I adore linen. One of my favorite craft books, not because I’ve ever made anything from it, but rather because I love paging through it, is Linen Crafts: 40 Projects for Home and Body. So imagine my excitement when I began to flip through Selvedge magazine this morning on the train and saw several articles devoted to linen. I’ll have to give you a further run down on what Selvedge had to say (I, of course, already wrote a beautiful post that was decimated by an overzealous tech guy). But there is so much beautiful linen on the market, that it’s worth talking about some of it.
Thus far, I have held off on visiting Habu Textiles because I was afraid that one step into the store and I would be in debt for years to come. As it is, I find myself picking up a skein or two every time I find myself in a yarn store that carries some of their vegan yarn. But look at all this gorgeous linen yarn:
Crinkle Linen
Linen Paper Yarn: This looks like my garbage bag yarn, but is likely a little more sturdy in hand.
Linen-Cotton Blend Paper Yarn
Two Lace Weight Linens
Habu Textiles is a worthy find for vegans. They do so much with plant and synthetic fibers that there is a lot of interesting yarn to be had. Some of it can be pricey, however, so set your sights on the proper loved one and drop generous hints whenever gift-giving seasons roll around.
Euroflax Linen: I have four skeins of this beautiful linen waiting for me at home. I’ve got fair isle plans for it, or so I think. But, if this linen and fair isle don’t mesh as well as I’m hoping, then there are plenty of projects in Mason Dixon Knitting that call for it. Speaking of Mason Dixon Knitting, this is another book where I haven’t made much (one of the hand towels and a pillow cover based on the ball band wash cloth), but love flipping through it all the time. These women live in what could be my ideal world, one that is inexplicably covered in the most delicious knitting. They do use some restraint. There are no knit lampshades in the book even though you get a sense that at least one of them must have one in her home.
But back to linen. One store recommended by Selvedge was Linnet. I believe it took me 30 seconds on their site (or less) to understand why.
Waffle Weave Linen Fabric
Shinji Linen Fabric
Linen Ribbon - Rouge
Linen Yarn
Selvedge also mentioned they sell patterns, but I glanced at that page and suspect that they are not in English. For those who can follow crochet charts, this is probably no issue, as there were a few items that appear to be crocheted. But most knitters will be out of luck. For good or for bad, the Linnet prices are in yen, so my fantasy linen acquisition department has no dirty number attached to it. I can only image that this much linen wouldn’t come cheap. If it could be as inexpensive as the mighty flax seed.
