Dive into the world of cozy elegance with my latest blog post! Discover the artistry behind the Slanting Slipover pattern by Anne Ventzel, paired with the luxurious Bio-Wool yarn from Rosarios4. Follow along as I share insights into the knitting process, including tips for navigating the pattern and selecting the right yarn.
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Melange Yarn: Campside Poncho in Merino Pure Yarn
Wrap yourself in comfort and style with Alicia Plummer’s Campside Poncho, handknitted with Merino Pure yarn. Follow along as I share my knitting adventure, from pattern and yarn selection to finishing touches, offering insights, inspiration, and a glimpse into the magical world of handmade warmth and beauty.
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Buying Yarn in India & Knitting with Icelandic Yarn: A Knitter’s Guide
In this blog post, the Bee shares her experience sourcing and knitting with Icelandic yarn in India. She discusses the challenges she faced and the tips she learned along the way. She also provides a review of Lettlopi, a popular Icelandic yarn, and the Classic Cuffed Hat pattern by Purl Soho.
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Knitting with Mohair
So much has happened since the last post. A family-sized blanket got knitted, coasters got crocheted and a couple of tiny knits for a tiny person got made. I also began knitting with Mohair, and was fairly excited about doing so. But now, honestly, I have mixed feelings about this fibre. Read on to know why! What is Mohair? Mohair is the yarn we get from Angora goats, and is one of the world’s oldest known and used fibres. The etymology of both words – Angora and Mohair – is quite interesting. Angora comes from the name of the place the fleece-bearing goats were raised – Angora, which is today’s Ankara. They originally come from Tibet, but were introduced to […]
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Omicron Introspection, and Silk Linen Yarn Review
A brief introspection on our Omicron contraction, and my experience with silk linen blended yarn from Yarnkart, Bengaluru. Covid-19 Omicron Update So, three of us in my family contracted Omicron, and what a rough ride that was. We all showed different symptoms, and it took us a day and a test to realise we had Covid-19, and not food poisoning nor acidity nor flu nor migraine. It was particularly hard watching kids suffer, and as parents we really felt helpless. The pediatrician asked us not to panic, since we would recover in a week and home quarantine was good enough. Easier said than done, of course. What really bothered us was the headache. It was relentless and nauseating, and we […]
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Bamboo Yarn
This Saturday, lets talk about yarn that is sourced from the renewable Bamboo tree native to the Asian continent. This is the second plant-based fibre I am talking about, after cotton. This super strong but super cozy yarn is made with bamboo grass that is harvested and distilled into cellulose, and then spun into yarn. In a way, it’s a bit like how paper is made. Swipe to see a detailed infographic on how bamboo yarn can be made from scratch. If you have school going kids interested in STEM, do check it out. For more information, you can also visit https://bamboodetective.com/how-is-bamboo-fabric-made/ https://ukhandknitting.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/know-your-yarn-bamboo/ https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/knitting-with-bamboo-yarn-2117304 Bamboo sourced yarn is environmentally friendly, because bamboo by nature is a renewable resource. One does […]
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Cotton
Cotton yarn is one of my favourite yarns to work with. It dyes well and knits up into easy-to-wear fabric that most people find comfortable against their skin. Maintenance is easy, and it gets softer with use. Knitting with cotton however has a major pitfall – though it shows the stitch pattern very well, errors are also clearly visible. Some people also find it stiff to work with, I mean, certainly it can’t beat the softness of Angora or Merino, but adding a soft fibre with it can solve that problem. The extremely detailed infographic on how cotton is transformed from something grown on a farm to something worn by us is from Cotton Australia. If you have school going […]
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Silk
Silk is an animal protein fibre produced by certain insects and arachnids as building material for cocoons and webs. When this is done in captivity to make fine fabrics, it is called sericulture. The origin of producing and weaving silk by humans is clouded in mystery, though it is universally accepted that it did begin in China around the middle of 3rd century BC. By 2nd century CE, India was producing silk and exporting it to Persia. Though it was an Asian supersecret, eventually the whole industry went ‘viral’ and now we can find silk literally everywhere. Around 1865, Louis Pasteur worked extensively with silkworms to understand the problem of infectious diseases, especially that of silkworm disease. He was able to save silkworms by preserving their […]
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Merino
Merino. We know of this yarn in India, and it is synonymous with warm winter wear that we would buy if we were going to a trip to the North, or abroad. Or sometimes as blends in our socks. But what is Merino? It is actually the name of the breed of sheep, first spoken about in the 12th century in Morocco. The Spaniards then found this sheep, crossbred them with their ewes, and monopolised the trade of wool to develop their country economically in the 15th and 16th century. Intensive selective crossbreeding and breed refinement over the ages has today led to the production of the softest and finest wool of any of the 200 odd breeds of sheep. […]
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Using Scrap Yarn to Make Party Favors
Usually, I know how much yarn is required for my projects, and buy accordingly, but it is very very very rare for me to be able to use up 100% of the yarn dedicated for the project. This happens because I err on the side of caution, and my definition of ‘buying accordingly’ is to buy a little bit more. Why you may ask? Because though a pattern requires X amount of yarn, I need some for the swatch, some as backup for accidents, and also for the big possibility that the yarn may be discontinued forever. Which is very very normal…cue eyeroll. My idea of a knitting nightmare is to not have a little bit more yarn, when I […]
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