British beauty
The KC Collection is a special new yarn range from King Cole, offering natural, luxurious fibres for keen knitters, as Helen Spedding discovers
KING COLE is a British yarn brand with a long and proud history, whose products have been loved by generations of knitters. Founded in 1935, the family-owned business has long been admired by its customers for its wide range of practical, quality yarns, and its support for knitters of all skill levels.
The company has always looked to innovate and inspire its customers, and this autumn saw the launch of a brand-new initiative, called the KC Collection. Aimed at discerning knitters who like to work with natural, luxurious and Britishproduced fibres, the KC Collection is an exciting new venture for the Skipton-based company.
“King Cole as a brand has always been seen as approachable and suitable for everyday knitting; we do lots of natural fibres, but we wanted to re-brand for this range so that we could have a fresh, new luxury collection of natural yarns,” explains Carl Milner from King Cole’s marketing team. “We wanted to make sure this new range would still fall under our brand umbrella - thus, the ‘KC Collection’ was born.
“We are always asked about British wool and whether we have any local fibres in our yarns, and we hadn’t used any in a while. However, we managed to source some beautiful Bluefaced Leicester wool at a nearby mill to use in our first KC Collection yarn, called Naturally Soft 4ply.”
Naturally Soft is a blend of 90% British Bluefaced Leicester wool – known for its incredible fineness and lustre – with 10% cashmere for added softness and luxury. Spun to a 4ply weight, it has a sophisticated, lightweight feel, and knits up into an elegant, smooth fabric with well defined stitches. “Naturally Soft is spun for us by the Laxtons mill in Baildon, West Yorkshire,” Carl says. “The Bluefaced Leicester wool is remarkably local to us at King Cole - the fibres are bought in Bradford, which is 17 miles away from our headquarters in Skipton. The Laxtons mill is six miles away from where the raw wool is bought, and the pattern books were printed in Keighley - nine miles away from King Cole HQ.”
The cashmere fibres, meanwhile, are carefully sourced in Afghanistan. “This country is the world’s third largest producer of cashmere,” says Carl. “There are several worldbeating cashmere initiatives that provide goat herders with training on sustainable farming, harvesting techniques and animal welfare practices, which help achieve a higher-quality fibre.”
The colour palette for Naturally Soft 4ply offers 10 sophisticated shades, including neutrals such as winter white, platinum and granite, and warmer tones such as mulberry, teal, burnt orange and midnight blue. “As this yarn is made with entirely natural fibres, we wanted to have the shades reflecting colours found in nature,” explains Carl. “We’ve got a good mix of bright and deep shades which we think accurately reflect the tones that you’d see on a typical day in Yorkshire.”
Elegant designs
To accompany the new yarn, they have developed a collection of timeless knitting patterns with a contemporary twist. “All the patterns are size inclusive and range from 71-158cm or 28-62in,” says Carl.
“We took inspiration from our local
area for the pattern names, as we love the idea of making a British pattern with a British yarn.”
Among the designs in the Naturally
Soft 4ply Collection is a chic cardigan, knitted edge to edge, which has an unusual cabled texture, set-in pockets and cropped sleeves. There’s a neat striped jumper which combines five bright and neutral shades, and a draping V-neck tunic combining three airy lace stitch patterns and a scalloped hem. Light layering pieces include a long vest top with four contrasting textured stitch patterns, and an elegant cardigan with an asymmetric button band.
“All the photography for the Naturally Soft 4ply pattern book was taken at the Laxtons mill where the yarn is spun,” explains Carl. “We loved having the photography capture the contrast of the raw unspun fibres alongside the finished product.”
Carl and the team are hoping that knitters will appreciate the special, luxurious feel offered by the new yarn. “Items made in Naturally Soft 4ply are remarkably warm, soft, smooth, and absolutely beautiful,” he says.
“We think our customers will enjoy making timeless jumpers for people they love, cardigans for themselves, and accessories for friends and family. This yarn is extra-special, so our pattern book is full of unique patterns that would suit every generation. In the marketing department at King Cole, we’re particularly taken with the striped Linton jumper in burnt orange, granite, sunset, platinum, and teal.”
Naturally Soft 4ply is just the first yarn in the new KC Collection range, with another beautiful addition planned for early 2022 – so watch this space for more KC Collection news!
- Find details of KC Collection stockists at www.kingcole.com or call
01756 703670