Askham Lace + Eldwick Lace yarn and colour inspiration

Having recently reintroduced Askham Lace (baby alpaca/silk) I made a swatch using it held double with Eldwick Lace (kid mohair/silk) as I thought it'd make a really nice fabric.

It did! See below..

The colours here are Askham Lace in Silver Birch and Eldwick Lace in Hyssop..

I used 3.5mm needles and got 19sts x 30 rows in 10cm square (what this tells us is that it opened up a lot more widthways than lengthways - I would normally get that sort of stitch gauge on 4.5-5mm needles but not so much the row gauge! It might just be the way I blocked it).

The fabric is lightweight and breathable but has a wonderful gentle warmth and cosiness. It's ideal for layering, and for spring and autumn when you need something on but don't want to feel bundled up (or is that just me?!).

To find suitable patterns I would suggest looking for things made either on 3-4mm needles/hook or a gauge of roughly 18-24sts per 10cm in stocking stitch. I once made a cardigan that called for sport weight yarn and a gauge of 22sts but used a smooth laceweight plus Eldwick Lace held double on 3.5mm needles and that worked out really well; the fabric it created is absolutely beautiful. (The pattern was Grayson by Laura Aylor.)