Ravelry Spotlight- Estelle Eco Andean Projects

Our Estelle Eco Andean DK is a yarn that has been a part of the Estelle Yarns range for a few years now. Available in a range of eight, warm, natural tones, and more recently in fifteen Heather shades (known as Andean DK Heathers), this non-superwash, DK weight, 100% wool is wonderful for those of us who love the feeling of working with (and wearing!) real wool. Softly spun, but durable enough for hard wearing garments and accessories, the Eco Andean DK is available in a 100 gram skein, with a whopping 350 meters worth of yardage.

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As we tend to do from time to time, we recently did a search on Ravelry to see what people have been making with this yarn. It should come as no surprise to you all, that what we found knocked our socks off! You people are an incredibly talented bunch! And you certainly know how to make our yarn sing. After contacting a few talented knitters and crocheters, all of whom had put the Eco Andean DK to good use, we requested their permission to share their work with you. Without a doubt, these ladies and their work are an inspiration, and we hope that you enjoy admiring their finished projects as much as we have!

Upon our initial Ravelry search, we came across the talented crocheter,  Gemma, otherwise known as imgonnastitch on Ravelry. Gemma crocheted her Acute Sweater using just four skeins of Eco Andean Wool DK in the colourway Dark Grey.

This sweater is simply gorgeous! We love the ultra flattering lines, in particular, the subtle textured V that is worked into the waistline. The cozy funnel neck is perfect for staying warm, but is not so restrictive, that one could not easily wrap a scarf around their neck. And finally, crocheting an adult sized sweater in only four skeins of yarn is incredible value if you ask us. No matter the yarn!

Laurie V knit her project titled Gansey Hoodie using five skeins of our Eco Andean DK wool, in the shade Light Grey. While we are all about embracing the warmer weather that is slowly coming upon us in this part of the country, this sweater is enough to make us almost find ourselves actually craving the cooler months once again. With a gorgeous textured pattern running down the front of the sweater, flanked by some pure and simple stocking stitch, the stitchwork can take centre stage.

With a handy kangaroo pocket, allowing for the stealthy storage of tissues, lip balm and a cell phone, this sweater would be a very difficult one to peel off, once on! And to top it all off- it has a hood! Who doesn’t love pulling on a hood while curled up on the couch, binge watching their favourite series on TV?

Josée knit her own design, Monica (named after the neurotic but oh-so-stylish character on the hit TV series Friends), using our Eco Adean DK in the Natural colourway. Classic, timeless, absolutely gorgeous, this sweater would look perfect with your favourite pair of jeans, or even dressed up with a pencil skirt and heels! Monica certainly wouldn’t hesitate to switch it up, so why should you?

As it happens, Josée is a rather prolific pattern designer, and we strongly encourage you to check out her full collection of designs on her Ravelry pattern page. Thank you for using our yarn to create this design Josée! It truly is a classic.

Amy Jane/thejasperpatch knit her Portland Pullover using only 3 skeins of Eco Andean DK Wool in shade 8, Milk Chocolate.

A couple of modifications were made to the pattern by Amy Jane, such as adding a faux seam along the sides by adding a single purl stitch, along with some subtle waist shaping. She added some garter repeats on the hemline, in order to match the cuffs, and knit the neck just until she ran out of yarn. Take any sweater pattern, add some subtle tweaks, and it becomes uniquely yours! And Amy has done just that. It looks fantastic on her! And we love that she took it out for a spin on the snowshoes, to put it to the ultimate test.

Since hand knitting or crocheting a DK weight pullover is not something that generally takes place over a weekend, you may be looking to cast on one of these sweaters as your Summer project!  That way, you will have something to keep you cozy from the crisp Fall air when it finally arrives. Our hope that these sweaters have served as a bit of inspiration to you all, much as they did for us.

We would like to thank each one of the talented ladies who gave us permission to use their photos, and gush over their work with you today. Be sure to check out their Ravelry pages, leave comments and ask questions about their work! They really are a truly talented bunch.

Happy knitting and crocheting everyone!

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