Project of the Month: Wenlock in Leizu DK
Going along with the theme of new yarn in the store, we have recently picked up a selection of Julie Asselin’s Leizu DK. We loved this yarn in the fingering weight version, and as we needed to beef up our mid-weight yarns at the moment we chose to bring the DK version for slightly quicker finished objects. With a combination of 90% merino and 10% silk, this is a luxurious blend from a very talented Canadian dyer.
Our Store Manager, Sarah knit up this stunning masterpiece in a combination of the Leizu DK (in the beige Birch colourway) and a purple Leizu Fingering minis set held double. Holding yarn double may sound daunting, but with a bit of practice, and trial and error cause all yarns/knitting styles may behave differently, it opens up your yarn choice world! Experimenting is encouraged!
Leizu (Chinese: 嫘祖; pinyin: Léi Zǔ) was a legendary Chinese empress and wife of the Yellow Emperor. According to tradition, she discovered silk, sericulture, and invented the silk loom, in the 27th century BC. Leizu discovered silkworms while having a midday tea, and a cocoon fell in her tea.
According to one account, the silkworm fell into her tea, and the heat unwrapped the silk until it stretched across her entire garden. When the silk ran out, she saw a small cocoon and realized that this cocoon was the source of the silk. Another version says that she found silkworms eating the mulberry leaves and spinning cocoons. She collected some cocoons, then sat down to have some tea. While she was sipping a cup, she dropped a cocoon into the steaming water. A fine thread started to separate itself from the silkworm cocoon. Leizu found that she could unwind this soft and lovely thread around her finger.
5.0 to 6.0 sts/1 inch on a recommended US 4 – 6 or 3.5 – 4mm