KNITmuch | Issue 07
Welcome to a new issue of KNITmuch magazine! We review four yarns, two yarns created with natural fibers and two with acrylics. Check them out! See how they are constructed, the fiber content, how they knit up, and suggestions for knitting projects. I'm talking about Uptown Worsted Magix, a new addition to the Uptown Worsted collection that has anti-pilling properties you'll be excited about. Dreamy yarn, an acrylic yarn perfect for those soft socks, blankets and anything you want to feel cozy in. Another new yarn this year, Chic Sheep by Marly Bird is 100% merino wool by Red Heart. For natural fiber lovers check out the properties that make this an excellent choice for winter knitting. And for those who knit their summer clothes during the winter, included is our review of Papyrus yarn, a soft linen and cotton blend that offers cool and soft knits for the whole family. Don't miss our tutorials on steam blocking, how to write patterns for beginner knitters, the anatomy of a knitted beret and bunny ears decreases make an excellent motif for a baby blanket, and you know there's so much more.
Welcome to a new issue of KNITmuch magazine! We review four yarns, two yarns created with natural fibers and two with acrylics. Check them out! See how they are constructed, the fiber content, how they knit up, and suggestions for knitting projects.
I'm talking about Uptown Worsted Magix, a new addition to the Uptown Worsted collection that has anti-pilling properties you'll be excited about. Dreamy yarn, an acrylic yarn perfect for those soft socks, blankets and anything you want to feel cozy in.
Another new yarn this year, Chic Sheep by Marly Bird is 100% merino wool by Red Heart. For natural fiber lovers check out the properties that make this an excellent choice for winter knitting. And for those who knit their summer clothes during the winter, included is our review of Papyrus yarn, a soft linen and cotton blend that offers cool and soft knits for the whole family.
Don't miss our tutorials on steam blocking, how to write patterns for beginner knitters, the anatomy of a knitted beret and bunny ears decreases make an excellent motif for a baby blanket, and you know there's so much more.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
After a stint in the wash, this swatch has a slight halo of fuzz, but no pills.<br />
As you can see in the photo above, the washing<br />
and drying experience didn’t result in pills on these<br />
acrylic yarn swatches. The slight halo of fuzz that is<br />
visible doesn’t even seem to matt and form those<br />
pre-pilling wads which often happens to acrylics<br />
when they go through the laundry.<br />
I tried to find out as much as I could about how<br />
antipilling yarn is manufactured, but the information<br />
must be buried outside of Google’s “eyes”. I even<br />
looked at fiber engineering resources and really<br />
came up with little, so I’m guessing it’s a tightly<br />
guarded trade secret.<br />
What I could gather from my research is that the<br />
polymers used to produce a longer, stronger more<br />
resilient staple (individual strand of fiber), that<br />
handles being spun by large spinning machines<br />
really well. I tried to see if there is a chemical<br />
bath, like the ones superwash wool or mercerized<br />
cotton get dumped in, that would change the<br />
properties of the acrylic yarn, but I couldn’t find<br />
anything to indicate that’s a thing. There’s a<br />
lot more experimentation with microfibers and<br />
blending nylon and different types of viscose and<br />
polyesters with acrylic as well, but the label would<br />
reflect that, I think.<br />
Suffice it to say, I may never be able to find out what<br />
the secret sauce is, but I don’t need to. I’m happy<br />
knitting with this yarn, and it will be one of my go to<br />
yarns for gifts that need easy care.<br />
Another reason I give Uptown DK Magix a high<br />
score is the six colorways it comes in. They are<br />
bright and they don’t fade in the wash. I really like<br />
pairing green with purple, and this use of a seafoam<br />
green in Purple Party would be perfect for<br />
mermaid fans. If you’ve read any of my earlier blog<br />
posts, you’ll know that teal is my absolute favorite<br />
color, and when it’s paired with red, like in Swing<br />
Set, I just love it. The blues in Blue Shades will be the<br />
choice of many knitters, I’m sure.<br />
3 bright colorways of Uptown DK Magix in warm colors<br />
Yellow Slumber reminds me of some marshmallow<br />
Easter candies we would have in the house every<br />
spring. All of the items I knit this week are knit in<br />
Summer Flies, a fitting name with the sky blue and<br />
meadow greens used in this colorway. Pink Tango,<br />
is a saucy, fun name for a colorway, and captures<br />
this blend of pinks perfectly.<br />
Just a last note: the washing instructions on the ball<br />
band say wash in cold water and tumble on low. I<br />
hadn’t paid attention to that before I washed it in<br />
hot water and dried it in full-blast heat on a towel<br />
load. I’m guessing if you follow the ball band, you’re<br />
knit items will look lovely even longer, but if you<br />
must disinfect anything, it’ll all turn out fine.<br />
3 bright colorways of Uptown DK Magix in cool tones<br />
Summer Flies colorway of Uptown DK Magix is a cheery combination of<br />
summer skies and green meadows.<br />
8 <strong>KNITmuch</strong> | issue 7
Change language