Wow guys, thanks to the great response we got to last week’s Product Spotlight on Habu Textiles, we’ve decided to keep running these features, to let you get up close and personal with our very favourite brands. This week: Shibui Knits.
Shibui has been around for a good little while, and is based just down the coast a bit in Portland. Before I forget, I highly recommend checking out their blog as well – it’s always fun to see the inner workings of such a neat company. Now, we don’t carry all their yarns (Cima and Merino Alpaca), but I can at least give you the rundown on the ones that we do stock.
From left to right (and also in order of gauge from lightest to heaviest): Silk Cloud, Linen, Staccato, Sock (solid), Sock (semisolid), Sock (fluids), Baby Alpaca DK, and finally Heichi.
Want a closer look?
Nice, eh? We sure like them. Let’s give them each a bit more attention. Like last time, I’ll just pass on the yarn in their own words.
Silk Cloud. 60% kid mohair, 40% silk. “Glossy silk and wispy kid mohair unite in this luminous lace weight yarn. Silk Cloud can be knit alone for gossamer-light lace projects, or held alongside any Shibui yarn to add a soft halo and subtle glow.”
Linen. 100% linen. “Clean, crisp linen fiber is spun into a unique chain ply structure for Shibui Linen, our breeziest yarn yet. The quintessential summer yarn, Linen knits up into light, airy garments that become softer with every wear. An array of vibrant colors brings Linen to life and provides a fresh spin on this classic fiber.”
Staccato. 70% superwash merino, 30% silk. “A luscious blend of merino and silk, fingering weight Staccato knits up into drapey fabrics with a subtle sheen. An array of bright, hip colors in solids and multis makes Staccato a great choice for stunning fine-gauge projects, eye-catching colorwork, and truly luxurious socks.”
Sock. 100% superwash merino. “Spun from fine superwash merino, Sock is a touchable yet hard-wearing fingering weight yarn. A broad palette of solids, semisolids, and variegated hues provides a plenitude of color options for socks, colorwork, baby garments, or any fine-gauge project.”
Baby Alpaca DK. 100% baby alpaca. “Irresistibly soft and lofty, Baby Alpaca DK is gently spun from the finest baby alpaca fiber. Its versatile weight and luxurious drape makes it ideal for a variety of elegant accessories and garments.”
Heichi. 100% silk. “Literally “juxtaposition” in Japanese, Heichi is a fascinating blend of old and new. Rustic beauty and traditional elegance combine in this raw silk tweed yarn with a distinctly modern edge.”
Well, now the issue (as always) is “what to knit?” Shibui has a history of providing us with a range of really excellent patterns. We’ve brought in a few of the new ones from the Shibui Mix line. Here are some than feature Linen and Silk Cloud, respectively (we have numbers 1, 2, 3, 13, 15 and 17, as well as Parabola, but there are more available online).
Hopefully that’s enough to pique your interest for now. We do have lots of the older pamphlets as well – some absolutely to die for baby patterns and really fantastic tops, but it sounds like Shibui is moving more towards online publishing, so find them on Ravelry to keep apprised of all their new designs!