NEW! INDIE DYE LOT: MOTIF SHAWL

Meet an indie dyer and indulge in a design with their skeins

RiverKnits was launched in 2016 after owners Becci and Markus, who had been dyeing yarn on their narrowboat, wanted a slower pace of life after working high pressure engineering jobs. They now use a studio in Northamptonshire and travel the UK waterways when they can with their son.

CHANGING SCENERY

Seasons are a constant influence on what RiverKnits do. Becci says, “some years I get obsessed with a colour and spend lots of time dyeing versions of it. Last year was all about burnt oranges and warm paprikas!”

The colourway names are usually related to the inspiration for the colourway. Starry Night is named after the famous painting by Van Gogh, and Towpath is the greens and browns of the canal towpath. The mini skeins are a bit different because there are 78 of them, Becci explains. “They are named on a grid system and have a name for the tonal value and a name for the hue. This leads to some silly names like Sherbet Tomato and others that sound better such as Jewel Jade.”

TOP YARNS

RiverKnits’ most popular yarn is Nene 4ply, because as Becci says, “it’s suitable for pretty much anything. It’s 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool that is now fully sourced, spun, and dyed in Britain. We dye it in 100g skeins and the 20g mini skeins [used in the motif shawl on page 78]. The mini skeins are fun for colourwork projects, but crafters also combine minis with the full-sized skeins for a pop or accent in their project.”

Becci is obviously passionate about her yarn. ”Indie-dyed yarns are fantastic because they are as varied as the people who dye them. We use techniques that can’t be scaled up in commercial dye houses, and the colours can be more daring because it’s less risky to dye a few of one in case nobody likes it – but that’s rare because there’s always someone who likes what you like.”

HOOKY MAKES

The one-of-a-kind colourways mean RiverKnits make samples so crafters can see how it works up. It’s handy then that both Becci and Markus crochet. Becci is making the Kitzbuhel Jumper by Nomad Stitches (Simply Crochet guest Journal writer Sandra Gutierrez). She’s using RiverKnits Aysgarth in Gathering and the unique Chimera, a multicoloured hand-dyed marled yarn, in the Rainforest colourway (see photos). Becci says, “I’ve never done mosaic crochet before, so I had to push myself to get my head and hook around it, but I’m loving it.” www.riverknits.uk

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