Habu Textiles

Over the last few months I have become more and more aware of Habu Textiles yarns. I will be honest and say that it is likely because of their gorgeous earthy/minimalist aesthetic! They really stand out from the crowd in a discipline that unfortunately can be over-run by nauseating, embarrassment inducing, ‘cutesie-ness’!

Their yarns are packaged slightly retro – either on classy cardboard cones or in little folded bundles, neatly secured with a band of kraft paper that looks slightly like old-school butcher tape.

As you recall from my excited horde image, I purchased several balls of Habu N-80 at the Knitting and Stitching Show a few weeks ago:

Two are to supplement the 4 a dear friend brought me from Vancouver.

Based in New York, they have come up with some really unique yarns – yarns spun with stainless steel or copper cores, others in paper or even a thin strand of merino wrapped with thinner silk thread that pools in interesting ways and adds a lovely stiff drape to the fabric.

I love the variety and ingenuity and the colours are muted and classy…not a single clownish hue in the lot!

Having sung their praises, there is something about their presence that kind of irks me, though – it is nearly impossible to find detailed shots of finished products made with their yarns.

Do yarn companies not understand that customers need to see how their product knits up? How it drapes, its stitch definition, or how holds its shape in different patterns and items? This is even more important as more and more people shop online and are unable to feel the yarns before they buy them. (Habu yarns are hard to find in the UK and only a couple of their lines are available here).

This has recently gone up on their site as an example of the N-80:

No close-ups or links to any…and 4 arms…gulp. (‘just because you can…’). Not exactly selling the yarn.

So imagine my excitement at seeing that they would have a booth at the Knitting and Stitching show a couple weeks ago! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some knit samples of their yarns so I could see how they knit up.

Unfortunately, the experience was a bit of a disappointment. You see, most of the samples present were knit in blends of the Habu yarns. So in order to get the same effect you would need to spend a kidney’s worth on the yarn combo’s needed. Also, you couldn’t get a sense of what the individual yarns properties were by itself.

That didn’t stop me from getting slightly sucked in, though, as I couldn’t resist getting 4 more balls of the N-80 in the teal colourway!

Lets hope it doesn’t take me another 6 months to find the right pattern for these babies!

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