March: Beta Testing

 

March: "Chainmail Sweater"

As directed, I tried the pattern in a swatch cap first. It's the lovely Mirasol alpaca and a random green yarn I bought second-hand. The colors meld beautifully and I love it. Except I don't have the suggested medium color to match these, and the guage I got from the swatch cap indicated I would not have nearly enough yarn. So back to the drawing board.

And it's kinda pointy... which wouldn't be a problem in the sweater, really, but still. Otherwise this is my favorite hat I've ever knit!

ColourMart Swatches: Cashmere

Here are the cashmere yarns.

This is the 8/14NM cashmere aran weight, prewash. Lovely to knit, very soft, beautiful hand. I think it was very well suited to the cable or other textural stitches. The color isn't exactly what I would choose for myself, though! I think it was "cyclamen".








This is after washing. You can see it puffed up a bit (I think they say "bloom") and it's much softer and fuzzier. I love this yarn.
You can see the yarn ends here -- it was actually a pretty splitty yarn to knit, the yarn being made by twisting 2 strands of laceweight and then twisting 4 strands of the resulting yarn together. Still a pleasure to knit.






I tried to get a side shot to show the fuzziness of the yarn. Look at that depth! I would love a sweater of this stuff!











This was dk weight 100% cashmere 2/7NM color crocus mix. Prewashing, it was soft enough. I loved the color combinations in this heathered yarn. Light purples, pinks, and reds. Not normally what I'd choose, but I found it really charming.









After washing, this yarn was gorgeous! I tried to capture the puffiness in the picture. Now I see why they say "bloom"! Truly lovely and soft.












This is 4/14NM 100% cashmere double twist in brume. I felt like this yarn was kind of boring. Grey heathered with some darker greys and black. Hand was ok, resulting fabric ok, nothing spectacular. Probably my least favorite yarn that I swatched from ColourMart.

Here's the grey cashmere after washing. It bloomed some, but not as beautifully as the crocus one.

ColourMart Swatches: Silk

A couple of weeks ago I got the samples package from ColourMart and I've been happily swatching ever since. I had heard there would be a marked difference in some of the yarns pre- and post-washing, so I took pictures before and after. I could tell with some of the yarns, and not so much with others.

First, the yarn I actually ordered: 100% silk laceweight in silver. This is one section repeat of the center of the pattern I'm planning to use. Prewashed. I used 2.0 mm needles. This yarn is tiny! It's really smooth and slippy. I anticipate it will drape gorgeously.









This is after a light washing with a very mild soap, and blocking. The size didn't change much compared to the first pre-wash pinning out. The color is gorgeous and shiny. Reminds me of my Russian Blue cats in the sunshine.










This is the 100% crunchy silk, 5/20NM color: granite mix. And the name says it all, this stuff is crunchy. Stiff and ... kind of scratchy, but scratchy like a loofa, not like itchy. ColourMart suggests use for outer garments, and I agree.










Post-washing and blocking, size didn't change much, and it did not bloom. I experimented with different stitched in the swatch. To the left is seed stitch, then a cable. I also tried plain stockinette and a 1x1 rib. I think I liked the seed stitch best.









This is pre-washing 100% smooth silk 8/28NM color: citron. I loved this yarn. So smooth and shiny to the point of sparkling.














After the wash, the fabric didn't change much, no blooming. But it was just gorgeous. I tried a lacey bit of the swatch and a cabely bit. Both worked nice, but the cable was particularly nice because it highlighted the sheen of the yarn.