The Yarns
Catherine Lowe Couture Yarns offer the hand-knitter the finest luxury yarns available in a sustained color palette that carries across all the fibers. They have been designed with one over-arching aim: to enable the knitter to produce a knitted fabric with an extremely stable and even stitch structure so that the finished garment will maintain its original shape and appearance as it is worn and repeatedly cleaned. For this reason, these yarns are unlike traditional hand-knitting yarns in their ply and their preparation.
The Fibers
Merino: 100% extrafine merino imported from Italy; for a precious hand, soft drape and excellent stitch definition.
Alpaca: 100% royal baby alpaca imported from Peru; a micron count comparable to cashmere, with a lustrous silky drape.
Silk: 100% cultivated silk imported from Italy; superb stitch definition, a characteristic shimmer and liquid hand.
Silk/Mohair: 40% silk/60% kid mohair imported from Japan; a lustrous silk core with a gossamer halo of kid mohair.
The Concept
Two elements distinguish this collection of yarns from any offered to hand-knitters: each yarn is dyed in the same color palette as the others; and each yarn is delivered to TCKW in a cobweb lace weight. The yarn is then custom prepared to the individual knitter’s specifications with regard to:
weight – from lace to aran and beyond;
fiber content – a single fiber or a blend of two or more; and
color – from a single color to a rainbow.
All within the same strand of yarn.
From this considerable flexibility, the collection derives its bespoke quality; the characteristics of each yarn that leaves TCKW are determined by the knitter who placed the order for that yarn.
Consider the options:
a strand composed of different yarns all in the same color.
a strand composed of one yarn in different colors.
a strand composed of different yarns in different colors.
Imagine the possibilities:
a monochromatic garment that uses different yarns in contrasting texture, luster and weight to highlight its design and details.
a garment worked with a multi-colored strand while its details are worked in one of the colors; or the reverse.
a jacket or coat worked in one weight in one combination of yarns with a matching sweater worked in a lighter weight in a different combination of yarns.
Unlimited.
In addition, the unique concept behind these yarns makes it possible to knit a single design in a number of different fibers and blends and at several different weights following the same pattern directions and without changing needle size. While the fiber content will impart its particular characteristics of hand and drape, the weight of the yarn will determine the density of the knitted fabric, which will differ from yarn to yarn not only in weight and density, but also in elasticity, luster and its ability to reveal texture and stitch pattern. For example, the same cardigan pattern yields a sheer cover-up for cool summer nights when worked in a light weight of silk and a warm jacket for autumn days when knit with a blend of alpaca and silk/mohair.
In The Shop
Ordering the yarns is a bit different, too. They are sold by length, not weight, in increments of 100 yds/91 m; the quantity indicated when ordering reflects the number of 100 yd/91 m units purchased. In other words, to place an order online, divide the total yards required by 100 (or meters by 91) and round up the result to the next whole number. This is the number to indicate as the purchase quantity. When the order is prepared, the total purchase will be wound into as few large balls as possible, not into individual balls of 100 yds/91 m. For the knitter, this will mean many fewer yarn joins within a single garment piece.
All the yarns from lace to aran weight, along with the most popular blends, are available online in a single color. To order a weight or a blend not listed, or to blend colors as well as fibers, please contact us directly by telephone or email.
Because each order is custom prepared rather than pulled from a shelf, our return policy is necessarily restrictive. We offer several options that allow knitters to become familiar with the yarns before making a full, garment-size purchase:
shade cards: a complete set of yarn samples, every color of each yarn.
yarn sampler: approximately 80 yds/73 m of three dk weight yarns (merino #5, aplaca #6; cliii #5a) in a choice of two colorways (black/raisin/bronze or black violet/peacock/cardinal).
a swatching ball: 100 yds/91 m to sample before making a larger purchase; yarn, color and weight at the knitter’s discretion.
Yarn returns and refunds: Only single fiber, non-custom color blends of the yarns may be returned for exchange or credit to the customer’s account only. The return must be made within 10 days of the date of receipt as indicated by the shipper’s delivery confirmation records and will be subject to a 25% re-stocking fee. Any yarn returned must be in resalable condition and the customer will be responsible for both the original and return shipping/insurance fees. Blends and custom orders may not be returned for exchange or credit. TCKW will not accept responsibility for any damage done to yarns due to mishandling or improper treatment of the fiber. TCKW reserves the right to deny exchange or credit when it determines the returned item does not meet the above conditions.