Hudson & West Deep Winter 2020 Collection
Hudson & West is a recently launched yarn company. My Sister Knits considers ourselves quite fortunate to be one of the few yarn shops to offer their yarns to our customers!
We love this yarn! It’s unique because it’s the brainchild of two knitwear designers Meghan Babin (who also used to be editor of Interweave Knits) and Sloane Rosenthal. They wanted to create a yarn that is produced entirely in the United States and that would reflect their desire for designs that are practical, exquisitely detailed, and easily worn anywhere.
Forge, their worsted weight and Weld, their fingering weight are a Corriedale/Merino blend. They are sourced from our mountains here in Colorado and New Mexico and New York’s Hudson Valley. They’re spun in Greenwich, New York and dyed in Philadelphia at a dyeworks that has been in business for over a hundred years!
Forge and Weld are semi-worsted spun, meaning that they have the best of both ways of spinning! They combine the roundness and stitch definition of a worsted spun yarn and the bloom and airiness of a woolen spun. Sloane and Meghan wanted a ‘garment yarn’, one that has a ready-to-wear look and feel.
When blocking your finished project, Sloane suggests using blue Dawn dishwashing soap. It removes any left over oils while softening and opening up the yarn for a truly professional finishing touch!
Their Deep Winter 2020 pattern collection launches Friday, February 14th. This collection is a full range of colorwork patterns including hats, mittens, cowls, sweaters, and shawls. The colorwork techniques vary and their patterns are thoughtfully written with attention to detail.
The colorwork graphs are large and easy to read which shows that they want us to have the best experience possible when knitting their patterns. There are designs with only two colors for those who prefer to ease into this fun technique and others with more colors for knitters who are a bit more adventurous!
Hudson & West yarn works so well with colorwork designs because it is a bit ‘sticky’. That doesn’t mean the finish product won’t be soft, it means that the stitches will lay together nicely, helping to achieve an even fabric.
A hint about choosing colors: take a black and white photo of the colorways you are considering. This will show the amount of contrast between the two. The more contrast there is, the bolder the difference will be.
We hope to see you in the shop busily squishing the yarn and choosing one of these brand new patterns to knit soon! Be one of the first to make something from this pattern collection!
Julie’s Finds
These needles from Knit Picks are such a great idea! They are marked in one inch increments, how fun!