I don’t generally do ‘reviews’ in the traditional sense, but maybe I should? We’ll see. Anyway I loved this Irish yarn, Hedgehog Fibres Sock, so much I felt I had to write a review of it, so here goes…
A friend of mine (who is becoming a vegan knitter, which I find so interesting) was destashing all her animal fibre based yarns over the summer and I took the opportunity to add some superwash yarns to my stash. That was my criteria – I wanted yarn I could use for baby clothes, as I know this will get used at some point. So I bought three skeins of Malabrigo Rios in Sunset and one skein o f Hedgehog Fibres Sock in Seaglass.
Another friend (and knitter) recently had a baby, so I quickly cast on my new favourite baby cardigan, Beyond Puerperium, using the Hedgehog Fibres Sock. The yarn is a fingering / 4 ply weight, made of 90% merino wool and 10% nylon, with around 350m per 100 grams. And even better the yarn is dyed right here in Ireland, in Cork. I used around 65g for the 42.5cm cardigan.
This was one of my first times knitting with such a variegated yarn but I must say I’m delighted with the result. I’ve started knitting from time to time at my morning coffee break and several of my colleagues were curious as to how I was creating the multicoloured effect, until I showed them the ball. The overall effect reminds me of camouflage and my colleagues were very impressed.
But what prompted me to write this review is how soft this yarn is. I should say here that the colour in the first few pictures is more true to life – the pictures of the FO were taken in the evening before I parceled it up for posting. It’s just gorgeous to work with, I didn’t want to put it down. The stitch definition is also really crisp. I’ve popped the finished cardigan in the wash, and though I’ve only tested it after one wash, the garment really held it’s shape well.
And did I mention how soft it is? Definitely soft enough for a baby’s skin! You all know I’m a yarn snob, so for me this is a great combination of a washable yarn, made from natural fibre, that I really want to knit with. I know not everyone would be willing the spend the €22 on a skein for baby clothes (and I paid half price) but as the recipient is a knitter too I know she will appreciate the beauty of a hand dyed yarn.
So the perfect yarn deserves the perfect button, right? I wanted to get some rust coloured buttons to go with this cardigan, to pick out the brown-y tones in the yarn. I popped into A. Rubanesque and found the dotiest little elephant buttons. And even better – they were on sale. I do love a good button, the finishing touches can really make or break a finished item.
I will definitely be going back for more of this yarn, and will be trying more hand dyed, superwash yarns for baby clothes – for the right recipient (you all know what I mean).
Crafty Tails 