We are pretty strong advocates for combining two or more yarns to bulk up your fabric, add texture and depth, play with color, add some sparkle . . . in other words, truly customize your project. This is a tale about two lovely yarns that joined forces to help make a Cocoknits Sweater Workshop Emma B sweater.
"The Emmas" are knit on US 11 needles, so the initial reason for adding Alpaca Superlight to the sweater was to bulk up the fantastic made-in-Italy Hemp Tweed that I had decided to use without making the fabric super-heavy. The 25% hemp mixed in with the wool from Rowan shows up as beautiful tweedy light flecks. And the Lang Alpaca Superlight (a blend of alpaca, merino, and nylon) is truly a very light yarn with less halo than a mohair/silk blend. As I was knitting the project, I quickly fell in love with the soft fabric I was making. Hemp is a strong fiber though, and it will wear well. Finished sweater has a bit of fuzz from the alpaca and a great heathery haze. Bonus: gentle machine washable garment!
I'm really happy with the combination and highly recommend both yarns to either shine on their own, play with each other, or combine with other yarns for your own unique project.
