Rowan Felted Tweed is one of the most versatile and rewarding knitting yarns available — but it has specific characteristics that are worth understanding before you cast on. In this guide we cover how the tweeded construction affects tension and handle, why it excels for stranded colourwork (including how to manage floats, colour dominance, and working in the round), how it behaves in simple textures from garter stitch to cables to lace, and crucially — how to block and wash it without risking further felting. Project ideas included. Seventeen Kaffe Fassett colourways at £10.50 per ball at Craft and Canvas.

Few yarns have earned the sustained devotion that Rowan Felted Tweed commands. Since 2002 it has remained one of Rowan's best sellers — and understanding why requires understanding what the blend of merino, alpaca, and viscose actually does, how the light pre-felting process creates its distinctive tweeded character, and why the Kaffe Fassett colourways produce results in colourwork that smooth, single-tone yarns simply cannot match. In this post we cover all of it — including what projects it suits, how to wash it, and why we stock it at Craft and Canvas in Hebden Bridge. £10.50 per 50g ball, seventeen colourways.

Oil paint stays wet for hours, blends effortlessly, and produces a richness and luminosity that five centuries of masterworks testify to. Acrylic dries in minutes, layers quickly, cleans up with water, and is far simpler to set up. Neither is better — they are different, and the right choice depends entirely on how you paint and what you want from the medium. This guide gives you an honest comparison of both, covers their genuine limitations, and helps you decide — including whether, as many painters do, working with both makes the most sense. Wallace Seymour oils from £9.95, Sennelier Abstract acrylics at £3.95, all at Craft and Canvas.