Shortly after moving into our current location, the novelty yarn craze hit. If it was sparkly, furry, wild, or weird we had it. Mom HATED novelty yarns, however her disdain came in useful. Whenever I would order yarn, the more mom carried on about how “tacky” or “gaudy” it was, the more I bought. She had a knack for picking the hot sellers!
We were stocked to the ceiling with novelty yarns. Fortunately that was before smart phones came out, so there is little photographic evidence. Once this craze died off, like everyone else we found ourselves up to our eyeballs in novelty yarn that no one seemed to want anymore. We were so relieved when we finally pushed the last skeins out the door. Afterwards, whenever a sales rep would whip out a skien of novelty yarn we’d recoil, probably from shell shock – or should I say glitter shock.
Ready or not, novelties are creeping back into the landscape. I like to think they are coming back in a more tasteful way, and a bit more reserved perhaps. I have a lot of yarns to tell you about today, so let’s get this party started!

Trendsetter Yarns
No one does novelties quite like Trendsetter, plus Barry the owner is one of the nicest people I’ve yet to meet in this industry. He put on one heck of a workshop for us once at one of our Knit Outs. It makes me happy when I buy yarn from nice folks.
 
Dune
I love this yarn. I loved it 20 years ago, and I love it just as much today. It is just so beautiful!

Blossom
Another old friend. This was a hot seller way-back-when, so we thought it was time to bring it back. Soft and plush, with a bit of colorful fun.

CinCin
CinCin means “cheers” in Italian, and this yarn packs a party of color into each skein. Shiny, slubby, and sleek!
Now, before you start looking up patterns written for these yarns STOP. Most of the patterns rolling around are reminiscent of the novelty craze of yore. This is not how I envision them. They JUST rolled in the door and we have not had a chance to do our magic. I can tell you that Dune and CinCin really shine in a simple classic pattern. Blossom will be whipped up into a cuddly baby blanket! So consider this a bit of a preview, although all three yarns are in stock now.

Prism
The queen among Indie dyers, Laura Bryant is in a league of her own. Nowhere will you find an independent dyer with the background and experience that Laura brings to the dye pot. After graduating with a degree in fine arts, Laura started Prism Yarns and has been making the yarn world more colorful for over 34 years. Not all “indie” dyers actually dye their yarn themselves, including some of the small companies. Laura personally dyes her stock! So while many think of Prism as a big company, the truth is that she’s as Indie as you can get.

Stuff
Prism’s signature yarn, Layers Stuff is a modernized version featuring a tonal color palette that lets the texture really shine through.

Plume
It is too bad they haven’t invented an actual “touch” screen, because you seriously need to feel this yarn. It is so soft and luxurious! In my perfect world all of my bedding would be knit with Plume, although I might just want to stay there all day.
Prism has some nice patterns featuring Stuff and Plume. psst…the Plume Cowl to the left is a free download!

Merino Mia Gradient Packs

Beautiful EIGHT skein gradients, featuring 2oz skeins of Merino Mia, a superwash fingering weight wool. The packs contain enough yarn to knit nearly any shawl or wrap. Prism has several patterns featuring Merino Mia Gradients, including a two-for-one shawl duo that can be made with just one gradient pack.
Symphony Six Packs

If you’re looking for something a bit larger, these packs contain SIX skeins of a worsted weight, wool/cashmere blend, plus a pattern with two shawl options.

Lang
You can always count on the Europeans for novelty yarns. These trends seem to begin across the pond, and are a good indicator of things to come.

Ario
A light and lofty yarn with little dots of color!

Drago
This one is pretty wild, yet fun!

 

I whipped up a couple of hat designs for both Drago and Ario. I thought Drago would benefit from a pairing with a more laid back friend. Ario isn’t quite as wild, but I thought it would really pop against a coordinating color backdrop. Plus it makes a fantastic pompom!

Today I am sharing my Brimmed Hat pattern with you, and will be giving away yarn to knit both of these hats! One lucky reader will win the yarn for the Ario Hat, and another for the Drago hat.
Simply state which hat you’d like to make (just pick one), and the color of Ario or Drago you’d like to win. You can see the colors for Ario here, and Drago there. We’ll pair them up with a coordinating shade of Wool Addicts Fire for you. You have until midnight tonight! Sorry, drawing is over!