I have been crocheting now for 7 years and have experimented with many different yarns over the years but so far they have all been commercial brands from yarn shops. Generally I purchase from Spotlight and a little shop called Yvonne’s knitwear in my home town of Masterton, NZ.
Flicking through Instagram reels one night on my phone I came across the Sofia sweater by Laramiloops.I loved the cropped design with puffy sleeves. I thought this design was the perfect opportunity to try a New Zealand Indie-dyed yarn for the first time. Roxy fibres was an Instagram page I had been following for awhile. I loved the mixture of vibrant colours and beautiful pastels shown on her page.
On their website I was really drawn to the Trust 8ply MW Merino in colour Cherry Blossom. It had a beautiful pale pink base with speckles of burgundy, greens, blues and pinks. But after just completing a pink top I didn’t want my next project to be pink as well.
I sent a message through to Rhonda from Roxy Fibres about making me a custom batch of yarn. She was keen and made the whole process so quick and easy (even let me name the colour of my order). I ended up going with a purple base with speckles through it. You can still find this colour on her website with the name Passion flower.
Sweater pattern purchased and the arrival of my yarn order it was time to start. The MW merino yarn base was an absolute dream to crochet with, so soft and glided really easy over my hook with no splitting or catching.
I would really recommend checking out Roxy Fibres website and giving this yarn a try, or anything else from their range. I am definitely hooked so you will be seeing a lot more hand-dyed yarn used for my garments in the future. 
A little about the pattern
I got a little overwhelmed when I first looked over the pattern as it was so many pages long. I normally read the pattern through from start to finish before I begin but it felt like information overload. So I made the call to just do my gauge swatch and just start. I used a 4.5mm hook to achieve gauge and did a size small chain 128 stitches to start. I ended up doing a SC foundation stitch row instead of chains as I find when joining a really long chain it can easily get twisted.
Working through the pattern I then understood why it was so long, it gave amazing details, descriptions and pictures at each step. Including where to put your first stitches which is really helpful for someone new to making garments. Although I probably wouldn’t attempt this pattern if you are a complete beginner.
Was a really fun pattern that kept me challenged. I did make the bottom ribbing a bit longer than the pattern and I think I would size up if I made it again. Absolutely loved the sleeves, I think they really made this design. 
This blog features from Instagram:
@roxyfibres and @laramiloops
Let me know in the comments your experience using hand-dyed yarn and your favourite Indie dyers.
