Do you love mini-skein sets? I find them very tempting. The range of sets available now is amazing: from tiny 10g miniballs (as featured here, from Wee County Yarns) to sets of co-ordinating 50g skeins of 4ply/fingering weight yarn. From sets that form a gradient, to those with vastly contrasting skeins, and sets that feature variegated and speckled skeins too, the choice is vast.
However beautiful and seductive these sets are, it is sometimes difficult to know what to create with them, especially if you’re not keen on knitting those gorgeous little mitered blanket squares. To remedy this, I’ve designed Zastruga, a shawl pattern especially created for using mini-skeins (and gradients), which is the first in small series of patterns using minis. Zastruga uses a set of 5 x 20g minis, and is knitted in five distinct sections to depict a developing snow storm. The pattern includes instructions for going ‘off-piste’, so that the sections can be extended if you have more yarn, helping you to get the most out of your gorgeous mini-skein set. If you’d like to be the first to know when it’s released this week and obtain an exclusive discount code, click here to sign up to receive my ‘news updates’. Zastruga is now available – view & buy here (Ravelry link)
If you’re heading to Edinburgh Yarn Festival this weekend, there’s a plethora of vendors selling mini-skeins and gradients, that would look fabulous knitted into a Zastruga. Even those vendors who don’t usually stock minis will have some available, for example Helen of The Wool Kitchen let me into a little secret that she’ll have minis on her stand this year (B2). I will have to make a special effort to get there pronto on Friday morning before she sells out!
Other purveyors of mini-skein sets at EYF include:
The Border Tart, Stand K8: Natural Indigo Dyed Mini-Skeins
Dye Ninja, Stand H8: Ninja Pops, 20g skeins of pure Merino
The Knittting Goddess, Stand K10: Blacker Yarn St Kilda Laceweight Minis
La Bien Aimee, Stand G3: Mini Merino Singles Bundle
The Little Grey Sheep, Stand J3: Stein Fine Wool 4ply Mini Skeins
Martin’s Lab, Stand D2: Mini Bundles
Ripples Crafts, Stand H4: High Twist BFL Gradient Packs (5 x 50g)
Woollenflower, Stand M3: Gradients (organic Shetland fingering weight)
Easyknits.co.uk, Stand K4: Easyknits yarn was used to knit the two samples of Zastruga (Big Boy Cakes and a Sushi Roll) Jon creates mini-skeins and mini-cakes, and also beautiful Sushi Roll gradients.
And if you’re not going to EYF, here are some other stockists of beautiful mini-skeins:
Cuddlebums, a variety of mini-skeins, both solid colours & variegated/speckled
Five Moons, Lunar Flares (micro sets -3g) & 4ply Minimoons (20g)
Wee County Yarns, Miniballs (10g) of J.C.Rennie 4ply 100% wool
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