Blog

You can visit the Wholesale page on this website to open a new account. We will then get back to you confirming your new customer account number and login details for the website.

Alternatively, you can email sales@cygnetyarns.com or telephone 01274 743374. The only information we need from you is your name, trading name, phone number, email, address and delivery information.

We do offer 30 day credit terms, subject to status and references. If you would like to open a credit account, please email sales@cygnetyarns.com or call 01274 743374 and we will forward the relevant form to you.

All of our free patterns are free to use and download, but we do retain copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

We are happy for you to manufacture products on a commercial basis and to share them on your website, provided the Cygnet branding is not removed and we are acknowledged in all uses of the pattern.

We kindly request that our free patterns are not for re-sale. If you wish to print off and sell along with the yarn as a package that is ok with us.

Let's Talk About Knots!

Knot! The word, when it comes to knitting, is akin to a swear word. Some people don't mind coming across a knot or two in their yarn, while others classify it as a disaster. It's a bit of a touchy subject, but we thought it was an important issue to address. So here we go.

Knots are unavoidable.

Yarn is essentially a piece of string that, during the milling process, sometimes breaks. The mill isn't going to throw away good yarn because of a single breakage. So, what they do is tie the yarn together with a knot and the process carries on. Now, unless a yarn company or dyer inspects every millimetre of each skein looking for knots (and let's face it, who has time for that!) nobody is going to know a knot is there until someone discovers it while knitting. It is a pain, especially when your mid row, BUT HERE'S THE GOOD PART: knots can be fixed!

How to deal with knots in your yarn

Firstly, check that it's a knot. Sometimes yarn gets a little tangled and may look like a knot, but if you can't see the join just give the two ends a little pull and hopefully the yarn will untangle.

If you've discovered a real knot at the beginning of your row, then it's easy. All you need to do here is cut the knot out and re-join the yarn as you would if you were joining a new ball.

However, if you discover a knot mid row, this is what you need to do:

1. Spit-Splice: This technique only works with animal fibres that have not been super wash treated. Essentially what you are doing is felting the two ends of the yarn together to form an even join.
2. Magic Knot: It truly is a magical knot that won't come undone!
3. Russian Join: This is a bit fiddlier, but the results are a seamless join.
4. Just knit it! Some people just knit the knot into their project. There are a few reasons we wouldn't advise this method. Firstly, you can't be sure that the knot will stay secure. It's likely that your knot will unravel, leading to holes that are WAY worse than knots! Also, knots usually work their way to the front of the project, so they become visible. Take the time to deal with the knot using one of the above methods; you'll be thankful you did.

When knots become unacceptable

Industry standards to three knots in a 50g ball acceptable. Here at Cygnet we consider three knots in 100g acceptable but ideally no more than that! Usually our yarns are knot free. Sometimes one or two knots are found, but rarely three.

Yet if more than three knots are found in your yarn, we think that it's fair to contact whomever you bought the yarn from and tell them about it. This issue can then be further dealt with by Cygnet and reported to our supplier.

In saying that, every yarn company and dyer has its own way of dealing with knots, so check with them as to what their policy is.

The UK weights and measures laws allow for up to a 10% +/- variation on a 100g ball, so that each ball of wool is only actually approximately 100g in weight, within the legal variation.

We know this is a crucial aspect for those of you knitting & crocheting toys so we have a page dedicated to this along with corresponding Certificates.
You can also find further information on the Resource Centre of the UK Hand Knitting Assocation Page https://ukhandknitting.com/contentfiles/resources/resource-1045.pdf