Over the last few weeks I’ve been knitting with tweed yarn – and it’s fair to say I’m smitten. Our tweed yarn is a 100% British Bluefaced Leicester wool with dark flecks of tweed though it. They add a more rustic finish to the yarn.
I wanted to see how the yarn would work up in one of the designs which used Britsock, so I cast on the linen stitch cowl from Knit The Rainbow.
The linen stitch cowl isn’t a quick knit – as every other stich is slipped it takes a while to work through the colours. It’s totally worth it though – the fabric looks more woven than knitted. The other delight of this stitch is that the front and back are very different, yet equally lovely. That’s great for a cowl or scarf where you’ll see both sides.
There’s a lot of colour in this cowl – a set of mini skeins in Printer Ink Shades and a skein of coal. However you’re only working with one colour at a time, so a round of coal, a round of colour, a round of coal, a round of colour. It’s the kind of simple meditative knitting that I love.
I’m so taken with this cowl that I’ve case on version 2 – this time in coal and pearl .
It’s early days, but you can see the different patterns forming on the front and back of the cowl.
What’s so special about this yarn? It’s a 100% British wool, grown processed, spun and dyed in the UK. That helps keep its carbon footprint down as it hasn’t travelled half way round the world. Bluefaced Leicester wool is a great favourite of mine. It wears well yet feels comfortable next to your skin. It also has that delicious sheepy smell which delights yarn lovers.
I’m loving the graphic look of the coal and pearl, and I can imagine lots of other colourways working too. Maybe a copper and turquoise. Or a red and gold for some real autumn warmth.
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