Eco-Printed Annapurna Sock Blanks

Say hello to this amazing trifecta of Annapurna yarn, knit into a piece of fabric, and then printed with locally foraged and grown dyestuffs. Let’s take a closer look! 

Annapurna is made of merino wool and cashmere. It is soft enough to wear all those cozy next-to-skin items like socks, sweaters, cowls, and cozy blankets. Annapurna’s spun into a round, 3-ply, so it picks up stitch patterns like cables and slipped stitches beautifully. It’s a fingering weight yarn, so a wonderful choice for those lighter-weight garments and accessories.

Whereas most of our yarns don’t come knit for you – this is a special case! The yarn has been knit into a piece of fabric which is commonly referred to as a ‘sock blank’. (Most likely because dyers use this put-up to create self-striping yarns commonly knit into socks.) All of that being said, this can be knit into anything! There are two ways to go about it: 
1. Knit (crochet or weave) directly from the piece of fabric. This is a fun way to watch the flowers and leaves morph into new patterns and designs at your fingertips. It is quite mesmerizing. However! Your yarn and resulting fabric will have a slight kink in it. So expect a slight crepe texture. You can always make a swatch and block it to see if you like the effect. 
2. OR you can completely unwind the piece of fabric and make it into a skein making sure to tie the two ends together, and securing the skein in two more spots with ties to keep the skein from tangling. Because from here, you will submerge the skein in a bowl of warm water, similar to when you block your knitting. After about 10 minutes, once the yarn has been thoroughly wet, remove the skein from the bowl of water, and gently press the excess water out, and then hang the skein to dry in your shower. 

Of course you don’t have to make it into anything, you can simply admire the piece of fabric. Set it on your nightstand or side table. 

This piece of knit fabric has been eco-printed in our Oakland studio. Kaleidoscopic Bloom has been printed with madder, cochineal, yellow onion skins, and marigolds. Garden Collage has been printed with purple plum leaves, marigolds and red onion skins. 

~~~

Patterns featuring Annapurna: 

For a sweet hat in a large array of sizes, see A Hat for Keeping Warm by Alma Bali.

If you love shawls and lace knitting, you are in luck! We have been collaborating with designer Romi Hill for over a decade. Each design requires two skeins of Annapurna. Here are just a few of the stunning examples to check out:
April Song
Beautiful Together
Cactus Flower
Cathedral Grove
Moon Shadows
Morning Trail
Spring Forth

Or if you would prefer a shawl more streamlined, simple shawl, requiring less attention to knit, see Greyhound Shawl by Thea Colman and the Sinuous Wrap by Lori Versaci.

If you like brioche knitting, check out the Deep Swell Bandana by Nancy Marchant.

Annapurna was featured in the Cocoknits Method book, a wonderful resource for knitting sweaters seamlessly. Check out Lizzie, a lightweight cardigan. Consider striping this yarn with another skein of Annapurna. 

To see the full range of Annapurna colors, click here.