Suggested Yarn: Fyberspates Gleem Lace – Heavenly
Yarn Weight: Lace weight (800 m / 100 g)
Fibre: 55% Superwash Bluefaced Leicester / 45% Silk
Hook size: 6.0 mm
(a short hook is fine for this project but you may need a stopper on the end)
Yardage: 1300 m – 1420 yards)
Measurements: 180 cm / 71 in x 50 cm / 20 in
Crochet terminology: both US and UK versions available
Release Date: Saturday 13th February 2021.
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Lasa a love letter to Ireland’s venerable lace-making tradition.
The Yarn:
Lasa is made using Fyberspates Gleem Lace yarn in the colourway Heavenly.
I’ve had the thrill of designing with Fyberspates yarn before on several projects, so when I heard they had released a new lace-weight yarn (squeee!) I knew I’d love it.
And love it I do.
It is infused with motion and is so so soft and lofty, folks.
Silk has a tendency to put manners on a lace project – it helps the eyelets stay open after blocking – and that, depending on the project, can take some of the life out of the fabric’s movement. But oddly, with this yarn, despite there being a generous 45% silk content, it flows and bounces like it’s alive!
Image (c.) http://www.fyberspates.com
Lace Weight Yarn:
“Lace Weight” is a term that covers a multitude of thicknesses. From Floss and Cobweb right up to yarns you’d be hard pressed not to call “4-ply”.
To knitters and crocheters used to thicker yarns, a third of a mm in the difference between two yarns is no difference at all, but when it somes to lace weight it can mean between needing one skein or two for your project.
That’s why it’s so important to check the meterage of the project you’re embarking on.
The laceweight loveliness I used for Lasa, above, is Gleem Lace by a favourite dyer of mine, Fyberspates. This lace is on the heavier end of the spectrum at 800 m in each 100 g skein.
A lace that’s closer to 1000 m per 100g skein will be a lot thinner and diaphanous (what a lovely word!), and in this day and age when so many of us are buying our yarn on line without the luxury of meeting it in person first, that is a number to take note of.
Silk:
Aaaah, silk.
So beloved of the ancients that entire trade routes across land and sea were developed just to transport it across the globe. And with good reason. It’s strong, light and soft, and for us Tunisian crocheters it adds a level of structure to a lace project.
“Silk,” a yarnie once told me,”will block faster than you can spit”.
I haven’t gone to the trouble of verifying this claim, but the essense is sound! One of silk’s greatest attributes in my opinion is the fact that it does help less disciplined fibres – like Merino or Cashmere for instance – hold their shape in a lace-based fabric.
It’s also soft, so bonus points there!
Bluefaced Leicester:
Bluefaced Leicester (or BFL for short, because who in the world is brave enough to spell “leicester” with confidence each time!) is a wool with a lovely long staple length.
That is to say, the individuual strands of wool are nice and long.
This staple length makes it ideal for lace-weight yarns, (and for beginner spinners looking for an easy-to-handle roving to learn on, too, btw)
Release Day:
Lasa will be available from the 13th of February, 2021.
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