Premier Needle Arts Acquires Berroco

Premier Needle Arts, parent company of Knit Picks, We Crochet and Connecting Threads, among others, has announced the acquisition of yarn company Berroco.

The company will remain a separate entity with existing management, locations and sales channels, according to a news release.

“Berroco is known for providing support and innovation for its customers in local yarn stores,” Premier Needle Arts CEO Mark Hyland said. “Local experience and support are critically important to makers for inspiration and education. Berroco will remain committed to these values as it continues to operate independently and serve local yarn shops with its present sales team, full product line and customer support.”

Berroco CEO Warren Wheelock noted that the companies share core values, a family focus and similar business philosophies.

“We are pleased that our current customers and the next generation of Berroco customers will be served as part of the PNA family, which understands the crafting space and embraces customers’ needs, especially those of the local yarn shops,” he said in the release. We are confident that PNA will help the Berroco brand drive a path for the future by continuing to provide ‘Yarn for All Makers™.’”

It doesn’t sound like much will change for yarn crafters or employees, so that’s good news. I look forward to seeing how this acquisition changes the yarn landscape.

Next Pattern:

Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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