Articles

Oct 27 2021

Pattern suggestion: Halmstad Sweater

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 27 October 2021

Today’s sweater suggestion is the Halmstad sweaterby Todd Gocken.  It is available as a free pattern from Knitty.com.  Men are notoriously difficult to knit for.  Maybe your favourite man is an exception, but they do have a reputation for not liking anything that’s actually fun to knit.  This pattern is the answer!

The colourwork patterns are conservative enough for average male preference, but interesting enough for average knitter interest.  Plus, there’s a surprise in the construction.  A fun surprise.  You work the sleeves and body together in one piece, then cut it open at four steeks.  And then sew side and arm seams.   Take a look at the pattern to see how it’s done.  If you’ve done any stranded colourwork before, you’ll know that this makes the knitting very, very easy.  And the stripes are guaranteed to line up.

A steek, for those unfamiliar, is an area of a few stitches on every row that form a bridge between different parts of the garment.  It becomes a safe place to cut the knitted fabric for a seam to be added later.  With a nice, ‘sticky’ yarn like BC Garn Bio Shetland, it is easy to stabilize the fabric before cutting – any method will work, without special precautions.

BC Garn Bio Shetland is a slightly lighter weight yarn than used in the original pattern.  You can use it without modification at the specified gauge, just be sure to check your tension before you start, and modify needle size if needed.  The finished sweater will be lighter in weight, but still warm and comfortable..

 

 

Oct 27 2021

Pattern suggestion: Earflap Hat

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 27 October 2021

This free Purl Soho pattern for an earflap hat, designed by Jake Canton, demonstrates the versatility of the BC Garn Bio Shetland yarn.  Just hold two strands of the yarn together to substitute for a worsted weight yarn.

This particular hat was knitted by Mairi, using substantial leftovers from her Tobermory Tam project.  One skein would be plenty for even the largest size of hat.  Mairi had a bit less than that, so added a second colour at the tip.  You could also work the hat in blocks or stripes to use up odds and ends of different colours.  And, of course, a contrasting colour for the optional tassles adds a bit of drama.

The pattern is written for sizes from baby up to adult large.  Mairi made the largest size hat, and warns that it is very large indeed.  The yarn is also very soft and stretchy, with lots of room for big hair with a loose fit.  A smaller size would work for most people.

Oct 25 2021

GOTS Certification – What and Why?

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 25 October 2021

You may have noticed that our ongoing  BC Garn Bio Shetland Promotion is all about a yarn that is GOTS certified.  GOTS is the Global Organic Textile Standard, and it’s an important part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.   So we thought we’d take the time to tell you a little bit about it, and why it’s important.  There is tons of information about it on the official GOTS website.  And we’ve got a couple of brochures here that explain how the GOTS standard contributes to sustainable development, and how it benefits consumers.

GOTS_and Sustainable DevelopmentDownload
GOTS Consumer BenefitsDownload

GOTS is recognized as the world’s leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers. It defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.  With respect to yarn, this means that:

  • The fibre used – whether plant or animal – was produced organically.
  • Animal-based fibres come from animals that were raised in humane conditions.
  • Fibre processing, including dyeing, was ecologically non-damaging.
  • People involved in the yarn production, from farmers to factory workers, were not exposed to toxic chemicals.
  • Those people were also fairly compensated for their work.
  • No forced labour or child labour was involved.

GOTS certified yarns are always a good choice!

Oct 24 2021

Pattern suggestion: Tobermory Tam

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 24 October 2021

The Tobermory Tam pattern was designed by Mairi McKissock especially for our Bio Shetland promotion.  The pattern is exclusive to Creative Yarns until the end of the promotion, and it is available for free with the purchase of yarn for the project.  The sample hats will be in the store this week for you to look at in detail.

A Scottish tam, like the French beret, is a style of hat with a flat top and extra width at the sides, so it can be styled in different ways.  It is particularly easy to wear, and suits most face shapes.  If you think you don’t look good in hats, try a tam!

Continue Reading…

Oct 20 2021

Pattern suggestion: Raglan Sweater

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 20 October 2021

This top-down raglan sweater pattern is a must-have.  It was written by our own Michelle Porter. 

We don’t want to forget basic essentials when we’re posting pattern suggestions for our Bio Shetland promotion.  And this one is super-flexibile.  Make it in any size, and at any gauge.  Make it with long sleeves or short.  Give it a turtleneck, or a crew neck, or a scoop neck.  Knit it in one colour, or in stripes.  Use lots of different colours, or just a few.  Add cable details, perhaps down the arms or along the raglan lines.  Or use eyelet increases for the raglans, like in this picture, for a really easy tough of elegance.

The possibilities are endless, and a good, basic pattern like this gives you a framework to build on.

The basic pattern is written for aran-weight yarn, but you can hold two strands of Bio Shetland together as a substitute.

We think that BC Garn Bio Shetland makes wonderful, light sweaters.  There’s a lot of yardage in those inexpensive skeins, and a lot of warmth in that woolen-spun yarn.  So, here’s a raglan sweater pattern to help you make that sweater-to-live-in that everyone needs.

Oct 12 2021

Pattern suggestion: Full of Minis Welted Hat

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 12 October 2021

This welted hat pattern belongs in the Fun category!  Fun to knit, and fun to wear.  It is the Full of Minis hat pattern by designer Barbara Nalewko.  You can make it with just about any fingering weight yarn, but we’re suggesting it for use with the BC Garn Bio Shetland currently on promotion.  The welts combine beautifully with the woolen-spun characteristics of the yarn. multiplying the warmth factor.  Most knitted hats are less effective in windy conditions, but the extra layers of fabric in the welts make this hat warm even in windier weather.

The welts in this hat are quite easy to make, because the colour changes for every welt.  So, it’s easy to see which stitches to pick up on the welt rows.  You could make it with just two colours, alternating colours on every welt.  Or, you could make it with dozens of colours, using up scraps from your stash.  Either way, it will be an eye-catcher and a conversation piece.

Oct 02 2021

Special Promotion – Bio Shetland

Author: Mairi McKissock

Posting date: 2 October 2021

We’re trying something new this Fall knitting season – a special promotion for one of our favourite yarns.  BC Garn Bio Shetland is an absolutely lovely eco-friendly, pure wool, woolen-spun, inexpensive, lightweight yarn.  It’s suitable for all kinds of warm, soft, light-weight garments and accessories.  And it comes in a truly wonderful range of colours.  The range of colours, combined with the ‘sticky’ characteristic of a woolen-spun yarn make it ideal for stranded colourwork.

Here are the details:

  • From now through 31 October, get 20% off all purchases of Bio Shetland, either in person at the store, or in our online shop.
  • From now through 30 November, get a one-time 20% off coupon good for any yarn purchase when you post a new, finished project using this yarn on our project gallery.
  • Discount coupons will be sent by email when your project is published, can be used any time up to the end of this year (31 December, 2021), and can be used either in person at the store or in our online shop.

During the promotion period, we will be highlighting a few patterns that are terrific for this yarn.  We’ll publish those here on the news blog, and also collect them on a new page for the Bio Shetland Promotion under the ‘Home’ tab in the web page banner menu.   Additional ideas are available on Ravelry – you can use the ‘pattern ideas’ tab that’s available for any yarn in their database.  Here’s a link for the Ravelry  pattern ideas for Bio Shetland.  Also on Ravelry, the ‘projects’ tab for any yarn shows all the projects that other users have made with it – here’s a link for Ravelry projects made with Bio Shetland.