I am delighted to let you know that Stonehedge Fiber Mill will continue to sell their gorgeous 100% USA-Made Merino to Noni! We began our businesses at almost the same time and became connected way back in 2008. Nonibags are best made with this yarn. I am excited about the ways that Stonehedge Fiber Mill is evolving and moving toward hand-dyeing. It's so exciting! More to come as they introduce new future colors and products!

Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fiber Mill is a 3-ply worsted weight yarn made and milled in Michigan by a family-owned and run company. The yarn is fabulously soft, made from fine Merino top. There are 17 saturated solids from which the all the heathers and marls are created for a complete palette of delicious colors.

The yarn is perfect for felting, making it my first choice for felted bags and flowers. Because the colors are so vibrant and alive, Shepherd's Wool worsted and fingering was also my pick for many of the flowers in Noni Flowers - the Shepherd's Wool flowers always look at the peak of floral perfection, rather than garish and overly bright or too muted for flowers at their best.

But it is much more than a great felter: we feel this yarn rivals some top brand Cashmeres, making it wonderful to knit with and a pleasure to wear, even next to bare skin. Once you knit with this yarn, you will find an excuse to make mittens, sweaters, gauntlets, Ella Coats, and hats out of it. You'll find yourself saving even tiny bits so you can make crazy ski beanies out of it. You might not want to knit with anything else . . .

Each 4 oz skein contains 250 yds (228.5m) and knits at about 5 sts/inch on US size 6 - 8 needles.

Many of the newest designer handbags are decorated with cabochon rivets, and the newest releases almost always sport them. Now, the home-knitter and crafter can use these same top-quality rivets to make similar cutting edge designs on the flaps and bodies of felted, fabric, or leather bags. 

Now available in Gunmetal, and Antique Brass so you can match your bag hardware with each, our package of 20 9mm Cabochon rivets add interest to felted and finished bags, knitted and ready-to-wear garments, coats, boots, sandal straps . . . Both rivet head and shank have smooth caps so they are pretty on front and back.

Picture a grid work of cabochons on the front of a purse, a row of them around a purse flap. Decorate the centers of our Bling Flowers. Embellish the outside seam of a pair of jeans. Or the ruffles of your Ella coats. Of the top of some soft leather boots. As soon as you start designing embellishments with Cabochon Rivets, you will start to think of countless places you could put one, or two . . . or more.

Click on the Additional Details tab for Cabochon Rivet dimensions and rivet application instructions.

Dimensions of a Single Cabochon Rivet

Rivet top width: 3/4" (10mm)
Rivet top height: 2/16" (4mm)
Rivet shank length: 5/16" (8mm)
Rivet back width: 5/16" (9mm)

Rivet Application Instructions

Not only do Cab Rivets add a glint and sparkle to projects, but they are also easy to apply.

To pierce fabric or leather, use an awl or leather punch, respectively.

To pierce felt, simply use the sharp point of size 6 or smaller double-pointed needle. Next, arrange the rivets as desired, press the rivet back through the fabric from back to front (from wrong side through to right side), and snap the rivet front on.

Cabochon Rivets can be set with a custom fancy rivet setter (an expensive tool that I didn't think worked very well when I tried it with my super useful concave anvil). Consequently, I devised another way to set these rivets that is not only more economical but also easy and just as effective: once all of the rivets have been placed, twist off the rivet top and put a little Locktite Superglue (I prefer "extra time control") in the receptacle on the back of the rivet front or on the top of the rivet back and a little on the bag itself just around the hole where the rivet resides; then snap the rivet together. Hold in place for a few seconds and the rivet is set.

Let's just say you didn't use enough glue the first time. . . to make sure all your rivets will stay put, give them all a bit of a nudge. If you ascertain that the rivet is not secure, remove the top again and repeat the instruction again. Hold until the glue is set (about 15 seconds with the above-recommended glue).