Knitting - UK (2021-07)

knittingmag.com 27

YARN REVIEW

STYLECRAFT NATURALS
ORGANIC COTTON

Stylecraft’s Naturals collection
focuses on natural fibres, and
its latest addition is Organic
Cotton, a yarn made from
100% organic cotton. This DK-
weight is made of five very thin
plies lightly twisted together.
It has a pleasant dry handle as
you work with it and knits up
to make a lovely drapey fabric
with great stitch definition. It
knits up comfortably on the
recommended 4mm needle
to a standard DK tension.
Stylecraft Naturals Organic
Cotton has a broad palette of
38 shades, including neutrals,
pastels and bold, on-trend
brights – chalky green 7194
Cardoon is pictured here. To
support the yarn Stylecraft has
released a range of summery
pattern leaflets for women and
girls with relaxed, oversized
shapes and interesting colour
play – plus some free patterns
to download. Machine-wash at
30ºC, cool tumble-dry, iron on
a low setting.

Composition: 100% organic
cotton
Weight: 50g Length: 105m
Rec needle size: 4mm
Tension (10cm): 22 sts x 28 rows
RRP: £2.29
Contact: stylecraft-yarns.co.uk

LANG YARNS

KIMBERLEY

A blend of 70% cotton,

22% hemp and 8% polyester,

Lang Yarns Kimberley blends

softness with structure, while

a gentle sprinkling of colourful

nepps adds a tweedy effect.

This chainette yarn has a very

dry handle, and creates a firm

fabric which still drapes well.

Billed as a worsted-weight, it

knits up well on 4mm needles,

but it would be interesting

to experiment with bigger

needles to see how it responds.

Kimberley comes in 12 bold

and pastel shades, including

minty green-blue 72 (pictured).

It is backed up by a design

collection featuring on-trend

oversized, drapey shapes and

lots of openwork. Among them

are a cute vest and cropped

cardigan twinset that featured

in Knitting 219 last month.

This lovely summer yarn

is perfect both for knitting

and wearing on hot days.

Hand-wash at 30ºC, do not

tumble-dry.

Composition: 70% cotton,

22% hemp, 8% polyester

Weight: 50g Length: 105m

Rec needle size: 4-4.5mm

Tension (10cm): 19 sts x 27 rows

RRP: approx. £8.60

Contact: langyarns.com

RICO CREATIVE COTTON

DEGRADE LUCKY 8

Rico has released a range of

colour-changing yarn cakes

over the past few years, and

Lucky 8 is the latest addition

to this series. With a massive

800m in each 200g cake it

is more than enough to knit a

shawl from a single ball, and

each one comes with a simple

pattern on the label.

This 4-ply-weight blend of

50% cotton and 50% acrylic

is lightweight and breathable,

with a dry handle but plenty

of give. It is made up of four

thin strands of yarn that are

not twisted but simply held

together, and which change

shade at different points to

create a long, gradual colour

change. In the sample pictured,

shade 003 Terra, I have used

different colour sections to

show the colours involved.

Rico has released a number of

patterns specially for this yarn

in its Made by Me 12 collection.

Gentle machine-wash at 30ºC,

do not tumble-dry.

Composition: 50% cotton,

50% acrylic

Weight: 200g Length: 800m

Rec needle size: 3.5mm

Tension (10cm): 26 sts x 38 rows

RRP: £16.99

Contact: rico-design.com

RICO ESSENTIALS

ORGANIC COTTON

Organic cotton is the fibre

of the summer, and Rico has

released its own offering.

Essentials Organic Cotton is

an aran-weight, lightly twisted

yarn with a soft, dry handle

that knits up to a lovely fabric

that is gentle on your skin but

structured and with excellent

stitch definition. It would make

a great yarn for baby gifts.

I tried out this yarn on a

5mm needle, at the top of the

recommended range, and

found it created a light fabric

with structure as well as drape.

Depending on what project

you have planned, I would

recommend going up or down

a few needle sizes to see what

this versatile cotton can do.

This yarn comes in 20

bold shades, mixing bright,

saturated colours with classic

neutrals and pastels, including

shade 11 (pictured). A small

selection of leaflet patterns

is available. Machine-wash at

40ºC, do not tumble-dry.

Composition: 100% organic

cotton

Weight: 50g Length: 90m

Rec needle size: 4-5mm

Tension (10cm): 18 sts x 24 rows

RRP: £2.19

Contact: rico-design.com