The nice people at Jimmy Beans Wool emailed me last week to ask if I’d like some samples of their new yarn. I took a minute to read the press release and look at the page on their website before replying, “yes, please!”
This is Harmony Worsted from their new Yarn Citizen line of recycled yarns. You can learn more about it on their website, but essentially, it is a wool and alpaca blend, made from recycled fibers. The colors they sent me, from left to right, are Sand, Cinnamon, Driftwood, and Paprika. Don’t they just have the best Autumnal vibe about them? And just as I’ve been thinking about this year’s September Sweater… The timing is pretty good.
I made a thing
These samples were small, but I cast on last night anyway, and figured I would just start knitting and see how far they got me.
I decided to do a stripey variation on a Hitchhiker Shawl. I’ve made Hitchhikers before, and you can see what they look like full size here. This one is way too small to fit me or any adult human, but it works as a test piece for sure.
It’s all blocked and finished now. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, though. Maybe I’ll see if one of my nieces wants it for her dolls. Neil suggested I give it to my favorite squirrel in case she wants to feather her nest a bit (I’m pretty sure there will be some squirrel babies in that nest very soon, if there aren’t already). It would be weird to give it to a squirrel, though, wouldn’t it? Yeah, I think it would be. Maybe. But look at that face!
If I hadn’t bound off, I could have bought one more hank of this yarn and knit a solid chunk until it was big enough to be useful. Too bad I didn’t think of that a few hours ago, because I like these colors, and I’d totally wear something like this on a chilly day.
I have thoughts
I like it. The colors, the way it feels when knitting it, and the drape of the blocked fabric all appeal to me. The only negative I have to mention is that it was a bit splitty at times. I especially had difficulty when doing the second half of a KFB. Getting the needle into the back side of the stitch often resulted in splitting, and I had to take my time and be very deliberate about getting the whole stitch on my needle. It slowed me down a little.
Overall, though, thumbs up. I would happily knit a sweater out of this stuff. I love that it’s recycled, too. It’s a little bit out of my price range for a sweater quantity (it’s $14.50 for a 211-yard hank, and the $100 it would cost me is higher than my personal limit for a sweater). However, I am very likely to buy one or two hanks to start over with this idea of a stripey Hitchhiker Shawl in a more practical size. That idea really appeals to me.
Thanks, Jimmy Beans for sending me these freebies!
Love the idea of adding a solid skein to extend the start of your stripey hitchhiker to something wearable. I’m assuming you think this yarn is soft enough to wear around the neck. I realize that is a subjective term and very specific to the wearer.
Well, I do think it’s soft enough to be a sweater that touches bare arms. Necks seem to be another story. Usually, when I make some kind of scarf or shawl out of wool, I can wear it for a nice long time before it bothers me. Though eventually it does begin to itch. (Usually when I’m driving a car, and can’t easily extract myself from the scarf without becoming a menace to the road 😜)
So, for someone like me who is not particularly sensitive, I would say it’s definitely wearable close to the skin. I did expect it to be softer due to the alpaca content, but it really just feels like some of the nicer wools do. It’s not super soft, but it’s not scratchy either.
I hope that helps. I’m terrible at explaining these things, LOL!