Table of contents for Winter 2024 in Interweave Knits

In late October 2022, I attended the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) in Fletcher, North Carolina, with Tammy Honaman, Interweave’s former director of content. We only had half a day to spend at the fair, and Tammy had never been to a wool festival before, so we started at the barn where sheep and their fleeces were on display. There, we met a beautiful blond named Mona. It was love at first sight. Mona is an 8-year-old Icelandic ewe owned by Michelle Bouchey and Daniel Honeycutt of Honey Creek Farms in Franklinton, North Carolina. I was captivated by her long shimmering locks of wool. In talking with Michelle (a large-animal veterinarian as well as a shepherd), we learned that Mona was to be sheared in the coming weeks. And, yes,…

Alternating Long-tail Cast-on: Begin with a slip knot on the needle and set up your hands as you would for a standard long-tail cast-on. One strand of yarn will run from the needle, around your index finger and down your palm. The other strand will run from the needle, around your thumb, and down your palm. Both strands are held securely against your palm with your ring finger and pinky. The slip knot counts as a knit stitch. Bring needle tip up through the loop on your index finger, catching the strand of yarn that runs from your finger to your palm. Bring needle tip toward you and catch the strand of yarn that runs from the needle to your thumb. Move the needle tip back down through the loop…

A – HARRISVILLE DESIGNS NIGHTSHADES Content: 80% American-grown Cormo, 20% wool Color shown: Static Put-up: 250 yd (229 m)/3½ oz (100 g) Weight: DK Day or night, we love Harrisville Designs Nightshades. This lofty, 3-ply, woolen-spun, all-American yarn features Montana-grown Cormo, which is scoured in Texas, dyed in Pennsylvania, and spun in New Hampshire. The result is a gorgeous yarn for dramatic garments such as Jennifer Kent’s Croft Cardigan (p. 16). B – GOTHFARM YARN NAVAJO-CHURRO Content: 100% Navajo-Churro wool Color shown: Walnut Put-up: 185 yd (169 m)/3½ oz (100 g) Weight: Worsted Earn a sticker in your “Shave ’Em to Save ’Em” passport when using this yarn to knit Debi Maige’s Atwixt Sweater (p. 12). Navajo-Churro is a rustic and fuzzy wool; here, it has been spun into a…

Breed-specific yarns are becoming more popular and more widely available, and designers are choosing to create garments and accessories that showcase the unique qualities of these yarns. However, many of these yarns are spun in small batches or are only available in certain regions. Can you successfully substitute one breed-specific yarn for another? WHY USE BREED-SPECIFIC YARNS The yarn labeled “wool” that you find at your local yarn shop is made with wool sourced from a large number of sheep of various breeds that is blended together to create a consistent yarn, usually with white wool as the base. Breed-specific yarns, on the other hand, have a surprising variety that can really suit particular projects. QUALITIES OF BREED-SPECIFIC WOOLS The qualities that distinguish the wool of different sheep breeds include…

Clun Forest is a unique sheep breed that produces fiber that is resistant to felting. This makes it perfect for projects, such as hats and mittens, that are subjected to the weather. Stranded colorwork produces the delicate floral motif, bringing spring hope to the chilliest winter season. As a conservation breed, two skeins of Clun Forest will earn you a “Shave ’Em to Save ’Em” passport sticker. YARN Solitude Wool Clun Forest Light PATTERN Page 54…

I am a Black woman who knits. Like a lot of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), I have had negative experiences in the making community. When I walked into a local yarn shop (LYS) for the first time, the white women who were there stopped talking to one another. They looked at me, then looked at one another with unease on their faces. They started whispering to one another. I walked around the shop, looking at yarn. The salesperson never greeted me or asked if I needed help finding something; she just continued to whisper and look at me like I had purple feathers growing out of my ears. It was clear from the whispers and the stares that those women thought I was out of place—that I…