Cumbria Worsted ticks all the right boxes!

The Tangled Yarn stockroom is for all intense purposes small tiny so for me to add a new yarn it has to meet a strict criteria. I like to know the story behind the yarn, what inspired it into being. The Fibre Company are lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful places in the north of England; Cumbria and it is here where they took their inspiration for their Cumbria yarn from a love of long walks across sheep-grazed fells & valleys. They have given us a yarn that is characteristic of the changing environment of this beautiful yet wild countryside and this is reflected in their choice of fibres and colour palette.

Cumbria is a sublime mix of brown wool from the English marsham, fine South American merino wool and Argentine mohair. This unique blend makes for a yarn that is soft yet rustic; it has a lustrous halo and knits up beautifully resulting in a lovely drape.

I’ve been swatching with the colourway Castlerigg, which is a moody mauve shade it reminds me of wet days in muddy boots walking though heather on the approach to Scarfell Pike. There are 14 colours together each are named after key places and landmarks from across Cumbria. The brown wool of the marsham and the white merino result in a light brown-grey shade which is then over-dyed creating lovely deep saturated colours.

My brioche swatch in Cumbria Worsted shown in Castlerigg

Cumbria is a worsted weight yarn it comes comes in 218 metres / 238 yards per 100g with a tension of 18 to 20 stitches when knitted on a 4 – 5mm needle. It’s constructed from three plies so you know it’s going to wear well. This is one of those yarns that you'll want to keep coming back to whether you are knitting quick easy accessories or garments. It lends itself well to knitting lace, cables and colourwork and is beautifully supported with a collection of knitting patterns from Kelbourne Woolens that can be purchased on Ravelry.

You can order Cumbria Worsted online from our store, should you need help deciding on which pattern and colour I'm always happy to help!