Road to China Light is inspired by the luxury textiles that were traded along the ancient Silk Road. This sport-weight yarn blends natural fawn baby alpaca, camel hair, cashmere, and silk to create a fabric with a soft halo and enough definition to explore subtle textures.
With a colour palette inspired by polished precious stones, Road to China Light is a yarn for creating something truly special.
The Beginning of Road To China Light
The Road to China blend was born from our days of owning a micro mill back in Maine in the early days of The Fibre Co.
The inefficient set up of the mill was actually an advantage and created a situation in which our founder Daphne was able to experiment with different combinations of fibre in a way larger commercial mills simply could not do.
The first version of Road to China was a worsted-weight blend that included special fibres such as camel, yak, soy fibre, cashmere and baby alpaca. Once we began working with partner mills, however, it was necessary to find fibres to create similar results that could be sourced regularly. Mulberry silk was substituted for the soy fibre, for example, and because yak fibre was only available in tiny quantities, it was also replaced with extra cashmere. The resulting Road to China blend creates a knit fabric with a soft halo, but enough definition to explore subtle textures and shifting patterns.
The Road to China Light Palette
In keeping with the gentle decadence that Road to China evokes, we developed a colour palette that is inspired by nature’s jewels. We use two natural base yarn shades: a natural light creamy fawn shade and a darker camel colour. The incredible palette of Road to China is created using both industrial dyeing techniques for rich solid shades and hand-dyeing techniques to create stunning duotones and subtly shifting saturated shades.
We also have three stunning new shades for this season: Blue Spinal, a magic silvery blue; Sodalite, a luminous grey; and Onyx, a true black.
Knitting with Road to China Light
Road to China Light is the hank we reach for when we want to create something truly special. As a sport-weight yarn, it is remarkably versatile for knitting both garments and accessories with incredible softness and drape and it is a real pleasure to wear next to your skin.
The Almanac Series II
Starting off The Almanac Series II, we have not one but two stunning new patterns for Road to China Light.
For this Series, we looked to the heavens for inspiration. The beauty and grandeur of the night sky and awe-inspiring astronomical phenomena guided our creativity.
Zodiac Sweater
Our first pattern is from renowned knitwear designer Erika Knight. We are very proud of the fact that Erika has described Road to China Light as her favourite yarn and we are thrilled to have her contribution to the Almanac Series II.
Erika Knight joined us in our webinar earlier in August for The Almanac Series II public launch and to take a look at her stunning new design, the Zodiac Sweater.
The Zodiac Sweater is a pullover full of interest and elegance. Knit in luxurious Road to China Light, the Zodiac Sweater is a glamourous addition to an evening outfit, or a luxurious treat to wear for yourself at home. The sweater features a cable that begins at a split hem and traverses the sweater to the neck, dividing the sweater between a wide rib and textured rib pattern.
During the session, we also provided a first look at our BRAND-NEW YARN RANGE that will be launching this September!
Watch the video below and discover the Almanac series II collection!
Milky Way Cowl
The Milky Way Cowl by Bea Naretto is a deep cone-shaped cowl with I-cord trim and a gradient of rich, jewel tones behind the bright points of the light main colour, created with stranded colour work.
The sumptuous fibres in Road to China Light make this the softest yarn to wear against delicate neck skin, and the depth of the cowl allows you to really nestle into and feel surrounded by the luxurious softness.
Road to China Light Kits
Loyal
Versatility is the cornerstone of this design by KC Knitting Co. A ruana is a one-piece garment/accessory that can be worn many ways, and with several finishing options including buttons and seaming, you can customize Loyal to fit your desired silhouette, aesthetic, and occasion.
Coppice
Coppice is an intricately cabled, long-sleeve sweater knitted in the round to create a seamless finish. The body and sleeves are joined at the armhole and continued with raglan shaping. The front neck is worked with short-row shaping and the foldover collar is worked in K1, P1 rib.
Budding Brioche
Budding Brioche is a wonderful top down triangular shaped shawl with lots of squishy garter interspersed with strips of one colour brioche panels and ending with a flowery budding brioche scalloped edge. This pattern makes a great beginners brioche project and designer Jennifer Shiels Toland of JST Knitwear Designs has published several videos to help you get started including a tutorial covering One Colour Brioche in-the-flat.
Newlands
Designed by Megan Nodecker, Newlands is a cropped t-shirt with a pretty band of lace across the neck and shoulders. It is knitted seamlessly from the bottom-up with neat i-cord edgings at the hem, sleeves and neck. The pattern uses luxurious Road to China Light for drape and softness that feels light as a feather.
Cable Wristwarmers
There is a certain pleasure in a simple cable repeat and the Cable Wristwarmers are all the soothing comfort that you might need to slip your hands into on cold mornings. Choose between a longer length or keep things snug and short by your wrists. The mitts are knit in the round and instructions for the cables are charted as well as fully written out.
Share your Road to China Light projects!
If you have enjoyed knitting with Road to China Light, please don’t forget to share it with us! Please use the #TheFibreCoRoadtoChinaLight when you post about it on social media and tag us with @thefibrecompany on Instagram and @TheFibreCo on Facebook when you post so we can admire and reshare your beautiful projects!