A Melanie Berg Inspired Yarn!
In June, Julie and Diana ventured to a trade fair for textile handicrafts in Chicago. Expectations and excitement ran high for this special fair because it usually only takes place in Cologne, Germany! It is eagerly looked forward to by Europeans and Americans could only dream about going.
My Sister Knits is now reaping the benefits of Julie and Diana’s trip as some of their finds are making their way to the shop. One of those is a yarn that is a collaboration between designer Melanie Berg and luxury yarn company Pascuali, Balayage and Balayage Hand Dyed.
The name Balayage comes from the hair industry. It’s a technique that creates a natural, subtle highlight effect. It’s much softer than a dramatic gradient ombre. This applies to yarn also!
Pascuali is a yarn company located in Cologne, Germany. It started in 2008 and has carefully and strategically grown ever since. Their mission is to create gorgeous luxury yarns while using sustainable practices.
Balayage is a blend of 20% extra-fine (21.5 microns) white Peruvian Merino and 80% gray and white baby alpaca. The mixture of these fibers creates a mottled gray tone that becomes a yarn with soft and varied balayage effects.
Melanie Berg is known for her stunning shawls. When she worked on developing Balayage, she wanted a yarn that was neither too fluffy nor too smooth. She also wanted a good mix of understated shades to use as a canvas for the pops of color included in the palette. Melanie has 114 shawl designs on Ravelry! Three of her shawls that would be exquisite in this fingering weight yarn are Ashburn, Rainshadow, and Targetty.
Pascuali uses only 100% plant or animal fibers for its yarn. Sustainability is a major goal of this eco-conscious company. It all boils down to being animal-friendly and environment-friendly. There are several ways they accomplish this.
Balayage Hand Dyed
Their fiber animals are raised in conditions that suit their natural behavior rather than being kept enclosed. They are shorn in a way that does not cause stress. Explore this website for some really interesting and in-depth information! Check out the merits of organic wool!
Their environment-friendly practices include recycling processes that are self-contained. For example, the mud that is produced when the fibers are washed is used as fertilizer! Solar energy is used and the water that is used is recycled in their recycling system. They have plastic-free packaging and they use CO2-neutral shipping. More than 90% of their shipping is done with DHL GoGreen, meaning that the emissions generated during shipping are offset by certified climate projects worldwide. If you’d like to read about Pascuali’s Knit Your Tree reforestation project, click here.
This yarn is so soft and squishy you’ll want to choose a project right away! If you have a baby or child to knit for, you’re in luck because we have their lovely annual ‘babies and kids’ periodical with 14 patterns. Come into the shop to learn their unique way of providing patterns!
Happy knitting,
