Yarn Test Kitchen – Jadawoo Designs
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Welcome back to The Woolpack Yarn Test Kitchen!
Three garments and a rather lovely hat. These are our pattern suggestions from this edition of the yarn test kitchen, and our yarn? Well, we were lucky enough to sample a beautiful new merino and linen blend from our very talented friend Jess from Jadawoo Designs. Her colors are spot on for the coming season and we are excited to share our knitting and crochet ideas with you.
Our April Yarn: Be Free Fingering and DK Weight Linen Organic Wool Blend from Jadawoo Designs
We were all rather excited to test these new hand dyes from yarn dyer extraordinaire, Jessica Whitmore of Jadawoo Designs. Be Free is an interesting 70% wool, 30% linen blend which knits up on the more rustic side of things but softens beautifully when washed and blocked. The organic wool lends the elasticity while the linen brings breathability to make it an ideal yarn choice as we head in to fall. Jess generously supplied us with two fingering weight skeins and four DK skeins in two different color ways. This meant we could really stretch ourselves in this month’s YTK and we set ourselves the task of taking those skeins to the limit. A few games of yarn chicken were played, but hey, we all won!
Our Seasonal Baked Treat : Easy Blackberry Cake from Julia’s Album
It’s been a great year for blackberries. Our local brambles are fully laden, and I love picking those shiny jewel-like fruits from the hedgerows. Having collected a rather generous bowl full from along our lane, I set about the task of finding a straightforward cake idea. This recipe from Colorado based food blogger Julia immediately appealed to me because it only requires 15 minutes of prep time – I love a no-nonsense cake recipe, so this was perfect. The addition of Greek yogurt to the batter adds a fluffiness and it resulted in a delicious fruity cake that I am sure to make again this fall. The only change I would make would be to harvest my foraged fruit a little earlier. The blackberries I used were very ripe and broke down as I added them to the mixture. This didn’t affect the flavor though, my cake didn’t look as pretty as Julia’s, but it was still delicious!
Tester: Keeley – Yarn: Be Free DK, 2 skeins – Color Way: Yam On It – Pattern: Tolsta Tank by Rebecca Clow
I am a big fan of heathered yarns. The added texture that they bring to a knit really appeals to me and I love to see the different tones and shades from a skein play with each other in my knitted fabric. As with most hand dyed skeins there was a small amount of color variation in my two skeins so I set about finding a project that allowed me to alternate skeins to maximum effect. Step up the Tolsta Tank! I wanted the yarn to shine in my project and Rebecca Clow’s pattern proved to be a great choice. This pattern is great value for money – it includes three different tank designs in two different weights of yarn (DK and Fingering), and the instructions are very easy to understand. I used the helical method to alternate skeins and I am very happy with the results. I’ll be wearing this tank for the rest of the summer and with a shirt underneath it throughout the fall.
I played a merry game of yarn chicken and spent much of my time wondering if I would complete my tank using just the two skeins. I knit a size 3 and I’m happy to report that I finished my project with just 10 yds to spare – phew!
Yarn Tester: Caitlyn – Yarn: Jadawoo Be Free DK – Pattern: Flower Sweater by Ana D
Caitlyn in her own words: “I love making a breezy top with knit or crochet! So many modes to enhance my wardrobe!”
Caitlyn brought the pretty to the Yarn Test Kitchen this month and we all fell in love with her super-cute flowery vest! This is a great intermediate level project for a crochet enthusiast looking to have some serious fun. The Flower Sweater from Ana D is constructed using the filet technique – crochet a series of box stitches and then follow a chart to fill in the gaps to create the motif. Because she had two hand dyed skeins, Caitlyn initially tried alternating skeins to blend away the slight color differences but this proved to be tricky with the construction of the vest, so she solved the issue by crocheting the front and back pieces using a single skein for each. This genius solution added to the cool boho feel of the design. Caitlyn’s other pattern modifications included leaving off the sleeves, shaping the armholes to make a vest and adding a scalloped border. Isn’t it amazing what you can create with two skeins of yarn? Fabulous!
Yarn Tester: Patti – Yarn: Be Free Fingering Weight – Pattern: Sommerbrise Top by Mary
Patti in her own words: “I started knitting when my oldest got his drivers license- 2017 and have barely put my needles down since then!”
Patti used her skein of fingering weight yarn to knit this incredibly cute top for her daughter, and we all agreed that it is a perfect summer design. Patti was happy to report that Sally loves it! It is likely to be worn many times over while she is away at college after all this teal blue is a great shade that can be worn with most colors.
The Sommerbrise is knit from the top down with a 2×2 rib pattern that results in a comfortable figure-hugging body, the ruffled edge adds a flowing, breezy touch that works to elongate the body, and the wide straps are designed to cover bra straps making this an ultra-wearable top perfect for summer days and evenings.
Again, yarn chicken was a feature of Patti’s knit, and she had just 5 grams of yarn to spare once she had cast off. This gorgeous top truly is a one skein wonder!
Yarn Tester: Taylor – Yarn: Be Free Fingering – Color Way: Black Like A Crayon – Pattern: Ridley by Meghan Babin
Taylor in her own words: “I’m a creative marketer who’s been knitting tiny stitches with tiny needles for almost 15 years, usually supervised by my cat.”
How beautiful is this cabled hat? Taylor picked out a truly fabulous pattern to showcase her skein of fingering weight yarn and we all marveled at her super neat stitches (seven inches of ribbing on size 1 needles!) She knitted the large child’s size, but one skein of Be Free yarn would be plenty for an adult hat. The Ridley is a perfect lightweight beanie for our PNW climate and the cables make it an engaging knit for an intermediate knitter.
It’s hard to capture in photos but this color way, has so many interesting tones in it which give it a variegated appearance when knit up. Although it’s called “Black Like A Crayon”, you will also find shades of brown and grey in there – a great neutral skein for the winter months!
As always, if we have inspired you to knit/crochet any of the featured patterns, simply click on the pattern name to head to Ravelry.com. You can also find all of the Yarn Test Kitchen featured patterns on our Ravelry Projects Page – PSWoolpack.
Huge thanks to Jess for providing us with such beautiful skeins – they were a delight! You can check out all of her beautiful hand dyes on the Jadawoo Designs website.
Coming next month in the Yarn Test Kitchen: Cozy Craft Coven.
Yarn Test Kitchen
Your Monthly Yarn Review
One of my all time favorite knitting activities is a “show and share”, with friends – it’s a perfect way to seek ideas, gain inspiration and get helpful advice. This is the idea behind the yarn test kitchen – I hope our projects will have you reaching for your needles as we bring you our ideas on how to turn those neglected single skeins of yarn in to “One Skein Wonders”, and inspire you to try new yarns that are produced and sold across the Puget Sound Region.
Oh, and I’ll also be sharing monthly baking recommendations as we go. After all, who doesn’t love a slice of cake or baked good? Yum!
Happy reading!
Keeley