The Herd’s All Here: Pascuali Manada and Balayage

The Herd’s All Here: Pascuali Manada and Balayage

Q: What do you get when you combine the high quality mohair of the Angora goat, the soft wool of the Merino sheep, the sumptuous fibre of the Mongolian yak, the fine quality of mulberry silk and years of experience developing natural yarns?

A: Pascuali Filati Naturali‘s newest yarn, ‘Manada

We are so excited to welcome to the shop the just-launched Manada yarn. Meaning ‘herd’ in Spanish, Manada’s rare blend of exquisite fibres creates a super soft, super dreamy yarn that can be held together with Pascuali’s Balayage and Hand-Dyed Balayage (more on this below) or knit on its own. Manada is Pascuali’s first yarn using mohair. Unlike other silk mohair yarns, this blend of 45% mohair and 25% mulberry silk also includes 15% yak and 15% certified organic merino for extra softness.

Pascuali Manada in colours 224 Hazelnut, 205 Beige, 219 Agave, 206 Powder and 221 Khaki

We also have Pascuali’s Balayage and Hand-Dyed Balayage in the shop for the first time. Both yarns are dyed on an Alpaca and Organic Merino Virgin Wool blend base. Like the salon hair dying method it is named after, Balayage is designed to combine different shades to create colour gradients. The colour groups, designed in close collaboration with Melanie Berg, a.k.a. Mairlynd, can be used on their own or combined across groups for pops of contrasting colour. In its hand-dyed iteration, several Balayage colours are combined in one skein, which can be mixed and matched with the solid skeins to stunning effect.

It has been so much fun to play with these colourful creations since they arrived. We’ve especially enjoyed mixing and matching Hand-Dyed Balayage with the solid colours. The possibilities are virtually endless, but we’ve highlighted a few of our favourite combos for inspiration on our website.

In addition to helping create the colour concept for Balayage, Melanie Berg (who featured in our Meet the Maker series last year) has designed a gorgeous shawl called Killing Me Softly and a lovely sweater called Nightswimming using Balayage and Manada. Both patterns are currently being tested. Once released, Loop will offer a Killing Me Softly kit using Melanie’s original colours! She describes the design as “a shawl so soft and sweet you’ll never want to take it off.” How could we resist?

If you can’t wait to get these Pascuali yarns on your needles, there are plenty of patterns you could cast on this very weekend. Melanie has already released three other shawl patterns using Balayage: the flirtatious ‘Nixe‘ (meaning mermaid in German), dramatic ‘Rock my Shawl‘ and asymmetrical ‘The Big Easy‘. Other designers using Pascuali include Asa Tricosa, whose draped ‘Abraxas‘ cardigan uses texture and an unconventional collar to add plenty of interest, and Julia-Maria Hegenbart, whose ‘Rough Sea‘ shawl allows the knitter to “decide how high the wind will whip up the waves” at the blocking stage.

Lovely Habu Yarns

We have received more beautiful and fun Habu Yarns! Much-requested wider Cotton Gima, strong yet delicate Silk Wrapped Paper, and playful Mini Pom yarns are stocked up in the shop and online, not to mention the truly drool-worthy Naturally Dyed Indigo Linen Paper and Variegated Indigo Linen Paper. These yarns can be held with another yarn or knit on their own. They are great for hats, bags and other accessories and they make pretty garments as well, from stand-alone garments like the ‘BEPPU Top‘ designed by ITO Yarns to open weave, architectural statement pieces like Cocoknits’ ‘Gisela‘.

52 Weeks of Socks in Paperback

Laine’s 52 Weeks of Socks

Laine magazine’s 52 Weeks of Socks is now available in paperback! This book is overflowing with beautiful, cosy sock patterns by knitwear designers from around the world. With a different design for every week of the year, this book should offer plenty to keep your needles clicking in the autumn evenings to come!

Lazadas Blocking Wire Sets

Lazadas Deluxe Mixed Blocking Wire Set and Lazadus Mix Super Flexible Knitting Blocking Wire Set are back in stock! These blocking wires are a lifesaver for finishing fine garments and work for anything from lace to bulky weight yarns. Whether your edges are scalloped, circular, or straight, these wires will get the job done.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.