A Tale of Two Yarns – 2KCBWDAY1 Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.
Well, you'd think this would be an easy post, wouldn't you ? But I'm pretty easygoing, I think, as regards yarn.
I love Rowan's Kidsilk Haze - so much yardage in such a small weight, absolutely value for money and knitting time; and one can create the most ethereal of items with it, if one picks the right size of needle .....
I knit a lot with acrylic, since I knit mainly for my kids and those of others - and those can be wildly varying in quality, in terms of feel, knitability-pleasure, etc. I really don't like Patons Fab DK or James C. Brett's Value DK , both the dirty dish relatives of yarn, as far as I am concerned, but I have to use them as they make the particular virulent shade of 'jade' that is required for Mini Diva's school uniform. I would willingly pay a higher price to have something that felt nicer to knit with, to wear, and that didn't pill so badly.
And going through my FOs (Finished Objects) I find that about 25% of them have been made with Stylecraft yarns: not exactly on purpose, since I tend to buy what I like in terms of color, etc. But they have a great range of yarn types and colors, and they are very affordable without being cheap.
So there it is: this year, my favorite yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze; least favorite is Patons FB DK; favorite brand is Stylecraft.
If you Google this post's tag, you'll find a host of blogs also participating in Knit & Crochet Blog Week ....
I think sirdar snuggly DK is available in a shade similar to that (I have a cardigan knit in that exact James C Brett yarn and colourway, my mum made it for me) but that is a bit more expensive. It does wash well though.
ReplyDeleteKidsilk Haze does make such lovely items, yours are gorgeous.
I agree with you on that Rowan line. It's heavenly.
ReplyDeleteI've never knit with Stylecraft -- I'll have to check that out!
I politely disagree and shake my fist at Kidsilk Haze :D though you are completely right about the yardage on that baby. And your projects with it are utterly fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteI like Stylecraft too - good colour choice and great prices.
ReplyDeleteKidsilk Haze is one of those yarns I lust after. I don't have the amount of concentrated knitting time I think it requires, but one day . . .
ReplyDeleteThose scarves are looovely. The bottom right one is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteYou've knit some really beautiful things with your kidsilk. I struggled with a yarn that was just like kidsilk, though. Amazing to touch and look at for me, but it ultimately won and I had to give up.
ReplyDeleteI have never tried Kidsilk Haze but I have tried Patons Fab DK. I used it for childrens cardigans too but it didn't wear very well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Kidsilk yet, but so many people like it! My goto acrylic mix for kids that is a bit more expensive is Plymouth Encore...you probably don't have it there...
ReplyDeleteI love Kid Silk and thanks for the cotton tip. Happy to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI bow down to you for having great patience with Kidsilk Haze and creating some beautiful items.
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful Kidsilk Haze scarves. I'm inspired not to give up on this yarn!
ReplyDeleteI've also knit with James C. Brett acrylic - in my defence it was for a jokey present. I gave it away straight afterwards, I hated the way it felt
I've heard many good things about Kidsilk Haze. I'll have to give it a try sometime.
ReplyDelete