A Couple of Cool Fiber Projects to Fund

I don’t keep up with all the Kickstarter and similar campaigns that have to do with knitting or yarn, but a couple of interesting ones got on my radar this week, so I thought I’d share.

First, have you used Wooly? It’s an iPhone app that allows you to access some of the features of Ravelry, which does not have its own app. I downloaded it when it first came out, but at that point it mostly just let you view your project and stash lists without being able to interact with them all that much.

The app has grown up with time, making it possible to edit and add photos to existing projects or stash, share on Facebook and more. Now the makers are envisioning a redesigned and way more functional app that will work on all i devices (their stretch goal if they raise more money is an Android app as well), which will include pattern browse (!), the ability to add things to your queue, start new projects, access your entire notebook offline (!!), see your Ravelry messages and, the thing I was dreaming of all this time, the ability to add new stash!

This sounds super-cool to me and if it does to you, too, you can help fund their Kickstarter, which is open through Aug. 7 and as of this writing had raised a little more than half of its goal.

Second, the Buffalo Wool Company is a company based in Texas that makes bison and bison-blend yarns as well as selling knitting patterns and bison accessories. They travel a lot to shows (I saw them last year at the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza) and are looking for funding to revamp a truck into a mobile yarn store/dye house.

This would be the second-ever yarn store on wheels in the United States and the first (that we know of) mobile dye house, which would allow them to create custom colors on site instead of having to wait for a special order to be made after the show. If I can do math this one ends Aug. 15, and when last I looked they’d raised almost $5,000.

I love that crowd-funding makes it possible for great little projects like this to get off the ground!

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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