Three of the yarns featured in this post
Back in 2014 I did a follow up post on how the various yarns I had used for garments had faired after a bit of wear and wash. When I am choosing the yarn for my next project, I always read any reviews that may have been posted but these are, for the most part, written just after a project has been finished and so only cover the workability, feel and colour etc. which is all very well and good but so often I’ve bought yarn based on these good reviews, only to find out that in the real world, the yarn doesn’t fair so well. This is what led me to write my original ‘how the yarns wore‘ post and I have commented here and there about subsequent yarns I’ve used but I thought it might be helpful to do another follow up post on the yarns used since the 2014 post.
Wendy Mode DK ‘Chilli Pepper’ lace top
Wendy Mode DK, in ‘Chilli Pepper ‘.
Blend: 50% Merino and 50% Acrylic
Cost: £2.49 for a 50g (142m) ball
I really enjoyed making this jumper. The yarn was extremely soft and very nice to work with. Eldest tells me it is still a favourite jumper of hers and has maintained the same level of softness and has washed really, really well.
Sirdar Crofter DK, in ‘Alfie’ (blue) and ‘Bria’.
Blend: 60% Acrylic, 25% Cotton and 15% Wool.
Cost: £3.79 for a 50g (170m) ball
Sirdar Crofter DK in ‘Alfie’
I can’t praise this yarn enough, especially for a childs garment. It has coped with almost weekly wear and wash beautifully. Even as I type this Little Mudlet is wearing the long sleeved version (‘Alfie’) and would happily have an entire drawer full of them in all the different colour ways. I made a short sleeve version in ‘Bria’ a few months after completing the long sleeved one and there is little or no bobbling on either and both have held their shape so very well. You would be hard pressed to realise that both version are now two years old and have seen the inside of my washing machine every week pretty much. I highly recommend this yarn.
Wendy Supreme Cotton DK, in ‘Poppy Red’.
Blend: 100% cotton
Cost: £3.18 for a 100g (201m) ball
Working with this yarn, I was quite pleased with how easy it was to work with, how soft it felt and the way the finished jumper looked. Middle Mudlet was thrilled with her jumper and wore it immediately but, and this is a big but, after only a couple of hours of wearing the jumper, a rather worrying amount of bobbling had started to appear on the underside of the arm and the side of the jumper. It wasn’t even as if she had been doing anything strenuous such as tree climbing, demon vanquishing or pot holing!!! No! She had been sitting quietly playing on her DS, or reading a book and so for that amount of bobbling to occur in such a short space of time was very worrying indeed. I washed the jumper as per the instructions on the ball band and was even more dismayed to see how out of shape it had become after the first washed and by the time it had been worn and washed three times, it looked so old and tatty, I wouldn’t let her wear it outside of the house. This is not a yarn I will be buying again.
Sirdar Cotton DK in ‘Tranquil’
Sirdar Cotton DK, in ‘Bluebird’ and ‘Tranquil’.
Blend: 100% cotton
Cost: £5.29 for a 100g (212m) ball
This was a lovely yarn. It was a joy to work with and the colour I chose for my own top (Bluebird) was so very vibrant. The crispness of the yarn strand made the lace pattern on this particular top stand out. The finished garment was comfortable to wear and the yarn has washed beautifully, keeping its’ shape and the sheen of the yarn.
I was so pleased with my finished Lacey top that I decided to use the same yarn for Eldest Mudlets’ birthday jumper which was quite a retro looking top with a wonderful lace pattern. She chose her own colour and was thrilled with the jumper when she received it and has even worn it in a photo shoot.
Scheepjeswol Softfun Denim
Scheepjeswol Softfun Denim, in ‘517’.
Blend: 60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic
Cost: £2.99 for a 50g (140m) ball
I think that this dress is one of my all time favourite knits and it was certainly a big hit with Little Mudlet. Together with her two crofter dresses, this one has become a staple part of her wardrobe. The dress has washed really well and though it is fair to say that the colour has faded a little, it still looks and feels good. It is another yarn I would happily use again.
Scheepjeswol Sunkissed, in ‘Beach Hut Pink’.
Scheepjeswol Sunkissed in ‘Beach Hut Pink’
Blend: 100% cotton
Cost: £2.49 for a 50g (170m) ball
I’ve been really impressed with the Scheepjes wools that I’ve used over the last few years. I find the yarns luxurious and yet hard wearing, the colours beautiful, fresh and easy to work with. The pink used for Middle Mudlets’ lacework sweater was vibrant and has retained it’s depth of colour despite several washes. The choice of pink by my middle child (yes it was her decision to have the pink) came as a surprise for all those who know her and her tomboy tendencies but she loves this top and tells me it feels comfortable against her skin. Again, another yarn I would happily use for future projects.
King Cole Riot DK, in ‘Dude’.
Blend: 30% Wool, 70% Acrylic
Cost: £4.29 for a 100g (294m) ball
This was another yarn that I was disappointed with long term. Initially I felt positive about it. It had handled well as I knitted it into a jumper dress and felt soft, the colour way was lovely and the first time I wore it I was pleasantly surprised with just how comfortable it was. But (and just as with the ‘Poppy Red’ jumper of Middle Mudlet this is a big ‘but’) it very quickly turned from success to disaster. I was very careful about following the care instructions on the ball band but by the time the sweater dress had been through the wash 4 or 5 times, it has become more of a long jumper and the yarn had (for the want of a better word) frizzed up so much, that the colours had become muted beneath a fine layer of fibres which looked almost like the fake spiders web stuff you can get for Halloween and which covered the dress from top to toe! There was also serious bobbling where the under side of the arms rubbed against the sides of the dress. This is absolutely not a yarn I would use again in a hurry.
That pretty much brings me up to date with knitted garments, the only one not mentioned is the wonderful James C. Brett Top Value double knit which I covered in my recent post on making another snowflake jumper for Middle Mudlet and which you can find here. I hope you find this post useful but remember these opinions are based on my own experiences of the yarns mentioned – I am in no way a professional critic or an expert of any kind. I’m a mum and I need yarns that are going to cope with modern day wear and tear and I’m guessing, you do to.
The Land Rover Owners Ex Wife 