Rowan Autumn/Winter 2019 Launches: Part 2 Yarn

In Part 1of this post we reviewed British Made, Rowan's new pattern book using its British yarns. Now it's the turn of its latest British yarn Island Blend.

Island Blend image courtesy of Rowan

Apart from its long-missed British Sheep Breeds range, Yorkshire mega yarn brand Rowan has been pretty poor in recent years when it comes to offering wool from its own country. That changed in January when the company launched a British wool and alpaca blend called Moordale. Now, as part of Rowan's extensive yarn and pattern launch for the Autumn/Winter 2019 season, fans of British wool have even more to be happy about.

A Woolly Yarn received a review skein of their latest product Island Blend, a yarn made from British-governed Falkland Island wool, baby alpaca and silk. All opinions are our own.

Rowan says Island Blend "will create insulating and cosy knits with a subtle sheen". There are ten shades in the range and each 50g skein is approximately 125 metres long.  I couldn't find the name of the shade on the label but, researching online, I think this chocolate-brown hue is 'leather'. It certainly passes the squish test, being soft and springy. It's strong too and Rowan is right about the soft sheen.

This is not a budget yarn, with stores selling each skein around the £14.95 mark, making it a more luxury purchase. I'm looking forward to knitting it up. As yet I can only find one supporting pattern book: Rowan Focus - Natural Fibres.

Rowan Focus- Natural Fibres image courtesy of Rowan

There are three patterns in the book using Island Blend. However the yarn is DK weight and should substitute well with other patterns. Watch this space to discover what I knit with it!

To see all of Rowan's new season launches, including new patterns from Kaffe Fassett, go to Knitrowan.