Lion Brand Amazing

I told you I was not religously knitting only with hand dyed, natural fibres, even if I usually prefer them to every other yarn. Today I’ll share my thoughts about a commercial brand and a not so natural blend, Lion Brand’s Amazing.

Lion Brand is an American yarn brand, established in 1878. They are located in New York, I’ve heard their studio was worth the visit and is supposed to be a yarn paradise! Some of their yarns are made in the USA and some are made elsewhere in the world (Amazing, for instance, is made in Italy). They mostly produce acrylic yarns, wool yarns, blends of both and novelty yarns, but they also have a line called LB Collection that includes extrafine merino, cashmere and silk blends. They have some high quality 100% acrylic yarns and their 100% virgin wool lines are sturdy and made the good reputation of the brand. On the other hand, they also have the reputation of being amongst the best producers of cheap, low-quality yarns, and to be able to meet the expectations of knitters with a restrained budget.

That swatch is made by alternating two balls of Lion Brand’s Amazing (4 rows with first ball, 4 rows with second ball).

I felt for Amazing the minute as I saw it. It’s a very slow striping yarn and all the colorways are beautiful. I had a hard time choosing my favorite but I finally opted for Arcadia which is a muted blend of reds, teals, greens and oranges. It’s 53% wool and 47% acrylic, single-ply and worsted. It has a few proprieties of the wool: it seems quite sturdy, a little scratchy, and I’m afraid it will felt at some places after wearing. It’s a bit fuzzy, mimicking mohair, which is a positive aspect for me, but it doesn’t feel like a high quality yarn. It’s sticky like acrylic can be and I found three knots out of five skeins yet. But I must say overall, I enjoy the result. It’s extremely light, with a generous 147 yards in each 50g ball. I appreciate how the colors blend together and the little halo around the piece. The listing price is $8.29 USD which seems like a quite decent price but not a deal. I saw it on sale many many times at Michaels and on some other websites, often around $6 and to me that’s a better suited price for an entry level long striped yarn.

There’s a lot of fun to have with this yarn. On my new cardigan, I’m striping two balls of the same colorway – 4 rows from a ball and 4 rows from the other one. It makes a pretty result, breaking the colors’ normal gradient. It would be very pretty to create stripes with a solid color yarn. It’s also beautiful as is! I couldn’t use this yarn for accessories worn near the face but some people might be more resistant to itchy yarn than I am. It would make beautiful hats and scarves for someone who can stand it. For skin wimp like me, I recommend it for sweaters to layer, socks and mittens, and home accessories (oh what a pretty blanket it could make!)

My new cardigan – it should be done soon, just when the sun is coming out!