 |
| An evening's
worth of yarns, wound
and ready for sampling
at a recent Yarn Roundtable
event. |
Not every knitter
is lucky enough to have a Local Yarn Store nearby. And of
course, not every yarn shop can carry every yarn.
The Knitty
Yarn Roundtable was created
to give knitters more information about yarn than just what's
on the ball band.
Once a month, 30 knitters gather in Toronto
[the hometown of Knitty's
editor] to sample a variety
of yarns of every possible
description -- from budget
to super luxury.
The events
are open to anyone who
can attend, and are advertised
on the Knitty
blog and the dedicated Yarn
Roundtable blog. Knitters bring their own needles
and yarn companies
of every size send in yarns they
want our readers to try.
Five different yarns from five different manufacturers are sampled at each event by all knitters present who provide their opinions on a standardized form. Yarns that did not receive good feedback will not be featured in Knitty, in accordance with our review policy, so if you see a yarn on these pages, it means the majority of knitters liked it, found it interesting or surprising! Yarns are listed below in alphabetical order by yarn name. This issue's reviews include feedback collected from three different Roundtable events.
Editor's note: All swatches shown were knit by the same knitter using what she felt was the most appropriate needle size for each yarn.
Items are rated on scale of 1-5. Retail prices are in USD.
dislike/disagree/bad |
deep love/total agreement/great |
| Name |
Cashmere Merino
Silk Aran |
|
| Brand |
Sublime |
Fiber
content |
75% Extrafine Merino Wool, 20% Silk,
5% Cashmere |
| Yardage |
94 y | 50 g |
| Gauge |
4.5 stitches per
inch |
| Sugg. Retail Price |
$10.00 |
| overall impression |
 |
| would you buy it? |
|
| how does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how does it feel knit up? |
|
| is it fairly priced? |
|
| how's the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey [1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe it in one word |
- almost perfect
- yummy
- sublime
- squooshy
|
| what's the one thing you couldn't know about this yarn until you knit with it? |
- it has a slight shine to it that emphasises the individual
stitches
- really stretchy and springy
- somewhat splitty, depending on how you knit
|
| Name |
Fabel
superwash |
|
| Brand |
Garnstudio |
Fiber
content |
75%
Superwash Wool,
25% polyamide |
| Yardage |
205
m | 50 g |
| Gauge |
6.5
stitches per
inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$5.00 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel
in the ball? |
 |
| how
does it feel
knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
 |
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff
[5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing
you couldn't
know about this
yarn until you
knit with it? |
- it knitted
OK. Not as
soft as I
would have
liked, but
will probably
work okay
as socks
- colours
work into
interesting
combination
/ patterns
- stitch
definition
is better
than I expected
|
| Name |
Luxe |
|
| Brand |
The
Unique Sheep |
Fiber
content |
25%
Tussah Silk,
75% Superwash Merino |
| Yardage |
400y
| 100 g
or
400 y | 4 x 25g [gradience -- 4 color-matched skeins that change color
gradually, skein by skein; center 4 pink skeins below are gradience] |
| Gauge |
sock
|
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$23.00
$24.00 [gradience] |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- the varigation is
really subtle and shows
well knit up. Really
pleasant yarn to knit
with
- smoother than I expected
- the colours blend
together beautifully
|
| Name |
MerLin |
|
| Brand |
Louet |
Fiber
content |
70%
Merino, 30% Linen |
| Yardage |
156
y | 100 g |
| Gauge |
4.5
stitches per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$19.50 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- the linen content
provides a crisp stitch
definition, while it
is very soft from the
merino
- softer when knit
up than on the skein,
but not terribly exciting
- not as crunchy as
expected for the linen
content. A couple of
uneven stitches. I
don't think it was
my tension
|
| Name |
Peruvian
Highland Donegal |
|
| Brand |
Elann |
Fiber
content |
90%
Highland Wool, 10% Donegal |
| Yardage |
100m
| 50g |
| Gauge |
5 stitches
per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$3.50 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- it has depth in its
colouring that I did
not expect
- a little softer than
expected
- splits a bit. Softer
when knit up than in
the ball
|
| Name |
Possum
Merino |
|
| Brand |
Supreme |
Fiber
content |
40%
Possum fur*, 50% Merino
Wool, 10% Silk
*This is an eco-friendly
fur yarn, endorsed
by both Greenpeace
and the World Wildlife
Fund. The possums
were introduced to
New Zealand in the
1800s, and the New
Zealand ecosystem
has no natural defense
against them. As
a result, the possums
are devastating the
endangered native
flora and fauna
of New Zealand, especially
the native birds
that are predominantly
flightless or ground-nesting.
Yarns like this one
are part of an effort
to develop a fur
industry that can
help save the New
Zealand native environment. |
| Yardage |
210
m | 50g |
| Gauge |
7 stitches
per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$12.50 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
- lofty
- delicate
- cozy
- splitty
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- very soft and wonderful
to knit with
- uniform and regular
but breaks easily when
tugged
- feels like velvet when
knitted up. Does tear
easily, but I didn't
have a problem knitting
with it
|
| Name |
River
Twist |
|
| Brand |
Mountain
Colors |
Fiber
content |
100%
Merino Wool |
| Yardage |
220
m | 100g |
| Gauge |
4-5
stitches per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$24.00 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- slides
easily on the needles,
works up fast, and
feels so luxurious.
The colours are a bonus
- I would walk past
this yarn, but now
I have tried it I want
it! The colours are
lovely
- though I found the
yarn splitty, I would
buy this for the colour.
Until I knit this up
I had no idea the colour
would be so beautiful
|
| Name |
Silk
Merino |
|
| Brand |
Blue
Heron Yarns |
Fiber
content |
50%
Silk, 50% Merino |
| Yardage |
375
y |8 0z |
| Gauge |
5
stitches per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$37.50 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- colours merge very
quickly. I doubt this
would puddle. Amazing
number of colours in
the colourway
- you don't think that
all the colours would
knit up well together,
but they do beautifully
- the texture is very
soft. When knit, slight
sheen
|
| Name |
Silk
'N Ewe |
|
| Brand |
Mountain
Colors |
Fiber
content |
50%
Wool, 50% Raw Silk |
| Yardage |
250
y | 75g |
| Gauge |
5-6
stitches per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$16.99 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
- crunchy
- nubby
- rough
- rustic
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- bit of a pain to
knit with but lovely
fabric
- I wouldn't have known
there was wool in it
at all. Just feels
like raw raw silk
- nubbly texture doesn't
show up as much in
stockinette
- hard to knit with.
Very soft. Can't feel
the wool. Colours are
nice, but a bit overwhelming.
|
| Name |
Superfine
Egyptian Cotton |
|
| Brand |
Diamond
Luxury Collection |
Fiber
content |
100%
mercerized cotton |
| Yardage |
108
m | 50g |
| Gauge |
5.5
stitches per inch |
| Sugg.
Retail Price |
$5.00 |
| overall
impression |
|
| would
you buy it? |
|
| how
does it feel in the ball? |
|
| how
does it feel knit up? |
|
| is
it fairly priced? |
|
| how's
the stitch definition? |
|
| drapey
[1] or stiff [5] ? |
|
| describe
it in one word |
|
| what's
the one thing you couldn't
know about this yarn until
you knit with it? |
- I like the hand better
on smaller (3.25mm) needles
- I'm not generally a
fan of mercerized cotton,
but I liked it more than
I would have expected.
Easy on the hands
- shiny and pretty, but
splitty when you knit
with it
|
|
