Blog

Forward, together.  Our American identity is embedded deeply in the fabric of H+W (“Fine American Yarns” is not our tagline by accident!), and we often reflect on what that means (beyond our domestic sourcing and production commitments). To us, that means both celebrating the best of American manufacturing and domestic wool production, and helping push conversations and causes forward that help bring the best...

Away we go! We're kicking off our knit-along for our All Hands Beanie series today, and Meghan's on deck to walk you or the new knitter in your life through this adorable, classic hat, from cast on to finishing. We've also got the full schedule of tutorials, which is as follows: Today, June 19th: Long-Tail Cast On + quick tip: measuring for your long-tail CO Monday,...

Forge + Cables = Love Way back when our worsted-weight Forge was a twinkle in our eyes, its mandate in life was clear: we love hats, we love scarves, we love accessories of all stripes, but first and foremost, we're sweater knitters, and we wanted a yarn that would make the cabled sweaters of our dreams as eye-catching and wearable as our, well....dreams. Our early swatching...

Well, it's June, and we're...mostly still at home. But, we have something new headed your way to brighten your quarantine project bag: the All Hands Beanie, our first-ever kit, and an accompanying set of tutorials for new knitters. All Hands is a simple, straightforward 2x2 beanie in our worsted-weight Forge. You can wear it with the brim folded like a watch cap or unfolded...

Meghan's The Throwover WIP Guys, it's been a week and it's only Wednesday. I've been working steadily along on projects seen and unseen, and some are giving me a harder time than others. As a distraction from those fiber projects, I decided to take a stab at my old adversary: baking bread.  Yes, I'm one of those people growing a sourdough starter on my kitchen counter....

Soquel by co-founder Meghan Babin We've been taking a closer look at some of our Spring 2020 designs lately, including Cheryl Toy's wonderful Glenwood pullover, and my Felton cardigan. This week, I got a chance to interview Meghan about her wonderful menswear pullover, Soquel, which had been in the works since our very early days. Tell us a little about yourself, Meghan! How’s quarantine...

Just after Chart B... After doing zero selfish knitting for...years, I seem to have caught the bug! I started my Kuffel while I was blocking the body of my Cozy Classic Raglan a few weeks ago, and I'm now finished with the second colorwork section and cruising through the final sets of short rows and increases. I'll own a little bit of "widest point of...

Glenwood by Cheryl Toy Over the last month since our Spring 2020 collection premiered we've been getting questions about Glenwood, the popular pullover designed by Cheryl Toy. This garment features unusual construction with a lot of wearability. We thought we’d take your questions as a great excuse to ask Cheryl a bit about herself, the design, and the historic city of New Orleans where...

Y'all, I made a fuzzy pink all-stockinette sweater...and I love it. My stay-at-home knitting hasn't exactly been going at breakneck speed, but my first Social Distancing Sweater is finally an FO: I finished my Cozy Classic Raglan this week! It's also the first thing I've made for myself that hasn't been a design sample since I test-knit the Divide hat for Emily in <checks watch> November...

Friends, First of all: we hope you and your families are well and staying safe during this difficult, confusing time. Whether your state is increasing restrictions or starting to tentatively "open up," we hope you're finding things in your days that fill your buckets, and we hope that knitting is a source of comfort in an uncertain moment. We've gotten some questions from some...

We're taking a closer look at all of our Spring 2020 designs over the next few weeks, starting with Sloane's Felton cardigan. Got a specific question about your favorite Spring 2020 design? Shoot us an email and let us know. Hi Sloane! Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you quarantining? Who are you quarantining with? How has life changed for you as...

Cabrillo by Mary Anne Benedetto Just a month (or eternity) ago we were hiking through the Redwoods and overlooking the Pacific bluffs to capture our Spring 2020 collection. Together with our dear friends from Harper Point Photography, we were lucky to enjoy those few precious days together doing something we love — creating a beautiful collection of knits to share with you.  Sunset Slouch by Meghan Babin We had...

Guys, I might have too much time to knit. Is that possible?  The Throwover by Andrea Mowry 1/2 done! Early last week, I placed an order with one of our new stockists, Tolt Yarn and Wool, for Spincycle Dream State in Mississippi Marsala and Salty Dog, and it showed up on my doorstep just as I was blocking my freshly finished Kuffel.  Several skeins of...

Meghan's FO: Kuffel by Alexis Winslow Wow. It's been a crazy few weeks, right? Life has changed for all of us dramatically, but, at least for myself, I'm settling into this new normal, which includes A LOT more knitting time. That being said, I finished my Kuffel in record time!  (Fini!! In case anyone is wondering: H+M Airy Shirt Dress, H+M High Waist Jeggings, Buffalo Wool Co. Outback,...

Hi, everyone!  Sloane and I are hosting a virtual knit night via Zoom tonight (4/2) at 7:00 EDT/4:00 PDT.  If you don't already have Zoom, you can download it for free here. It's available for nearly every technological interface, including mobile for Apple iOS and Android.  After downloading, your Zoom window (on a desktop/laptop) will look like this:  I've already signed in using my...

H+W Weld + La Bien Aimée Silk Mohair = ❤️ I am, uh, not as fast a knitter as Meghan is, so while she's already (spoiler alert) DONE with her beautiful Kuffel, I'm still plugging away at my Cozy Classic Raglan. But I'm past what is, for me, the hardest point in any top down sweater—the last few rounds before the sleeve separation point—and cooking...

RED WING by Meghan Babin Hello, everyone! It's been a wild few weeks. It seems impossible that just two weeks ago we were in Northern California shooting our Spring 2020 collection with our friends from Harper Point Photography. Since then, the world as we know it has turned on its head, and we thought that sharing a pattern early from our new collection was just...

Kuffel by Alexis Winslow Turns out I've been preparing for social distancing my entire life. I'm an introvert with extrovert capabilities, but staying home for weeks with my knitting, Netflix, and a list of podcasts hasn't been unmanageable...so far. My new WIP, Kuffel by Alexis Winslow, is growing exponentially after my first week of doing little else but knit. Truth be told, I had an entirely different post...

Hi everyone!  Wow, the last few weeks have been a crazy ride, and it looks like there is no end in sight. We've battened down the hatches at both HQ East and West, as both Sloane and I live in places heavily hit by the virus. Both our families and loved ones are doing well, despite being a bit stir crazy, but we are...

Hello, Designers!  It's that time again! Our Autumn/Winter 2020 collection is inspired by Sloane's colorful and eclectic hometown, San Francisco. For this collection we're seeking city chic knitwear garments and accessories that translate from the workplace to weekend. We're thinking about the modern workplace, which encourages a comfortable, self-expressive, but polished wardrobe. If you're not already signed up for our designer mailing list head...

Well, that escalated quickly. Like many in the Bay Area, my family was already preparing for some form of social distancing a couple of weeks ago, but things have changed dramatically in the last few days: my kids are out of school, probably for the year, and our entire region is under a "shelter in place" order. We feel incredibly fortunate that so far, all...

This is a strange and challenging time for so many reasons, as many of us figure out how to adapt to "social distancing" requirements, school closures, and a climate that seems to change, day to day. At H+W, we're so proud to support our network of flagship stores, local businesses that form the backbones of the communities they serve and the knitting community at...

Kuffel by Alexis Winslow  My knitting needles are empty. Well, sort of. My selfish knitting needles are empty. After binding off my Star Crossed and immediately putting it on I realized that I have our entire Deep Winter 2020 collection to chose from for my next selfish knitting project. Kuffel by Alexis Winslow is my next sweater on deck and I've been thinking...

Meghan's Star Crossed in Forge + Weld  It's been a whirlwind month of knitting, but my Star Crossed by Jacqui Cieslak (@jacquelinecieslak) is finished! Emme's (@rocksteadyemme) gorgeous test knit of Star Crossed in Forge in our fawn colorway and Spincycle Dream State inspired me to immediately cast on a Star Crossed of my own!   Ever since I finished my test knit for Stagleap, I've been itching...

At Hudson + West Co., we strive for modern and approachable knits for our collections, including fresh and fun shawl designs. Craghill by Cheryl Toy, from our Deep Winter 2020 collection, turned out to be the perfect complement to the rest of our colorwork pieces. It's been a fan favorite on the site and at Stitches West this past weekend.  While we love the original color combination, we started dreaming...

Winter is here! This design is for all my GoT-lovin' House Starkers out there who will never be ready to say goodbye GRRM's epic series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The pattern is available for FREE on Knitty.com (Winter, 2019). Woohoo!!! The easy-peasy yarn bundle is available for this project here. Simply click the size you want to make and the yarn totals...

So, confession time: between design samples, yarn development, and teaching, I have not actually knit anything on a purely-for-myself basis since I made my first-ever Rhinebeck sweater in—wait for it—2015! (I suppose I knit each of my kids a sweater that winter, but does that count as selfish knitting?) But, I'm determined to change that this year, and to spend some time knitting things...

It's that time of year when the temperature plummets, the snow storms are piling fresh pile of powder on my doorstep, and all I can think about it knitting by the fire. It's around this time when my selfish knitlist bubbles to the front of my mind, so I thought I'd share with you my top 5 wishlist knits to make in Forge and Weld.  1. The...

The time crunch is real. It's that time of year where the days are literally and figuratively so short that my gift-knitting time seems to evaporate. Nevertheless, I've pulled together my most-coveted quick knits, gift list for the people I love the most. The only problem is I kind of want them for myself, too!  For Mom: Sangaku by Melanie Berg Image by Melanie...

It's that time of year: our needles are busy with gift knits, and we know many of yours are too. Deadlines are always better in a group, so we thought we'd provide a little extra motivation to share those gift-knit projects on Ravelry and Instagram over the next month by having a Giftalong of our own! The rules are really simple (we like it...

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year: Ravelry’s Indie Designer Giftalong! Every year, a sizable chunk of the independent designer community comes together to run a massive knit-along (and crochet-along) to make holiday gifts with some of the amazing patterns coming out of the indie design world. At H+W, we love independent designers (and, hey, we’ve both been independent designers), who...

Now that we've had a minute to breathe post-launch, we wanted to take a closer look at the patterns from our Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, and let you hear a little more from the designers behind them about their inspiration, key techniques, and some color ideas (since we love our naturals, but, there's a whole dyed range out there, too!). For our first go, I...

Both Forge and Weld are spun at Battenkill Valley Fibers in Greenwich, New York, by Mary Jeanne Packer and her team. MJ is an industry veteran who has spun many of our favorite small-batch yarns, so she was an obvious choice to partner with when we were looking for a mill (and we admit it: we’re also pretty into the fact that she’s a...

As knitters and designers, we understand that how our yarns behave in your hand and in your finished garments is their most important characteristic. Lots of tiny choices along the way go into producing that particular hand feel and that particular kind of finished garment, however, and we want you to be able to understand both how our yarns are made and why they...