My Fashionable Life

I have 8 skeins of the dyed cotton in my stash too - in tomato so I'm no help there. And despite my being American, I'm also very much in love with Rowan - especially kidsilk haze and the entire Cashsoft line. I also really like the classics in Filatura di Crosa's line (not their novelty stuff), but that's italian not american.

It is frustrating to be knitting up a storm and not be able to share it on the blog. Right now, I'm working on something for Yahaira's book and I wish I could post about it, but I guess I'll have to wait until the book is released... I just started with the designing and your blog has been very inspirational. I love your elegant designs :)

For baby items, I've turned now to washable sock yarn. I love using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock or Shepherd Worsted. Most "baby" yarns are in pastels - but sock yarn comes in all sorts of bright combinations!

I am an American reader and adore Rowan Wool Cotton and Jaeger yarns. I've recently discovered Beaverslide Dry Goods and Abbey Yarns. I also love Jo Sharp, although her yarns can be hard to come by in the States. I look forward to the day when we can see your book patterns!

I have never used any of the yarns mentioned, but have heard their names frequently. I think it would be fair to say that an American readership would have ready access to a good portion of those yarns from American distributors on the internet, if not from LYSs dotting the countryside.
Do I understand that you're writing a pattern book? What a wonderful thing! While taking into consideration our access to certain yarns, I hope you will also take into account our easy access to cheesecake, and scale your patterns for those of us who are, um, "big-boned". :-)

Favorite yarns for me: Karabella Margrite Bulky, Koigu KPPPM, Tahki Torino and Torino Bulky, Cascade 220

Favorite baby yarns: Filatura di Crosa Zara, GGH Samoa, sock yarn

If you need someone to talk to, I'd be happy to (confidentially) help.

I have used Tahki Cotton Classic, Rowan Cashsoft DK and assorted superwash wool for baby clothes and blankets with great success. I like both saturated and pastel hues for babies, depending on the pattern and the recipient. I usually look for a hard wearing, machine-washable yarn that the colors won't fade in.

For myself I have used Tahki Willow, Louet Euroflax Sport, and AllHemp6 for summer tops that wore well. Yarns that pilled fast/looked worn too quickly was Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and 100% cotton yarns. These yarns also sagged a lot under the arm and at the back neck area.

For winter wear I love Jo Sharp DK wool, Cascade 220 (especially the heathers), Blackwater Abbey and the like. I avoid variegated/striping/novelty yarns and stick with sturdy, almost rustic wools with a low cost to yardage ratio. Merinos, thick and thin or single ply yarns usually pill too much for me to invest in an entire sweater.

I have knit with some Rowan and Debbie Bliss yarns but they are usually out of my price range or don't have the colors I am looking for. Also, I have been to innumerous yarn shops in the Midwest and have never seen Jaeger carried. But, I usually order my yarn online (again, cost) so that isn't really an issue. Finally, I'm not really in love with Knitpicks- I feel their colors are insipid so I've never knit an entire garment out of the them.

I second Tahki Cotton Classic. For baby things, I like either Artyarns Supermerino too. Also, I never go wrong with Cascade 220, Cascade Sierra, Cascade Pima Tencel, or Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride.

I am in NJ. We have all those yarns you mentioned readily available, if not here, then in close-by NYC. I actually just finished a baby's snuggly (hooded, footed one-piece) out of Rowan Wool Cotton and I loved it. I also really like Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk yarn; I love its drape. I think I like it better than the Debbie Bliss version, but the verdict's still out on that. I also love Manos del Uruguay and Noro but more for the colorways than the yarn itself. Rowan Kidsilk is nice too, but I haven't knit with it (it's sitting in the stash).

For as generic as it may be, I love Cascade 220, worsted weight wool, and Knit Pick's Superwash (Which is also worsted) however I believe the later is only available in the US. Either way, I'm a fan of worsted. Good luck with your patterns, my interested is piqued :)

I'm jealous....Scotland...enjoy. And Stella's sweater is amazing. I'm almost ready to start 'Claude'.

On Line makes a very nice wool/cotton blend.
Knitpicks and Elann are hugely popular, and you would be worshipped if you gave yarn choices from either.

Lamb's Pride and Cascade 220 seem to be the workhorses of yarn for garment-making -- I live in the Hudson Valley, New York. Though I could also fairly easily obtain all the yarn you've mentioned (though it's more expensive).

I've used Cascade Sierra and Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece, both reasonably priced, easy to get wool cotton blends (more cotton than wool).

We, Americans, adore Bliss amd Rowan for garments. But I'll tell you, Berroco's Ultra Alpaca and Pure Merino are nice. Many of your readers mention cascade220, which feels like crap, if you want my opinion. Lamb's Pride. Fantastic for the price..oh, I could just ramble on and on...Sublime's new extra fine merino! Heaven! Whew. Take a breath!

Okay, I totally love your patterns, so I will definitely do anything that will make it easier to get you to put a book together.

I think Rowan wool cotton and Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino are great for baby knits. I also like Dalegarn Baby Ull, but that's not American either. I did knit one thing with Cascade Super Wash, and unlike most yarns, it actually IS super wash.

For adult garments, I have liked Filatura di Crosa Zara and recently I tried the Cascade Elite Bamboo, which had a nice sheen to it.

Overall, the colors in European yarns are much nicer (more subtle and elegant), in my opinion. Yarns like Lamb's Pride etc are just too bold for me.

Good luck!

I agree with everyone who has suggested Cascade 220 for adult garments -- it comes in a ton of colors, it's a good workhorse of a yarn, and it's extremely affordable. 1824 Wool is also nice, with a lovely color palette. For baby clothes, for my money you can't beat Dale Baby Ull or Stork (100% wool and cotton respectively, both machine-washable and 32 sts = 10cm), or Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I think all Rowan, Jaeger and Debbie Bliss yarns are readily available in yarn stores here in the States, so I certainly wouldn't worry too much about using them.

I like Lanett superwash for baby garments, or small-gauge accessories, as it's a fingering weight.

My all-time favourite yarn (though I admit my experience has been limited by the usual factors: availability, versatility, and price) is Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca. Also fingering weight, beautiful colours, warm and light.

A close second, though of course it falls into a completely different category, is Malabrigo kettle-dyed worsted. Sumptuous.

I am in Canada and, while Rowan and Debbie Bliss seem readily available, I have yet to see Jaeger in a brick-and-mortar store.

Best of luck with your designing and all that mindless stockinette.

I just had to say YAY! I'm moving to London in May and I can't wait to have access to all of that yummy yarn. We have Rowan here but in $NZ it's waaaaay too expensive - once I'm earning pounds it should be ok!

Can't wait to see the book!

I look forward to seeing what you make, inspired by the McCartney coat.

For yarns, I tend to go with what's on sale at my LYS. I think of Jaeger, Lorna's Laces, Debbie Bliss, Classic Elite, Noro, and Jo Sharp as reliable choices, and Heirloom Easy Care 8-ply as an affordable, machine-washable DK choice for baby clothes. I also rely on Knitters Review listings quite a bit http://www.knittersreview.com/yarn.asp. And I notice that many knitters whose blogs I read are using various kinds of Blue Sky Alpacas yarn. (But for your beautiful patterns, I'd make an effort to get what you found workable.)

I love Rowan yarns and I'm just starting to really get crack-addicted to them...two yarns I like that don't seem really comparable to any Rowan products are Lorna's Laces shepherd sport and Cascade Sierra. The Sierra is a wool/cotton blend. Also Brown Sheep has a wool-cotton blend - Cotton Fleece - that I've heard is very nice but not used. And there is always room for Blue Sky Alpacas.

That said...I don't know, if you know Rowan well there's nothing wrong with designing using their yarn...

I work at Webs in Northampton (www.yarn.com, one of the largest U.S. yarn stores). We recently started to carry almost everything Westminster Fiber offers and at very good discounts. Don't know if that helps but I know some people list 'yarn sources' in the back of a book. We ship everywhere and as everyone has said, American's love those yarns so feel free to overuse them!

Also--maybe this will help deter you from distraction--I have worked with the Blue Sky Cotton and while it is lovely stuff it pills TERRIBLY. It would literally shed as I knit it and I was appalled at how shabby it looked after the whole process. I'm sure a dark color would hide this, or maybe a tight gauge. Just a friendly warning.

Oh, Lamb's Pride... one of my adored US Yarns. ~x~

I think it would be brilliant to see something designed by you in a Noro yarn. I love Silk Garden.

Ooh a book of patterns. Looking forward to it.

As I'm in Edinburgh does my input on yarns count?

I have to say Rowan is probably my favourite particuarly Felted tweed, Kid Classic and Calmer (yes, I do have expensive tastes - though I never made a garment out of Calmer yet, I'm not that rich).I would tend towards Cashoft dk and Jaegar EFM for a standard cardigan, or Wool Cotton for lighter wear.

Btw, I'm currently working on Flicca (in Rowanspun Chunky from the stash) and the pattern is very clear. I am very pleased with it but can't wait to finish. I am such a product knitter!

We love Rowan on this side of the pond. But we hate when they discontinue entire yarn lines (Magpie! Donegal DK! The Yorkshire tweeds! sigh...) and render our knitting books obsolete mere moments after we've purchased them.

anna ... have you gone back to the files when kay and ann over @ mason-dixon did the search for the perfect sweater yarn ... choices gallore ... onward and upward in the quest for the perfect fiber!!! ... happy days ... mille baci ...

I just picked up Rowan Studio - one and two, and there are some lovely patterns in there. As to your question of wool cotton alternatives, I just finished knitting with some Zara by Filatura di Crosa, and it was very nice to work with. It is 100% wool, but washable. Also there is always Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, it is more like a cotton heavy cousin to Wool Cotton (80% pima cotton, 20% wool) again not the same, but lovely colors. So maybe I can't really offer an answer to your question. Or maybe there really is no alternative to Wool Cotton.

I am curious as to how you like the Kilcarra yarns. I managed to get some on eBay a few years ago but have never knit with it. That yarn is hard to find in the US. And so long as you give a gauge and suggest the yarn weight, most people can sub yarns if the yarn used in the garment is not available.

I have to say I would find life hard without Rowan yarns, especially Felted Tweed and the heavenly Kid Classic, but Lorna's Laces Worsted and Sport are pretty fabulous too, although not cheap. They're also superwash, so they're practical for babies and children.

Bring plenty of woolies for your trip north; we've just started a cold snap, after a month or two of wondering where the winter had got to.

Rowan, Debbie Bliss, and Jaeger are quite accessible in the U.S. either in shops or online although they're pricier than a number of other lines.

One good basic U.S. line is Brown Sheep. They produce Lamb's Pride, Naturespun, Cotton Fleece in several different weights and Wildefoot sock yarn. Another line for not-so-expensive yarns is Patons which is readily available in Canada as well. (I expect this is also well-known in the UK, come to that.) As already mentioned, Cascade 220 has a huge range of colors including a whole palette of heathered shades. Chester Farms, Blackberry Ridge, and Bartlett yarns are great for worsted/heavy worsted textured knits.

There is nothing quite as nice looking, feeling and handling as Rowan Wool Cotton. From a persnickety American knitter...

Patterns between hard covers? I like the sound of that!

Green Mountain Spinnery makes a lovely wool-cotton DK-weight blend called Cotton Comfort, which I think is gorgeous and knits up beautifully. It's a little more raw-looking than the smooth Wool Cotton, but I actually prefer it. Unfortunately, it often doesn't look great online (www.spinnery.com) -- you'd have to see it in person.

You know, I knit on a budget and yet I do care about quality, There are lots of nice wools and cottons that aren't really bad at all. I love Patons Classic wool, though it's not really an American yarn, it's North American, and Cascade 220 is awesome and has an almost unlimited range of colors. Believe it or not, Bernat Cottontots cotton yarn is very very soft, though it is more of a worsted or heavy worsted weight. It makes wonderful baby wash cloths and blankies. The Borwn Sheep Cotton Fleece is very nice also. I always look for an economical sub for a yarn if possible. Thanks for asking. Your designs ar positively delightful.

Blue Sky Alpaca is nice. You asked for my favorite. One yarn that I find myself going back to over and over is Plymouth Encore. It is a wool/acrylic blend. But the colors are lovely and it wears oh so well. Also, I received a color card from Black Water Abbey this morning. What beautiful yarn. This is traditional Irish Worsted. It has a "hard" finish so cables really stand out. The website is
abbeyyarns.com and I ordered my colorcard there for free. Good luck:)

Ang

I love Debbie Bliss yarns, but also have to agree that Brown Sheep yarns are very nice. They come in a wonderful range of colors and are fairly reasonable in price. I also love Manos del Uruguay....they have such gorgeous colors!

Just wanted to say thanks for the Elfine pattern, I'm using it for my first lace socks and LOVE how it looks! Very well written. And I'd love to see your patterns in print.

I'm an American in America and use all the yarns you mentioned. Nice local stores carry all of them-- please don't change on account of us!

It is good to hear you're working on a book. Very good.

I love Rowan Wool Cotton. The Nashua line, through the same distributor as Rowan, is good too. I think their worsted superwash is a great competitor with Cascade 220 and in better colors than their superwash line.

Do I have a favorite yarn? Not really. I will try various yarns that I find beautiful and will substitute at will!

I've finished knitting the Patti pleated swing jacket in the Rowan Srudio 1 issue. Just have to sew it together...grrrr. I think the pleat construction is quite ingenious. But I'm having a hard time deciding if it should have a collar or not. I've seen quite a few Marc Jacobs and DKNY knits for spring that have a similar shape but no collar...
I used Rowan's Felted Tweed which I love and I've often used it. Great to wear not too hot or bulky. Just wish they'd update their colours - most are a bit dingy.

I'm knitting your Jemima at the moment - finished half of it. I'm using Rowan Baby Alpaca which is reallllllly nice. Hope mine turns out as nicela as yours did in the photos, I've got my fingers crossed. I'm also knitting my first clapotis after seeing yours. I also have a slight problem with the look of varieagated yarn but decided to try it in Rowan tapestry. Like the idea of soy bean fibre! I think the colour I chose is called Rainbow - blues and greens and pinks, quite pretty. Maybe nice for spring.

One jacket I've seen that looks really nice on several blogs is the Phildar Swing Jacket but can't seem to find a pattern anywhere. Any ideas? Until you finish design your version of the beautiful Stella....

favorite yarns (of an american reader) ...green mountain spinnery's sylvan spirit, brown sheep's cotton fleece, koigu, jaeger (matchmaker merino) & rowan (4ply soft and tweeds), nashua's julia, allhemp and euroflax, cascade 220, noro's silk garden, ggh kid soft (or soft kid?), tahki cotton classic. i'm sure i'd have more favorites if i knitted with yarns i haven't mentioned.
yeah! a book! i can't wait to see it :)

Congratulations on doing a book! You have a wonderful style and sensibility, and it will be a real treat when it comes out! For yarns, I would agree with many above that Rowan/Jaeger/Bliss yarns are easily available. However, for baby items, Dale Baby Ull, Sandnes Lanett (both superwash wool) and Sandnes Mandarin Petit (cotton) are also easily available in the US and come in a great grown-up range of colors. By the way, you might have this book already, it's one of my favorites: Deborah Newton's Designing Knitwear, shows several ways to do pleats.

I promise to post my comment only once this time :)

Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino is lovely to work with as well as to turn out a beautiful item. Others that are nice to work with are: Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran, Koigu, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock (all weights), Manos del Uruaguay, Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky to name a few...I work in a yarn shop so I've got a nasty habit to satisfy.........
BTW, absolutely loved your spindle sock pattern--I continue to make them over and over....

Hello!

So good that you have a book of patterns coming out! I've told my friends in my knitting circle about you, and I think someone actually knows you personally (due to dressage competitions, I think).

I'm English, so all the yarns you're using I've already fallen head over feet with them. Also, if you look in the more upscale knitting books out there (Knit2, Weekend Knits, Flirty Knits, Suss Kints) as well as Interweave Knits tend to give a nod to the artisan yarns that you're accustomed to.

I've only just started to branch out from Rowan, due to the swaps I've been making with American knitters. Knitpicks is a good, solid yarn and it really doesn't feel bad. But yeah, the colours aren't really inspiring. I'm in the midst of searching for a silk/cotton blend of yarn, preferably double knit. Any help?

For babies' clothes and blankets I do like the paton's yarns. Sirdar's yarns are decent as well, especially the cotton/acrylic mix. It's machine washable and gets softer with every wash.

Can't say that I'm a fan of Debbie Bliss, to be honest. Her yarns feel great, the colours are lovely, but they don't wear very well. I've been disappointed with her yarns too much to spend money on them again.

I love to knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, but it doesn't wear well for me, so in the end it disappoints. Malabrigo is also yummy to knit with, but pills, so I only use it for accessories, not sweaters. My favorite is Karabella Aurora 8 - love it. The colors are lovely, particularly the heathered ones. I'm going to use the heathered anthracite for a little jacket and can't wait to get started. Looking forward to seeing you in print - I love your patterns! I also would love it you did something similar to the Stella sweater coat ... ooh la la!

Good luck with the designing. Your patterns always look lovely, so don't despair. I'm afraid I am very much attached to RYC Cashsoft, Rowan Kid Classic and Jaeger Extra Fine Merino. If I lived in the US, Karabella and Brown Sheep would probably be my favourites.

What other yarns exist besides Rowan? :)

I'm quite the Rowan whore, but have been trying to move away from this and experiment with other things. I still have yet to find a good replacement for wool/cotton! Karabella Aurora 8 has the same twist, but it's just not the same!

Oh, I'm a Rowan snob. I've tried the others, but for colorways and stitch definition, nothing beats it. When I'm in a bright mood, Koigu and Noro sing to me nice and loud. I'd love to see a book from you!

For sweaters--Araucania Nature Wool, Berroco Ultra Alpaca
For babes--Tahki Cotton Classic, for bright, un-baby colors

I just knitted my grandson (2) a sweater in Sirdar Click - washes very well and look quite nice. I love Brown Sheeps Lambs Pride also.

For Americans, Rowan is pretty much available everywhere and very popular. But, I also think Blue Sky Alpaca yarn is wonderful. I've knit 2 favorite sweaters with it. And Noro is so much fun for the color and texture - Silk Garden, and Kocharan. I really enjoy your blog. Thank you!

This is a comment on your blog generally - I just want to let you know how much I enjoy it. I always find your posts interesting, and love your designs. So far I've made Cherry and the Spindle Socks, both of which were very successful. I've also bought the Flicca pattern and look forward to making that soon. A book of your patterns would be wonderful!

I also have a request - I'm a librarian in a public library in Western Australia. We have a monthly knitting evening in the library, for which I produce a newsletter. Would it be OK to reproduce the aforementioned Spindle Socks pattern in our next issue? I would of course give full credit to you as the designer, and provide information about your blog. The newsletter is distributed free of charge to members of the knitting group and copies are available to patrons of the library. Please let me know if this is OK with you.

I'm currently knitting Flicca and really loving it!
Bit worried, I'm using a cashmere merino blend I bought on a cone from School Products in NYC. I only bought 1530 yds, the patt calls for 1539 for the smallest size. Any chance I won't have to modify the collar to finish with my yardage? Or am I going to be frogging until spring?
I know, I know, totally foolhardy and impetuous. Would love your input.

I love the Stella coat. The Harvey is really stylish too!

I think that Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece might be close to the Rowan Wool Cotton. The weight seems similar, but the cotton-wool mix differs.

I've become enamored of Filatura di Crosa's Zara, which I'm substituting for Rowan DK. But I've had more success getting the full range of colors from Canada than from the US.

Debbie Bliss, oh right you said american, I still like Debbie bliss.

Hello

I am new to London (I am from the U.S.) and wanted to know if you know of any local knitting groups.

I am not the most experienced knitter, but so far the yarn I have enjoyed using most was Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb. Really smooth and easy to knit with and I love the effect from the variegated colours. In fact I think I'm slightly addicted to variegated yarn - doing something in just one colour doesn't seem very appealing just now, but I'm not mad on stripes, or good enough yet to attempt fair isle &c.

I live in Cambridgeshire and we have a complete lack of well stocked yarn shops:( Thank goodness for fantastic sites like www.getknitted.com and www.considerthelily.com. (My bank manager probably doesn't agree)
My favourite, yes, I know it's Debbie Bliss is the gorgeously soft silk alpaca (Ilove the thought of alpacas as well) and also I love cascade 220 for chnkiness. I am going on a Rowan spree on Wednesday..any suggestions for a short jacket?

I live in Cambridgeshire and we have a complete lack of well stocked yarn shops:( Thank goodness for fantastic sites like www.getknitted.com and www.considerthelily.com. (My bank manager probably doesn't agree)
My favourite, yes, I know it's Debbie Bliss is the gorgeously soft silk alpaca (Ilove the thought of alpacas as well) and also I love cascade 220 for chunkiness. I am going on a Rowan spree on Wednesday..any suggestions for a short jacket?

I have to tell you I love your Spindle Socks... I am knitting them currently for my Bloomin' Feet pal! They are lovely and I love the pattern, thanks for sharing it!

Since you asked, my new favorite yarn is Sublime. It's merino, silk, and cashmere. An absolute dream to touch, look at, and knit with.

Spinning!! In Scotland, no less. I hope you learn and have fun with it.

Speaking as an American Knitter, with lots of American Knitting friends, I must tell you: there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with relying solely on Rowan, Jaeger & Debbie Bliss! Us Americans love it, and it certainly won't stop us from buying your book!

I LOVE Rooster Almerino yarn - not very widely available yet. Fantastic colours and sooo soft. The aran is a great substitute for DB cashmerino - it wears better too. Like most others I am a Rowan girl otherwise. Will definitely buy your book, am so pleased to have come across your blog, you have inspired me.

i am so with you on the harvey coat. plus every single other pattern in that rowan studio book.

Thanks for asking about the yarns. While I like Rowan and DB, it's usually too pricey for me, but super easy to find in shops. I'm in the upper midwest, and rarely see Jaeger in the stores. Cascade 220 is great for it's availability, color selection and value, Berocco's ultra alpaca is good for the same reasons, and I have recently discovered the Sandnes line of yarns at my LYS and knit a sweater for my son in Sport. Again, great value, but I'm not certain how widely available they are. As for cotton, I really love Paton's grace. Nice smooth sport weight cotton, and here it's available at the craft stores. Please check into the Ella Rae yarns. These are relatively new on the scene, and I have not knit with it yet, but I definitely will. They have a worsted wool, and a cotton or cotton blend I think. I've seen it in several shops here lately. Several have mentioned Blackwater Abbey, it certainly comes in fabulous colors, but I've never seen it in a store, and it is scratchy! Even after knit up and washed. I was sad about that.