Tag: Yarn review

Yarn Review: Cartref Yarn

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While I was at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival this year Jennie (Owl About Yarn) and Zoe (Pins and Needles) revealed their latest woolly adventure.  We’d all arrived early for a breakfast meet up, and they thrust a couple of swatches into my hands and told me all about their adventure in creating an all Welsh yarn.  They both live in the south of Wales, and had noted a dearth of Welsh yarn.  These women are not the types to idle, and went straight to work to create Cartref Yarn.  They very kindly sent me a generous sample to test drive.

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Yarn weight Double Knitting; Skein weight 100 g; Length 205 m; Fibre content 66% Welsh Mule, 33% Bluefaced Leicester; No. of plys 3;  Spun in Wales

Recently I’ve been knitting with yarns that are light, lofty, and full of air.  By comparison Cartref Yarn feels much more dense and weighty.  When it arrived the yarn felt crisp, and the skeins had a lot of rebound when I squashed them.  It’s not a soft yarn.  The word that springs to mind is robust.

This is the first time I’ve been sent a sample large enough to actually make something.  The pattern is a modified version of Paddle by Tin Can Knits.  Mitts turned out to be the perfect test swatch.  I wore them all day, every day, for five days; which made for a pretty good wear test.  I’d swatched on 3.75 mm needles, and got a gauge of 22 stitches and 32 rows over 10 cm.

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Mitts after five days of wear, and before wash number three.

The mitts didn’t change shape at all with washing.  I hand washed them three times with Woolly Wash, and the gauge didn’t change it all.  They did soften a little in the last wash, but there wasn’t the significant transformation between the yarn in the skein, and the washed mitts.

I wore the mitts almost constantly throughout the day, whilst working at my computer, sewing, dog walking, and gardening.  They did get damp, and by day five there was some minor pilling on the palm; however the yarn has great memory and the mitts sprang right back into shape with washing.

I think Cartref Yarn would make a great outdoor garment.  It’s doesn’t have a lot of drape, and would hold a tailored design really nicely.  Any textured elements, such as ribbing or cables, would be well defined.  Personally, I found it to prickly to wear next to my neck, but it was fine against my forehead and bare arms.  And I love the colour pallet that Jennie and Zoe have created. There’s a colour that will speak to most folk, and some options for colourwork.

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2019 05 31 Louleigh Knitting And Sewing Podcast – Cartref Yarn Review

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This week I’m wearing my Scout Tee.

We have three knit alongs running in the Louleigh Ravelry group.  Please come and join us.

The projects I’m chatting about  are Guthrie, the A-Frame Skirt, Ankle Socks With Pinstripes, Ultra-Light Ankle Socks, Featherweight Cardigan, and Playdate Cardigan.

Finally, I review Cartref Yarn.

2019 03 08 Louleigh Knitting Podcast

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This week I’m wearing an aran cardigan that my mother knitted.

The Louleigh community has been getting really excited about yokes.  Come and join the Magnificent Louleigh Yoke Along.  #knit1000g closes on 20 March.  Don’t forget to update your posts to be in with a chance in the prize draw.  I’m really forward to meeting some of you at the Rabbie’s Cafe meet up in Edinburgh.

I’ve been working on Bovertun and Marklee.  This week I also review De Rerum Natura Gilliatt.

Yarn Review: De Rerum Natura – Gilliatt

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I’ve been putting off writing  this review because I just didn’t know what to say about the yarn.  The very few words I do have to say about De Rerum Natura’s Gilliatt aren’t going to fill up much space; however, it is a yarn that I really want to share with you, so lets just crack on with the vital statistics.

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Yarn weight Worsted; Skein weight 100 g; Length 250 m; Recommended tension 17 – 19 stitches over 10 cm; Recommended needle 4 – 5 mm needles; Fibre content European Merino; No. of plys 3;  Spun in France.

Gilliatt doesn’t feel like any other merino that I’ve squished in the ball.  It’s not as finely spun as other merino yarns I’ve encountered.  The yarn looks plump, round, and woolly; and the ball rebounds as I squish it in my hand.  It’s not super soft either.  You aren’t going to pick this up and coo over it, but it is pleasant to the touch.

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Swatch knitted of 4 mm needles after one wash.

I knitted two swatches with 4 and 5 mm needles, and ended up with a gauge of 18.5 stitches x 30 rows and 17 stitches x 26 rows over 10 cm.  Both fabrics look great.  This plump yarn expands out in to the space around it, so the fabric still looks full and opaque at a looser gauge.  On smaller needles, the knitted fabric still has a nice movement to it.  I wouldn’t say that either swatch has drape, but they do have a nice movement to them.

It’s worth mentioning that I didn’t experience any prickle factor while wearing my swatches.  I’ve knitted the Furrow Hat with it, and haven’t experienced any prickling or itchiness against my forehead.  I didn’t notice the swatch when tucked into my neckband either.

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Swatch knitted on 5 mm needles after two washes and two weeks of armpit testing.

This is the bit where I run out of words for this yarn.  I proceeded to the wear test, when the swatch gets tucked in to my bra at the armpit, and stays there for a few days.  The 5 mm swatch spent a week in close proximity to my perspiring armpit – no change.  So I washed it again, and tucked it in to my bra for another week, then hand washed it again.  Still no change.  Oh, sorry, it’s a teeny tiny bit softer.  That is all.

So how would I describe this yarn?  Stable.  And that is something I like in a yarn.  If you’re going to take the time to knit a garment, you really want it to maintain it’s looks for a long time.  I think Gilliatt would.  At £11 it’s a high quality mid-range yarn.  I liked it a lot, and very badly want to make myself a garment with it.

Yarn Review: Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Hebridean Aran – Armpit Test

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I have to start my round up of my Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Hebridean Aran yarn review by confessing to two epic fails. The first one wasn’t really my failure, but my computers.  It decided to pop its clogs in quite a dramatic fashion just as I was preparing to write this post.  I have a replacement now, however it seems like it’s taken an absolute age to access all my data, and install specialist bits of software.

Then … I lost the swatch. (Leigh looks utter shame-faced and scurries away to hide in a corner.) It was tucked into my bra – and then it wasn’t.  So I’m including a photo of my slippers, which have now been worn significantly more than last you saw them.

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Can you tell the difference between this and my previous photo?  I can’t.  I’ve worn these on my feet for several days and can’t see any signs of wear at all.  If you’re after a yarn to make a hardworking pair of mittens or slippers, then this is it.

If you’re looking for a yarn to make a warm cowl or hat… lets just say that this wouldn’t be my first choice.  It had a prickle factor that I couldn’t ignore.  I definitely wouldn’t want this next to my neck or forehead.

I’d hoped to take my swatch and felt it, just to see what sort of fabric it made.  Felted mittens are fabulous for making snowballs, and I thought this yarn might work really well for this purpose.  Perhaps the swatch was just so petrified by the prospect of this treatment that it decided to go AWOL.  I hope this final round up has been useful to you even in its absence.

Yarn Review: Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Hebridean Aran – Swatching

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I purchased Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Hebridean Aran yarn a while ago, having seen it on a episode of Fruity Knitting; however it’s taken me a little while to decide what to make with the two balls I had.  In the ball the yarn feels quite rustic, and I was loath to put in near my forehead or neck.  In the end I really fancied a pair of travel slippers, and this seemed like the best option from the yarns in my stash.

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The pattern is Simple House Slippers, which has been really popular on Ravelry recently. I knitted them on 4 mm needles hoping to make a dense, hardwearing fabric.  The gauge came out at 18 stitches over 10cm, pretty much perfect for an Aran yarn, and feels really nice.  They have a crisp feel, and the fabric has a nice structure.  The stitches disappear completely, and there isn’t a lot of stitch definition even in the garter stitch section.

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I used the leftovers to make a swatch on 4.5 mm needles, and turned up a gauge of 16 stitches over 10 cm.  While the fabric in the swatch has more drape, I prefer the density of the slippers.  The tighter gauge would make a lovely warm outer wear garment.  The stitch definition was still entirely lost. Can you even see the rows of eyelets?  I’m kicking myself for not trying a cable.  Although, I suspect the dimensional detail of a twisted stitch pattern would still get lost with this yarn.

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The armpit test is in progress, and I’ll be back on Monday to share the results.

Yarn review: Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Hebridean Aran

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This week I have a yarn in my hands that I’m so excited to talk to you about.  Firstly, it’s local to me. Secondly, funds from the sale of this yarn support a local charity. And finally,  this yarn is a by product of local efforts to manage the environment to support wildlife.  I LOVE that the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have turned a by product of their conservation efforts in to a commodity that supports their flock.  There is a lovely section on Ravelry explaining how the Trust use their flock to support conservation, and you can buy the yarn from their online shop.  For today, all that’s left is to leave you with the yarn stats.

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Yarn weight Aran; Skein weight 50 g; Fibre content 80% Pure Hebridean; Length unspecified; Tension unspecified; Recommended needle unspecified; No. of plys 2;  Made in Yorkshire, UK.

Yarn Review: Blacker Yarns, Blacker Breeds Jacob – Armpit Test

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I thought I would start the last leg of my Blacker Breeds Jacob yarn review by including a link to The Jacob Sheep Society website.  The section on breed information is really interesting; and I love that the shop includes a calendar, so you can have a Jacob sheep for every month of the year.

The armpit test swatch has been travelling about with me for four days now.  It does have a slight prickle factor, however it’s not so prickly that I notice it all them time.  I probably wouldn’t enjoy this next to my neck, but might put up with it as a hat.

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In terms of wear and abrasion – I can’t tell the difference at all.  It looks like the same swatch I showed you a few days ago – not so much as a whisker out of place.

All in all, I’m very impressed.  The yarn has awesome stitch definition, and I think it would show off cables or lace equally as well. Blacker have it for sale for £7.20 for a 50g ball.  A garment for me would be around £80, which is near the top of my normal price range.  However, I think this would be well worth the investment.  I suspect this yarn will wear like iron, and continue to look smart for many years to come.  If you are thinking about knitting a pair of hard wearing mittens, or a wardrobe staple cardigan, it would be a wonderful choice.  I really hope that Blacker include it in their standard range.

Yarn Review: Blacker Yarns, Blacker Breeds Jacob – Swatching

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I’ve been having really good fun swatching with the Blacker Breeds Jacob yarn, that I started chatting about yesterday.  They sent me the DK to try out in Purple Clay and Purple Granite.

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My first inclination was to use both colours, and cast on for a bit of brioche.  This stitch seems to have been absorbed into the realm of hand-dyed merino, so I wanted to give it a whirl with a more robust, woolly yarn.  I’m completely smitten with the fabric, and want to resort to descriptors like ‘smooshy’.  Blacker Breeds Jacob has a crispness to it, so the yarn will really hold a shape.  In brioche the columns of stitches stand up to create that wonderfully insulative double layered fabric that we all love.  The fabric feels cosy, and I suspect it would hold its shape and wear well.  I knitted my swatch on 3.75 mm needles at a gauge of 17 stitches over 10 cm.

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I made two swatches in stocking stitch.  The first one (above in Purple Clay) was knitted on 3.25 mm needles, at a gauge of 23 stitches over 10 cm.  Weirdly, I knitted the second one (below in Purple Granite) on 3.75 mm needles and arrived at exactly the same gauge.  This astounded me because the fabric of each feels quite different.  The Purple Granite feels a little softer, and has more drape.  How earth I’ve arrived at exactly the same gauge on two different needle sizes is utterly beyond me.  (I swear I’ve double checked this about six times now.)  I can only put it down to the texture of the fleece in it’s different natural shades.  The different coloured fibres, from the same fleece, can vary significantly in fineness and texture.

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In the interests of wear and tear testing, I’ve popped one of the swatches into my bra strap for the armpit test. Pop back on Friday to see how it got on.