A little Swiss secret

This blog is still alive. Very much so. I keep learning and I keep having ideas I want to share with you. But I want to provide original content and that implies testing things out and a slow-pace blog. Also, blogging is just a hobby of mine.

In the meantime, I want to share a little secret with you: www.savetheyarn.ch
This website sells deadstock yarn, aka they re-label yarn. That’s how I am now knitting a 60% linen, 40% silk top. Real, high quality silk! Real high quality linen! This is the only yarn I ever bought there, but likely not the last!

This to me is luxury. Real summer yarn for high temperatures. Professionally dyed and spun yarn. And no, this silk is not vegan-friendly or “cruelty-free”. Cruelty-free silk is second quality silk. As is raw silk (third quality). There’s nothing wrong with second or third quality but I am enjoying this prime quality. At a price that is just amazing. Which is great as….knitting with such a high silk content is a steep learning curve! Bamboo needles, loads of stitch markers and a tight gauge is the way to go. Laddering down to catch up mistakes isn’t (been there, frogged…!)

As I’ve mentioned before, I care about sustainable and durable knitting. Indie-dyed superwash merino is neither (sorry). I also care about knitting on a budget. The yarn and wool sold by Save the Yarn are real bargains, at least by quality yarn standards. That’s why I’m sharing my little budget secret. (I don’t have any commercial link with them). Since they only sell deadstock, the colour selection is very limited, and what’s available today might be gone tomorrow. You might find the perfect blend you were looking for—or not. That’s the nature of deadstock. As far as I know, they only sell natural fibre yarn (wool, linen, silk, cotton). What I like is that they allow you to buy small quantities, which is often not the case with deadstock.

If you live in Europe, this website is absolutely worth checking out. If you’re overseas, probably not, due to shipping costs and customs.

PS : By the way, does any of you know of a website or youtube tutorial with good advice on how to knit with silk ? I haven’t looked up for books yet, but as far as online content is concerned, I have only foundd rather crap content or advice so vague as to be useless.