The Magic of Combining Yarns…
Although I have known for a long time that combining 2 different yarns was more than possible I was inclined to shy away from the idea, worried about getting gauge, will they wash well together etc. Well these past 2 weeks have dispelled any trepidation I may have had.
Firstly, Georgia Farrell’s new book, Textured Tweed Haze, shows us 6 beautiful patterns, using Rowans new yarn – Rowan have produced a hybrid of Felted Tweed and Kidsilk Haze, known as Tweed Haze. Available in 8 divine colours; I can see a lot of snuggly sweaters being whipped up in this chunky yarn this season. Tweed Haze produces some of the most stunning knitted fabric I have ever seen. My absolute favourite pattern from Georgia’s book is the Bamboo sweater, it just oozes comfort and softness.
For those that would prefer to choose the yarns to combine but perhaps feel slightly apprehensive to do so we have DROPS Design to the rescue. On their website they have over 120,000 FREE patterns. Their latest Autumn/Winter offerings include this gorgeous Vest, knitted using Drops Air and Drops Brushed Alpaca Silk yarns. All the thought and worry has been taken care of and you can confidently cast on using 1 strand of each yarn as per pattern instructions.
So when pondering your next project, think about how you want the knitted fabric finish to be: Hazy? – change the thickness of the main yard and add in a kidsilk or mohair yarn. Sparkly? – again change yarn thickness to a lighter weight and add in some of the fancier fashion yarns available. A heavy tweed yarn can be made to appear much lighter if used with a solid colour too, have fun & experiment! I would stress that making a gauge swatch is key to success, a tweak in needle size is often all that’s required.
Do please get in touch if you have any questions or need advice, we are here to help and there can NEVER be too many conversations about yarn for us!!
Sharon x