The first sign that winter is coming back is that I get the urge to knit a hat. As I said before (several times!), my goal is to knit the warmest hat ever (hand) made and no matter what I try, I’m never 100% satisfied (spoiler alert: this time I might very well be satisfied). I pursue this goal year after year, and for my latest experiment, I picked a worsted weight yarn called Spud and Chloë Sweater, which is a lovely blend of superwash wool and cotton.
I will say it right from the start: I almost never knit using cotton blends, and I was sceptical that I would enjoy knitting with this yarn. I love cotton for its softness but I find it hard to work with as it lacks flexibility and stretchiness to my liking. This blend is different. When I touched the yarn, the softness of cotton is the first thing that hit me. When knitting with it, I was surprised that it almost felt like I was knitting a springy wool. Looking at the tag, I realized it wasn’t so surprising as the blend contains 55% superwash wool and 45% cotton, and it beautifully combines the properties of both fibers, but nothing of the itchiness of the wool.
I took me over a week to pick my 3 favorite colorways! I’m indeed super slow at picking colors, because I can’t help but to try all the possiblities in my head, but it also took so much time because there are 30 lovely colorways available! Most of them are bold, solid colors, and some heather colorways are also available.
It might sounds counterintuitive to use cotton to get a warm result but I used a very tight, 2-colors stitch pattern, and slightly smaller needles than suggested. The result is nonetheless stretchy and it is indeed very, very warm. On the other hand, I’m sure that a loose, open stitch pattern would create a light result. I’m tempted to get more of this yarn to knit a light sweater for spring.
Bottom line – Sweater is a versatile yarn that can be used for almost any of your worsted weight projects. Because of all the colorways available, it is an especially great choice for colorwork, and because of its softness and easy care, kid garments and accessories would definitely shine in this yarn.
About my hat… I wore it everyday since it’s been off the needles! The pattern is currently being tested, so stay tuned!
PS: You will find Spud and Chloë Sweater on the Loveknitting.com website.
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