Daisy

KnittingYarn

Mar 28

Written By

Some time ago Jesse, the owner of Knit One Crochet Too, contacted me with the offer to try their brand new yarn and create a summer pattern for it. As soon as I read the fiber content, I knew I would love it even before touching it - linen, silk and hemp blend. I have a weak spot for plant fibers, especially when they are mixed in one skein - it makes it even more enticing. I also had a chance to chat with Jesse and talked about the company in general and Daisy. I am happy to share this mini interview with you here.

The company exists since 1996, it is more than 20 years old, how do you think it has changed over the years?

The company has been around for over 20 years and is now on it’s 3rd owner, me! Susan Levin and Gloria Tracy were the first owners, they had started the company in California by developing their own knitting products and patterns. Then in 1999 they brought yarn into the company, they had a very successful run but realized they wanted to stick to developing products instead of yarn. In 2004 Helene Rush purchased the company and moved it to Windham Maine. There she was able to grow the yarn collection and show off her amazing pattern writing skills. When Helene was ready to retire ( she was designing about 50-60 designs a year on top of running the company) she reached out to me and I was more than excited to step up and bring it into a new era. I am hoping to inspire knitters with our yarns, designs and passion for the art.

You've taken up the company from a different owner – was it hard? How did you keep the balance of keeping the essence of the company and still add your own personal touch to it?

Yes, it was no easy task taking over this company. Mostly because I didn’t work for Knit One Crochet Too before, and I wanted the transition to be smooth for shops and slowly change the company into what I want it to be. Honestly, I was still deciding which way I wanted to take the company when I bought it. But over the first couple months I was able to really dive in and figure out where I wanted to take it. I feel that I have been doing a pretty good job keeping the identity of the yarns strong and just adding a new look to the designs. Helene Rush ( the previous owner) is such an amazing designer that most of her designs are timeless. This has helped me when I was too over whelmed at times to come up with a new design for a season, I could just rephotograph one of her gorgeous garment and give it new life. This Spring/Summer it has all come together, The Copenhagen Collection, really shows where we want to take the company. With fresh looking designs in inspiring locations.

Knit One Crochet Too Daisy. The Gift Of Knitting.

Would you tell us a little bit about Daisy – your new summer yarn. How did you come up with this blend of fibers?

When I was thinking about what I wanted for my first spring/summer yarn as the new owner I knew I wanted it to be a hemp/linen yarn. I love the feeling of linen knits once they have been washed and blocked and being based in Florida that was a blend we would be able wear all year round. After, talking with our Mill in Italy we were able to create this gorgeous yarn that combines the typical feel of linen/hemp with the soft feel of silk. Daisy is a 3 ply blend yarn (38% Linen, 32% Silk, 30% Hemp) where each ply is one of the fiber contents, when the fiber is dyed each content takes the dye differently. This create a lovely depth to the yarn. Since we were planning on doing our photoshoot in Copenhagen we decided a cute name for the yarn would be Daisy, it is Denmark's national flower. Also, because when I met my husband the first present he ever got me was a Georg Jensen Daisy necklace ( it is a cute enameled daisy, that I never take off).

I have been swatching a lot with Daisy these past weeks. It is slowly being turned into a light sweater that I hope I will share with you this spring. The yarn really got the best qualities from all fibers - the thread is strong, durable and creates great stitch definition. The fabric created is lightweight and drapes beautifully with a delicate sheen. Made from plant fibers the sweater won't pill and will be great to wear next to the skin on a hot day - linen/silk/hem are breathable and have a very good absorbency. And the great thing is when the temperatures cool down, you will still enjoy wearing it - this blend will also help to lock in the warmth of your body! Blocking is essential, hemp just has to be washed to bloom - the fabric will soften with each bath, without any fiber degradation. This is the beauty of the good quality plant fibers!