Hello LAD's!
It’s Helen here this week – if you’ve not ‘met’ me yet, I’m the one who is usually answering your messages and updating the Facebook group, and sending out weekly promotional emails! This week I’ve mostly been updating the website and contacting you about your delayed orders – which I am SO sorry about!
As you may be aware, we’ve had a few issues with yarn stock which has meant delays and marking a lot of colours out of stock. However, I *think* we’re over the worst of it, so look out for everything running smoothly again soon (thanks mostly to Sally in the studio keeping it all together!)
Anyway – on to this weeks blog, and I’m talking about our Super Chunky Yarn. We get a lot of various questions about our yarn from ‘how do you wind it?’ to ‘what do I do if it splits’ so I thought I’d try and answer them all in one place for you.
Talk to me about Super Chunky Yarn...
Lauren introduced our Super Chunky Yarn a couple of years into the business – until then she was all about the giant, but it has helped us open up a whole new world of knit kits and ready mades, and we couldn’t love this yarn more!
Our Super Chunky Yarn is 100% merino, meaning it is deliciously super soft – but does have a tendency to come unspun occasionally, and also has a little higher price tag to some other yarns due to the beautiful quality. We adore the results this yarn gives us, it tends to have a really soft ‘drape’ to it where some cotton yarns can be a little stiffer in the finished knit.
Since launching the Super Chunky a few years ago, it has become our most popular product, week on week, by a MILE. It seems you love it as much as we do… so let’s dive in to get some of your most frequent questions answered!
What are the ball size options?
The most popular size hanks we sell are 200g, but we also offer 100g balls for smaller projects and 50g colour pops (such as for our socks and hats).
Or if you are wanting a number of hanks, our bundles are definitely the best value. We’ve got a couple of deliciously large bundles which are actually a knitters dream!
Our 200g yarn comes in hanks as standard, but you can pay a little extra to have them wound into balls. A lot of our customers find it easier to knit from a ball of wool, rather than a hank, as it doesn’t get knotted and twisted up. However if you don’t want to pay the extra for us to wind it for you, you can just do it yourself at home.
How do I wind it myself?
It’s really simple to wind up the yarn – all you need are a pair of hands (not yours!), or a couple of chairs, your knees, or just a table. The hanks come twisted and connected (so as not to unravel in transit!) You’ll need to untwist the long hank from itself, and then snip the three small ties holding it together. One of the ties consists of the two ends of the hank.
The key is to have the hank all spread out so you can wind a ball easily from the hank. Use one of the ends and start winding round a couple of fingers until it starts to form a ball, then slip off and carry winding, slowly and gently, until the whole hank has become a ball.
It’s usually an idea to wind all your project yarn in one go so it’s all ready to start knitting – especially if you have a compliant assistant with hands!
What happens if it splits while I'm knitting?
Due to the fragility of merino yarn, it does tend to come unspun in places – this basically means it’s not fully twisted and this can happen during the yarn spinning process. If you pull the yarn too hard while it is unspun, it will break or split. This can happen when you are sewing your garments up as we tend to pull a little firmer then, than when knitting.
The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the yarn and if it starts to feels loose, just give it a little twist before carrying on knitting.
Are there any alternative yarns I could use?
We personally only supply Merino Super Chunky Yarn, because we haven’t found another yarn we love as much. However, we are planning on bringing in a cotton yarn in the future – but we are only keen to stock organic due to the impact cotton farming has, and are still looking for the right one for us. In the meantime, if you are looking for an alternative yarn because you may be in the US and don’t want to pay shipping charges, or you want to practice on a less expensive yarn, or you are vegan for example – there are plenty of other options out there. The factors to bear in mind are…
Type
We call our Super Chunky, but you can also use Super Bulky – however please note the…
Ply
This is the thickness of the yarn. Our is 16ply.
Weight & Length
Some people buy equivalent weight yarns but find they don’t have enough, so please note that our patterns are designed for our yarn which is 130m per 200g.
Gauge
If you are using an alternative yarn, please do a test gauge beforehand. You can read about gauge here.
Needles
Our Super Chunky yarn is suitable for needles size 10-20mm
Can I wash this yarn?
Our merino yarn is spot clean or hand wash only. We have had customers successfully wash their knits on a cool wash but we wouldn’t recommend it as it is likely to felt the wool.
You will find your finished knits ‘pill’ – which means they get bobbly with wear, pretty much like any 100% wool items, but it is easily remedied by pulling gently on the pills and de-bobbling to get it looking like new again!
Anything else I need to know?
It is so hard to capture the quality and colour of our wool in photos and feedback we’ve received always comments on how much nicer the yarn is to what was expected. It is so lovely to knit with, and because of the chunky size, is easy to see the stitches, quick to grow and the finish is really stunning.
In the words of one of our customers:
“The best yarn ever made…. ever…. anywhere…. ever! Super soft and lovely to knit with….literally cannot buy enough of this yarn!”
So that’s basically it! I hope that answers a few of your questions and we’ve tempted you to give it a try (if you’re not already hooked!)
If you’ve got any more questions about the yarn itself, please do let me know as I am always happy to answer your queries.
I’m hoping we will be getting any outstanding orders out in the next week, fingers crossed!
Until next time,
