Lara Rhiannon Textile Design: Sublime Natural Aran Yarn and Pattern

So, at the end of what has proved to be a rather busy month, I can finally reveal what I've been working on for none other than Black Sheep Wools! In order to promote some new yarn, they wanted me to review the yarn and create a brand new pattern that will be available for free download from their website. Having been creatively bone idle for most of the summer I was itching to do something and this was the perfect opportunity to get my hands on the knitting needles again.

The yarn is Sublime Natural Aran in Ecru, Portobello, Smithy and Gracie. The colours are beautiful - Portobello and Gracie are really rich, almost jewel-tones while Smithy is more marly and makes for a nice contrast with the other colours.The yarn is really lovely to knit with and, although at first I thought it was quite lightweight for an Aran, it thickens out to make a nice soft and fluid material. It is 100% wool, so it is a little fuzzy but lovely and soft, and I reckon this will keep me nice and cosy during the winter months. It's also made in England and supported by the Campaign for Wool, so you can rest assured that by buying this yarn you'll be doing England's sheep and wool industry some good!

So onto my pattern, which I hope showcases just how gorgeous this yarn is. Interestingly enough, the colours that were sent to me are reminiscent of the colour palette of the Anglesey landscape, which is lucky for me as I already had an entire project's worth of research! However I decided to expand my research and develop my Final Major Project even more, moving away from my painterly, abstract knits and looking back at traditional Welsh or Fair Isle patterns.

After knitting a few samples up I became very interested by figuring out ways to translate woven patterns into Fair Isle. Weaving, especially tapestry weaving, gives you more freedom with the amount of colours you can use whereas Fair Isle only allows you to use two per row, so this involved some tweaking and simplifying of traditional patterns such as check or welsh blankets. I really liked my Welsh Tapestry Blanket sample - both the way it looked and how it links back to my original inspiration worked really well and so I got to tweaking it, crafting it into a cowl shape and size and voila! Ready to knit!

Welsh Tapestry Blanket example

My samples, and Sublime Natural Aran Swatches

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out and I can't wait to see what you all make of it too! The rib gives a nice border and prevents the edge of the cowl curling over to reveal the inside, something I wasn't so keen on in my other three cowls. It's nice and tall too - so it'll definitely keep you warm on the side of a Welsh mountain.