the bobble knit with MODE at Rowan | ad

A wee while ago I headed off on a very short and sweet trip to Cologne, where I didn’t see much of the city but did see lots of knitwear. I tagged along with the Rowan Yarns folks to the showcase of the new MODE at Rowan collection at HH Cologne, which you can check out on my story highlights and the MODE story highlights if you so wish. 

The Rowan brand certainly isn’t new to this blog – been using their yarns and patterns for years, and more recently modelled for one of their books too – so it was great to check out the new range first hand before it launches and spend a weekend squishing yarn, chatting, and taking photos.

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Send me to any event involving knits and of course I’m going to try them all on – it would be rude not to, don’t you think?  I’m a big fan of many of the items with their simple, classic shapes, but one particular garment was a clear favourite from the beginning.  Part of the launch day included a blogger event, and I wasn’t alone in choosing this bobble sleeved lovely as fave either.  The pink sample version was on and off the coat hanger all day.  Choosing which garment to knit for myself wasn’t exactly difficult!  And here we are with a finished version in the Linen shade, very happy with my choice.

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In comparison to the fiddly little knits I’ve been working on recently, switching over to Big Wool and 8mm needles felt like knitting with lampposts and rope, if rope was soft and made of merino. Rowan’s Big Wool was the yarn I used for my first ever garment (check out my 10 year old self’s fashion blogger poses if you fancy a giggle), so it’s nice to come full circle back to the simple chunky knits.  11 years later and I’m a little speedier with the needles, so this one took a grand total of 8 days from start to finish.  One week of knitting, and one afternoon sewing mattress stitch (note to self: don’t use a darning needle whilst sitting on grass unless you want to try finding a needle in a haystack yourself). Not bad going, if I do say so myself!  It’s certainly convincing me to veer towards the super chunky side more often, anyway.   For a knitter often tempted to add extra shaping and details that slow the process down, it was a welcome change to crack on with a cardigan that seemed to fly off the needles.  Super chunky wool might not seem like the obvious choice heading into summer, but in an oversized shape that tends to slip off the shoulder oh-so-nicely, I think it makes the perfect throw on item for a chilly summer eve.  That sounds like the most cliché blogger sentence there ever was, but the evenings really do get chilly here and I think my beige bobbles shall come in handy in both SS and AW.

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As if on cue the sunny weather reappeared, and I wanted to make the most of the evening light to shoot this one in golden hour. My mum and I have used this little spot under St Anne’s pier for photos several times, and I think it couldn’t have been more fitting for this sandy coloured cardigan.  So often the weather and light isn’t on side, but this occasion just worked out nicely so excuse the photo heavy post and please appreciate the bobbles.

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Mode at Rowan hasn’t officially launched yet so I can’t point you in the direction of patterns or yarns, but if soft palettes, classic garments and squishable textures are your kinda thing, head over to the MODE Instagram account and keep your eyes peeled.  I’ve also recently started an Insta page for all my crafty bits and bobs, so @lilykatemakes is where all the work in progress shots, yarn details and all that good stuff is these days too.  Come say hi!

Lily Kate x

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This post is in paid partnership with Rowan Yarns