ooskit!

Morning everyone, I’m very excited to launch our brand new yarn today – Ooskit!

Ooskit is a Scots neologism meaning “woolly” – and it’s a name which definitely suits this yarn.

This is a DK weight yarn, and it is entirely sourced, grown and processed here in the UK. We began to develop it out of necessity, when it became apparent we weren’t going to be able to continue making our very first KDD yarn, Buachaille. The natural shades of Buachaille were among my all-time favourites, so we began looking for other UK woolly folk to work with to develop something similar: that is, a really sheepy, natural yarn that foregrounded the beautiful range of greys in British wool. I’m thrilled with what we’ve ended up with.

Ooskit’s lovely fleeces have been very carefully sorted, combed and worsted spun to create a yarn with a round, smooth, and surprisingly soft hand. Each shade has been carefully blended into a different complex, tonal grey – a grey that’s the opposite of flat or solid.

“Domra” means fog or haze in Scots, and it’s been designed as a close tonal match for the Haar shade from our previous Buachaille range (which featured in designs like Ardmore or Stronachlachar. )

“Horkel” is a Scots word used in reference to rough or stormy weather, and this dark shade of Ooskit replaces Squall from the Buachaille range.

If you ever knit with Squall, you’ll remember it was a grey underwritten with brown tones. With Horkel, we wanted a shade whose overall tone was much cooler and less brown: it’s a proper dark, charcoal grey.

The final shade in the palette is “Riach“, a Scots word for greyish-white. This light, silvery neutral is something I’ve often yearned to develop and design with – Riach is the very palest of pale greys.

All three shades make a very pleasing set!

And if you’d like to try them, we’ve of course put together a nice sampler.

I have to quickly sing the praises of our Ooskit tote, which is another new development. This innovative fabric is produced entirely from waste, combining cotton offcuts from the textile industry with PET from recycled plastic bottles. No bleaching or dyes are used in creating this sturdy fabric, which, much like our Ooskit yarn, resolves itself into its own natural grey.

It might seem odd to rave enthusiastically about a tote, but this one really IS great: it’s robust, it’s roomy and it’s totally recycled! And you get one free with each 3-skein Ooskit sampler!

Tom designed the Ooskit logo and branding (which I love) and worked hard with our suppliers in the production of both yarn and tote. It’s worth saying that for everything we make, from our books or yarns to this tote bag, we reflect on many issues, from the environmental impact of our products to the employment practices of the companies we work with. Accountable local suppliers, responsible manufacturing, and short supply chains are key. But I don’t think you need me to tell you about the sustainable qualities of wonderful, natural wool!

But what’s Ooskit like to actually knit with? Well, since commissioning the yarn, I’ve of course been enjoying an awful lot of that . .

. . . as has the rest of the KDD team.

I’ll be back tomorrow to say a bit more about what we’ve all been knitting!