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Classic Elite Yarns Closing its Doors

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classic elite yarns closingWe hear a lot these days about local yarn shops closing their doors, but less often do big players — or what we think of as big players, anyway — in the yarn industry shut down.

But that’s what’s happening soon with Classic Elite Yarns, which announced on its blog that it will be “closing its doors in the very near future.”

Their post doesn’t provide a lot of detail on the why, but one of the company’s first creative directors, Kristin Nicholas, explained on her blog that the yarn industry is a tough business to be in and no one really knows what is going on behind the scenes (which she learned when she saw what was behind all those glossy back-cover ads on the major knitting magazines).

I agree with her about many of the factors that make things hard for yarn companies these days, from the aforementioned closure of local yarn shops to the proliferation of small-scale yarn producers able to reach customers online and at shows. And there will always be people who only buy the bargain yarns from the big-box stores. And running a company with employees, production and distribution will always be hard and expensive.

I’m sad to see Classic Elite go. They have made some great yarns through the years. I’m actually working on a project with one of their yarns now. I love the sentiment from company president Betsy Perry, who said:

I am proud of what we did for all these years. Classic Elite Yarns will live on – on your needles or in your stash, as finished pieces, on Ravelry, and yes, for a while anyway, in shops. But as it fades away, be sure you do your best to enjoy the craft and do your best to support those who bring you the fibers and designs we all love.

Did you use Classic Elite Yarns? I’d love to know about your favorites.

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Comments

  1. I have to admit, this is the first I’d heard that CEY was closing. That’s actually really sad! But, they’ll live on in my stash for a while yet! I’ve loved their yarn and stashed quite a bit of it. 🙂

Have you read?

Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

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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