Knits via Scotland

We journeyed north last week, introducing you to the best Scandinavia has to offer at Loop. Today we’re staying north, but a little closer to home – Scotland! Loop is full of beautiful yarn, patterns and gifts from this textile history-rich land and we’re so pleased to be sharing them with you in their best autumn colours.

This is a long-time Loop favourite, Old Maiden Aunt Alpaca/Silk Sport. It comes to Loop from Lilith in West Kilbride, near Glasgow. We love the way the alpaca in this yarn gives it an almost heathery look that really enhances Lilith’s hand-dyed colourways.

Above are more gorgeously rich and cosy colourways, this time from Shilasdair, based on the Isle of Skye. Shilasdair’s colours are inspired by the Highland landscape and are often dyed with local plants like Tansy and Meadowsweet – all are from natural sources. We have their Luxury 4 ply and DK weights, which are a blend of cashmere, baby camel, angora and British merino lambswool.

Now we make our journey into the even more northerly islands of Scotland, starting with Orkney. Above is a selection of vivid colours from Orkney Angora. A 50/50 blend of angora and wool, it has a lovely ‘halo’ of fluff from the angora in addition to being very warm. In a DK weight, it is perfect for a special baby sweater, luxuriously soft handwarmers or a beautiful scarf. See our post devoted to this wonderful yarn for more ideas.

Now up to the Shetland Isles where Jamieson’s Spindrift is shipped to us from. This yarn is perfect for traditional Fair Isle and stranded knitting, as in patterns from Shetlands enthusiast, Kate Davies. Perhaps some Peerie Flooers mittens?

We did say this post is all about Scotland, but we’re going cheat a little to head back to Scandinavia in a way – northwest of the Shetland Isles and back to the Faroe Islands. It is from there that our newest yarn has arrived – the lovely and unusual Navia. The wool is Faroese and we have it in a few different weights. One of our favourites is the colourful Navia Trio, pictured below. There are some lovely patterns we now stock that make use of these yarns. The Navia Chunky in particular is a great option for beginners or quick gifts.

Climbing back down from those northerly isles, we are back on the mainland with these beautiful wraps, which are machine-knit in Scotland, designed by Hikaru Noguchi.

We also have a wealth of books, like Heirloom Knitting’s Love Darg Shetland Shawls, as well as patterns from Shetland native Gudrun Johnston, also known as the Shetland Trader. Us knitters have a lot to thank Scotland for in terms of our textile heritage, and we’re so pleased to have so many wonderful Scottish products at Loop!