April 2022

Newly-published books

It's fair to say that Knitstrips is an unusual book of knitting patterns.

The most obvious difference from other knitting books is the comic strip format, which gives the book a playful, energetic feel. The style also usefully lends itself to illustrating techniques as they're mentioned, where other books might tend to separate out the techniques, or just describe them in words.

I did have some issues with the comic format though. I was concerned in the first few pages as I struggled to read some long blocks of text in a capitalized cartoon-style font. Fortunately, for most of the book that style of text is limited and most of the instructions are in a normal typeset font. There are also times where I would prefer to see a photo rather than a hand-drawn picture. For example, I would love it if there were photos of the finished garments.

Overall, though, I appreciated the full-color pages, I found the technique pictures clear, and I enjoyed the enthusiastic comments in cartoon speech bubbles sprinkled throughout the book.

A less obvious difference between Knitstrips and most knitting books is that the patterns are what the authors call "yarn neutral". That is, rather than telling you the specific yarn and gauge to use, they tell you the fabric structure that you need—from "lacy" to "stiff". You choose a yarn and find what gauge gives the required fabric structure. The pattern then tells you how to use the gauge to make the item.

One advantage of this approach is that it's easier to use yarns from your stash, rather than having to buy something new. Another advantage is that you get more creative control of your project than usual, while not having the headache of working out a complete design from scratch.

A yarn neutral approach might not be right for everyone though. Making decisions about fabric and gauge might feel like an obstacle getting in the way of what you really want to do—the knitting! And some knitters may not like taking responsibility for working out your own stitch counts, either. Having said that, the sums aren't too onerous and mostly involve plugging numbers into a formula.

Personally, I like the way the patterns encourage knitters to take more creative control. I found a new level of enjoyment with knitting myself when I started coming up with my own designs. I did feel a bit overwhelmed with that process at first though, and perhaps that's where Knitstrips can help. The patterns in the book are like a halfway house between traditional patterns and designing something completely by yourself. The knitter gets to make the decisions about yarn and gauge, but is guided through the whole process to design completion, so is unlikely to get stuck.

So whether you like the idea of taking more control with your knitting, you're looking for ways to use up your stash, or you just fancy a helping of extravagant puns, then Knitstrips might be the book for you.

New and discontinued yarns

New

Aara
Lauha – Fingering – 90% Merino Superwash Wool, 10% Linen – Single ply – Tonal colors, Multicolored

Amano Yarns
Samay – DK – 60% Cotton, 40% Bamboo Viscose – Plied – Solid colors

Araucania
Confeti – DK – 100% Organic Cotton – Plied – Speckled colors

Cascade Yarns
Cotton Puff – Super Bulky – 63% Cotton, 37% Nylon – filled_tube – Solid colors

Ella Rae
Watercolors – DK – 100% Mercerized Cotton – Plied – Self-striping

Hedgehog Fibres
Super Bulky – Super Bulky – 100% Merino Wool – Single ply – Solid colors, Tonal, Multi-colored, Speckled colors

Hjertegarn
Armonia – Fingering – 75% Merino Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors

Hobbii
Rainbow Sock Wool 4-ply – Fingering – 75% Wool, 25% Nylon – Plied – Solid colors

Ice Yarns
Basics Superfine – Light Fingering – 100% Acrylic – Plied – Solid colors

Jody Long
Cottontails – Aran – 100% Cotton – Fiber-filled net – Solid colors, Tonal colors
Flora – Sport – 100% Cotton – Plied – Multicolored marls

K+C
Movement – Sport – 52% Viscose, 48% Cotton – Slubby tweed – Semi-solid colors

King Cole
Tropical Beaches DK – DK – 70% Acrylic, 30% Nylon – Plied – Self-striping

Knit Picks / We Crochet
Brava Tweed – Worsted – 97% Acrylic, 3% Viscose – Tweedy – Tweed colors

Laines du Nord
Re Cotton Soft – Sport – 100% Cotton – Plied – Solid colors

Lana Grossa
Cotton Love – DK – 100% Organic Cotton – S on S plied – Solid colors
Linea Pura Terra – Sport – 58% Linen, 42% Cotton – Slubby tweed – Semi-solid colors
Mare – Sport – 50% Linen, 33% Silk, 17% Cotton – Plied – Self-striping (gradient transition)

Lang Yarns
Aura – Worsted – 81% Cotton, 19% Nylon – Fuzzy chain – Solid colors
Crealino – DK – 100% Linen – Z-plied – Solid colors
Karma – DK – 42% Cotton, 25% Acrylic, 25% Viscose, 8% Linen – Chained – Multicolored
Regina – Sport – 50% Cotton, 24% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 6% Wool – Plied with a soft haze – Solid colors
Sakura – Bulky – 46% Acrylic, 46% Cotton, 8% Nylon – Fleecy chain – Solid colors, Heathers
Wool Addicts Pride – Worsted – 40% Linen, 32% Cotton, 28% Viscose – Slubby tweed – Solid colors

Lion Brand
Let's Get Cozy: Re-Spekt – DK – 45% Polyester, 30% Acrylic, 25% Cotton – Chained – Tweed colors

Moda Vera
Curly Loop – Jumbo – 100% Polyester – Fleece style – Solid colors

Premier Yarns
Fruits – Fingering – 93% Acrylic, 7% PBT (Elastic) – Plied – Self-striping
Little Bunny – Super Bulky – 100% Polyester – Faux fur – Solid colors

Rico Design
Essentials Organic Cotton DK – DK – 100% Organic Cotton – Plied – Solid colors

Sandnes Garn
Tykk Line – Heavy Worsted – 53% Cotton, 33% Viscose, 14% Linen – Plied – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors

Schachenmayr Original
Cotton Bambulino – Sport – 60% Cotton, 30% Viscose, 10% Linen – Crepe – Solid colors
Denim Tweed – Sport – 88% Cotton, 7% Polyester, 5% Nylon – Fiber core wrapped – Tweed colors
Dinora – Aran – 45% Polyester, 36% Viscose, 19% Cotton – Chained – Solid colors, Semi-solid colors
Pyramid Cotton – Sport – 100% Cotton – Plied – Solid colors
Soft and Easy Fine – DK – 100% Acrylic – S on S plied – Solid colors

Scheepjes
Terrazzo – Sport – 70% Superwash Wool, 30% Viscose – Tweedy – Tweed colors

Sirdar
Stories – DK – 60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic – S on S plied – Solid colors

Viking of Norway
Baby Merino – Fingering – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – S on S plied – Solid colors
Trend Merino – Worsted – 100% Merino Wool – S on S plied – Solid colors
Trend Merino Petite – Fingering – 100% Merino Wool – S on S plied – Solid colors

Wool and the Gang
The One Merino – Aran – 100% Merino Superwash Wool – S on S plied – Solid colors

Woolfolk
Tåge – Aran – 70% Merino Wool, 30% Mohair – Fuzzy chain – Solid colors

Discontinued

Bernat
Handicrafter Scrub Off – Aran – 100% Cotton – Scrubby – Self-striping

Cheval Blanc
Kinna – Aran – 100% Wool – Plied

Järbo Garn
Tindra – Worsted – 100% Polyester – Eyelash – Metallic colors

Laines du Nord
Acquarello – Aran – 100% Cotton – S on S plied – Self-striping (dappled)
Poema Cotton – Heavy Worsted – 94% Cotton, 6% Nylon – Fleecy chain – Self-striping (gradient transition)

Lion Brand
LB Collection Penelope – Fingering – 75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon – Plied – Self-striping (gradient transition)

Noro
Taiyo – Aran – 40% Cotton, 30% Silk, 15% Nylon, 15% Wool – Single ply – Self-striping
Tennen – Heavy Worsted – 50% Wool, 25% Alpaca, 25% Silk – Single ply – Undyed marls

Phildar
Phil Big – Jumbo – 50% Acrylic, 50% Wool – Single ply – Solid colors
Phil Coton 2 – Fingering – 100% Cotton – Plied – Solid colors
Phil Frisette – Bulky – 57% Acrylic, 27% Nylon, 16% Wool – Bouclé
Phil Lin (2020 version) – Bulky – 100% Linen Viscose – Tape – Solid colors

Red Heart
Heat Wave – Heavy Worsted – 100% Heat-generating Acrylic – Plied – Solid colors

Spud & Chloë
Fine – Fingering – 80% Superwash Wool, 20% Silk – Plied – Solid colors
Outer – Super Bulky – 65% Superwash Wool, 35% Organic Cotton – 2 ply – Solid colors

String Yarns
Bonsai – Super Bulky – 94% Cotton, 6% Linen – Tape – Solid colors

Tahki Yarns
Everest – Heavy Worsted – 70% Baby Alpaca, 23% Nylon, 7% Merino Wool – Fiber-filled net – SEmi-solid colors

If you'd like to get in touch, please send a mail to hello@yarnsub.com (you can simply reply to this mail) or find me on Instagram.

See you in May!

Wendy

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