors in Malabrigo Rios + Arroyo!

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We’re excited to share a dozen new colors in Malabrigo Rios, and another dozen new colors in Arroyo! These soft and smooth superwash merino yarns are favorites around here, and their cubbies were both looking empty before last week’s shipment arrived.

This new Rios palette is Zodiac themed, with a colorway for each sign.

Malabrigo Rios:

  • worsted weight
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $17 each

Some of the new Arroyo colors are familiar from other Malabrigo yarns, and others are brand new, a mix of speckles, variegated and semisolid shades. Something for everyone!

Malabrigo Arroyo:

  • sport weight
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 335 yards/100g
  • $21 each

Look for Malabrigo Rios in our worsted weight section and Arroyo in our sport weight section.

You’ll find plenty of Malabrigo all over our shop, in fact – Mohair in lace weight, Ultimate Sock in fingering, Caprino in DK, Mecha in bulky, and Noventa in super bulky, to name a few!

Brooklyn Tweed + Chroma.

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Jacqueline Cieslak’s latest pattern, “Chroma,” immediately caught my eye, with its bold color blocking and cute pockets.

“Chroma,” by Jacqueline Cieslak, knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Photo © Jacqueline Cieslak.

I was pleased to see that “Chroma” is knit with none other than Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, one of my favorite sweater yarns. In Cieslak’s words, Shelter “has a soft and squishy but slightly rustic hand, and knits up into incredibly light garments with beautiful structure, stitch definition, and minimal drape.” Couldn’t agree more!

With two- and four-color options, “Chroma” is a blank canvas for color play. High contrast, low contrast, complementary colors, shades from the same color family – they all work!

Brooklyn Tweed Tones is another great option for “Chroma” – it’s lofty like Shelter, but has 3 plies for a slightly smoother texture. Brooklyn Tweed recently expanded the Tones (and Tones Light!) palette with 3 new color pairs: Acer, Icicle, and Deco, each of which comes in lighter Overtone and darker Undertone shades.

Here are a few more “Chroma” combinations in Tones!

Look for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter and Tones in the worsted weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with many other “Chroma” possibilities!

Hello, Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Worsted!

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We’re thrilled to announce that we now carry Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Worsted!

Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Worsted:

  • worsted weight
  • worsted spun
  • heathered colors
  • 100% merino wool
  • 104 yards/50g
  • $18.50 each

When Imbue Worsted first came on the scene last year, there was a limited supply due to a dyehouse closure, so it was only available directly from Brooklyn Tweed. Now that BT has secured a new dyehouse partner, production of Imbue Worsted has increased and we’re beyond excited to have it here at our shop!

Imbue Worsted’s heathered shades are made by blending brilliantly dyed hues of unspun wool, like an artist mixing paints. When spun, these bright solid colors mingle into richly heathered shades that are harmonious across the entire palette – ideal for stripes and colorwork!

What to knit with Imbue Worsted? Here are some ideas!

Because Imbue substitutes easily for Brooklyn Tweed Tones or Shelter, there’s a world of patterns to choose from – click here for a roundup of some favorite BT worsted weight patterns!

Look for Imbue Worsted here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with other Brooklyn Tweed yarns! We’re open from 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Hello, NFC Organic Studio Worsted!

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We’re excited to introduce you to the newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – meet Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Studio Worsted!

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Studio Worsted:

  • fingering weight
  • hand-dyed
  • machine washable
  • 100% organic merino wool
  • 200 yds/4 oz
  • $34 each

Like the Organic Studio Sock we’ve come to love, Organic Studio Worsted is a soft, sturdy, tightly plied organic merino wool that’s machine washable for easy care. We’ve selected a dozen variegated and speckled colorways to liven up our worsted weight section!

What to knit with Organic Studio Worsted? Easy care worsted weight wools are some of the most versatile yarns we know of, here are a few pattern ideas…

Come by the shop to see NFC Organic Studio Worsted for yourself! We’re open from 11am-5:30pm, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry. Hope to see you soon!

Cumulus and friends.

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Fyberspates Cumulus is the newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a soft and fluffy lace weight alpaca/silk blend. Though it’s lovely on its own, it plays well with others – here are some yarn and pattern ideas for holding Cumulus together with heavier yarns!

Cumulus + fingering weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Isager Alpaca 2 and Kelbourne Woolens Cricket (above) and Isager Merilin and Kelbourne Woolens Perennial (below).

Cumulus + DK weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Fibre Co. Acadia and Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (above), and Kelbourne Woolens Scout and Isager Jensen (below).

Cumulus + worsted weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Malabrigo Rios and Berroco Ultra Alpaca (above), and Brooklyn Tweed Tones and Shelter (below). 

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

Back in stock: Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

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Good old Ultra Alpaca – this balanced blend of wool and alpaca is a classic, and we’re delighted to have a fresh supply!

Berroco Ultra Alpaca:

  • worsted weight
  • solid and heathered shades
  • 50% super fine alpaca, 50% Peruvian Highland wool
  • 219 yards/100g
  • $14 each

Berroco Ultra Alpaca has the structure and elasticity of wool and the drape, halo, and softness of alpaca. It comes in reasonably priced 100 gram hanks with 219 yards each; enough yarn to make a small scarf, a hat, or a pair of mittens.

Ultra Alpaca comes in a wide range of colors, from fun brights to classic neutrals; I’ve always particularly admired the heathered shades.

Scrolling through projects on Ravelry, I saw that many knitters had made Donna Smith’s now classic “Baa-ble Hat” with Ultra Alpaca.

“Baa-ble Hat,” by Donna Smith, photo © Donna Smith.

Here are a couple of color combinations inspired by the pattern photo!

What else to make with Ultra Alpaca? Here are a few ideas!

Accessories:

Garments:

Look for Berroco Ultra Alpaca in the worsted weight section here at the shop!

HYS Color Club: Shelter + Rockfall Hat.

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HYS Color Club members just got their first project for Autumn!

Inside the bag, there are 4 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter to knit a “Rockfall Hat,” by Tin Can Knits. We included an addi knitting thimble, too!

“Rockfall Hat,” by Tin Can Knits, photo © tincanknits

Shelter is one of my very favorite yarns in the shop, a worsted weight, woolen spun Targhee-Columbia wool that comes in over 45 colors, so I had great fun selecting HYS Color Club colorways. Here’s a combination in each of the color palettes – Warm, Cool, Neutral, and Surprise.

We also have the shades of Shelter shown in Tin Can Knits’ pattern photos, relatively low contrast color combinations – the large scale of these motifs mean that the pattern shows clearly even when some of the colors are similar in value.

I made a “Rockfall Hat” earlier this year, when the new solid shades of Shelter first came out – look for this sample in the worsted weight section next time you’re here at the shop!

Shelter + Color Story.

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Brooklyn Tweed’s vibrant new shades in Shelter have us itching for colorwork, and Tif Neilan’s new “Color Story” sweater looks like the perfect project!

“Color Story,” by Tif Neilan, photo © Tif Neilan

This five color, top down, short sleeved pullover encourages playful, intuitive color combinations. Neilan has selected a light neutral background color and four shades dark enough to contrast against it – here’s a similar palette in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

I had fun putting together a few more “Color Story” colorways, sticking with a light background color, but varying the value of the contrast colors a bit.

Between the solid and heathered shades, Shelter now comes in over 45 colors, so there’s lots to choose from – look for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the worsted weight section here at our shop, along with Tones, Ranch 02, and much more! We’re open from 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry.