Knit and Crochet Blog Week: Day 7

What a Yarn

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

I'm going to cheat a bit on this topic too. I love knitting socks- sock yarn easily costs $20-25 per 100 gram skein if you want it from an "indie dyer" with a great sense of color. Even knitpicks is $10 for a pair of socks! So socks can really add up. After experimenting with quite a few "indie dyers" I kind of realized I couldn't afford to keep that up, and decided I should dye my own yarn instead. (Though I won't give up Wollmeise- such a cool base and such rich colors!)

So where do I get my undyed yarn from? Well knitpicks was where I started, they have multiple bases available and they are fairly inexpensive. But knitpicks isn't the highest quality out there, it's just good, I want great.

Well, I found great! Great undyed yarn is Wool2Dye4.

I have ordered quite a few yarns from Wool2Dye4: Sheila's Sock, Platinum Sock, Socks2Dye4, BFL 4-Socking, Crazy Eights and Cash Sock.

I have not been disappointed by any of them. I'll review each here.
First, I haven't used Crazy Eights or BFL 4-Socking yet, so I won't discuss them.

I think that my favorite of the yarns is Sheila's Sock. It has a really unique twist- I think maybe it is a cabled yarn. When dyed, the plies plump up on each other and this becomes a soft, plush, springy yarn. I used this yarn to make my rainbow socks and they are wearing very well. The yarn doesn't have any nylon in it, and I don't think it needs it. However, I've heard she is releasing a new yarn in this style with the nylon in it. I'm going to have to try that soon!

Next, there is Platinum Sock. This yarn has a much more smooth appearance- it's almost wollmeise like in it's sheen and tight twist (maybe a bit thinner... at least then the 80/20). This yarn also contains some nylon for strength, and I think because of this it takes dye SO well- it just eats it up and makes the most vibrant colors. I haven't used this for socks, but knit my cowl with it. The yarn is just soft enough to wear against my neck, and would probably be even more comfortable in socks.

My next love is Cash Sock. This is an "MCN" blend- merino, nylon, cashmere. It's an 80/10/10 blend of merino/nylon/cashmere (like most of the MCNs, though the mythical "Bugga" is 20%). This also yarn- it costs about $8 per skein. That's unbelievable. I think the majority of MCN yarns start at $28. Well worth the money to dye it yourself!

And last, there is the Socks 2Dye4. I put off ordering this yarn because it is a bit more expensive (I think) than the other options (still really inexpensive as yarn goes) and because the name is kind of boring... However, I'm glad I finally gave it a try. This is a good utlitarian yarn. I dyed it up in mini-skeins and used it for my sock blanket. This is a thinner fingering weight, so I think I'd use it at a tighter gauge for socks, but it does plump up a bit after dyeing.

I'd use ANY of these yarns again. So there's my "one true yarn" of the moment- anything Wool2Dye4 sells.