Hoards of Hand-dyes! Chris's Glacier Sweep Shawl, Monika's Avenger Cape in Craigh na Dun, Baah La Jolla Yarn, swatch of Rachel's Outlander MKAL 2015 Shawl, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Christmas at Downton, Kristen's Edith's Secret Shawl, Phydeaux Soie in Mon Amour, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Devon

Exciting things are afoot...or a-needle, we should say: we're kicking off a celebration of hand-dyed yarns at Jimmy Beans Wool, and you're invited to the party!

Just don't be tardy.

For the party.

Yes, I just wrote that.

Along with a series of instructional articles in our next few Newsletters, we'll be taking and in-depth look at each type of hand-dyed yarn we carry and how to get the most out of it. Now that's something to celebrate!

Monika's Avenger Cape in Assemble!

And what better way to get our party started than with Lorna's Laces? It was Lorna Miser herself who inspired Laura to start her own yarn shop, so one could say that JBW wouldn't exist without Lorna's Laces. Together, we've created a series of Limited Edition yarns that celebrates everything pop culture, from our favorite TV shows to current events around the world.

Rachel's Outlander MKAL 2015 Shawl in Craigh na Dun

Though they dye solid and tonal colors, Lorna's is best known for their variegated yarns, especially the bright, saturated colorways that knit up into amazingly colorful, one-of-a-kind creations! One look at a garment and you can tell it's Lorna's - there's just no other yarn quite like it out there! You can see what I mean in the garments pictured above.

Lorna's Laces yarn gets its distinct look from the special hand-dye process: the dyers plan a colorway down to the last detail, including the sequence in which the colors will appear on the skein. Then, the hanks of yarn are painstakingly dyed section by section. The final result is a circular hank with an almost color-blocked look, but when it's wound into a ball and knit up, the colors appear in the knitted item in the same sequence they were dyed on the skein, giving that fun, variegated effect we love so much!

Autumn's Magrathea Shawl

Now, as gorgeous as these yarns are, they have their challenges - most notably, when your project varies in size or shape, the colors line up differently in each row, sometimes causing unwanted striping or "pooling", which looks like irregular "blobs" of color on your project. Some people love this effect - it is quite artistic, after all! - but sometimes it can detract from the look you're going for.










An example of pooling in the Outlander Shawl - in this case, the symmetry makes it an appealing design element!


So, how to solve it? Wouldn't you like to know! And we'll be telling you in our next post :)

Let us know your other favorite variegated hand-dyes! We love Baah Yarn, Lotus Yarns, Becoming Art, and the list goes on! What's on your list?

Happy Knitting (with Hand-Dyes!)!

Heather