My first impression of Gloss DK was an immediate desire to pick up my knitting needles and make something.  This yarn iss beautifully soft, seductively smooth and has a luscious depth to the color.  Touching it brought me back to the old Charmin commercials (yes, I know I am dating myself)... you just want to keep on squeezing it and holding.  I did find the yarn on the thick end of the DK spectrum (closer to worsted) but still definitely workable as a DK.

For the Knit Swatch Gloss DK worked like a dream.  The fibers moved effortlessly over the needles.  Be it bamboo or metal the yarn moved beautifully.  Stitch definition is crisp, clean and the resulting stitches are full.  I did have some issue with plying at first and had to adjust my approach a bit. 

For the Crochet Swatch Gloss DK was a pure joy.  The fabric, while looking like it would be dense is quite light which really impressed me.  It is so easy for crochet fabric to be heavy due to its nature.  Gloss lends itself well to crochet because it gives such a nice full defined stitch while being quite light in physical weight overall.

For the Abuse Olympics Gloss DK was an mid-level contender.  It stood up well to minimal frogging,   After about three frogs there was some fuzzing starting to happen so it is not a fiber that you want to do a lot of ripping with however it does unknit like a dream so backing out stitches to fix something is effortless.

Finding a project for Gloss DK that would work with one ball of 123 yards sent me to looking at baby hats since I knew I needed to make a project and get two swatches from the ball. I decided to make the b18-26 Hat in ”Merino Extra Fine” by DROPS Designs.  The yarn was so lusciously soft and the stitches show to nicely I felt a simple design was the best way to go.  The more I knit with the yarn the more effortless I realized it was to knit with.  Every now and then you find a yarn that seems to just make itself into the stitches and Gloss DK is one of them.  

In the end my experience with Gloss DK was a largely positive one.  I would willingly make a baby sweater or layette set from it since the fiber is so wonderfully soft.  Making a baby hat from one ball puts the price of $6.49 into the not so bad column.  When you're making something for a special arrival in your life a slightly higher cost falls squarely in the "it's worth it" column.  

Looking at the yardage to price ratio, 123 yards at $6.49, and then translating that into a larger item such as an adult sweater or afghan, in my opinion, it become a bit on the expensive side not to mention all the extra tails to weave in.  I would, and again this falls into the personal likes category, like to see the yardage be more along the rage of 175 to 200 yards per ball and the price adjusted up accordingly.  This would then open up the range of one skein projects much more and have me more open to considering it for larger scale items.  As it stands an adult hat would require getting two balls to complete.  

In the end, even with the pricing/yardage, I would have no issues using this yarn again especially for baby items.  It was simply too luscious not to.  I would even be willing to use two balls to make an adult hat.  Those who appreciate a beautifully blended fiber will at first touch fall in love with this yarn.

Elysian is a term used to describe something that has heavenly or has paradise like characteristics.  I tend to be leery when anything uses such a bold name since, in most cases, the name and the product don't seem to match.  The second I touched Elysian I thought "They named this beauty right."  This yarn is incredibly soft, with full fibers and rich colors.

When I sat down to make my swatch I noticed that the very ends of the yarn had frayed.  I will admit I was a little concerned that this was an indicator that the yarn might ply a lot.  I also noticed that the fraying wasn't something that kept on going beyond an inch or two.  To make life a little easier for myself I just tied a knit just above where the fraying was happening.  I figured since I wouldn't be using the frayed end anyway let me just secure it. so I can keep a solid tail. (See the Making a Project section for additional thoughts on what caused this.)

For the Knit Swatch I found the stitch definition and sheen of the worked stitches beautiful and stunningly crisp.  Because the yarn is so full it made stockinette a pleasure to work in.  It unknit so easily.  My one concern that the yarn may split was unwarranted.  It stayed together without any issued at all.  I do use sharp tipped needles.  I find with blunt tipped needles I am quite likely to split the yarn where with sharps I do not.  Work-ability of this fiber on bamboo and metal is dreamy.  It just glides across your needles.

For the Crochet Swatch I was equally impressed with the stitch definition.  Each loop and post is crisp and distinct.  The yarn is not overly dense which can easily happen in crochet.  The yarn did not lose the cushy quality either.  

When it came to the Abuse Olympics Elysian placed in the top.  The yarn hold up extremely well to repeated frogging with minimal haloing/fuzzing.  After six frogs and virtually no fuzzing I did not see any point in frogging any more.  Gold medal awarded for top honors here.

For a project I decided to really have some fun with Elysian and make the Miss Rachel Hat.  The yarn was such a joy to knit with there are not enough nice words to describe it.  The formulation of this fiber is so lush.  When you compress the yarn it rebounds beautifully and fills right back out.  The color saturation is absolutely incredible.  The colors are rich, vibrant and luscious.  Even the muted tones are deeply inviting.  I was fortunate enough to see the entire color palette in person  I was really impressed with the distribution of color value throughout the palette.  It made picking colors for color work a dream.  Also, because this is on the light end of the worsted spectrum it worked well in stranded color work without making the hat too thick.  The lush fullness to the fiber also made this work well in this project.  Another aspect that I really loved about Elysian is that it is incredibly soft.  The hand on this fiber is a yarn lovers dream come true.  As soon as you touch it you fall in love.  I will say since this yarn is on the thin end of the worsted spectrum do your gauge swatch especially if you are a tight knitter like I am.  

Remember in the swatching section I talked about how the ends of the yarn in the skeins were frayed?  After making the hat I went back to weave in my ends.  All of the ends that I had cut after I was done using a color DID NOT fray or untwist at all.  They stayed together without any issues.  My thought is, since the only parts that were frayed were literally first and last inch or two of the skein it is most likely due to the sudden release of extreme tension the yarn goes through when cut in the winding process.  When I cut the yarn it is under virtually  no tension and even with the movement of the knitting nothing came untwisted or frayed.

In the end Elysian is at the top of my list.  I am already thinking through a color shift afghan so i can use these beautiful color palette more extensively.  This yarn is absolutely worth trying out.  I can not imagine anyone using it and actually disliking this yarn.  Cascade Yarns really did knock it out of the park with this one.  I tend to be hyper critical of the fibers I use and rarely get so completely enamored.  Elysian has me enamored.  Priced at roughly $9.00 a skein you might feel it is a little pricey for a wool/acrylic blend but it is well worth the price with how beautifully it works up.

For the knit swatch I found Billow easy to work with.  The yarn moves well and for the most part creates these luscious decadent billowy, no pun intended, stitches.  I say for the most part because when you come to areas where the yarn is super thin there is none of the wonderful billowy aspects you find in the fuller sections of the yarn.   Cotton yarns have a tendency to not give much when working with them however Billow's inherent squishy rebounding nature counters that nicely.  The yarn moved well on both metal and bamboo.  The one thing I did find was that the yarn shed errant fibers so don't wear black when working with it or you will need a lint roller.  The stitch definition in Billow is quite clean and, with the exception of the areas with the thinner strands, creates a highly inviting appearance.  You just look at the knitted fabric and know it is going to hug you. 

For the crochet swatch I found Billow also worked quite well.  The thinner aspects to the yarn stand out a bit more in crochet when they end up making a full stitch since you end up with stitches that look like they went on a drastic diet compared to the ones made from the more consistent bulky/super bulky sections.  I did manage to end up having many of the thinner sections end up at the top of my crochet stitches so I was able to hide them in the swatch by working the new stitch over them.  

When it came to the Abuse Olympics Billow had its ups and downs.  Let's start with the ups.  This yarn unknits very well.  Undoing your stitches is definitely a breeze.  On the other hand when you are frogging a section of yarn Billow does not hold up so well.  Remember those errant fibers I told you about earlier?  They immediately begin to show up.  By frog number two little pills are showing up and by frog three you will need to take a damp cloth and gently go over the surface of the yarn to remove the pilling and clean the yarn up.  I found this to be really disappointing.  I had so many visions of some over sized baby blankets and I couldn't imagine making them after this simply because of the pilling.

For a project I went with the Springtime Picholine Hat free pattern by Jocelyn Tunney (minus the pom-pom.)  The hat was a really quick easy knit.  I made it more of a skull cap type hat because I wanted to ensure I had enough yardage since I was working with one skein.  I could have easily gone bigger and would have had enough.  The raw cotton works well in this hat and fit in nicely with this yarns inherent properties.

I really want to be able to give a glowing review and say how much in love I am with this yarn.  When I first picked it up, and even now, the yarn has such a dreamy hand and fullness.  Unfortunately, I find myself really conflicted in the review.  There are aspects that I really do enjoy to this yarn while there are others that leave me rather underwhelmed.

When it comes to the varying thickness I did find the yarn more of the fuller, larger, thickness vs the thin, dense thickness.  Unfortunately, when you get into some of the really thin areas it shows up in your work clear as day.  If you want this effect Billow will give that to you.  If you do not want this effect you will not be happy with Billow.  I would be absolutely in love with this yarn if the variation had a more limited range of light worsted to bulky. In my opinion it would still provide the textural variation in the finished fabric without having the occasional drastic change to lace weight.  With that said a large part of loving or hating variation in thickness comes down to personal preference combined with the look you are seeking to obtain in your finished fabric.  Regarding hand Billow is immediately inviting, the fullness and rebounding nature to the overall fiber is what you would envision if you were squeezing a cloud and reflects in your finished item.  I find the overall nature of the fiber to conjure images of rustic, artisanal,  raw finished items be they a simple hat or full sized afghan.  The raw cotton is an inviting aspect to this yarn however the little fibers that shed make it a bit irritating (in the irritating to the eyes/nose/throat sense) to work with.  This shedding also results in an item that is quick to pill.  While pilling is expected in virtually all knit and crochet work to some degree it happens pretty quickly here.

Billow is not, in my opinion, a fully versatile yarn which can work across various types of projects and styles.  I don't think it was intended as a catch all fiber nor is it billed as one.  I would be remiss if I did not say Billow is one of the richest cottons I have felt and that same richness carries through to the finished project.  This yarn just needs matching with the right project and the right person.  In the end I find myself asking the question "Would I use this yarn again?"  The answer is "Yes... if the right project came along."  If I were making a decorative throw that would be a static piece I would have no problem using Billow for it.  If it were for a sweater I just couldn't see myself using it because of the issues already discussed.  Like I said it needs the right project.

This yarn is really hard to rate because so many aspects to this yarn are really going to come down to personal preferences and individual likes and dislikes.  For the artistic knitter who is looking for something that creates diversity across the fabric and wants to use a plant fiber this would be a recommendation I would make to them.  For the average knitter/crocheter it is one of those fibers a person will either love or hate.  When it comes to hand the yarn is a five stitch marker without a doubt.  When it comes to the versatility of the fiber I regrettably have to rate it a two stitch marker.  There just is too limited a range of use in my opinion.  For the artistic potential the richness/visual interest the yarn can provide for those looking for these specific qualities this is a four and a half stitch marker in this area.  The variation in thickness and muted, yet well saturated, coloring is a definite boon.  The limited color range in the palette is what keeps it from being a five regarding this very specific attribute.  When it comes to ease of use, because of the shedding inherent to the fiber, I would have to rate it a three at best.  If you have sensitive eyes/nose/throat I would have to encourage you to veer away from this particular yarn.  In the end I would give this an overall rating of 3.5 stitch markers with a qualification.  The qualification being you really need to try it for yourself to see what you think because this is a yarns where personal preference strongly come into play.  It's not a run on the mill yarn where there are a slew of comparable yarns nor is it a shabby yarn with no quality behind it.  This is one of those rare instances where the pros are matched by the cons.  There is potential in this particular yarn.  The formulation just needs a bit of work especially to reduce or eliminate the shedding issue.  For pricing and yardage the yarn is a reasonable buy so giving a one skein project a go to evaluate the yarn for yourself won't break the bank.  Knit Picks does have some great products to choose from like their Comfy Fingering Yarn (click for review) so when you are looking for that one other item to get you to the free shipping mark a skein of Billow may be a worth while option.

My first impression of Deluxe Worsted Superwash by Universal Yarn was more comparative than anything else.  Having worked with several different superwash yarns before.  I found the hand to be quite pleasant as you would expect from a superwash.  I also found the yarn had a great squishy quality to it.  You could compress it and it rebounded very well which is a quality I really like in a yarn.  I found myself comparing it to the hand of other superwash yarns and found my first impression of this yarn comparable to the other major brands.  I will save the compare and contrast for a future review that does exactly that.  So, having made a good first impression it was time to put it to the needles and the hook to see how the second impression would stand up.

For the knit swatch I found Deluxe Worsted Superwash worked quite nicely.  The fiber was uniform, no variations in thickness, color saturation was consistent as was the texture.  The yarn moved quite comfortably around my hand and over both metal and bamboo needles.  The stitch definition in the swatch was crisp and each stitch filled out well.  All in all the second impression was making me look forward to making a project.

For the crochet swatch Deluxe Worsted Superwash was a pleasure to crochet with.  The yarns willingness to compress and re-expand made crocheting with it extremely easy.  Stitch definition was crisp and the resulting posts maintained a really nice squishy quality instead of being overly dense.

When it came to the Abuse Olympics the yarn varied in its placings.  In the Repeated Frogging competition Deluxe Worsted Superwash took to frogging two to three times with minimal fuzzing however by the fourth the yarn is starting to show that it has been frog.   When it comes to un-knitting the yarn works beautifully.  The stitches come apart just as easily as they went  together so this yarn is extremely user friendly when you need to back out some stitches and then move on.

For the Deluxe Worsted Superwash project I decided to make a pair of children's mittens using the free Cabled Snowman Mitten pattern by Jean Gifford.  Since the yarn was orange and my Great Nephew is crazy for anything orange I just could not resist making these for him.  This pattern was a fun and fast knit; especially since they were for a 3 year old.

One of the reasons I chose this patter was it allowed me to use the yarn in both stockinette, seed stitch and cables all in one shot.  The yarn worked very well across the board.  The yarns desire to expand to original size after being compressed made working seed stitch a real treat.  

All in all Deluxe Worsted Superwash by Universal Yarn is a solid yarn.  I find the color palette broad enough to use for both men's and women's items.  I do find the colors to be a bit on the muted side, unlike some of the other brands which have a much richer and vibrant color palette, however I think this is a smart move which allows for an option for those looking for the more muted color scheme.  

The pricing for this yarn is in line with the other major superwash yarns on the market (actually the MSRP is $0.50 less than the other "big guns") as is the yardage making it a viable option for those seeking a yarn to work with.

In the end when looking for a superwash yarn I would not hesitate to look at the offerings of Deluxe Worsted Superwash when looking for a color to use in making a project.  The yarn is definitely above average and will make a really nice finished product.  This earns Deluxe Worsted Superwash by Universal Yarn a solid four out of five stitch markers.

Fun and shiny.  Those were the first things which came to mind for me.  The sparkle in this yarn comes from the Poly fiber that is blended into the mix.  Two things came to mind for me as I examined the skein.  First, even in low light there was a good amount of sparkle/shimmer.  Second, yarn in the ball from seemed somewhat coarse which surprised me since it was a superwash/acrylic blend.  The skein is pretty well packed which I found was the overall cause of the coarse feeling.  Once I began pulling the yarn from the center and the yarn was allowed to "puff out" from it's compression I found the yarn to quite soft which was a relief!  Now I could happily move onto my swatching.

For the knit swatch I found the yarn moved well and that the poly fibers were well blended into the yarn.  One thing that can happen with yarns that have the sparkle as small fibers blended with others is you can get areas devoid of the sparkle fiber. If you are going to have shiny in a yarn the last thing you want is for it to be splotchy.  This was not the case.  The distribution was even and consistent allowing the shimmer to move across the fabric well.  Stitch definition was clean and neat.  The yarn moved very smoothly through my hand and over the needles. About the one thing that I found to be a bit of a detraction, and this really does come down to personal preference, was the sparkle fibers stuck out of the yarn.  

For the crochet swatch I found the yarn worked up really nicely.  The posts had great definition and the stitches were not overly dense.  Movement was clean and simple and I could see this particular fiber being used in crochet as well as knit.

This yarn withstood the Abuse Olympics extremely well.  It did not begin to show signs of minimal fuzzing until after 5 frogs.  When it came to unknitting the yarn came apart cleanly without issues.  

For the project I decided to use Hollywood Slouch free pattern from the Cascade Yarns website.  This is a quick and easy hat which ended up using less than one skein.  The more I knit with the yarn the more I found it worked up well.  Aside from the sparkly/shimmery nature of the yarn it works up as well as any good superwash wool.  I could see this being use as an accent yarn in a project where you wanted to add some sparkle by pairing with a no shiny superwash in a matching/complimentary color for gloves or mittens.  Make the cuffs in the Hollywood and the hands in the regular so you can add a bit of glam without having to go overboard.

As I worked the project I could see this being well suited for late Fall and Winter items.  It has that feel to it and the overall color palette is right there for those seasons.  

Overall, I found the yarn quite fun.  The sparkly, shiny nature to the yarn is well suited to holiday season and for those accessories which will help to brighten up the winter season doldrums.  Would it be a first choice for me to make items from... no but that is not because I did not enjoy working with the yarn.  I did and would have no issues making items for others using it.  I'm just not a shiny, sparkly type of guy.  For those who do like shiny and sparkly and want something with wool you have a winner here that you can make accessories and garments from with confidence.  As mentioned earlier the fibers which make the yarn sparkly are individual fibers so they do loft out from the yarn.  It is not like Cascade Sunseeker which has a strand spun with the yarn which gives the shiny effect.  If having fibers pop out from your fabric will drive you nuts this may not be a good choice however if you like that effect then you will definitely like the results from Hollywood.  Another good point to this yarn is its suitability for all skill levels.  A beginner looking to make something with some pizzazz can use this yarn with confidence.

 When you consider the price of $9 to $10 a skein AND Cascade's generous yardage (208 yards) for a specialty yarn you can do really well on a budget.  Overall, putting personal preferences aside, this is a good quality yarn which will work up into a large array of projects well.  This gets Hollywood a solid above average rating at four out of five stitch markers. 

Spun gold... I felt like I was looking at a hank of spun gold.  Light, shiny, satiny gold.  If you were to package up the gold Rumpelstiltskin spun into a hank there is no doubt in my mind this is what it would look like.   The crispness inherent to this yarn is really impressive.  It looks like it should be dense and then when you pick it up it is wonderfully light.  Just looking at it you know just know the stitch definition is going to be incredible since each strand is so crisp next to each other.

For the Knit Swatch: I wanted to play and not only see how it would work in stockinette but also see what it would do for cables.  The definition produced in both was excellent.  The angle of the knit swatch does not show the cable well.  In hand you can see the cable really shows well and is crisply defined.  The yarn worked equally well on metal or bamboo.  Splitting was never an issue for this yarn.  

For the Crochet Swatch:  I was really pleased with Nuna for the crochet swatch.  Each aspect of the crochet stitch is well defined.  No part of any given stitch is obscured.  The yarn moves well on the hook and builds up easily.  Splitting was never an issue in crochet either.  

When it came to the Abuse Olympics all I can say is it won a gold medal.  This yarn is a real champion.  You can frog it and tink (un-knit) it until the cows come home and it will just look at you and say "Anything else?"  

For the project I wanted something that was really going to showcase the crispness of the yarn in its simplicity.  To me, when a yarn is extremely crisp in its stitch definition, the real test is how well it stands up to the most basic of techniques.  The more you have going on the easier it is for issues to be hidden.  In basic stockinette combined with the simplest of lace there is no hiding.  A flaw in the yarn will stand out like a sun flower in a field of daisies.  This led me to select the Island Wools Swirl Hat by Julie Packard.  This hat works from a simple two row repeat that gives a great looking finished project.  

The first thing I noticed when working with this yarn was how it moved.  The movement wasn't too fast and it wasn't too slow.  It moved, in true story book fashion, just right.  From moving through my hand to my needles the yarn had a really elegant flow.  The second thing I noticed was how interesting the fabric it builds into is.  Usually I just knit and don't keep stopping to admire what I'm working on until it's all done.  That was not the case here.  Each time I completed a few rounds I stopped, looked at just how rich the fabric was becoming and smiled.  The yarn is so well formulated there is a simple elegance present which shows in the depth of each stitches definition.  Each is individual and crisp yet flows right into the other visually.  The final aspect that really stoods out to me regarding Nuna is how the fiber held tension.  I am an extremely tight knitter.  That being said it is important that a yarn does not give easily.  I can easily distort a yarn that is structurally weak.  This yarn held up to my tension.  No distortion.  No stretching.  It was just happy to work with my style of knitting.   

All in all I was truly pleased with Nuna.  In the sport weight category this yarn has the complete package.  From striking texture, rich sheen, wonderful work-ability inherent to the fiber, overall color palette and well balanced formulation Mirasol got this one spot on.  There is something for everyone in this yarn.  I can easily see it being user friendly to all skill levels and workable for both men's and women's items.  I think it would be absolutely perfect for those light weight tops that are both casual yet dressy.  Price point, in my opinion, is reasonable for the quality and quantity of the yarn especially factoring in the sharpness of the end result.  This yarn is one I would gladly use again and have no reservations about recommending to fellow knitters and crocheters.  With that said I would have to give Nuna a five stitch marker rating.  It has all of the things you could ask for in a fiber and then some.

When I opened the box from Universal Yarns to peruse what they sent for review this was one of the first to catch my eye.  The particular shade of green and the sheen of the yarn caught my interest.  It has a lovely silky feel from the bamboo which is blended nicely with the cotton resulting in a soft yet strong fiber.  This yarn is both visually attractive and has a really nice body to it before you even begin working it into a fabric.

For the Knit Swatch I was pleased with how quickly the yarn moved.  I like a fast yarn and it is fast on my stainless steel needles.  With bamboo needles I found it still moved very nicely.  When it came to moving through the hand it was a pleasure.  This is a six ply yarn that will ply easily if you are too shallow when you approach yout stitch so be mindful when you approach it.  For the most part, there were a few times I swore when I found I split the plies a row back and had to tink, the plying was not much of an issue once I saw how I needed to approach the yarn with my needles to avoid splitting the plies.  It was quite user friendly.  I liked the luster of the yarn and the lightness of it so I was willing to adapt to its nuances.  

For the Crochet Swatch I was pleasantly surprised that I did not experience much of a problem with the plying.  It could be the hook I use (Waves from Knitters Pride) which worked very nicely with this fiber.  I don't have too much of the yarn left after the project but I think I have enough to do a head band so I will give that a go in my spare time and see how I like working with this yarn for longer than a few rows.  The stitch definition is quite nice and I would be very interested to see it worked up in a shell pattern.

For the Abuse Olympics the yarn was a champ.  The fiber came apart as easily as it went together.  Frogger (I may be dating myself with that reference) would have been proud of how well it stood up to repeated frogging.  The yarn can take punishment and still be your friend.

This particular yarn inspired me to be creative.  It is quite light for a plant fiber yarn and it conjured images of a really nice mesh lace.  The scarf I designed combines drop stitch for the ends and basic faggoting for the body.  I will freely admit I am a bit on the compulsive side when it comes to balance so I did the scarf in two halves and joined them using the Kitchener stitch.  If I remember correctly I used the largest recommended needle size which was a US 7.  Once the pattern is written up and put through testing I will update this review with the pattern information.

Of all the yarns I have used that are highly plied this particular yarn impressed me with how infrequently it plied.  Don't get me wrong.  It plied on me but not to an extent that I became annoyed with the yarn or even thought "I'm not using this ever again."  I would actually be willing to knit with this yarn again.  I found it lends itself extremely well to lace patterns.  The stitch definition to this yarn is on the probably it's greatest quality in my opinion.  Knit stitches show up so nicely a stockinette based fabric would draw attention.  Cables show up beautifully as well.  I will say this though, this yarn does not discriminate.  It will show your beautiful stitches just as easily as the not so beautiful ones.  Some yarns will hide your knitting sins.  This one will not.  I learned that after I got caught up knitting and watching tv.  I promptly backed out two rows and re-knit them.  Please don't take this as a means of saying the yarn is difficult to work with.  It is not in any way difficult to work with.  This yarn just tells the truth.   I actually like that.  It keeps me on my toes and really does make me say "I can make that better" instead of settling.  

For me this yarn will go in the "willing to use again column."  I can easily see spring/fall scarves made from it and have no doubt it would make a lovely women's sweater.  I do wonder though if the sweater would end up being a bit on the weighty side once the final yardage comes into play however the drape would be beautiful because of it.  With one ball at $8.50 with 292 yards Bamboo Pop has the bang for the buck.  I like a good balance between price, quantity and quality.  This yarn hits all three of those well.  The color palette is definitely geared toward women;s/girl's/children's garments/items.  There are a few colors that would work for boys but the sheen on the yarn and the few neutrals present don't really scream something I would see many men's items made from.  Fortunately for me, I have plenty of sisters, nieces and nieces-in-laws who would be happy with the colors in this line.  With that said I did enjoy my experience with Bamboo Pop by Universal Yarns and could see crafting several other lace themed items from the line.  All in all this was a nice yarn to work with and it earned it's four out of five stitch marker rating.  Great job Universal Yarns.  This yarn is a keeper.

My first impression of Comfy Fingering... it's like touching pure silky softness.  The color is rich and beautifully saturated.  When it hits your hand it really makes you want to knit something right away.  The hand to this yarn is incredibly silky which is one thing that really drew me into using it for socks.  I would love to make myself a knit men's crew top from it.  I think the weight and drape would be perfect for a fall/spring garment.   I would love to see the palette expanded to include some deeper hues for men's clothing.  Unfortunately, the current color selection would not be very attractive on me with the exception of maybe two or three colors, one being black, and these old eyes do not see black very well when it comes to knitting especially on small gauges.  

Right from the start this yarn wants to become fabric.  It has many of the qualities that I love in a yarn.  It glides through the hand, is incredibly fast on the needles and the stitch definition and sheen are beautiful.  It does not matter whether you are doing stockinette, garter, cables or lace.  The pattern will show really well.  The one detraction with this yarn for me is the tendency to ply.  While this is normally something that would drive me up a wall and down again, the yarn feels so wonderful and works up so beautifully I was willing to adjust to it.  I definitely found sharp tip needles were a better fit to this yarn than blunt tips when it comes to avoiding plying.  With such a crisp yet soft finished result I found myself willing to work with its inherent properties.  The nice thing was as I worked with this yarns needs it gave in return.  I could easily see myself using this yarn for some light fall gloves, scarves and some nice light weight shawls.  The crispness of the stitches it produces would be simply stunning in lace work.

I think it is important to again point out this yarn is fast so if you need more control using bamboo or wood needles may be a good solution for you.  I found using bamboo with this yarn slowed it down a touch which for a newer knitter or for someone who is not use to using finger weight yarn and/or small diameter needles using bamboo may be a good solution.

For the Abuse Olympics
It was in the middle of the pack.  The integrity of the yarn held well as it was frogged.  No plies broke.  The area where it did not pass as well on is it fuzzes quite a bit after two to three frogs.  By five frogs it had a fairly pretty halo effect.  The yarn also has a lot of memory once it is knit.  My ten stitch, ten row Olympics swatch, which only takes me about three minutes to knit up retained some of the waviness from being in the fabric for even such a short amount of time.  So if you decide to frog a project even after you have only knit an inch or two you will want to soak and hang the yarn to dry in order to remove the waves from it.  When it comes to unknitting this yarn does great.  It comes apart just as easily as it goes together.  

Since I do love knitting socks a great deal and one of the Ravelry groups I belong to does a monthly KAL (Knit-A-Long) I figured socks would be the direction I went.  The pattern I used, which was free to participants in the KAL who finish a pair within the time frame is called HiyaHiya Forbidden City Socks.  I figured socks would give me a good test and mix of techniques.  

Whether knitting in the round or flat the yarn is friendly to work with.  It does not distort or stretch unpleasantly.  When you want it to give it gives and when you want it to hold it holds.   I got one sock done and am currently working on the second.  When the second is done I will update with a picture of the pair.

All in all I find this yarn a great fingering weight yarn.  From hand to the richness of color the yarn really does have the whole package.  Good yardage (218 yds) and a reasonable price ($2.99 per skein) are well balanced.  The only detraction's which keep me from giving this a five stitch marker rating for this line is the occasional tendency to ply and the limited color palette.  Even with the plying I enjoyed working with the yarn because of it's other positive qualities.  Kick up the color palette and include more masculine colors Knit Picks and the rating would easily go from a 4 to a 4.5.  

Copyright William Souza 2014

I can remember several years ago at the start of my knitting obsession coming across a skein of Noro at a local yarn shop.  I do not remember which Noro line it was from.  I was enthralled by the colors but when I touched it I can not say I was thrilled by the hand.  Looking back I can put it into better perspective.  I freely admit, at that time, my fiber knowledge was limited.  My "hand" was very inexperienced when it came to various fiber types.  Up until then I had only worked with big box store acrylic yarns and did not have a pool of fiber types and quality yarns to compare to or an understanding of what various fibers feel like.  I only knew the hearsay of acrylics are soft/smooth and wools are itchy.  Fast forward several years.  This time when I picked up the Kibou I could really put a greater perspective to my past, inexperienced evaluation.  

I now know all wool yarns do not feel the same, just as all acrylics do not feel the same.  Simply because something has wool in it does not mean it is going to itch like mad.  Nor does it mean it will feel coarse.  I have a better understanding of just how important formulation is when it comes to the final hand of a fiber.  Of course that goes out of the window if you have an allergy or sensitivity to wool/animal fibers.  Fortunately, I do not have an allergy or sensitivity.  

Kibou (Pronounced:  Key-Bo) is the Japanese word for hope.  I think it was quite fitting this was the Noro yarn I picked from the group of four I was provided for review.  Visually, I was enamored with the colors and the range of the hues.  There is real artistry present in the crafting of the colorways.  The hand, I found quite pleasant.  The main fiber is cotton which really adds a beautiful lightness to the yarn.  I honestly found myself imagining all of the projects I could make with this fiber.  I was truly inspired by the possibilities and could not wait to dive in.

For the Knit Swatch:  The knit swatch was a real treat to make.  This yarn required no adjusting on my part.  It moved well, gave when I needed it to and held fast when it needed to.  I even found the variation in thickness, of which there are true extremes in this yarn, complimented each other nicely and I am generally not someone who likes my yarn to vary in thickness.  The constant shifting in color hue and striping made me only want to keep knitting more and more.  How often does that happen when you're making a swatch?  Normally it is more of "Is this swatch done yet?"  This time I had to say to myself "Ok, bind off so you can move on to the project."

For the Crochet Swatch:  I found this yarn worked equally well in the crochet swatch.  The definition the yarn provided to each stitch was lovely.  There was firmness with a really pleasant give to each of the finished stitches.  I normally find crochet stitches quite dense and this yarn really countered that well.  

When it came to the Abuse Olympics I must give Kibou kudos.  No matter how many times I ripped the little Olympics swatch apart the yarn bounced back.  After 8 frogs and virtually no hint of distortion to the yarn I did not see any point to continually knitting and undoing.  When it came to unknitting the yarn was a dream.  It came apart as easily as it went together.

Since there were no free patterns specifically for Kibou I went to www.Ravelry.com for a free pattern search.  I came across the Topographical Scarf by Kristin Hansen which I thought would be a great fit for this beautiful yarn.  A note on the pattern, it was a great easy knit.  It made really smart use of wrap and turns and the pick up rows to create a visually dynamic piece.

The more I knit with this yarn the more I felt I was knitting a Monet painting.  The play of colors within themselves and against each other showed the artistry inherent to the yarn.  I do not consider myself an artistic person when it comes to colors, yet the more I progressed in the scarf the more artistic I felt.  I began to better appreciate this brand of yarn which I had summarily written off years ago based on a single, inexperienced, 15 second experience.  There was a simplicity to working with this yarn.  Kibou moved through my fingers and around my needles effortlessly.  It did not matter whether I was using stainless steel or bamboo the yarn moved equally well.  The balance to this blend of fibers is exceptional.  I even found the contrast within the colorway incredibly interesting.  The reserved vibrancy of the hues in this particular colorway constantly drew my interest. Just when I thought a color was about to become too vibrant it transitioned away from the precipice and the same is true when the color seemed about to go too dark.  

All in all, if you have not already guessed, I enjoyed my experience with Kibou.  Considering how well the yarn worked, the visual play of the colors and the yardage (approx 297 yds) the price of $19.95 is quite reasonable.  The bang for your buck is there.  I would absolutely use this yarn again and if I found it on sale I would not hesitate to stock up enough to make myself an afghan.  Notice I said myself.  I think we have all used yarns and thought "This would be great to make myself something with."  Then we find we don't get around to it.  Not in this case.  I would absolutely make myself something with this yarn before making something for anyone else.

The visual, textural and tactile interplay when working with Kibou is a real testament to the the artistry of Noro.

Copyright William Souza 2014

When I saw this skein of yarn in the bag I was pretty excited.  Visually it had a noroesque look while having a fiber content of silk, cotton, rayon and acrylic making it a great alternatives to those who are allergic to animal fibers but wanted that raw fiber look.  The yarn is self striping which makes it something I knew I would enjoy.  The colors transition from a subtle muted nature to a slightly vivid hue which I found pleasing to the eye.  

My initial thought was "Hmmm... this could be pretty interesting to work with."  I sat looking at the skein this way and that way trying to imagine what I would make with it.  Usually I look at a yarn and ideas springing to mind but this one stumped me.  The raw look to the fiber, while having visual and textural interest, left me at a loss.  I found the coloration well constructed and the gradients inviting which made me want to use the yarn. The texture of the yarn is quite different from what I am usually drawn to which, I think, is part of what gave me a bit of brain freeze.  This was truly a first for me.  "What would I use it for?", is the question I kept coming back to. 

When I swatched this yarn I actually did it after I worked the project.  I broke my own cardinal rule of swatching first.  I should have followed my rule since it would have saved me frustration as I worked the cowl.  I did two swatches.  One in crochet and one in knit.  Anyone who knows me, knows my passion is for knitting.  I enjoy crochet and can make pretty much anything you put in front of me I just find knitting more to my liking.  When it came to this yarn I actually found I liked it better for crochet than knitting!  Don't get me wrong the yarn does make an attractive item when knit and I really wish I had more so I could have crocheted a complete project with it for a really in-depth comparison of how it worked in both forms.  

For the knit swatch:  I found it was easier to work in stockinette than in the 3x2 rib pattern of the cowl.  In part, this was due to not having to change between knits and purls in the same row.  Since this yarn does NOT have any real stretch to it it is really easy to leave extra yarn when you transition.  With the stockinette since you have pretty much consistent tension across the entire row it was much less fussy to work with.  I did get some honkin' gutters at the edges of the stockinette swatch that I had to really pay attention to avoid.  I found the texture of the yarn rather pleasant in stockinette.  (You can apply many of my comments in the project statement about how I had to adjust my approach to this section so I won't repeat them here.)

For the crochet swatch:  I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a different experience it was to work with this yarn in crochet .  The lack of stretch to the yarn really worked with crochet nicely.  I found the yarn moved quite easily in this medium.  If I come across Tangier again I may just pick up a skein to do a one skein project in crochet to see how I like working with it for longer than a swatch.

When it came to the Abuse Olympics the yarn was a bit on the lacking side.  While it tinked (unknit) quite easily and without issue it did not take well to frogging at all.  Two frogs and the frogged portion was full of pills.  I did find that the yarn did knit extremely easily in garter stitch during the Olympics.  Which broadened my thoughts on various uses for this yarn.  I can definitely see it used in domino/mosaic knitting.  The self striping nature and interesting texture of the fiber would  lend extremely well to them.  The other thing the Olympics taught me was DO NOT under any circumstances reduce the high level of twist on the yarn in any way (especially when doing a long tail cast on.)  The yarn stays together because of the twist.  As soon as it untwists enough the yarn come apart like you are pulling on cotton candy.  You know how if you gently pinch and pull on cotton candy a piece will just separate?  That's what the yarn will do when it untwists.  It happened to me twice.  The first time I thought it must have been a bad spot.  The second time I realized it was the yarn untwisting as I cast on that made it happen.  This is an easy thing to avoid but you need to know about it to avoid it.

For a full project I decided to go with the Tangier Cowl.  The project called for one skein which was perfect.  

Working with the yarn took some adjustment.  First it has an extremely high degree of twist to it.   There are no plies to the fiber just one solid spun mass which kept spinning tighter as I worked.  I had to adjust how I worked with it to prevent the yarn from spinning tighter and tighter on itself, while at the same time making sure I did not untwist it.  Second, this yarn has definite variations in thickness.  This is something where personal tastes will definitely come into play.  My personal preference is for yarns with uniform thickness.  With that said I will admit from an artistic perspective the variation in thickness gives an added dimension of visual interest to the fabric.  Third, I found it moved differently in my hand than other silk/cotton, silk/cotton/acrylic blends I have used.  I found it did not move as quickly as I would have personally liked it to in my hand (with the exception of with crochet.)  Again, this is a matter of personal preference.  For someone who likes a yarn to move slower, so there is a higher level of control, this would be a plus.  For someone like myself who wants yarn to move quickly this is a bit of a detraction.  It was quite humid while I worked this project so I am wondering if that impacted the cotton content and contributed to the level of drag.  Not sure but it is something I do wonder about.  Lastly, there is no give to this yarn.  Some yarns you can pull and it will stretch a little more and then go back.  This is, what it is.  I'm not calling this good or bad.  It is simply a factor to get used to especially when working in ribbing.  

As the project worked on and I adjusted to the nature of this particular yarn, I did find it growing on me a bit.  I thoroughly enjoyed the striping it produced.  It was smooth and visually appealing.  The finished stitches did have great visual interest between the raw nature of the fiber and the variations in thickness.  Like I said, it grew on me.  Not to the point where I am having dozens of ideas popping into my head and want to order bags and bags of the yarn, but enough that I did move from thinking "I'm really not sure I'm going to like this," to thinking "I can see using this again for the right project."   In all honesty I can't say I love the yarn or that I hate it.  This is definitely a yarn a person has to try for themselves and see if it works for their personal tastes and skill level.

I do feel it is a good alternative to those who are looking for a particular look and want to avoid the expense of and/or need a non-wool based fiber which produces a somewhat noroesque fiber texture.  Considering you would need two skeins of Noro Silk Garden (110 yards each) to equal one of the Tangier (220 yards each) the price on this is pretty good comparatively.  I do need to say the color palettes, the color hues and the patterning within the two yarns are very different.  I have to give Cascade yarn credit in this regard.  The fibers look similar but the coloring is quite different.  So Cascade really did make this their own.

All in all I would give this yarn a 3.5 stitch marker review.  It is a decent yarn overall.  Just not one which jumps out at me begging to be used on a variety of projects.  The yardage and colors are there which makes the pricing respectable for what you are getting.  The yarn is suitable, in my opinion, for a variety of stitch patterns from simple to complex without the patterning getting lost.  Just make sure you understand how to work with this particular yarn before really jumping into your project.  In the end I found myself having to adjust to the fiber a bit more than I would have liked.


Copyright William Souza 2014