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.

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. 

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

Fiber Content: 
70% Merino Wool
30% Mulberry Silk
Weight: 100 grams (3.5 oz)
Yardage: 219 Yds (199 m)
Recommended Needle Size: 
US 7 (4.5 mm)
Gauge: 5 stitches per 1 inch
Color Palate: 42 colors

The moment Venezia Worsted landed in my hands I wanted to work with it.  This yarn sits in your hand and whispers "Knit me, knit me" (or "Crochet me, Crochet me") while the sheen hypnotizes you.  This was  irresistible to me so out came my Nostepinne and I began to wind.  Simply winding it into a center pull was a treat.  It wound easily and moved beautifully.  Like any yarn where you wind by hand make certain to wind on the loose side.  If you wind it too tight you can break/stretch/weaken the plies and/or ruin the natural loft of the yarn.  

The next thing was to make a swatch so I could see just what it would (and would not) do.  I must admit, this yarn moves like a dream.  It simply glides through the fingers and over the needles.  The yarn itself has virtually no grab so it makes knitting fast and simple.  I worked the yarn with both stainless steel and bamboo and even with bamboo needles the yarn is fast.  The stitch definition is incredible lending itself to any stitch you wish to use from simple knit purl to cables.  I was also pleasantly surprised that despite the number of plies (16) there was no splitting of the plies when knitting.  Heavily plied yarns and I have a love-hate relationship.  They love to hate me and I love to hate them right back.  I often find when I use highly plied yarns I am constantly swearing at having split the plies.  This did not happen to me once.  

The next thing I like to do is make a teeny tiny swatch (2x2) that I can frog and re-knit, frog and re-knit. This gives me an idea of the level of abuse the yarn can take.  It tells me how quickly do the plies begin to fray/break, does it stick to itself/felt to itself, does it get fuzzy quickly.  I like to know just how exact I need to be when working with a fiber.  As any crafter knows not all yarns are kind. Nothing is worse than knowing you have just enough to make something and then you rip back a row or two and find out that bit of yarn is unusable because of these issues.  On some counts it passed with flying colors on others it did OK.  When it came to tinking (un-knitting) there were absolutely zero issues.  The yarn did not stick to itself in any way shape or form.  It came apart just as easily as it went together.  Definitely, a major plus!  The level of fuzziness repeated frogging caused was minimal as well.  Don't get me wrong there was some fuzzing going on after the third and fourth frog but nothing extreme that a good soak after working wouldn't make disappear so another plus there.  When it came to fraying/breaking due to repeated frogging the yarn did exactly what I expected it to do.   After two to three frogs you could see little areas that were wearing thin.  By four and five frogs there was breaking of plies happening.  Because this yarn is made of sixteen individual plies that is not surprising.  Do keep in mind I am putting the yarn through an abuse Olympics.  Let's face it most are not going to frog the same bit of yarn five+ times and if they are it should be expected that a ply will end up breaking.

Next I decided to make the Venezia Worsted Beret so I could work with it on an actual project.  The project takes one skein so I figured it would be a good choice for what the swatch didn't use.  The pattern is quick and simple so I was able to watch some TV and work it at the same time.  There is an omission within the pattern.  Rounds 24 to 26 are not included so I looked at the picture on the pattern and winged it.  Even with making my swatch and the hat I still had some of the Venezia left over to add to my worsted scraps.  Once the hat was done I soaked it overnight, gave it a quick hand wash with some mild detergent and a rinse with fabric softener and let it dry.  Once more the yarn passed with flying colors.  

Overall, I truly enjoyed working with this yarn.   Pattern support for it is available through the Cascade website; 22 free patterns ranging from one skein hats to sweaters which use nine skeins for the largest size.    Pricing for this yarn when searched on-line ranged anywhere between $14 to $17 per skein. If you catch a good sale don't hesitate to treat yourself.  For the yardage and how well it works up it is well worth the price in my opinion.  

Copyright William Souza 2014