Retrosaria Beiroa - Authentic Charm
This week saw the arrival of Beiroa from Retrosaria. I’m very excited about this yarn as I love breed-specific yarns. Beiroa is wonderfully rustic spun from the fleece of Bordaleira sheep who live on the slopes of the Serra da Estrela, Portugal.
There's something very authentic about this yarn; it feels like it's telling a tale of its journey from the flocks that roamed the hillside to the mill where it was spun. There are swathes of natural brown fleece that appear intermittently throughout the yarn that when knitted up creates beautiful contrasting stripes. It's neither soft nor itchy, and as a single-ply, it is both thick and thin in appearance with tiny pieces of leftover plant matter to add to its story.
Beiroa is a worsted weight but can be knitted on smaller needles for a DK gauge. The recommended gauge is 18-20 stitches over 28-30 rows on a 4-5mm needle. I knit a quick swatch on 4.5mm needles my gauge was 20 stitches and 29 rows after I'd soaked it in Soakwash and left it to dry. The yarn felt much softer after blocking, the stitches plumper with the overall fabric being lightweight. Beiroa is the ideal chose for sweaters for keeping warm on colder days.
I love everything about this yarn and can't wait to cast on my next project! If you fancy giving it a try here are just a few ideas for patterns you might want to consider...
Ostra Cardigan by Amy Christoffer
I have earmarked Amy Christoffers' Ostra Cardigan for my next project, the hard part is deciding which colour to use, we have 15 colours in stock to choose from.
Please note our pattern suggestions will take you to Ravelry. Recently they have made changes to their website that might affect how you are able to view, those with visual problems please be aware of this.