Amber's Weathered Pullover

Every time Jaime and I shop the yarn trade show for beautiful yarns to carry, we can't help but be inspired by the amazing designers we meet. This past TNNA we met designer Ann Weaver, who is so very cool--and ingenious! She was sporting her Weathered Pullover design, a colorblocked summer top with a sheer panel insert worked in Habu silk/stainless steel.

Pattern: Weathered Pullover by Ann Weaver
Yarn: Fibre Co. Meadow in Black Adder (main color) and Habu A-20 silk/stainless in Brick (sheer panel)
Size made: 34
Alterations: I shortened the pattern by a few inches and knit the wool section in a single color instead of colorblocking it.

I've long been intrigued by Habu silk/stainless yarn and I instantly fell in love with this pattern's use of such an interesting yarn. The stainless steel gives the thread-thin silk enough structure to hold its dimensions under the weight of the wool yarn beneath it, creating a transparent panel with a hint of sheer color. Hot!

An awesome thing about this top--you can wear the sheer panel to the front or back for a different look! I love wearing the panel to the back for a slightly more modest, but still very hot look. To accentuate your pretty shoulder blades, ya know.

The main yarn called for in the Weathered Pullover is a light fingering merino/silk blend. I immediately knew the perfect substitution would be Meadow from The Fibre Co. This dreamy yarn is a blend of merino, llama, silk and linen. It's the perfect weight and has a beautiful rustic heathered look while still being ultra soft against the skin for easy wearability.

I chose to knit the wool part of my pullover entirely in the color Black Adder, instead colorblocking with multiple colors as the pattern is written. I kept some of the colorblock idea, going with a pop of brick red for my Habu yarn. The top is finished off with a very cute moss stitch shoulder detail. I love it so much, the way this thing turned out!

And to bring this happy knitting story to a close, this is the first handknit woolen item I've made that makes me feel like a real hot lady. Well done, Ann...well done.

Jaime's Camber Set Dress

I'm slowly making my way through the Merchant & Mills catalog of sewing patterns. My newest sew is the Camber Set dress.

Pattern: Camber Set Dress by Merchant and Mills
Fabric: 100% linen - 1.75 yds, Nani Iro brushed cotton - 1/2 yd
Size made: UK 10
Alterations: I switched up the neck finish so it has an exposed bias binding all the way around

This pattern is a gently shaped garment that can be either a dress or a shirt. It features set-in sleeves, bust darts and a slightly a-line shape. The garment is quick and simple to cut out and put together. I was worried about this color against my skin so I altered the pattern to add an exposed bias binding all the way around the neckline. This is an easy way to finish the neck and I had just enough Nani Iro brushed cotton leftover from another Merchant & Mills sew to make some bias tape for this. 

I'm currently obsessed with this color: any form of muted pink or rosy taupe. The types of colors that are not unlike the color of my skin and may or may not be a good choice for me, but I couldn't resist it in a 100% linen. I thought a small bias binding would break up the color and add a nice border at the neck.

I've already sewn up another Camber in a shirt version that you'll get to see later on the blog. This pattern is nice causal look and I think I'll be coming back to it again and again.

Summer is for Linen: Jaime's new Kestrel Tank

I was pretty excited when Quince and Co. announced Kestrel, their newest yarn line. Kestrel is a 100% fine Italian linen made up in a ribbon construction. The best part? It is an aran weight linen with a gauge of 14 - 16 stitches to 4 inches. In plain speak, that means it knits up real fast. This little tank took me a mere 4 days to whip up! Welcome to summer knitting, friends.

Pattern: Togue Pond by Pam Allen
Yarn: Kestrel, 6 skeins in Urchin
Size Made: 33"
Alterations: I picked up a fewer number of stitches on both the neck and arms due to my large 1x1 ribbing gauge.

I love this tank. It was a simple knit, worked bottom up in the round. Short row shaping on the bottom adds a subtle hi-lo hem. The arm shaping adds a bit of interest to the otherwise plain body. The arms and neck are picked up and ribbing added to finish them. In short, this pattern had just enough going on to keep my interest, but it was still simple enough to be the perfect beach knitting project.

The ribbon construction of the Kestrel yarn makes for a cushy fabric on size 10 needles. The weight of the linen drapes beautifully for a simple tank like this. The nice people over at Quince have several other patterns for this unique summer yarn. We can't wait to see what you make.

Dandelion: Another Killer Yarn by Madelinetosh!

We are delighted to pick up Madelinetosh's new yarn line, Dandelion. We can always count on Madelinetosh for their beautifully hand dyed yarns.

 Dandelion is a single ply blend of 90% superwash merino wool and 10% fine linen offering 325 yards per skein. With similar characteristics to Tosh light, this yarn brings you a uniquely soft linen addition!

Look at the lovely linen finish!

We couldn't be more excited to bring to you this charming fingering weight yarn.  It has arrived just in time as Dandelion is the perfect yarn for light-weight summer time sweaters. Time to get crackin'!

Be on the look out for more Tosh coming soon!

Parallel Perkins Cove Sweaters

It feels like summer already with 80 degree days in Denver. Amber and I are ready for it, though, with our brand new Perkins Cove sweaters. This pattern was recently released in the Sparrow Sans collection from Quince to promote their 100% linen yarn, Sparrow. Every pattern in this collection is so dreamy and we want to knit them all and frolic on the beach in our sophisticated linen wardrobe. Each pattern is shown in the undyed color of Sparrow - Sans. Amber and I both fell in love with everything about these patterns and had to make our sweaters in the same natural linen color. In order to change it up so we didn't have the exact same sweater, we knit the garment in two different yarns.

Jaime's Sparrow Perkins Cove 

Pattern: Perkins Cove by Pam Allen
Yarn: Sparrow in Sans, 5 skeins
Size made: 31 1/4"
Alterations: I had gauge issues with this so I made the smallest size and also cut out 12 stitches from the lower body by only casting on 4 armhole stitches on each side

 

I chose to use Sparrow for my Perkins Cove. This Italian-made, super-fine linen yarn is softer than you might expect for 100% linen. I don't often knit with linen and I had a hard time getting the proper gauge for this pattern. The sweater is knit top-down and I almost finished the body of the sweater before I realized my size 34" was going to be way too big. I ripped the whole thing out and started over. Even on much smaller needles, I could only get 19 stitches to 4" instead of the recommended 22. I did the math and decided to knit the smallest size. This worked great and when I came to the armholes I wanted to shave another couple inches off so I only cast on 4 stitches instead of 12 on each side for the armhole. The linen yarn does grow as you work with it so aggressively blocking your gauge swatch is a good way to test what your gauge will be in a finished garment.

I love knitting and wearing summer sweaters. The linen is naturally wicking and anti-bacterial and the open stitch pattern means I'll never get too hot wearing this even on the hottest summer day. The yarn drapes beautifully for this loose top. I can't wait to start the Saco Stripes next - a cute, striped tank from the Sparrow Sans collection!

Amber's Breeze Perkin's Cove 

 -amber

Pattern: Perkin's Cove by Pam Allen
Yarn: Anzula Breeze in color Clay- just 1 skein!
Size made: 34"
Alterations: short sleeves instead of long

I was smitten with this summery tee as soon as I saw the pattern. I love the natural color of the linen yarn and the elongated stitch stripe pattern. I didn't want to make the same exact tee as Jaime. When she cast on in Sans, I decided to see what other of our pretty yarns would work up similarly. I thought, what a great way to see the different fabric you would get from different yarns. I settled on Anzula Breeze, a beautiful silk linen lace weight in the hand-dyed color Clay, a bone color with subtle lavender undertones.

Anzula Breeze has a crazy amount of yardage - 755 yards in a single, adorable yarn cake. It took less than one ball for me to finish my short sleeved Perkin's Tee! What?! Check out how much I had left over in the photo below. There was certainly enough left for me to make the sleeves longer, but I liked the look of more of a T-shirt, so I cast off with about 20 grams left from my single skein of Breeze. Awesome sauce!

The silk/linen blend gives my Breeze tee a more drapey hand than the 100% linen of the Sparrow, which has a crisp look and feel. Either would be perfect to create a dreamy summer garment!

Summer is for Sweaters!

Yay for summertime knitting! I know you might think knitting is a fall/winter craft, but if so you are really missing out on some sweet summertime knitting. I am addicted to knitting summer sweaters and I just finished another one.

Summer sweaters are great for many reasons:

• Quick to knit (because no sleeves)
• Cool and comfortable to wear
• Summer yarns are fun - linen, silk, hemp and cotton!
• Did I mention no sleeves?

My new sweater is the Silken Straw Summer Sweater pattern which is free from Purlbee. I knit this out of our crisp Shibui Linen. Shibui Linen is a fingering weight 100% linen yarn that is chain-plied. The chain ply means absolutely no pilling or shedding. It is going to hold up like a dream. We also have the Silken Straw yarn from Alchemy yarn in if you want a more luxurious and drapey sweater.

This sweater used 3 1/2 skeins of the color Poppy for the size small. I knit this up in just three weeks. The sweater comes together super quick and easy as it is knit seamlessly in the round from the bottom up. This pattern would make a great first sweater pattern. It is also perfect for pool or beach knitting as it requires little concentration. The sleeves, bottom and neck are all finished with a sophisticated I-cord that is added after the garment is done.

The Shibui Linen yarn feels very different from knitting with elastic and stretchy wool. I love this bright summery color, the drape, and the feel of this sweater. Linen was really easy to block and I simply ironed this sweater with my steam iron and it looks perfect.

You might not see this one up in the shop because I am going to wear it all the time. Summer Knitting for the win!

New Brussels Washer Yarn Dyed Fabric

We are already sewing up a storm with these hot new fabrics. Beautiful, drapey, flowy Brussels Washer Yarn Dyed fabrics from Robert Kaufman are here. These fabrics are a 55% Linen, 45% Rayon blend which makes for extra dreamy summery goodness. The muted colors are made from using an un-dyed yarn for the weft and a dyed yarn for the warp. We stock all 8 colors of this 52" wide lusciousness for your sewing pleasure. The best part of this fabric? It is so affordable at only $10 a yard!

These fabrics would be great for dresses, skirts, napkins, or pillows. I am excited to make a Staple Dress out of this fabric in the olive-y green color.

We couldn't resist making up some fat quarter bundles so don't be shy about incorporating these beauties into your quilt projects or use it as a ready-to-go napkin set!

Happy Sewing!

New Shibui Linen is here!

We've had a crush on Shibui yarns for quite a while and are happy to welcome Shubui Linen to our shop! I am really into linen--having used linen fabrics for many a sewing project. It is so drapey and crisp--a classic just perfect for summer. Knitters and crocheters, now we, too, can rejoice in the wonder that is linen!

Linen is made from the flax plant and is one of the first fibers ever used for garments. It is a strong plant fiber. Shibui Linen is the most beautiful 100% linen yarn we have seen and we knew we had to stock it here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Shibui Linen is a fingering weight yarn that boasts 246 yards per 50 grams. It is light and airy because it is actually a woven chain of linen threads, making it a breezy yet strong yarn. Shibui Linen is here in 12 vibrant colors that give this classic yarn a modern feel.

We are super excited for summertime knitting projects. Some ideas for Shibui Linen are the Silken Straw Summer Sweater from Purl Bee, the L.2 tank by Lidia Tsymbal, and the Silver Lining tunic by Grace Akhrem. We hope you love this summery yarn as much as we do. Happy crafting!

♥ Alchemy Silken Straw & Anzula Breeze ♥

Two new yarns are here and, by golly, they are pretty dreamy if we do say so ourselves.

We've been pining after Alchemy's pretty "yarns for transformation" for a while and are delighted to now stock Silken Straw! Alchemy's yarns are hand-dyed in hues that are bright and rich and deep and just irresistible. Silken Straw has a crisp hand that softens with knitting, leaving a shiny, drapey 100% silk fabric that is like nothing else. Cue hot yarn photos...

Breeze, our newest yarn from one of our favorite hand-dyers, Anzula, is a light and tweedy linen/silk lace. It has 755 yards of awesome-ness in one pretty yarn cake--enough to make almost any shawl or even a cardigan like the Whispy!

...and now more hot yarn photos...we just couldn't stop...

We can't wait to see what you make with these beauties!