A Love Story

It would take more than one or even two blog posts to accurately describe my love for Briggs & Little, but I might as well start trying.

Tourbillon, a free pattern from Knitty.com, knit in B&L "Sport"

It comes in every weight, more colours than you can shake a stitck at, and has incredible stitch definition.

B&L's wollen-spun worsted weight, "Regal."

A design for myself. Maybe someday I will revisit this, and make a pattern.

Their yarns are wollen-spun, which translates into light-weight, squishy garments, and fantastic yardage/skein. 272 yards of worsted weight yarn/100grams. 

I like to design in B&L as well. This is my Arctic Leaf Hat. Published 2015, and available for sale on Ravelry.

The aspect of B&L yarn that I would like to focus on today is that of ethics. B&L makes being ethical in purchasing materials for making really easy. Maybe you have read Felicia Semple's post about Slow Fashion and Poverty/Priveldge (if not, it's good!). Making "ethical" purchases is difficult, when a lot of well-sourced, and origin specific materials are $$$. I love the Quince & Co yarn that I recently bought for a sock design, but make no mistake: I am not in a point in my life where I can afford to buy it all the time. I'm learning to budget crafting so that I can purchase good materials, but it's not always easy. Felicia emphasizes that the standard definition of "ethical purchasing" is too narrow, not allowing for the difficulties of lower income crafters (not to mention the exclusivity fashion to rich, white females. We need inclusivity in crafting!). 

B&L, "Sport" and "Durasport" (with Nylon for socks!), in various colours. 

Slow fashion needs two simultaneous changes: a re-defining of slow fashion to outline what is ethical when sourcing materials, as well as a proliferation of single-source materials so that they are widely available, and not just attainable for the few. 

That's the beauty of B&L for me. It's 100% Canadian wool (brownie points for local/regional wool!). It is spun and dyed in Canada, by a mill which seeks to conserve water and minimize the use of harsh chemicals which might damage water sheds and other renewable resources. And to boot, it's not superwash or merino (for lordy's sake, let's move to other breeds, already!). It's not a specific breed, but it's local and minimially processed. By working with a wool dealer, mills like B&L can support the continued production of fleece, so that farmers have incentive to raise fleece animals in the first place. 

B&L is an ethical choice for me, but it's also cheap. Like, $5-7 Canadian at normal price, less if you can find sales or single skeins. But CHEAP doesn't mean BAD. Like many minimally processed yarns, the garment will get softer and better the more you wear or wash it. The yarn you knit with is the scratchiest it will ever be. Garments knit from their yarn have longevity too. If I want to make an aran sweater my great-granddaughter could wear, I'd knit it from B&L. 

One of my most recent B&L finishes. Pattern is "Nehalem" by Jared Flood.