Debbie Bliss

Debbie Bliss yarns are classic, using beautiful fibres of the highest quality and luxury blends that combine softness and practicality. They are designed to satisfy the knitter's needs, with crisp cottons,sophisticated silks and silk mixes that drape and flow and an exceptional extra fine merino.

For further information on Debbie Bliss yarns please click here to visit the Designer Yarns website

Rowan

Rowan is an internationally renowned handknitting company, whose reputation for inspirational and creative handknit design is unsurpassed. Rowan was started in the early 1980’s by Stephen Sheard and Simon Cockin. Originally producing yarns for rug making kits, it was soon obvious that Rowan could produce yarn for the Handknitting market. With the help of designer Kaffe Fassett Rowan began to produce handknitting Yarns in beautiful colours.

Today Rowan publishes its acclaimed magazine twice a year offering knitters both a Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collection. Contributing to these magazines are many acclaimed freelance designers such as; Kaffe Fassett, Erika Knight, Martin Storey, Jean Moss, Sarah Dallas as well as our highly creative in-house team led by head designer Marie Wallin. In addition to this Rowan publishes many dedicated yarn brochures and books throughout the year.

Magazine 44 is our 30th Anniversary edition which celebrates inspirational use of colour, texture and pattern with which Rowan has become synonymous over the years; indeed many of our magazines have become collectable with issues such as magazine 10 changing hands at several hundred pounds.

The Rowan ethos over the years has always been to create inspirational and desirable handknit design. Although our designs reflect the fashion trends of the time, our garments have become classics, with designs of the past still being worn today.

Rowan website

Malabrigo

Meest opvallend aan de garens van Malabrigo, is de enorme variatie aan kleuren. Zo is de lace variant verkrijgbaar in 100 prachtige kleuren.

Malabrigo website

Manos del Urugay

The Manos Cooperatives were founded in 1968, begun by five women whose goal was to develop economic opportunities for women in a country where there were, and are still, few opportunities for work.

They began modestly, by selling handcrafts at local shops and the annual agricultural show in Montevideo. In time spinning, dyeing, weaving and knitting became the focus of the Coop’s efforts. Initially the “faded”, striated colors of Manos yarn were the result of heating yarn for dyeing in large, iron kettles over wood fires. Over the years, the dying process has been refined to provide consistency of color without losing what has become the trademark stria shading.

Continuing to develop its reach while helping to organize the working women of Uruguay both socially and financially, the Manos Cooperatives opened a showroom in New York City in 1976, selling knitted and woven garments as well as yarn for handcrafters. (This showroom closed in 1986.) Since then, the Manos Cooperatives have expanded to encompass 17 individual cooperatives, employing 350 artisans.

While the Cooperatives, collectively, are a large and well-organized business, each individual coop is still very much a small local business. At the Fraile Muerte Cooperative, in fair weather, chickens wander around the yard beneath the drying yarn. In the winter, production schedules have to allow for increased drying time, because there are no indoor drying facilities; all the yarns are still line-dryed out-of-doors.

In addition to creating yarns for handcrafters, the Manos Cooperatives have continued to produce ready-to-wear pieces for designers and department stores such as Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Nordstrom’s, and Sak’s.

Manos del Urugay website