This weekend is the annual SPA Knit & Spin gathering in Freeport, Maine!

Visit us at Halcyon Yarn while you’re in the neighborhood…

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For your safety and in accordance with current public health guidance all classes and groups are currently suspended. We’re reaching out to anyone who’s registered for a class, however if you were registered and did not receive our email please contact us to confirm your cancellation, refund or credit. We hope to see you again here at Halcyon Yarn when we can welcome you safely! (05/25/20)

Ready to learn a new fiber art, improve your skills, or just spend a day or two doing something you love? Register now for fiber art classes at Halcyon Yarn. Our spring and summer classes are already starting to fill up so check them out and sign up soon!

Is there a skill you want to learn but don’t see here? Know of a great instructor you’d love to learn from here? Please let us know here: Contact Halcyon Yarn

We’re adding more classes all the time – stay tuned! Here’s what’s coming up…

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With daylight savings the days are getting longer and spring is getting closer… Now how about some yarn savings? Good things are coming, but your chance to save ends soon!

This is your spring-is-coming reminder to use the 10% off coupon you received with your recent order. Thanks for shopping with Halcyon Yarn!

Enter code HYSP2020 at checkout and save 10% off your order over $50, from now until March 19th.

You may redeem this single use Halcyon Yarn Promotional Card in the store, online, or over the phone. Just enter or mention the code above when you order. This promotion is not redeemable for cash and will only be applied to orders totaling $50 or more. Total must equal or exceed $50 before taxes and shipping are calculated. Cannot be used for the purchase of Special Orders, Drop-Shipped items, Gift Certificates, Sale/Clearance Merchandise, or combined with some other promotions. Please contact us with any questions. Offer expires at midnight (EST) Monday, March 19th, 2020.

Spring may still be a distant spot of warmth on the horizon, but regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil says about spring’s arrival we’re excited about late-winter and early-spring knitting!

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Weaving offers a truly special kind of color magic in which the relationship between hues can be controlled and manipulated to create an amazing array of effects. Explore how adjusting hues and values within a piece can transform a few basic shades to create fantastic iridescent or gradient effects. Trick the eye by mastering how combining one color with another will create the impression of a different color entirely, as happens in the Popular Science article below describing the Munker-White illusion.

The Munker-White Illusion

So cool – this is just what happens when you mix colors in your weaving! Try experimenting with similar tones in different hues and you’ll find you can produce the illusion of more colors than you’re actually using by taking advantage of the “Munker-White” illusion. (And now I know it’s called that!) Let us know here if you make or find some good woven examples of this, won’t you?

Gamp projects are a terrific way for weavers to become skilled at creating an enormous spectrum from just a few basics. Discover the many ways of blending color in our easy to follow kits in two weights, for either four or eight harnesses – a great value. Have a stash of colorful yarns already? Pick up the pattern and use it as a basis for experimenting. Have fun and let us know if we can help!

3/2 Gamp Kits

Our revised 3/2 Color Gamp Kit includes yarn and instructions to weave a sampler gamp utilizing 12 colors, plus white, grey, and black.

Project makes a baby blanket and wall hanging, or a set of six placemats plus a runner.
The pattern includes directions for both the 36 x 48″ blanket and the set of 6 placemats and a runner as well as 15 full mini-cones of our beautiful 3/2 Pearl Cotton and 150 yds of 20/2 Pearl Cotton in black for hems.

Projects require a 4-shaft loom with a weaving width of 40″ and a reed capable of 12 EPI.

10/2 Gamp Kits

A study for color and weave in 8 shafts or 4 shafts.

Halcyon’s 10/2 Gamp Kit comes with 15 – 10/2 Pearl Cotton mini cones plus 20/2 Pearl Cotton for hems, and the pattern.
Directions include five different color study exercises including one utilizing yarns from your own stash for weft, and how to create a clever and colorful shuttle holder for your studio.

The 4-shaft study is done in plain weave. The 8-shaft is in either plain or a twill combination. Approximately 20.5″ wide finished.

Kit includes 15 cones of 10/2 Pearl Cotton and 150 yards of 20/2.
Requires 4 or 8 shaft loom 22.5″ or wider and an 8 or 12 dent reed for 24 EPI.

More ways to explore color…

 

Related items of interest: • Our yarns • Fine weight yarns • Cotton yarns • Lace weight yarns • Weaving Patterns • Multi-Craft Equipment • Dyeing Kits • Spinning Books • Weaving Books

Mohair seems to come and go as a trend… For some it’s a love/hate relationship. For us, it’s love. Working with this fun and fuzzy fiber can be so rewarding. Here are some tips and favorite patterns for making mohair magic.

Yarn: 80% kid mohair, 15% polyamide, 5% wool. Hand wash gently in cool water, lay flat to dry, blocking recommended.

To keep your halo looking fresh, try brushing it gently after your piece is washed and blocked! (See more “how to” below.)

95 yards/25 gram ball (1,725 yards per pound) Made in Italy from South African mohair.

gauge: 4.25 sts to 1″ on US sz 8 needles for many projects (highly variable) sett: tabby 5–10 epi tabby

Just the right amount of fluff! This feather light yarn is made from the finest kid mohair fibre. Light and warm to wear, Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair is sturdy enough to be worked on its own and also combines nicely with other yarns in either knitting or weaving. Available in both solid and tonal shades. When purchasing variegated mohair shades, please be aware that your purchase may vary in color from the photographs shown on the website. This is because the process of applying a variety of different dye shades in varying quantities and in a random manner to a single batch of yarn tends to create a different effect with each new dye lot. A great choice for sweaters, accessories and home decor items.

Click here for colors and mohair project suggestions!

Mohair Made Easy

Mohair can be a sticky situation… The right project, some simple techniques, proper care, and a little creative courage will reward you with beautiful mohair creations. Here are some solutions to common mohair challenges!

To make mohair easier to work with overall, and to give your mohair room to loft up, we recommend using patterns that favor a more “open” fabric, like the overall lace design of the Atmosphere Pullover, or which are knit on a larger needle, like the Ribbed Shrug.

Mixing your mohair with another yarn will also create a beautiful fabric that still features the halo and lightweight warmth, but “mutes” the effect a bit and creates an even, solid and well-balanced cloth that can be easier to work. Try the Blueberry Yoke sweater in mohair and Classic DK Wool, or the Amelia sweater in mohair and Mulberry Silk Georgette.

If you do want a little pattern, but don’t want it to get lost, try the Cable Poncho.

 

Challenge: When working with mohair one of the biggest challenges come from its “stickiness” and this can affect your tension (and patience) or cause too much friction as it passes through the reed in weaving.

Weavers will benefit from using mohair primarily in the weft rather than warp so that you eliminate the challenge of passing it through the heddles and reed and getting stuck or causing a lot of shedding to build up. If you’re game it can make a beautiful warp, just be sure it’s widely spaced and use a direct tie up so that shafts can be lifted separately.

It can help to use it interspersed in the warp with smoother warps perhaps only every 3rd or 4th warp, keeping those warps up or down for a few wefts so they’re not interlacing and passing next to other warps as frequently. Alternating this way will still give plenty of texture to your fabric but will cut down on the “sticking” factor.

 

Challenge: The fluffy halo can obscure the more delicate details of stitch patterns and texture can get lost in the fluff. It can be hard to see and correct mistakes as you go, and some more intricate stitch techniques just aren’t worth the effort.

Solution: Loosen up your gauge or sett and don’t bother with patterns that feature delicate textured stitches, like the Atmosphere Pullover or Ribbed Shrug. Instead, widen your sett, go up a needle size or two, and choose designs with big open eyelet stitches or bolder shapes.

Challenge: Finished pieces can become dense and the halo can get “matted” looking. The “core” or binder thread is generally very thin, but all that halo can make for a lot of material which can feel thick or messy in some designs and fabrics. The looser fibers of the halo can tend get matted or uneven looking with wear, or may tend to shed more than sleeker yarns.

Solution: Give it a brush! Part of the joy of mohair is the lovely ethereal halo. We recommend using a small bristle hairbrush, wire pet grooming brush, or small hand carders or flicker, and giving your finished pieces a quick, even brushing from time to time. Use short and gentle upward strokes to lift the fibers without catching the underlying fabric. Start at one corner and work your way evenly across the piece, brushing the fibers all in the same direction with a slight upward motion. Start with a minimal brushing, you can always do more later or give it a touch up any time the halo starts looking compressed or uneven.

 

If your mohair is shedding, give it a light brushing and then put the (completely dry) piece into the dryer with dryer balls on low or no heat. This will shake loose any fibers that aren’t attached, thereby removing the shedding material that may have come loose as you worked the piece.

Challenge: The fluff is scratchy!

 

 

More about marvelous mohair…

Mohair is considered a luxury fiber due to its unique characteristics and less widespread production. Mohair is the fleece of the the angora goat – angora fiber comes from angora rabbits! The name “angora” is derived from the Turkish city of Ankara, which is the region (Anatolia) where mohair production originated more than 3,000 years ago. Most commercial mohair production now occurs in South Africa, Turkey, and the United States, however there are many small-scale producers in the US and other countries as well.

Mohair goats produce a much higher volume of fiber than cashmere goats and are shorn twice a year. Their coats are quite curly (not crimpy) and the fiber itself is very shiny, strong, and lustrous. The unusually strong fibers make the coarser grades very well suited to materials that get a lot of wear, especially when blended with other fibers to add strength, for use in things like upholstery, outerwear or even rugs. With enough heat and agitation mohair will eventually felt, but because of the smoothness (smooth scales) and minimal crimp of the fiber it will felt less easily than wool. A typical staple length is 4 to 6 inches and the microns range from 22-27 for fine kid mohair to 30+ microns for later shearings.

Mohair is sometimes blended at around 10%-25% with wool or other fiber blends in more conventionally constructed yarns. For example, Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted and Bulky are singles that feature 15% mohair and 85% wool. Peace Fleece is a two-ply worsted featuring a full 25% mohair in the blend. The longer-staple mohair fibers give these yarns a little extra strength as well as loft and a very slight halo, however the overall appearance is not the super-fuzzy look of yarns that are majority mohair fiber.

What we usually think of as “mohair yarns” usually have a wool, silk, or nylon binder thread at their core. The mohair fiber is spun into and around that core and then brushed to create the big lofty halo we associate with mohair. The binder provides a strong base and is barely visible in your finished fabric. Mohair makes exceptionally warm pieces without being heavy or dense. All that fluff creates a layer of lightweight insulation that holds warm air close the way down or poly-fill would, but it’s all natural, renewable and won’t make you sneeze, plus it looks great!

Mohair comes in different grades, the most common differences being “kid” versus standard mohair. Kid mohair is the first clipping and the fibers are the softest and finest. For a more delicate sweater or accessory a softer kid mohair or blend is a better choice.

The clippings in following years, just as with wool, tend to become coarser. For big snuggly camp blankets or a pop of texture in otherwise smooth fabrics a standard mohair is a great option because it is very durable and has a lot of body and warmth.

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A wide gauge range is often given for mohair because the same yarn can yield anywhere from a DK to a bulky gauge depending on how it is used. When weaving or knitting with mohair you can pack the halo down around the binder using a tighter gauge or sett, or keep the design very open and let the fluff fill in the spaces.

 

For super-local mohair your best bet is to check out your local fiber fairs or country fairs to see what can be found in your neck of the woods. These will usually be loose fiber in the form of curly mohair locks that you can experiment with spinning yourself or use as embellishment in felting. We offer Maine kid mohair fiber here: Kid Mohair Locks

Please note, the listed price is for a full pound of mohair locks, you can purchase all our loose fibers in as little as an ounce!

 

What to make in mohair? Check out the recommended Patterns & Inspiration!

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Related items of interest: • Knitting Patterns • Our yarns • Light weight yarns • Wool yarns • Fine weight yarns • Merino Wool yarns • Weaving Patterns • Spinning Equipment • Medium weight yarns • Mohair yarns • Our fibers

We’re excited to start a new year – what better way than a great deal on our favorite items. Let’s make 2020 a year for making!

New! Galloway Merino by Great Adirondack

Craving a burst of color? Galloway is a soft and slubby hand-dyed merino, brand new this winter from Great Adirondack Yarn Company. It’s just what you need to inspire you through the chilly months. Throw it on your rigid heddle loom for a quick and colorfully cuddly scarf, or stitch up your favorite heavier weight shawl with just a skein or two. The thick-thin 2-ply gives it a handspun look and the 100% merino is definitely soft enough to snuggle up to all winter long.

Galloway Merino

Fiber content: 100% Merino Wool. Gauge is 3-4 sts/in on US sz 9-10.5 needles. Weaving tabby sett 4, twill sett 5. Wraps/inch (wpi) 8. Yardage: 210 yards/skein (960 yards/lb). Handwash gently in cool water and lay flat to dry.

(More stock is coming – feel free to order now for delivery later this winter if a color is currently out of stock!)

 

Wrist Ruler

Made in Oregon, the Wrist Ruler is cute and convenient. This may be your new favorite accessory – at least of the kind you didn’t make yourself! Keep your measuring tape on you at all time with this sturdy leather wrist wrap and tape measure in one.

 

Magner Project Bags – Made in the USA

Durable and dedicated to quality, the Knitty Gritty Project Bag will be your “don’t leave home without it” carry-all for 2020. The waxed canvas holds up to all the needle stabs and scuffs and looks even better with age. Keeps everything organized and holds even a shawl-sized project without being clunky.

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Merchant & Mills Everyday Scissor

Sleek, classic and plenty sharp for all your everyday needs. Lightweight yet well-made, these scissors will last and look great in any studio. The 6.75″ length makes them useful for fabric or paper projects as well.

 

LYKKE – Grove Collections

Dreaming of green plants this time of year? Introducing the new Grove Collection from LYKKE! The Grove Collection features the same smooth joins for easy interchange. The tips are made of strong, lightweight, and quick growing bamboo with a pale green hue and emerald green bases. Choose either 5″ or 3.5″ sets in cute cases of linen or lime green and create a stitching oasis.

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Schacht Spindle 50th Anniversary Shuttles

Before they go grab your commemorative 50th Anniversary Shuttle from Schacht Spindle Co. As always with Schacht, the quality is excellent, and the colors are so much fun! Smooth and lightweight, each shuttle is carved from a single piece of ash. Available in limited sizes and colors – hurry – they’re almost gone!

Happy 2020!

We look forward to helping you plan your projects, realize your vision, and we can’t wait to see what you make in 2020. From all of us at Halcyon Yarn, we wish you a very happy, healthy, and creative 2020!

Related items of interest: • Our yarns • Bulky weight yarns • Merino Wool yarns • Multi-Craft Equipment • Knitting Equipment

The last trucks are loaded, but it’s not too late to give a gift from Halcyon Yarn. If you can’t come by the shop in Bath, Maine, we’re glad to email Gift Certificates. Or, ask us to email an “elf note” with a picture of the gift that you’re sending and a personal note to let someone special know that something wonderful is on the way!

Shop Gift Certificates

If you’re sill on the hunt for the perfect gift, you can’t go wrong with a Gift Certificate to Halcyon Yarn! We’re happy to email a colorful Gift Certificate to you or your loved one so you can delight them with the perfect gift – without leaving the house to get it!

See our upcoming classes here!

Weave – Knit – Crochet – Spin – Felt – Dye – and more…

Learning a new craft is a wonderful experience to give (or receive)! With new classes on the schedule for spring, and more on the way, why not share your love of fiber arts with someone else. Stay tuned as we continue to add more 2020 dates. Plan ahead for a wonderful day or weekend in midcoast Maine, and learn something new in 2020!

See more gift suggestions here: Halcyon Holiday Favorites

HOLIDAY HOURS

Halcyon Yarn is open until 4:00 pm Sunday, 6:00 pm Monday, and until 2:00 pm on Tuesday Christmas Eve (all times eastern standard time). Closed on Christmas day.

From all of us at Halcyon Yarn, we wish you…

A peaceful and bright Solstice! Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah! Happy Kwanza! And all the best of health, happiness, and creativity as you celebrate this holiday season!