Phat Fiber Boxes on Sale This Sunday!

Do you know about Phat Fiber? This is one of the coolest ideas for knitting-related business ever. What it is is a sampler box that includes all sorts of cool yarn, fiber and other yarncraft-related goodies.

You get things like little skeins of yarn, samples of fiber to spin, stitch markers, patterns and all sorts of goodies related to whatever the theme is that month (for July, it’s Seaside Cottage). The idea is that you get to sample all these independently produced yarns and fibers and then you can decide to buy more from those people whose products you really like.

I got the lovely Jenn to send me a sample of the sampler box a few months ago and wrote about it for About. (She was also kind enough to do an interview with me about Phat Fiber.) I’m enchanted by the goodies I got and wish I had time to play with them all. Maybe someday, when my book is at the publisher’s and I can knit for fun again!

Anyway, the boxes go on sale once a month and supplies are very limited, so you really have to be on it if you want to get your mitts on one. This month they’re going on sale on Sunday, July 15, with some available at 11 a.m. and some at 6 p.m. Central US time. Even if you can’t get your hands on a box, check out the videos on the blog (that’s the first link above) to see all the eye candy for yourself.

Have you ever scored a Phat Fiber box? Spill it!

[Photo is a peek at the sample I received. Yum!]

Next Pattern:

Beautiful people and beautiful sweaters combine in Lasse L. Matberg’s Viking Knits. The book includes more than 40 Scandinavian inspired knits for men, women and children featuring textured stitches and colorwork.

Matberg is known as The Viking and has worked as a chef, naval officer, fitness instructor and model, as well as being on a couple of reality TV shows. He comes from a long line of makers and his book was first published in Norwegian in 2021 and has since come out in an English version.

The book is divided into sections including everyday sweaters, knits for the great outdoors, stylish knitwear, Norse sweaters and accessories. Some of the patterns use the same designs in different versions for men, women and children. I counted seven projects rated for beginners, 19 for intermediate knitters and 17 for experienced knitters. The more difficult patterns tend to have allover colorwork or stitch patterning.

The pattern stitches and colorwork are shown in charts, with a little bit of text to tell you how to make the garment. Most of the book is sweaters, but there are also hats (sometimes coordinating with sweaters), scarves and a couple of sitting mats.

You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry. Some of my favorites are the more basic ones, such as the Power Sweater, a close-fitting (sized for men) ribbed sweater; the Heart Sweater, a raglan with allover lice stitch; and the Midsummer Sweater, with textured stripes and a henley neckline. I also like the Breeze designs (there are versions for men, women and children) that have colorwork diamonds on them.

Sizing on the garments varies, but there are six sizes for the men’s patterns (noted as small through XXL and then Lasse sized), six for women (XS to XL) and three for children (age 2-4, 6-8 and 10-12).

The yarns used in the book aren’t available in the United States but you can find suppliers here if you want to use the same yarns. Otherwise the book gives a lot of details about yarn content and gauge so you should be able to find good substitutes wherever you live.

If you have Norwegian or Scandinavian heritage or just like the look of cozy textured or colorful sweaters, this book is a lot of fun, and the eye candy is pretty great, too.

About the book: 192 pages, hardcover, 43 patterns. Published in English in 2023 by Search Press. Suggested retail price $29.95.

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