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Remember this yarn?

In a fit of – I’m not sure what – I worked it up yesterday, into the very project I purchased it for. Beat that! What was it, you may ask?

A cloche. I like them. (I like the one I made, too!) It’s crocheted with my own design, using two skeins of Knitpicks Main Line (one in Cocoa, one in Antique Rose).

It’s the first time I’ve actually worked with this yarn, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on it. (You know you’re dying to hear them!)

PROS:

It’s very soft. I really, really, really love how soft it is. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it (and didn’t follow the link above), Main Line is a blend of 75% Pima Cotton and 25% Merino Wool. As you might expect from those proportions, it’s mostly cottony to the touch, with just a bit of woolyness to catch the fingers. I would definitely wear it next to the skin, and it’s warm without being hot or sticky. Main Line is also fairly inexpensive. That’s always a consideration. I really like the color pallete as well, those shades are right up my alley. It was really pleasant to work with. I didn’t find it particularly splitty – in fact, it has six plies! They hold together really well, with a firm twist that gives great stitch definition. I like it, and would definitely consider purchasing it again.

CONS:

Take a look at this:

I swear I did not abuse this while I was working it up. It’s just fuzzed up, already. It’s fuzziest at the crown (where I started) and I have to wonder how well it will hold up. Will it look like I’ve been rubbing it across the carpet after I’ve had it a week? Only time will tell.

Item two: unexpectedly short yardage. Yes, I know, I know it’s on the label. And I also know that cotton is heavier per yard than wool of the same weight (meaning thickness). Therefore, when yarn is sold by weight, a ball of mostly-cotton yarn will contain fewer yards than a ball of wool of the same weight. Still, I didn’t really think about the fact that it only had 82 yards per ball. Another 30 (heck, another 10) yards and I would have been golden: as it was I had to complete several redesigns to accommodate the yarn limitations. I’m still pleased with how it turned out, but be aware that you’re going to need more balls than a more wooly yarn to get the same yardage for your project. Want to see how much of the brown I had left?

Yup. That’s not much, at all. There was more of the pink, plus I totally could have economized on the bow if I found myself running short on it. I think you could make yourself a standard, solid-colored hat out of two balls, but if you want a turned-up brim, you might want three.

Anything else? Nope – this concludes my review of Knitpicks Main Line yarn. Overall, I think like it. I might re-evaluate when we see how much it fuzzes with use.