We are really excited about our yarn offering for the VA Knits VA Yarn Crawl this year. Shop owner Deren eco-printed the skeins of yarn with plants, she gathered from her garden, kitchen, around her neighborhood in central Virginia and on Block Island, RI where she spends time with her family every summer.
The process of eco-printing uses whole raw plant materials which are sprinkled on the yarn, wrapped in cloth and then steamed. The heat and vapor, transfer the color of the plant to the wool. Each little spot of color is where, a petal, leaf, seed, or nut touched the yarn as it was steaming.
Deren creates color in her backyard 'dye studio' in Charlottesville, VA. All of the plant materials are sustainably harvested. She uses rainwater from her backyard cistern for scouring, mordanting, steaming and rinsing.
Each yarn bundle includes:
- 100 gram/ 400 yards sock yarn
- 20 gram/80 yards coordinating mini skein
- organic cotton EWE project bag
- yarn 80% SW Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon
The yarn is perfect for socks and you can use the mini skein for a contrast heel and toe. If you are not a sock knitter the skein works up wonderfully as a shawl and you can add tassels using the mini skein. The yarn would also work for any pattern calling for fingering weight yarn.
Sock patterns to consider:
I'm So Basic Socks (free, uses magic loop)
How I Make My Socks (free, instructions for DPNs)
Smooth Operator (afterthought heel, $5)
Cristi's Sock Recipe (free, afterthought heel)
