In a previous post someone recommended discount yarn sales and knit picks for affordable yarn… Knit Picks is almost too cheap to believe…looking at alpaca/silk/merino blend for $1.99 to $3.99 each for about 100yds and free shipping with orders of $45. Other Alpaca blends I have bought at my LYS were almost $10/130yds and in neutrals only.
My question is how’s the quality of Knit Picks yarn? They also mention color pooling on some of them and I am not familiar with this term if someone could explain.
I believe many people find KPs yarns to be good value and they hold up. Pooling means that in selfstriping yarns, colors will sometimes `pool’ up and be a blob of color, rather than giving a stripey effect. It happens with other brands too and depends more on the pattern and size needles you use as much as which yarn.
Ok for those of you who have used knit picks yarn–which did you like best? There seems to be too many to choose from! I’ve heard the WOTA pills but I am more interested in the alpaca and aplaca blends. And what do you like for baby things? I just finished a scarf for my son’s girlfriend in baby alpaca grande by Plymouth and it was $12.99 per hank, I’d love to find less expensive but still lovely yarn. (wouldnn’t we all?).
most of my kp yarns are still in my stash, so I can only give impressions based on feel - I like to pet my Decadence, Twirl wants to be a hat, just got some Suri Dream for an afghan, and the Andean Silk feels pretty nice.
I’m triple stranding three shades of Palette into a tea cozy, so it’s pretty thick but I like working with it. I started a project with the Sierra, but wasn’t getting gauge and had to get more, so haven’t gone back to that one yet.
I am knitting KP shine worsted into a sweater which is very nice and soft. It was a little splitty till I got used to knitting with it. Can’t say how it’ll wash yet but apparently you can machine wash and dry it. Not sure if I’m that brave.
I am working with andean treasure, making a hat. WOW it is unbelievably soft and pretty! It is a little splittier than the more expensive alpacas but nice colors and I think a bargain at the price! Again, can’t say how it’ll wear.
I made a baby sweater out of Andean Silk – I looove working with that yarn. However I haven’t made a habit of making baby items from it because it needs to be hand-washed. Shine is an excellent yarn for baby things IMHO because it’s sooo soft and is also machine washable.
I’m just finishing a cardigan for my daughter out of Wool of the Andes, and I’ve enjoyed working with it. I can’t say for sure how it will wear and if it will pill since it is still OTN, but it seems like it will be OK. :shrug:
In a previous post someone recommended discount yarn sales and knit picks for affordable yarn… Knit Picks is almost too cheap to believe…looking at alpaca/silk/merino blend for $1.99 to $3.99 each for about 100yds and free shipping with orders of $45. Other Alpaca blends I have bought at my LYS were almost $10/130yds and in neutrals only.
I guess I am in the minority because I don’t care for the Knitpicks yarns that I have tried. They don’t seem very robust to me and they are loosely spun. I don’t know how they will hold up in the long run. The color choices are not always very good either. I really think that the Elann house brands are generally a higher quality of yarn if you are looking for inexpensive yarn.
I have tried several of the sock yarns and almost all of the laceweight yarns and was not impressed with any of them. Especially with laceweight yarns you can get much better quality for only a few dollars more if you buy something like Jaggerspun Zephyr or Misti Alpaca laceweight instead of the KP yarns.
I’ve used their “Decadence” (100% alpaca yarn bulky weight), and it was very soft and beautiful (my “intro” to the warm, yummy world of alpaca!). I also have some “Suri Dream” (74% alpaca, 22% wool, 4% nylon super bulky weight) I haven’t knitted yet (going to be a throw) but it’s very soft and lightweight. I’ve also used their “Shadow” and “Gossamer” yarns (100% merino wool laceweight) as well as “Alpaca Cloud” (100% alpaca laceweight) and “Shimmer” (70% alpaca, 30% silk laceweight). I’d really like to try their “Andean Silk”/“Andean Silk Twist” (55% alpaca, 23% silk, 22% merino wool worsted weight) yarns because they are so beautiful, and I think they’d be DREAMY to knit with and wear!!! The yarns are very affordable…I was amazed when I first saw their prices and couldn’t believe they were so reasonable–it made knitting with animal fibers affordable for “the average guy”! :teehee: But what I’ve found with the quality is that it can’t be beat, so order with confidence. I don’t know how they are able to sell their yarns for so much cheaper than others, as well as offer VERY affordable shipping and handling charges, but I hope they continue to do so! :cheering:
I have used Panache now twice for knitting wraps and I like it a lot. It sheds though. But since I don’t use that many natural fiber yarns, I don’t know if that is common. Panache is a like a chunky weight though. Very soft.
The only KP yarn I’ve used so far is the Andean Silk–I used it for a sweater for myself. While it felt very soft as I was knitting, the sweater feels itchy when I wear it.
I know others have really enjoyed this yarn, though. I’m sure I’ll try some of their other yarns at some point.
I knit about half of my projects in Knit Picks yarn. The quality for the price is really incredible.
My favorite all-purpose yarn is Merino Style. I have used it on everything from a Harry Potter scarf to cabled items and now I am using it to knit the Bed of Roses shawl from Elann.com.
Their alpaca and alpaca blends are really nice. I loved Andean Silk and Elegance, both are alpaca blends that are fairly refined and have a bit of sheen. Decadence is pure alpaca and as such has many of the guard hairs and would be better for outerwear only, things requiring less stitch definition.
I also have their Options interchangeable circs and Im completely in love. I never thought I would abandon my Addi Turbos, but I did.
The yarns are very affordable…I was amazed when I first saw their prices and couldn’t believe they were so reasonable–it made knitting with animal fibers affordable for “the average guy”! :teehee: But what I’ve found with the quality is that it can’t be beat, so order with confidence. I don’t know how they are able to sell their yarns for so much cheaper than others, as well as offer VERY affordable shipping and handling charges, but I hope they continue to do so! :cheering:
