4PLY BFL SWATCHES

4ply BFL is a 100% British Bluefaced Leicester yarn with 400meters (437 yards) to each 100 gram skein.

The wool comes from British flocks and is processed and spun in Yorkshire.

The yarn has been superwash treated so it can be machine washed at 30°C using a wool or delicate cycle. There’s lots more information about caring for your hand dyed yarns here.

We’d recommend this yarn for toys, garments and accessories – so it works across a wide range of needle and hook sizes. Rather than produce samples of very colour we’ve chosen to  make a set of samples in one colour, so you can see how a change in gauge or stitch pattern affects how the yarn looks.

4ply BFL swatches are worked in semi solid baby elephant. All swatches have been very lightly blocked to allow the stitches to settle. The swatches have not been stretched as part of the blocking process, something you often do when making shawls and scarves. 

All of the 4ply BFL swatches were taken at the same time with the same camera settings, so differences are due to tension and stitch pattern.

This is the yarn as it’s shown in the shop 

Knitted Swatches

Stocking Stitch Swatches

Stocking stitch swatches are worked over 46 stitches. They begin and end with 5 rows of knitting, and the 3 edge stitches are always knitted. 

2mm / size 14 / US 0 needles

36 stitches and 44 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gives a firm fabric which has limited drape, so it’s too stiff for shawls and scarves. This gauge would work well for mitts, toys and where a structured fabric is wanted e.g. for a cowl neck which you want to stand rather than fold. 

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D needles

26 stitches and 34 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gives a well structured fabric which has good drape. It’s the gauge I’d choose for garments, as the fabric has enough structure to hold its shape and wear well without being stiff. This would work well for blankets, hats, scarves and shawls too.

4mm / size 8 / US 6 / US G needles

22 stitches and 29 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gives a  fabric which has excellent  drape. It’s the gauge I’d choose for shawls and other items where drape was important.  I’d be wary of working a garment at the gauge as the looser stitches won’t hold their shape so well, allowing the garment to stretch.

When I was knitting stocking stitch swtches I noticed something odd. As the gauge got looser the fabric looked lighter. None of the stocking stitch swatches are lose enough to have the background peeping through, so I suspect that the denser fabric produced at tighter gauges absorbs more light.

Garter stitch swatches are worked over 30 stitches. Garter stitch has a lot of stretch both lenghways and widthways. This is great if you’re making something where you want that stretch, like baby clothes where you don’t want a lot of loose fabric but you want the garment to fit for more than five minutes.

Garter stitch can be tricky for adult garments, as the weight of the yarn will stretch the stitches. One way to limit this is to work garments from side to side rather than lengthways.  

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D needles

24 stitches and 48 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gives a well structured fabric which has decent drape. It’s the gauge I’d choose for blankets and  hats where I wanted the extra thickness of the fabric for warmth. This would work for scarves and shawls too, creating a fabric to snuggle up into.

This swatch hasn’t been stretched as it was blocked. Firmer blocking could easily add an extra 25%, giving 18 stitches and 36 rows to 10cm / 4in

4mm / size 8 / US 6 / US G needles

20 stitches and 40 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gives a well structured fabric which has excellent drape. It’s the gauge I’d choose for  scarves and shawls too, creating a beautiful drape.

This swatch hasn’t been stretched as it was blocked. Firmer blocking could easily add an extra 25%, giving 15 stitches and 30 rows to 10cm / 4in. Harder blocking would open the fabric up even more.

Texture Swatches

The last set of knitted swatches looks at texture and lace. If you’re going to spend time working these patterns you want to be sure they’ll show up. Both texture swatches were worked over 24 stitches.

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D needles

24 stitches and 40 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gauge gives a firm fabric which allows the texture to show well. It would work well for garments and hats. A looser gauge won’t show the texture so well.

Travelling rib pattern is worked over any multiple of 8 stitches

Row 1: [K4, P4]

Row 2: [P1, K4, P3]

Row 3: [K2, P4, K2]

Row 4: [P3, K4, P1]

Row 5: [P4, K4]

Row 6: [K1, P4, K3]

Row 7: [P2, K4, P2]

Row 8: [K3, P4, K1]

4mm / size 8 / US 6 / US G needles

21 stitches and 36 rows to 10cm / 4in

Sample worked over 24 stitches. I wanted a sample which showed how the holes created by yarn overs would look. On slippier yarns the holes can vanish. The 4ply BFL holds the pattern well. This swatch wasn’t stretched when it was blocked. Firmer blocking would open the yarn overs up a lot more, and tension would be close to 15 stitches and 27 tows to 10cm / 4in

Mesh stitch pattern

This is a simple one row pattern which works over any multiple of three stitches.

All rows : [K1, yarn over needle, K2tog]

Crochet Swatches

Full disclosure – I’m someone who knits a lot more than I crochet. So please forgive any wobbly edges on sample swatches.

I’ve worked samples of granny squares with two hook sizes, the double and treble crochet with a single hook size to show how the different stitch changes how the colours appear on the sample.

All  terms refer to UK crochet terms unless otherwise stated.

Granny Square Swatches

Granny square swatches are worked with what I think of as a classic granny square pattern worked with treble crochet stitches (US double crochet). Swatches are worked over 6 rounds. It made more sense to me to provide a measurement for the granny square rather than trying to calculate row and stitch gauge.

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D hook

Finished square is 9cm / 3.5in

This gauge gives a fabric with limited drape. It would wear well in garments and blankets. There’s some give in the swatch, but firmer blocking won’t increase the size by much.

4mm / size 8 / US 6 / US G hook

Finished square 10cm / 4in

This gauge gives a fabric with good drape which would work well for scarves and shawls. There’s give in the swatch, and firmer blocking will easily increase the size to 12.5cm / 5in

Double and Treble Crochet Swatches

These swatches are worked over 30 stitches. The way crochet stitches are formed means that the lighter and darker areas in the skein are a lot more obvious than in knitting. The position of these will depend on stitch count, gauge and pattern.

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D hook

Double crochet (US single crochet)

26 stitches and 36 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gauge gives a fabric with limited drape and stretch. It would wear well in garments and blankets, and would make great hats and mitts. There’s some give in the swatch, but firmer blocking won’t increase the size by much.

3.25mm / size 10 / US 3 / US D hook

Double crochet (US single crochet)

26 stitches and 14 rows to 10cm / 4in

This gauge gives a fabric with much more drape and stretch than the double crochet swatch above. It will work well for garments and accessories and has enough drape to work for shawls (but I might be tempted by a slighter larger hook)