Saturday, December 15, 2007

Noro Sock Yarn Review






Noro Sock yarn at last!!




This yarn is just as beautiful as its worsted weight counterpart. Subtle shifts of color over several rows give your project a handspun look. I picked mine up at Knitter's Mercantile. They had several lovely colors to choose from, but I liked this one with its mix of purples and greens. As you would expect from Noro, the colors are very saturated.







The texture of this yarn is similar to the regular Kureyon. It feels slightly scratchy at first, but softens up considerably in the knitted fabric. This is a tightly spun single ply yarn with very little bounce, and surprisingly little splittiness. Also, its variable thickness has a quality that enhances the handspun look. I have not yet encountered any hay or twigs in the wool, as I have with other Noro yarns. It has been a little problematic getting the yarn to feed smoothly from the center pull ball. I think it is the yarn's somewhat twiny texture that causes it to tangle. It isn't a huge problem, but just something to be aware of.


I am knitting my socks on size 2 needles. I was advised to knit this yarn on size 1's, but mine are currently in use. I don't believe the fabric is too open to compromise the durability of the socks; it is a 30% nylon blend, so I think they will wear pretty well. I am knitting this 64 stitch sock toe-up on a magic loop with a short row heel. The instep and cuff will be a 3x1 rib. I am consistently getting 9 sts/in.


I look forward to finishing and wearing these to test the softness and durability. I do admit that I am really enjoying knitting with this yarn so far!!


1 comment:

Deneen said...

Thank you for the review. I broke down yesterday and ordered one ball to try. I read somewhere else there weren't any of the hay bits and hopefully, after a few washings it'll soften up.

The colorways of Kureyon are what sold it to me!