A whole rainbow of Scrumptiousness (thanks to our new shades)!

We've been busy working on lots of exciting new things here at Fyberspates HQ and we're very excited to launch seven new shades of Scrumptious 4ply!  

From rich Raspberry to bright Persimmon, cheerful Daffodil, juicy Key Lime, soothing Jade, intense Ultramarine and vivid Amethyst, our new additions to the range were developed with the help of the queen of rainbows herself, crochet designer Amanda Perkins.  

Our aim was to create a rainbow of glorious colour when these new shades are combined with our existing palette.... a bit like this!  Don't you just love a GIF?

Scrumptious 4ply shades clockwise from top (new shades are marked with a *): #302/Gold, #324/Persimmon, #321/Kiss, #323/Raspberry, #315/Magenta, #329/Amethyst, #328/Ultramarine, #317/Denim, #308/Teal, #319/Azure, #327/Jade, #313/Jen's Green, #326/Key Lime and #325/Daffodil.  

Giveaway time!  

Leave a comment below telling us your favourite colour from the new shades and what you would knit with it and we'll pick one lucky winner at random who will receive a skein of Scrumptious 4ply!    

You have until Midnight (BST) Friday 19th August to enter, good luck!  

Happy knitting!  

A millinery of Becloud hats!

Its been a busy few weeks here at Fyberspates, so we've been taking a break from our yarn of the month posts!  

You might remember, back in February that we ran a KAL for our new Becloud hat pattern in Cumulus, so we thought you'd like to see the gorgeous hats that were made by our lovely prize winners!  

charliesumx's Becloud Hat of many colours

We loved the beautiful gradient effect created by charliesumx using seven different shades of Cumulus (Plum, Moonlight, Teal, Sea Green, Camel, Rust and Ruby Red), a great idea for using up leftovers from your other projects.  

snowywolf's Becloud Hat

This sophisticated selection of Teal, Moonlight and Slate was dreamed up by snowywolf and would go with so many things!  

PinkPot's Regal Crown

PinkPot wowed us with her unexpected but stunning colour choices (Pulm, Rust and Teal) and lovely fraternal Aolani mitts to match!  Such a fun idea and a great way to use up your three colours of yarn :) 

laurafugate's Becloud Hat

Last but not least, we loved the way that laurafurgate's colour choices create a much more pronounced marl effect, using Plum, Water and Teal.  

Thank you so much to all out lovely KAL participants for their inspiring knits!  

Happy Knitting!  

Pattern Week: Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply

It's the last Friday of the month and that means it's time for a pattern!  

This month we decided to choose the gorgeous Dollis Shawl by Anniken Allis, which you might remember from our second Scrumptious book: 

Dollis by Anniken Allis In Scrumptious 4ply Teal and Oyster

We love Anniken's shawl designs and this crescent shawl is a fun combination of eye catching beads (addded with a crochet hook, but you could leave them out if you wanted to), beautiful lace and relaxing garter stitch short rows, ending with a knitted on lace edging which is really fun to work.  

You'd need two skeins of the main colour (shown here in Oyster) and one skein of the contrast (shown here in Teal), or if you wanted to make the shawl in one colour you'd only need two skeins.  

Previously only available as part of The Scrumptious Collection Volume Two, we've decided to make it available as a stand-alone Ravelry download and until the end of next month (London time: 23.59 GMT+1 Tuesday 31st May) you can get 30% off this pretty shawl using the code Dollis.  Just click on the picture to go to the Ravelry page!  

Happy Knitting!

Project Focus: Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply

We had such fun picking out our favourite Scrumptious 4ply projects on Ravelry this week, there were so many gorgeous finished objects to choose from!  

Eventually we managed to narrow it down a little, but we've still got plenty to show you, so let's get started!

As usual, just click on each picture (or any of the links to the patterns used) to see more details of the project on Ravelry.  

MorganeD's Vitamine D

We thought we'd start with some beautiful garments like this Vitamine D cardigan made by MorganeD.  She chose to make Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier using shade #304/Water and we think it's a lovely match of yarn and pattern, the silk in Scrumptious gives the cardi drape, which exactly what this pattern needs, perfect for spring.  

carenw's Selfish Talavera

Here's another gorgeous knit for spring, we love this pretty lace top by carenw, she chose to knit Talavera by Amanda B Collins in #313/Jen's Green, I love delicate lace patterns like this knitted in vibrant colours!  

BlossomingKnits' LVD (Little Violet Dress)

This project is more adventurous!  Knitted dresses are a lot of work, but this looks like it was worth all the effort!  This amazing dress was knitted by BlossomingKnits who chose to knit the Principesa Dress by Sarah Wilson with #305/Purple.  The dress also uses Scrumptious Lace for the lace patterned edging (#505/Purple - some of the shades in Scrumptious 4ply are also available in Scrumptious Lace, perfect for projects that need the same shade in two different weights of yarn).  

Now on to some awesome accessories (I think we can allow a bit of alliteration on a Friday?) :D

wilckepedia's Change of Heart

We're coveting this pretty cowl knitted by wilckepedia!  The contrast in textures between the cables and lace is beautiful against the garter st background.  If you fancy making your own, you might want to take a look at the pattern that wilckepedia used, Change of Heart by Justyna Lorkowska, such a lovely match for #301/Cherry.  

knitgirl389's Green Turtles Journey

We love this shawl, knitted by knitgirl389 using #311/Flying Saucer and the inventive Turtle's Journey Shawl pattern by Heather Anderson.  The stitch definition on the turtles is perfect and the colour seems somehow appropriate as well!  

Mariasha's Filmstrip

Next a completely different style of shawl, I love the strong graphic lines and bold contrasts of Mariasha's Filmstrip, knitted in #301/Cherry and #307/Slate using Suvi Simola's Filmstrip pattern.  

Last but not least, another two colour shawl, 

LVallentin's Isbutik

I love this combination of two muted shades of Scrumptious (#303/Oyster and #304 Water) that LVallentin has chosen for her Isbutik.  So sophisticated and easy to dress up or down (I can just see this shawl worn with jeans or a pretty dress).  If you fancy making your own, the pattern she used is the Glacerie Shawl by Hilary Smith Callis.  (If you take a look at the pattern page there are lots of striping options to choose from too.)  

That's your lot for today!  Hope you've enjoyed looking at the projects we picked out and thank you to these lovely knitters for letting us feature their wonderful projects :)

Happy Knitting!  

Pattern Focus: Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply

It's pattern focus week again!  

We've got some lovely Scrumptious 4ply pattern ideas for you this week, including a few with some really intriguing constructions.... so let's get started :)

Our first pick is this stunning shawl, Raindrop by Kyoko Nakayoshi (available at Fyberspates stockists), which uses just one skein of Scrumptious 4ply.  

Raindrop by Kyoko Nakayoshi (image copyright Cotton and Cloud)

This is such a pretty shawl and I love the construction too, the radiating spokes of double yarn overs and increases, cleverly worked into the lace border make a nice change from more traditional triangular shapes.  

If you're ready to try a more challenging knit, why not have a go at Ann Kingstone's lovely Mallorn sweater? 

Mallorn by Ann Kingstone (image copyright Verity Britton)

Knitted seamlessly from the top down using Scrumptious 4ply in Gold, this sweater has a really clever construction beginning with an i-cord neck edging from which two sets of stitches are picked up, one in Scrumptious 4ply (shown in Cherry, which is visible behind the lace at the neckline) and the other in Scrumptious Lace (in Gold, to match the rest of the sweater, which is then used for the lace overlay section at the neckline).  This gives a gorgeous effect which really makes the sweater stand out from the crowd, I really love the inventive construction!  

If you want something a little smaller, but still with a clever and unusual construction, why not try Foolproof by Louise Zass-Bangham?  

Foolproof by Louise Zass-Bangham (image copyright Louise Zass-Bangham

With no cast on or cast off, this cowl uses two contrasting shades of Scrumptious 4ply (shown in Oyster and Dandelion and Burdock) to great effect with a series of bold stripe patterns.  

As we showed you last week, Scrumptious is wonderful for textured patterns as well as lace, so it work perfectly in Amanda Clark's cheerful Summer Blooms Shawl.  

Summer Blooms Shawl by Amanda Clark (image copyright Amanda Clark)

Love those bobble flowers!  Such a great combination of texture and lace!  

If you love larger scale all over lace patterns, then Tintinhull by Jen Arnall-Cullford might be the perfect project for you.  

Tinitinhull by Jen Arnall-Culliford (image copyright Jen Arnall-Culliford)

I love this beautiful and unusual lace pattern, it'd make a lovely stole to wear to a summer wedding or even bundled up round your neck on a cold day as a scarf.  

Last but not least, how about this delicate lace panel cardigan, Arachne by Lien Ngo (available from Fyberspates stockists)?  

Arachne by Lien Ngo (image copyright Lien Ngo)

We love the turned hems and the arrangement of lace motifs around the edges and cuffs, which make this cardigan perfect for dressing up or down.  The original was knitted in a one-off hand dyed shade of Scrumptious 4ply, but we think it would be perfect in a go-with-everything shade like Denim, or for a gorgeous pop of bright colour, Azure.  

Hope this has given you some inspiration!  

Happy Knitting!  

Yarn Focus: Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply

It's April and that means it's time for our new yarn of the month, Scrumptious 4ply!  

...... And that means new swatches :) 

We covered lots of different types of stitches this time and the yarn handled them all really well.  But first of all we thought we'd start with a bit of crochet: 

I love a little crochet motif square (this one is a design in progress, so watch this space) so I fiddled around with a few trebles and clusters and came up with this: 

Scrumptious is lovely and soft to crochet with and makes really lovely clusters (from my other swatches I think it would make great bobbles too).  The thing I find most annoying when crocheting is splitty yarn, but this didn't cause me any problems.  

I used a 3mm hook for this square, but I think a smaller size such as 2.5mm would work well if you wanted a firmer fabric.  I don't think you'd get such a nice effect with a larger hook though, so I'd be inclined to use a 3mm or smaller, depending on how tightly you tend to work (tension is such a personal thing).  I used soft pastels (Baby Pink and Natural for this swatch) for all the swatches here, but there are some gorgeous bright jewel tones and rich darker shades which would look amazing too (Azure and Dandelion and Burdock would really pop in a square like this).  

Next on to some simple lace: 

This swatch (knitted in Flying saucer on 3.25mm needles) is knitted in an easy cloverleaf eyelet pattern and has a lovely drape, which would be perfect for a shawl or cowl.  However if I was going to knit a garment, I think I might want a slightly denser fabric (using a smaller needle to get a harder wearing fabric) if I was intending to wear the sweater a lot.  But the stocking stitch fabric in between the eyelets is neat and consistent with a small amount of elasticity.  

Now on to some more complex patterns..... 

This little swatch is probably my favourite: 

This stitch is from one of my Japanese stitch dictionaries, although worked the undulating columns of knit stitches through the back of the loop because I wanted to show how amazing Scrumptious 4ply is when worked in twisted stitches.  I used Glisten with a 2.75mm needle for this swatch as I wanted a really nice crisp result (twisted stitches tend to work best when worked to a firmer tension).  I love the stitch definition of this swatch, it's so clear and crisp!  The sheen of the silk in Scrumptious helps the textures stand out too (look at those little bobbles)!  

Now for a fun combination of cables and lace: 

This stitch pattern is really unusual (it's from another of my Japanese stitch dictionaries) combining lace and cables and showing off two of the best properties of the yarn, beautiful stitch definition and the shine from the silk, making cables which really pop and lace which blocks out beautifully.  I knitted this swatch in Baby Pink using a 3.25mm needle, you could use a slightly smaller needle, but not too much as the cabled sections in a stitch pattern like this are quite dense.  These textures are pretty bold, so probably best kept to accessories or an accent of a garment, but in the right piece it would be amazing!    

Next, we thought we'd show you Rachel Coopey's Divelish mittens from Scrumptious Collection Volume 3: 

These mittens are knitted using Slate and Natural on 2.5mm needles which gives a lovely even, stable fabric, despite the silk content of the yarn which could cause some looser stitches if a smaller needle was used, as it doesn't stick to itself in the way a 100% wool yarn would.  The key to this is using a smaller needle, creating denser fabric and holding the yarns firmly in place.  The other advantage of this is that it creates a lovely cosy fabric that keeps out even the coldest drafts!  

Last but not least, I knitted up a swatch using Scrumptious 4ply and Cumulus held together (here it is next to the simple lace swatch so you can see the difference in tension): 

This knits up to a double knit tension (22 sts to 10cm) on a 4mm needle... oh the possibilities!  (Time to start plotting now :)

We hope this has given you some inspiration for using Scrumptious!  

For those who want to know, here are all the yarn details: 

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Yarn information

Content: 45% Silk, 55% Merino Wool

Recommended needle size: 2.5 - 3.25mm (US 1.5 - 3)

Tension (gauge): 28 - 24.5 sts and 37 rows to 10cm (4") over stocking stitch

Number of metres per skein: 365 metres (399 yards) per 100g skein

Washing instructions: Machine wash at 30°C on wool cycle

Project Focus: Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply

It's been really hard to pick our favourite projects this week as there are so many beautiful projects in Vivacous 4ply to choose from on Ravelry.  

So, after a lot of deliberation, here are just some of our favourites (as usual just click the pictures to see more details on each project)...... 

Vivacious is perfect for garments that you'll want to wear again and again as it's both hardwearing (thanks to it's high twist) and machine washable (thanks to the superwash merino wool), so that's where we'll start!

HelenKnitsUK's Hitofude Cardigan

We adore this beautiful lace cardigan knitted by Helen.  She chose Deep Aqua to knit the Hitofude Cardigan by Hiroko Fukatsu which has a fascinating seamless construction, we think it's the perfect combination!  

Next, we have a gorgeous sweater, knitted by Judy..... 

judso's Boxy becomes Nogat

Judy used Justyna Lorkowska's Nogat pattern to knit her lovely cable and lace sweater in Peacock, the stitch definition is fabulous!  

Concluding our selection of sweaters is Louizette's Florence cardigan: , knitted in Spiced Plum

Louizette's Florence cardigan

I love this style, it looks so comfy and easy to wear but pretty as well, the kind of cardi you'd wear all the time!  

Fancy making an heirloom project?  What about something like this stunning blanket, Leaves of Grass by amusementcell?   

amusementcell's Leaves of Grass

Knitted in Peacock, this blanket is knitted using the Elizabeth Zimmermann Pi shawl method (where every time you double the number of rows you've knitted, you double the number of stitches).  So while it may look complex, for the majority of the blanket you actually only have a lace pattern to concentrate on, rather than difficult shaping.  

If you prefer smaller projects, fear not!  We found some gorgeous accessories too.  First we have a couple of pairs of socks!  

We love the travelling stitches on littlemissyknit's Socks, they look great in Copper Tones: 

littlemissyknit's Socks

And we love the combination of variegated yarn and a simple knit and purl pattern on iamfiona's Dumbledore's Christmas Tweed socks, knitted in Tweed Imps: 

iamfiona's Dumbledore's Christmas Tweed

If you fancy something bright and pretty to keep your neck cosy you could try a project like one of these next two: 

knittybaker's p r e c i o u s cowl

We love knittybaker's p r e c i o u s cowl, knitted in Mixed Magentas, a really lovely accessory that you can wear long like this, or wrapped twice round your neck for extra warmth.  

Last but not least, a pop of bright colour in a simple relaxing project: 

laceloveslinda's Rae a Drop of Golden Sunshine

We love laceloveslinda's Rae a Drop of Golden Sunshine scarf, knitted in Sunshine, it's such a happy project (love the sunflowers in the background too! 

Thank you to all these lovely knitters for letting us use their gorgeous project photos!  We hope this has given you some inspiration :)

Happy Knitting!  

Pattern Focus: Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply

Last week we showed you what sort of stitches and needle sizes work best in Vivacious 4ply, so this week we thought we'd give you some ideas for patterns that would work really well in this yarn.  

There are so many gorgeous patterns on Ravelry that would work beautifully in Vivacious 4ply that it was hard to narrow them down to just a few, but here are just some of our favourites!  (As usual, just click the pictures to see more details of each pattern.)

Let's start with a sweater with attitude, Åsa Tricosa's Sweatrrr!  

Sweatrrr by Åsa Tricosa (Image Copyright Åsa Tricosa)

Åsa has a really distinctive modern style which I love and this jumper is a perfect example of that.  Knitted in Silver and Bronze Vivacious 4ply with a bold, contrasting sleeve insert and little intarsia squares, the colourwork is perfect for using up those part balls of gorgeous yarn that you can't bear to part with.   It only takes 3 - 5 skeins of the main colour so it's a fairly economical sweater too.  Best of all, it's knitted seamlessly using Åsa's Ziggurat top down method, so no sewing up at the end!!  

If cardigans are more your thing, then why not try Carol Feller's Autumn Whispers Cardigan?  

Autumn Whispers by Carol Feller (Image Copyright Carol Feller)

Another top down design, this lovely little cardi (shown here in Copper Tones) is knitted using a different but equally intriguing seamless technique, the contiguous method (which you can learn more about in the Contiguous group on Ravelry here).  

Carol has provided instructions for knitting short or three quarter length sleeves as well, so you can make whichever you prefer.  It doesn't take much yarn either, between 2 and 4 skeins for the short sleeved version and from 3 - 5 skeins for the 3/4 sleeve version.  I'm really tempted to make one of these for spring, it'd be perfect to throw on over a dress or jeans and  a t-shirt!  

We also love this stunning colour block sweater, Stay the Same by Veera Välimäki: 

Stay the Same by Veera Välimäki (Image copyright Jonna Jolkin/Veera Välimäki)

Veera has used Spiced Plum to contrast strongly with pale grey in her gorgeous modern sweater design, which we think is really flattering and easy to wear.  I love the dipped hem worked with short row shaping and the button detail too!  

Fancy a really pretty shawl?  We love this beautiful design; Enchanted Forest by Ágnes Kutas-Keresztes: 

Enchanted Forest by Ágnes Kutas-Keresztes (Image Copyright Ágnes Kutas-Keresztes)

This crescent shaped shawl is knitted top down using two skeins of Vivacious 4ply (shown in Sea Green) and features botanical themed cable and lace patterns.  Ágnes's designs are really pretty, so her Ravelry page is well worth a look!  

We couldn't do a post on Vivacious 4ply pattern ideas without mentioning some awesome socks!  

Dawlish (shown in Sunshine) and Willowherb (shown in Mixed Magentas) by Rachel Coopey from CoopKnits Socks Volume 1 each use a skein of Vivacious 4ply and use the great stitch deinition that the yarn has in both cables and lace to great effect.  

Another pattern that really shows off Vivacious's stitch definition, is this one, Ironbridge by Louise Zass-Bangham: 

View fullsize

Ironbridge by Louise Zass-Bangham (Image Copyright Louise Zass-Bangham)

We love the way these twisted stitches and cables look on this, the textures are just gorgeous.  

Last but not least, just for fun, is this little pattern that we did for Easter last year, Yolks!  

You only need a tiny bit of yarn so they're perfect for scraps and leftovers and the pattern is free too, so why not make some to dress up your Easter egg hunt this year?  

You can also see all our single patterns for Vivacious 4ply here and patterns in Vivacious Volume One here.  

Happy Knitting!  

P.S. Don't forget, our Becloud Hat pattern is still free with the code becloudhat until midnight tonight (GMT).  

Yarn Focus: Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply

February went quickly didn't it?  It's March already and time for a new yarn of the month! 

This month it's one of our gorgeous hand dyed yarns, Vivacious 4ply.  

Top row: #600/Spiced Plum, #601/Tweed Imps, #608/Blue Lagoon, #605/Deep Forest
2nd row: #607/Deep Aqua, #606/Sea Green, #604/Sunshine, #602/Copper Tones
3rd row: #603/Silver and Bronze, #609/Peacock
4th row: #612/Dovestone, #611/Mixed Magentas, #610/Lavender Haze, 614/Pebble Beach
5th row: #616/Crocus, #617/Verdegris, #615/Lundy Island, #613/Slate

Vivacious 4ply is a robust, high twist superwash Merino wool yarn, hand dyed in beautiful, often complex layered colours, carefully designed by Jeni in her studio in Chester, these colours are then faithfully recreated by the dyers in Peru, where the yarn is made.  

We've got brights like Sunshine (a lovely sunny yellow) and Deep Aqua (an intense, saturated turquoise) and our newer more muted shades like Lundy Island (subtle shades of sage and mossy greens and browns) and Pebble Beach (a beautiful combination of blue toned and brown toned greys).  

I guess you want to see how it knits up?  

We tried lots of different types of stitches and they all worked really nicely, Vivacious really is a great all rounder!  

First, we tried some crochet swatches: 

Swatches crocheted in #617/Verdegris and #605/Deep Forest

Sometimes we get asked how Vivacious 4ply crochets up and these swatches provide the answer; beautifully!  The fabric is wonderfully smooth and even with good stitch definition and as Vivacious 4ply is a high twist yarn it isn't splitty, so it's perfect nice to work with too.  It would be perfect for a crocheted throw or blanket as being machine washable it's easy to care for.  

Next, we tried some colourwork: 

Fairisle swatch knitted in #605/Forest Green and undyed yarn, textured swatch knitted in #606/Sea Green and #610/Lavender Haze, both knitted on 3.25mm needles

As you can see in the top swatch, this yarn works perfectly in stranded colourwork/Fairisle.  The yarn stichs to itself enough to help you keep an even tension and the finished fabric is smooth and blocks out nicely.  

Both these swatches were knitted on 3.25mm needles which would give a nice fabric for a garment, but for fairisle items that will see a lot of intense wear such as socks or mittens I'd be inclined to use a smaller needle to help keep the fabric looking good for longer.  

The second swatch is knitted in a pattern that uses a combination of slipped stitches and elongated stitches to create a dense fabric that resembles large polka dots.  Fabrics like this can have a tendency to look uneven in more slippery yarns, as the elongated stitches can distort the stitches next to them, but this isn't a problem with a Merino wool yarn like Vivacious.  

Cabled and twisted stitch swatch knitted in #608/Blue Lagoon, knitted on 2.5mm needles

Our next swatch really shows off the amazing stitch definition of this yarn.  I worked some twisted stitches (knitted through the back of the loop) along with some smocked stitches (at the edge) and some cabled stitches (in the centre).  Cables pop most when worked in a denser fabric, so I used 2.5mm needles as you might use for socks of mittens (high twist yarns like Vivacious are more hardwearing than those with a looser twist, so are perfect for things like this).  The surface texture these provide are really eyecatching and the fabric has a good memory as well (it springs back into shape when you stretch it out).  

Last but not least, lace:  

Lace swatch knitted in #603/Silver and Bronze, knitted on 3.25mm needles

This swatch makes a nice fabric with good drape once blocked (I wet blocked this swatch) which would work well for a cute little cardi, or a cowl, or perhaps the yoke on a sweater.  I used 3.25mm needles, but you could go slightly larger if you wanted.  I'd recommend not using a much larger needle than this though as high twist yarns tend to look better at a tighter gauge.  

Of course whatever you knit in Vivacious, your finished knits will be really easy to care for as you can wash them at 40 degrees C in the machine!  Hooray!  

I hope this has given you lots of ideas!  

Here's all the detailed yarn information: 

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Yarn information

Content: 100% Merino Wool

Recommended needle size: 2.5mm - 3.5mm (US 1.5 - 4)

Tension/gauge: 26 - 36 sts and 36 - 50 rows to 10cm (4") over stocking stitch

Number of metres per skein: 365 metres (399 yards) per 100g skein

Washing instructions: Machine wash at 40°C on wool cycle