Skipper by Stella Ackroyd
Skipper by Stella Ackroyd
This sweater is one of my all-time Summer favourites; I have several in my wardrobe and they are the perfect throw-on for the beach or a family barbeque (some friends will know that I sometimes have trouble getting them back when I lend them to family!).
BC Garn Bio Balance is a great yarn for this garment; it’s a wool/cotton blend with just enough texture to make it interesting and really nice drape. To top it all, it’s machine washable - I love it when I find such a good match!
Knitted in pieces up to the shoulders and then joined using a 3 needle bind-off, the sleeve stitches are then picked-up and the sleeves knitted downwards before a quick join of the sleeve and side seams, leaving the ribbed sections open for a feminine detail and easy fit. The neckand is worked in the round on a short circular needle.
Finished bust circumference: 102 [113: 124: 135: 146] cm / 40 [44½: 48¾: 53¼: 57½]”
(recommended ease 15 cm / 6")
Suggested yarn: BC Garn Bio Balance which is a 4 ply/fingering 55% Wool, 45% Cotton in 50g / 225m skeins
Yarn usage: A. 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 x 50gm
B. 2, 2, 3, 3, 3 x 50gm
Needles: 3.25 mm (US 3), 2.75 mm (US 2)
Suitable yarns include:
Material: 55% Pure Wool, 45% Cotton
Skein size: 50g
Yardage: 225m/50g
Needle: 3-4 mm
Gauge: 25 = 10 cm
Care: Machine wash in delicate mode at 30 degrees
A wonderful soft carded yarn from pure wool and cotton. The GOTS certified Bio Balance comes in great melange colors which gives each skein an even more interesting look. This versatile yarn is great for knitting and crocheting baby garments as well as accessories and pullovers for adults. The GOTS certification is a guarantee for sustainability and social responsibility.
The raw wool comes from mulesing-free farms in South America. The cotton is grown in Turkey, where the yarn is spun, too.
GOTS certified by Control Union CU 890756.
Scroll down to see the colours
You know the joy and sheer satisfaction of turning beautiful wool into favourite garments? Well, you’re going to love vintage 23! It’s the latest yarn blend from Wool Decanted and, in keeping with their aim to create the softest British yarns, vintage 23 is right up there on the softness scale. It’s deliciously next to skin soft!
How did they produce such a soft yarn?
By choosing their fibres carefully. Starting first with the white of Falklands Polwarth with its long staple length which produces a strong, smooth, and silky yarn and is soft enough to be worn next to the skin, they added some white Romney fibre from Kent, with a long and lustrous staple, and well-defined crimp, adding a bit of depth and strength to the blend. Knowing from experience with previous vintages that adding a small amount of coloured fleece to the white would create a uniquely coloured base, they added just a touch of black Shetland fibre to the white. Rich black Scottish Shetland locks, from the softest part of the Shetland fleece, mixed with the pure white of the Polwarth and Romney created a beautiful, natural, light heathery grey base.
What about the colours?
Dyed as blended tops, the light grey base has allowed for colour of a special richness in their 8-colour palette. You will be able to create some great colour combinations, and the natural grey works with all of them! They’ve replicated many of their existing colours in this vintage and added the natural grey, Bottle Green, Claret and Island Dusk (a beautiful dusky pink).
How was it spun?
Worsted-spun in West Yorkshire to our specification, vintage 23 has excellent stitch definition, perfect for texture and colour work, and it blooms beautifully when blocked.
Yarn weight: 4ply / fingering (2/9nm)
Skein weight: 50g
Meterage: 225m/246yds approx. per 50g skein
Fibre composition: Polwarth, Romney, Black Shetland
Care: Handwash. Do not tumble dry. Do not iron.
Yarn weight: 4ply / fingering
Skein weight: 100g
Fibre: 70% Easy-wash Merino wool, 20% Easy-wash alpaca, 10% Recycled nylon
Length: 325m / 355yards
Tension: 32 stitches per 10cm
Needle: 2.5mm (US 1.5)
Care: Machine wash on wool cycle or hand wash at 30 degrees. Dry flat.
Amble is a fingering-weight yarn made from a blend of eco-friendly washable wool and alpaca for comfort as well as recycled nylon for strength. Although designed especially for sock knitting, this is a soft and durable yarn also great for easy-to-care-for sweaters and accessories.
‘When The Fibre Co. set out to design a sock yarn, we stayed true to our guiding principle of harnessing the beauty that nature provides in a way that is gentle on our planet. We waited until a recycled nylon and an alternative to the standard chlorine processed washable wools became available. The end result is a soft yet durable yarn from Merino wool and alpaca fibres processed with an eco-friendly anti-shrinkage Easy-wash treatment. The recycled nylon adds strength and durability. We named this yarn Amble to reflect the kind of slow relaxed walking we enjoy here in the English Lake District. Some of the shades are borrowed from the successful palette in our Cumbria yarn with the cream and all heathers using a natural ecru Suri alpaca whilst the others use a natural brown Suri alpaca.’
Amble is also available in 25g mini skeins here
Fibre Content: 100% superfine Geelong lambswool
Skein weight: 50g
Meterage: 205m per 50g
Recommended Needle size: 3.25mm
Gauge: 28 sts per 10cm
Washing: Hand wash only
Please note this yarn is not scoured before winding into skeins which means it needs to be washed after knitting in order to bloom into its beautifully soft final state.
Scroll down to see the colours available and to read more about this yarn.
This yarn is also available in 20g mini-skeins here