The Fibre Company has paired up with several designers this spring for an exhibition of sock-spiration with their new (ish) sock yarn, Amble. All the Amble deets are at the bottom, below the gorgeous sockies, but to sum it up its a super soft and yummy yarn that was designed with as small an environmental footprint possible.

The Fibre Company’s yarns always come with happy energy, when I open a shipment from them it’s like meeting someone new who you know will become a good, lifelong friend. Their corporate tag-line is “Yarn for projects you’re proud of”, but their behind the scenes mantra, what really motivates them, is Sustainability (which is something that I think also takes a lot of integrity).

Anyway, ideals aside, if you want to work with a yarn that’s HAPPY, give Fibre Company Amble a whirl. The patterns below have all been knitted with Amble, and if you bought a copy of 52 Weeks of Socks you’ll definitely want to check in out, it’s ideal for textures, single coloured sock patterns. To help get this awesome yarn into your hands, Fibre Company Amble will be 10% Off from now until the end of the month (the discount will automatically be added in your chart at check-out, so you don’t need to jump through any hoops). Just promise me one thing – don’t delay this particular gratification. Don’t stash it this yarn, get it on your needles and use it NOW! Everyone needs a little boost, and everyone deserves happiness.

Hedera

Hedera by Coraline Kerisit features a delicate lace pattern reminiscent of the shape of leaves. Sample shown in Amble, shade Isel.

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Mind Garden

Mind Garden by Yucca has the option for two beautiful patterns on the leg. Samples shown in Amble, shades Buttermere and Scafell Pike.

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Wollaton Socks

Wollaton Socks by Emily Joy Rickard features interlinked cables moving into a rib texture across the foot. Sample shown in Amble, shade Windermere.

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Mara Socks

Mara Socks by Zsuzsanna Orthodoxou features a lattice stitch and reinforced heel. Sample shown in Amble, shade Buttermere.

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Fibre Company Amble

The Fibre Company Amble is a soft, beautiful, and eco-friendly sock yarn! It’s super soft, squishy, and gorgeous to work with and wear. The composition is a springy 2ply fingering weight full of body. While it’s perfect for socks, it also makes great hats, mitts, shawls & wraps, sweaters – anything you want to wear against your skin. Plus, what really made me extra happy is that it’s made with environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and uses recycled nylon to further reduce its environmental footprint (read more below). 

• 70% Easy-wash Merino wool, 20% Easy-wash alpaca, 10% recycled nylon (see below for details)
• 100g/325m (355 yds)
• Fingering Weight
• 32 sts per 10 cm / 4 in
• 2.5 mm/1.5 US needles
• Machine wash on wool cycle or hand wash at 30C / 86F. Dry flat.
• Made in Peru

All about the Yarn

When The Fibre Co. set out to design a sock yarn, they stayed true to their guiding principle of harnessing the beauty that nature provides in a way that is gentle on our planet. They waited until a recycled nylon and an alternative to the standard chlorine processed washable wools became available. The end result is a soft yet durable yarn from Merino wool and alpaca fibres processed with an eco-friendly, anti-shrinkage Easy-wash treatment. The recycled nylon adds strength and durability. The shades are borrowed from the successful palette in their Cumbria yarn with the cream and all heathers using a natural ecru Suri alpaca whilst the others use a natural brown Suri alpaca.

What does ‘Easy-wash’ mean and why do they use it?
‘Easy-wash’ is a trademarked name that refers to a process used to make the wool and alpaca fibres in Amble machine washable without shrinking. The Easy-wash method is chlorine-free and AOX-free, making it the best environmental choice for producing machine-washable wool. The wool and alpaca fibres are treated with eco-friendly oxidants to remove the scales that ordinarily cause wool and alpaca to shrink when washed by machine. The oxidants used are sourced in Germany and are certified under the REACH, Oeko-tex and ZDCH (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical) standards. This means that the Easy-wash treatment does not create hazardous chemicals, which is not the case with most machine washable wools in today’s market.

Much of the available machine washable wool yarn is made with a chlorine treatment process that produces high levels of toxic Adsorbable Organohalogens, known as AOX. While yarns produced in this manner are not known to be toxic to the user, AOX used in the treatment end up in wastewater and have a detrimental impact on tributaries, wildlife, and fauna.

What is recycled nylon and why do they use it?
Nylon fibre is not easily biodegradable. However, it has strength qualities that give yarns and the socks made there from more durability. The recycled nylon used in Amble comes from leftover industrial waste of processing nylon, thereby diverting waste from landfills, and using fewer production resources like water and fossil fuels than virgin nylon.

One Sock Pattern

To go along with Amble, The Fibre Company has also come out with a universally sized pattern called One Sock, a classic top-down sock pattern to fit all feet. With lots of opportunities to customise the fit and design, this pattern comes with the ‘One Sock Guidebook’, a resource that walks makers through the process of knitting beautiful socks that fit. You can find the pattern HERE.

The pattern is written by Kate Atherly, one of the best knitting teachers I’ve ever come across. In my opinion, this pattern is a great deal for someone who is new to sock knitting. I know the pattern is supposed to be the main attraction, but I think the guidebook alone is well worth the cost of admission!

Size

• Finished Foot Circumference: 12.5 (14: 15: 16.5: 18: 19: 20.5: 21.5: 23: 24: 25.5) cm (5 (5.5: 6: 6.5: 7: 7.5: 8: 8.5: 9: 9.5: 10) in)
• Leg Length: 12.5 (14: 15: 15: 16.5: 16.5: 16.5: 17: 18: 18: 18.5) cm (5 (5.5: 6: 6: 6.5: 6.5: 6.5: 6.75: 7: 7: 7.25) in) Adjustable to preference
• Foot Length: Adjustable to fit.

Materials

• The Fibre Company Amble: 1 skein
• 2.25mm/US1 double pointed needles (or 9″/10″ circular needles)
• 2.5mm/US1.5 double pointed (or 9″/10″ circular needles)

Rye Light (freebie)

Rye Light is a great pattern that leverages a simple texture to make the most of a solid or semi-solid coloured yarn like Amble. It’s a great pattern for beginners, and it comes with it’s own instruction built into the pattern (the designers even wrote a How to Knit Socks Tutorial). It ranges from size Baby up to Adult Large, and best of all, it’s a free pattern.

Size

Baby (Toddler, Child, Adult S, M, L)

Finished measurements (unstretched):

• Cuff: 5 (5.75, 6.5, 7.5, 8, 9)” around
• Leg (adjustable): 2.5 (4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8)”
• Foot (adjustable): 4 (6, 7.5, 9, 10, 11.25)”

Materials

• The Fibre Company Amble: 1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2) skeins
• 2.25mm/US1 double pointed needles (or 9″/10″ circular needles)
• 2.75mm/US2 double pointed (or 9″/10″ circular needles)

Solvi

Amble also makes a great sweater yarn, especially for fair isle. The yarn has a lovely depth of colour, a heathered look which actually comes from the naturals colours of wool and alpaca blended together. It’s a springy two-ply yarn that soft to the touch (no itchies) and a pleasure to work with. I especially like the fair isle sweaters designed by Jennifer Steinglass, but it’ll be gorgeous in any suitable pattern, for adults and children alike.

Solvi starts at the neckline and is worked seamlessly from the top down, and in the round. Short rows shape the back and neckline of this sweater. The colourwork yoke is knit, then the body and sleeves are then separated- stitches for the sleeves are transferred to spare needles or waste yarn and underarm stitches are cast on. The body is worked on one circular needle and finished with a ribbed hem. Sleeve stitches are then transferred to knitting needles, the underarm stitches are picked up, and the sleeve is knit top to bottom, finishing with a long ribbed cuff.

Size

• Finished bust: 36.25 (38.25, 40.75, 43.25, 45.5, 49.5, 52.25)(55, 57, 59, 61.5, 64.25, 67)” OR 91 (95.5, 102, 108, 113.5, 123.5, 131)(137.5, 142.5, 147.5, 153.5, 161, 167.5) cm.
• Sizes listed are finished sweater measurements.
• Choose the sweater size that is 4-6” / 10-15 cm larger than your actual bust circumference.
• Shown with 6” / 15 cm ease.

Materials

• Main Colour: Fibre Company Amble, 3 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5)(5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7) skeins
• Contrast Colour: Fibre Company Amble, 1 skein
• Needle A: US 4 / 3.5 mm DPNs (if desired) or 32” (80 cm) or longer circular needles for magic looping cuff, 16” (40 cm) or 32” (80 cm) or longer circular needles for magic looping (neckline), and 24” (60 cm) or longer circular for hem ribbing.
• Needle B: US 5 / 3.75 mm DPNs (if desired) and 32” (80 cm) or longer circular needle for body and magic looping sleeves.
• Pattern