Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
What is the main reason you choose a yarn: color or texture?
Posted in Yarns | 70 Comments »
This is a guest post from Michelle Edwards–a life long knitter and the author/illustrator of many books for children including the 2006 Gryphon award winner, STINKY STERN FOREVER and CHICKEN MAN winner of National Jewish Book Award. Michelle lives in Iowa City, Iowa with her husband and three daughters. She is a frequent contributor to the Lion Brand Weekly E-Newsletter.
Greetings from Iowa!
Last week a strange critter appeared in our backyard. It had an intelligent, sharp-featured face and a long tail. Wondering what it was, I consulted our resident wildlife expert, my youngest daughter, Lelia.
Stumped, she took a few pictures of it, and headed over to quiz our more knowledgeable neighbors. I waited by the window, watching nature in action. The creature’s delicate hands grubbed around the leaves and grass, eating something found there. It’s amazing how fascinating animals can be. A few minutes later, Lelia returned with the answer; a possum.
The very next day, close to to where the possum appeared, I spotted a fox. For the first time ever. Could these visitors be signs of spring? I sure hope so.
Yarns like LB Collection Cotton Bamboo in colors like magnolia, cherry blossom, hyacinth and hibiscus, inspire me with visions of summery knits, especially on cold, rainy days like today. This month I plan to free up some of my needles, tackle the past, before embracing the new. My next story is about preparing for spring by finishing projects started last year. (Look out for this week’s newsletter to read it!)
My charitable knitting contribution this month will be washcloths, and Warm Up America squares.
Related links:
Posted in Community, Yarniverse, Yarns | 1 Comment »
Q - I want to knit a simple baby blanket in worsted weight yarn. How much yarn will I need?
A - While the amount of yarn will depend on your gauge, yarn choice, the stitch pattern you select, and the size of your project, we do have a great chart that has estimates for many common projects. The chart is divided into knit and crochet (which use different yarn amounts!), various types of garments, sizes, and yarns by weight. To find the weight of your yarn, check its label, or look at the list towards the bottom of the page.
For a 20″ x 30″ baby afghan, you will need around 1000 yards of worsted weight yarn. What does that mean in terms of the number of balls or skeins you need? To find out how many skeins/balls/cones to purchase, divide the total yardage needed by the chosen yarn’s amount per skein/ball/cone. Be sure to round up to the nearest whole skein/ball/cone. For instance, if you were to use the Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton, you would want to divide 1000 yards needed total by the 103 yards per ball of Nature’s Choice, for approximately 10 balls.
This chart really is a great reference — you may even want to bookmark it or print out a PDF of it to keep handy!
Related links:
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Tips & How To, Yarns | 1 Comment »
For quick Super Bowl party decorations, make big, colorful pom poms in your team’s colors. Here’s a color chart of yarns that work for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. See tomorrow’s newsletter for an idea of something fun to crochet during the game.
You can use a piece of cardboard to make pom poms or our handy pom pom maker in a variety of sizes.
Black (Wool-Ease Black) 
Gold (Lion Wool Goldenrod) 
Red (Wool-Ease Ranch) 
White (Vanna’s Choice White) 
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The brand new LB Collection is (finally!) here! This collection is something we’ve been working on for a long time and I’m so excited that these yarns are making their way out into the world! We’ve heard lots of great comments and questions from you! The LB Collection is a range of specialty yarns produced in small batches, and is only available on our website, through our catalog, and at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in Manhattan. Made from high quality natural fibers, they are still highly affordable. Take a look at what the LB Collection has to offer.
LB Collection Cashmere is made from pure 100% Italian cashmere. It is a luxuriously soft, lightweight yarn with exceptional warmth, ideal for timeless accessories like scarves, hats, and cowls. For pure indulgence, try a pair of socks or a pair of booties for a special baby. LB Collection Cashmere is available in 6 classic colors with great choices for both men and women.
Combining the softness and drape of bamboo with the durability of cotton, our beautiful LB Collection Cotton Bamboo yarn is a wonderful choice for warmer weather projects. I know right now it seems like spring will never come again, but when it does you will love Cotton Bamboo for women’s tops, lightweight throws, and gifts for summertime babies! It’s available in 8 hues inspired by nature.
We have added to our environmentally friendly yarns with a classic worsted-weight LB Collection Organic Wool. It is perfect for sweaters, felted projects, and winter accessories. It is 100% organically produced wool and dyed with low impact dyes, certified according to Global Organic Textile Standards by the Institute of Marketecology. It is available both in an undyed cream and 5 beautiful jewel-tone colors.
Finally, a 100% wool yarn that is also machine-washable! Soft, luxurious, and warm, our LB Collection Superwash Merino wool is the perfect weight for baby items and women’s garments. This versatile yarn comes in 10 great colors. If you know someone who thinks wool is itchy and uncomfortable, you may want to introduce them to this silky and smooth merino.
This unique LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel yarn creates unique pieces that keep their shape. Strong, yet lacy, it’s great for ethereal wraps or beautiful original jewelry. Combine it with other yarns to add texture and strength to sweaters and accessories. It is also great when knit double-stranded. Available in 4 colors.
Want to see how these yarns look when knitted or crocheted? Check out our patterns for the LB Collection yarns, request a catalog, or visit the Lion Brand Yarn Studio to test knit or crochet a swatch.
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It’s no fun when a company discontinues your favorite product (Loreál- I’m looking at you. I still want Le Grand Curl Waterproof Black Mascara back). When we discontinued Cotton-Ease a lot of people were upset. The internet/blog world was grieving the loss of this washable cotton-blend yarn. Campaigns to keep Cotton-Ease began immediately after the announcement that it was being discontinued, emphasizing the “cry of dismay from knitters of all types that this wonderful, washable, basic yarn is being pulled from the shelves.”
We consistently heard from so many people upset about the discontinuation of Cotton-Ease that after a just short period without it, we decided to re-introduce it in an updated color palette. Now, it’s more versatile than ever with the same great quality yarn and variety of colors. The internet is once again buzzing about Cotton-Ease, but this time rejoicing that it’s back. Kryssa on Ravelry summed Cotton-Ease up perfectly: “This is soft, easy to knit with, available in lovely colors and washable. It is wonderful for wearing next to the skin and knits up really well.”
And if words aren’t enough, your projects say a thousand words. You guys are making all sorts of thing—baby clothes, sweaters, bibs, blankets big and small, even washcloths, toys, and hats.
But don’t think that cotton yarn is just for summer! Cotton-Ease is great for transitional fall layering pieces, especially for kids who like to run around outside, jumping in piles of leaves and splashing in the rain. You can also knit Cotton-Ease along with another yarn for warm weather versatility, like with the Cascading Colors Baby Blankie or The Wonderful Wallaby. But don’t limit yourself to children’s garments; a Cotton-Ease cardigan is a great “back of the office-chair” sweater year round. Some office building crank the AC so high in summer, a cotton sweater is essential to keeping comfortable. And if your building is anything like ours, in an old radiator-heated NYC building, winters can be too hot for anything heavier than cotton. Any of these will warm you up without overheating, and add a jolt of color to your work wardrobe.
What do you use Cotton-Ease for? Show and tell everyone in the comments!
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Products, Yarns | 17 Comments »
We found this post by a young mom who did some informal marketing research with her daughters to find out if they liked Giovanna’s cardi. The test market in question responded by squealing! This adorable cardigan was designed for Vanna White’s daughter, Giovanna.
Posted in Crocheting, Yarns | 4 Comments »
I generally believe that everything–whether tool, material, or method–has a purpose to which it is ideally suited. In my opinion, sewing is good for some things (dresses and bags), knitting works best for others (socks) and crochet is ideal for still others (amigurumi and afghans). And I think every yarn has unique characteristics that tell you what sort of project it should be.
Smooth, classic yarns (Vanna’s Choice, Fishermen’s Wool, Wool-Ease, and Lion Wool) are good for detailed, textural stitches, like the cables in the Tree of Life Afghan. Textured yarns like Homespun are usually soft, lightweight, and look great when knitted or crocheted at a slightly looser gauge – making them perfect for quick afghans, shawls, and scarves.
When we set out to design a new baby yarn, we used this line of thinking. We asked: what does a yarn need to make good baby afghans, hats, and sweaters?
We mixed all these different ingredients together and came up with: Cupcake. It’s super-soft; easy to use; looks great in simple stockinette, garter, or granny squares; is machine washable and dryable; and comes in fantastic colors. Whether you want to craft an Unsquared Afghan or a Sunny Side Up Hoodie, Cupcake is a wonderful choice.
Of course, all rules are meant to be broken, and sometimes the real fun can start when you take a material and use it for a new purpose. Imagine our delight when we experimented and found out that our ideal baby yarn also makes flattering and comfortable fashion garments. The Sophisticated Options Cardigan and Scarf and the Half Moon Shawl are just two examples. I’m tempted to make a joke about sweet surprises here–after all, Cupcake does lends itself to punning. (See the Think Pink Cupcake for a visual example.)
So next time you’re looking to experiment with a new yarn, treat yourself to Cupcake.
Posted in Products, Yarns | 1 Comment »
Vanna’s Choice Baby is our collection of newest colors in the same weight and make-up as original Vanna’s Choice. When we introduced Vanna’s Choice, we heard from so many fans–including Vanna herself–who were using it for baby and children’s projects. People loved the weight, softness, and easy-care of the yarn, but were looking for additional kid-friendly colors. Our design team got to work creating a palette of fresh colors that complements trends in contemporary children’s fashion and furnishings. Brighter shades (like Cheery Cherry, Berrylicious, and Aqua) with unexpected accents (Chocolate Cake, anyone?) are the look of the day for even the littlest kids.
The colors are great for kid projects–as the name implies–but they were developed to coordinate with the ‘regular’ Vanna’s Choice colors, too. Since Vanna’s Choice Baby is the same weight and fiber content as Vanna’s Choice, you can substitute colors from either in patterns, or even combine them into one project. The Hipster Sweater is a great example of the striking results you can get with all the colors now available. Between Vanna’s Choice Baby and all of the Vanna’s Choice solids, prints, and mists there are 63 interchangeable colors!
Keep an eye on the website for new patterns in Vanna’s Choice Baby. We know people love the yarn for quick-to-finish afghans and toys, so there are some adorable projects in the works. The fall Lion Design catalog and the upcoming Giggles & Grins book, being published by Leisure Arts, will also feature great ideas and patterns for this fun yarn.
Posted in Products, Yarns | 2 Comments »
In last week’s post I talked about how we design based on experimenting with swatching. Last week I shared a peek into the process by which we decide on color sequencing.
Here is the afghan we created with the new Vanna’s Choice colors that was based on that swatch.
Posted in Tips & How To, Yarns | 1 Comment »
