The headline pretty much says it all really. We have a new yarn which is being released this Sunday (the 10th of December 2017), and it's SO good!
(This ^^ is 'Dyepot Luck' for the colourway. More on that another time!)
It's the same base as our other superwash merino yarns, hence it shares the same name, except it's chunky. You can actually hear it scrunch when you squidge it; at ECY towers we have quickly become totally smitten with it. It's an absolute joy to dye, squish, knit with, and wear.
(That ^^ is a new colourway which we've named A Murder Of Crows - I love it so much!)
Pendle Chunky comes in 100g skeins, with 100m per skein. I'd recommend using about 6mm needles with it, although obviously if you want a looser or thicker fabric you'll want to change that, but as a rough guide that's where it sits. I think it'd work well on 6.5-7mm needles too, though I'm not sure I'd go smaller than 6mm.
The actual fibre is ethically sourced just like all our merino, so it comes from non-mulesed sheep on farms which take more care over sustainability and animal husbandry. It's a long staple AND extra-fine, so the individual fibres are long and fine. What does this mean? Well the long staple means that the yarn is less prone to pilling, because fibres won't pull out of it and rub up as easily; and the fineness means that it's softer than your standard merino can be. It's more expensive for both these reasons but I honestly think it's worth it. Having worked in yarn shops, I've seen customers return with finished garments that have immediately pilled so badly they are really unwearable, and they're always from companies that are middling in price but low on the quality of the merino quality.
Anyway, obviously I knitted up a skein and wore it before deciding to take this yarn as a new base, and not only does it knit up satisfyingly fast, as you can imagine, but the hat I made has taken a lot of abuse in the weeks I've had it and it's standing up to it really well. It's been worn in sideways snow blasts, rain, icy wind, and has been stuffed in pockets and bags. The yarn has softened throughout all of this, but the hat has maintained its structure and stitch definition perfectly well. Here it is in a couple of very cold Yorkshire locations.
In case you're wondering, the pattern is Ice River hat by Helen Stewart aka Curious Handmade.
So... what do you think? Does this excite you as much as it does us? Will you be trying it?
I'm already planning to dye more both for the website AND for Edinburgh Yarn Festival (squee!). :)