Planning one of our Big Books is always lots of fun, and starts so far in advance, it can be hard not to shout about it as it happens! That’s been especially true this year, as we’ve added something a bit new to the yarn line up for Confident Knitting! I’m excited to finally get to tell you about it today!
If you’ve knitted along with either of our previous Big Books, A Year of Techniques and Boost Your Knitting, you’ll see we’re once again using some of our absolute favourite yarns.
Schoppel Wolle are loved for their stunning colour shifts and unique constructions. It seems we’ve made something of a habit of using their yarns to kick off a year of learning — and we’re happy to be carrying that forward for this book!
We’re also over-the-moon to once again be working with Fyberspates. The team there produce swoon-worthy yarns that are just a joy to knit with — we’re absolutely hooked! Also from the Fyberspates stable are Stolen Stitches and Coop Knits yarns, both of which we are delighted to be using again this year.
Colourwork lovers will no doubt be happy to hear that we’ll also be featuring Shetland wool gorgeousness from Jamieson & Smith! There’s a reason this yarn has a devoted, worldwide following and we’re happy to be among the fans!
In addition to these firm A-C Knitwear favourites, we’re really excited to be introducing something new: fabulous hand-dyed skeins from independent dyers we love! We’ve collaborated with four dyers to bring you some absolutely delicious hand-dyed goodies for one project each season!
Ayesha of Dusty Dimples turns colour dreams into reality and you’ll find everything from subtle speckles to saturated jewel tones in her online shop. She loves to both knit and crochet when she’s not chasing after her family. You can also find her on Instagram where she is @dustydimples.
Ayesha and Irfan of Dusty Dimples
Specialising in bright, beautiful, no filter required colour combinations, Fab Funky Fibres magic up amazing self-striping sock yarn from their base in Tyne & Wear. Elaine and Alex can also be found on Instagram at @fabfunkyfibres, and that’s the best place to keep an eye out for their very popular shop updates.
After a circuitous path through various forms of education & employment (encompassing a degree in English Literature, waitressing, office/admin work, and training as a violin maker) Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt found her niche in the world of knitting, spinning, & dyeing. Her colourways are often deeply saturated and gloriously layered. Find Lilith on Instagram at @oldmaidenaunt.
Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt
Handdyer and designer Lola of Third Vault Yarns is a fellow boardgame geek and lover of all things science fiction and fantasy. She brings that love to her stunning colourways. She dyes in a range of styles including incredible variegated skeins, semi-solids and speckles. Lola is on Instagram as @thirdvaultyarns.
Photo credit: Quinography
Working with these talented hand-dyers was such a lot of fun, and I can safely say they’ve come up with some really juicy yarns that I think you’re going to love! Initially, we anticipate only being able to offer these special hand-dyed yarns as part of our seasonal yarn kits.
We will be offering seasonal yarn kits in two colourway options to go along with Confident Knitting. Each kit will give you all the yarn you need for three months’ worth of projects and represents a savings on buying the yarn for each project individually.
We’ve been inspired by four themes when choosing colours for Confident Knitting:
Transition: Inspired by spring, includes soft pastels, the colours of sunlight and ice cream.
Metallic: Inspired by summer, includes uses bolder, brighter colours — metallic oxides and vivid teals, pinks and oranges (not a literal metallic colourway — no silver, bronze or gold for example).
Earth: Drawing from autumn shades, with garden herbs, lavender and ochre; together they give a strong natural feel.
Noble: This is our winter colourway and these are calm and soothing colours, with neutrals balanced against deep blue and a hint of warm orange or pink.
You’ll find two of these four colourway inspirations on offer for each seasonal kit — Spring’s colourways are Transition (Designer’s Choice) and Noble (Alternative Choice). You can read more about what is in the kits over in our shop: Confident Knitting Spring Kit
In past years, we’ve often kept the kit yarns under wraps until they’ve shipped. But this year, we felt everyone needed a bit of extra confidence in things which is why we aren't doing the kits as a total mystery this time. We hope you enjoy dreaming about what three beautiful objects the Spring yarns might become … and if you’re thinking of purchasing Ultimate Confident Knitting (no longer available), we’ve also put together some graphics to give you a flavour of what to expect from each colourway choice.
We are so excited to be working with these fabulous yarn companies and independent dyers for Confident Knitting! We hope you love the yarns as much as we do. It’s always a balancing act getting the right mix of yarn types, weights and colours, but working with such great people makes it a fun puzzle to solve! And if a yarn kit is not in the cards for you right now, never fear. With its focus on smaller projects that can be comfortably achieved in a month, Confident Knitting offers plenty of opportunity for stash-diving or finding the perfect yarn that’s local to you. We just love seeing you learning new techniques.
Confident Knitting goes on sale TOMORROW, 5th February 2021 when we’ll also be announcing the ah-may-zing roster of designers we’ve worked with on this programme! Set your alarms (or just sign up for the newsletter!)… If you are receiving this blog post by email, don’t worry, you are already subscribed.