.png)
A stunning colour combo from Black Stag Yarn is the subject of today's review. Before going any further I cannot move on without mentioning the genius names of Sam's yarns. This is 'Purple Cow & Robin egg is how you make some fancy legs'.
I was provided with this yarn to review independently by Black Stag. I have not been paid for the review, all thoughts and comments are my own, Black Stag had no editorial input in either the review article or the video.Part of a collection inspired by the intensity of the '80s. This is a stunning Purple to turquoise gradient.
This base is a luxurious, soft Merino with a good percentage of Nylon for strength and pill reduction. Warm, soft, cosy, everything you want in a sock.
This is a high twist yarn.
The core info and where to buy is in the next section, with a selection of suggested projects, how I played with the yarn and a video showing the yarn in both knitted and crochet swatches.
I thoroughly enjoyed using this yarn.
Yarn Info
Black Stag Merino / Nylon
Fibre: 80% Superwash Merino 20% Nylon
Weight: Sock / Fingering / 4 ply / 20 wpi ( 2ply, high twist construction)
Meterage: 365m / 399 yards per 100g / 3.5 oz skein
Recommended needle size: 2.0mm - 4.0mm depending on gauge for your project. This is a high twist sock yarn
For socks: 2.0mm - 2.5mm
Recommended care: This is Superwash Merino and nylon so can be machine washed at low temperatures but we recommend hand washing to keep the dye looking it’s best.
Price: £14.00
Available from Black Stag based in Scotland, UK
The first stage is to convert the pretty hand wrapped skein into a workable ball of yarn. I decided against hand winding as there's over 350m worth of yarn here.
Got out the winder and the swift and prepared to begin the winding process. First off the yarn unwound from the skein cleanly. The ties were also very simple to find and remove from the hank of yarn. The winder fed smoothly and there were no tangles or tags as I transferred the yarn from swift to cake.
Now the fun can begin! I get to create some sample swatches for you all. Not just a standard knitted swatch of just plain ole stockinette I creates swatches for both knit and crochet including stockinette, garter, moss stitch, cables, lace and ribbing.
You can see how different textures play well with the yarn and how some not so much. The video below shows the swatches in much greater detail and also how the fabric moves.
For the Crochet swatch I began with a granny square, moving into single crochet, followed by alternating longer and shorter stitches, ripple stitch, crocodile stitch, which gives both v stitch on the reverse and scales finishing with a scalloped border.
These swatches then sat for a little over a week, allowing the stitches to really settle into the yarn, before I frogged them ready to use on my own project.
You can see the frogging live in the video above, it was a smooth process with very little tagging. The yarn came away with a slight kink which can be removed by steaming, although I'm using without taking this extra step and the yarn looks lovely. I'm making some gauntlets for my Mum.
In summary this yarn has been a delight to look at, to hold and to use. It would be great for socks and gloves and frankly I believe it would be a great base for any garment or shawl. The high twist gives a fabulous sheen to the finished fabric and it works up just as nicely in both knit and crochet work. Any errors can be undone simply and the yarn is not splitting at all, again this is probably due to the high twist.
I've included the first photo of the gauntlets I'm making as they use the Wild Oats stitch. This yarn shows the definition of the extended slip stitches far more than I was expecting and I can't wait to finish these. You can find more updates on progress on both Twitter and Instagram.
