Classic Elite Yarns' History & 20% Off!

A Lowell Mill Girl

Classic Elite Yarns is headquartered just outside of Lowell, Massachusetts.  In the 19th century Lowell was the United States' largest textile center and is considered to be the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution.  The "Mill Girls" were the young women who worked in the textile mills.  They worked long hours in harsh conditions, then spent their evenings in company housing where their social lives were strictly controlled.  Not fun!  But, they also had their own money - a rarity among women at the time - and with their economic independence came a desire to challenge the system of female subordination.  In an era that thought women were too feeble-minded to organize, they banded together to create unions and fight for better lives and working conditions.

Provence in Crushed Violets

Classic Elite Yarns has its origins in the textile manufacturing mills of Lowell.  Classic Elite began in the 1940s as an offshoot of a textile mill, first creating fiber for hand weavers and designers and later producing yarn for hand knitters.  Today Classic Elite Yarn is owned, managed and staffed primarily by women - the spiritual descendants of the determined Mill Girls who turned the notion of the "weaker sex" upside-down!  They no longer manufacture yarn, and instead search the world for fine hand knitting yarn to bring to you!

We love Classic Elite Yarn!  As a tribute to the hardy Lowell Mill Girls of the past - and our spunky knitters of today - we've put all of our Classic Elite yarn and patterns on sale at 20% off for the month of June! That's over 40 yarns on sale, each one in a variety of inspiring colors, for a total of . . . . well, I'm not sure, but it's a whole lot of yarn!

Do you have a favorite?

• Provence

  

  Majestic Tweed in Cherry Pie

  is a 100% cotton yarn - great for summer knitting!  It is a cabled cotton yarn that has a long staple length, which gives it great strength and sheen. And since it is mercerized, it absorbs dye beautifully and is less likely to shrink!
• Liberty Wool Print seems to have an endless palette of colors!  Available in almost 40 different colorways, Liberty Wool Print is a 100% washable wool in fun, self-striping colors - and you get a free pattern with each purchase!
• Majestic Tweed is a tweedy blend of wool, angora, silk and nylon that works up into a soft fabric with just a little bit of halo. 
• Firefly is a natural blend of viscose and linen that shimmers like a firefly!  It's soft, drapey and a bit dressy in 18 shimmery colors. 

Firefly in Chicory

And patterns?  The Classic Elite patterns, it seems, are endless.  There are patterns for all ages and all seasons. And, yup, the patterns are all on sale at 20% off, too!

My favorite knitting "work space" is a wicker chair out on my porch with a glass of wine - much better than the working conditions of the Mill Girls!  Get yourself some Classic Elite Yarn, and then join me in raising a glass in tribute to the Lowell Mill Girls!


Happy Knitting . . . . Amy