A Tale of Two Yarns

Hello all! I still have an essay left to write (the deadline for one of them moved), but I thought I’d end my little blogging break and join in on the Second Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. All of my posts for the week will be on the topics there.

The idea of today’s topic was to talk about two different yarns. Instead, I’m going to talk about two different versions of the same yarn.

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Remember this stuff? If you look closely at the label on the white ball and the labels on the red balls, you’ll notice that they are slightly different. That didn’t seem horribly strange to me so I went along with my business. There were loads of comments on Ravelry that this yarn bled like crazy so I took the precaution of washing a skein first to get out any excess dye. I was expecting it to turn out looking like the Powerade incident I had with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in which it leaked so much dye that the water looked like a brightly colored sugary beverage. Instead I ended up with clear water after washing the red skein. That really weirded me out, but I went ahead and knit my swatch. I washed that, half expecting it to jump up, laugh at me, and then stain everything red, but the water was clear again. I finally decided that with the new label, Rowan might have fixed the bleeding problem. I was pretty pleased about that because the yarn was pleasant to work with.

st1

I got knitting on my project and I started noticing that something was up with the white yarn (rather than the red yarn I had been worrying over). The yarn was slightly fuzzy compared to the red yarn. It had random little fluffy bits that I could pull off of it while the red yarn was fairly smooth. I went on with my knitting, trying to ignore the fuzz and fluff. The above picture is what I ended up with. There is a weird sort of haze of loose white fibers over everything. It’s not the end of the world, but it is kind of annoying. The project is a crisp looking design so the fuzz doesn’t work well with it..

In conclusion, I’d love to work the red yarn again. The white yarn? Not so much. Since they’re technically the same yarn, there really is no way for me to tell them apart unless I buy them in person at a LYS and can fondle them. I won’t be buying anymore Rowan Pure Wool DK until I’m back to living somewhere with a LYS.

To see more posts on this topic Google 2kcbwday1 or click here.


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28 responses to “A Tale of Two Yarns”

  1. Another really interesting take on the ‘two yarns’ idea!

    Now that you mention it I’ve noticed this myself and never fully acknowledged it. There must be two versions of the same yarn. Maybe they switched suppliers to the less fuzzy, non bleeding version?

    Good to know. Shame abut your fluff though ๐Ÿ™

  2. Another really interesting take on the ‘two yarns’ idea!

    Now that you mention it I’ve noticed this myself and never fully acknowledged it. There must be two versions of the same yarn. Maybe they switched suppliers to the less fuzzy, non bleeding version?

    Good to know. Shame abut your fluff though ๐Ÿ™

  3. I have noticed that some shades of Rowan Pure Wool DK have fuzzed and bobbled terribly as I have knitted them but others will wear and wear and wear without the slightest sign of use – perhaps this is the key and that the labels denote a change in supplier?

    Dear Watson – I think you may have something here!

    PS – welcome to Lancaster’s spring. If you have not already been I entreat you to take a morning’s trip to Williamson Park one day. Sadly they have cut down most of the foliage around the memorial, but it is a lovely place to explore. Take a walk through Fenham Carr and peep through the gates of the old asylum swimming pool if you enjoy that kind of thing, too.

    1. Ooh! I’ll have to check out the park. This week is my last week of classes for a while so I’ll have lots of time to go exploring.

  4. I have noticed that some shades of Rowan Pure Wool DK have fuzzed and bobbled terribly as I have knitted them but others will wear and wear and wear without the slightest sign of use – perhaps this is the key and that the labels denote a change in supplier?

    Dear Watson – I think you may have something here!

    PS – welcome to Lancaster’s spring. If you have not already been I entreat you to take a morning’s trip to Williamson Park one day. Sadly they have cut down most of the foliage around the memorial, but it is a lovely place to explore. Take a walk through Fenham Carr and peep through the gates of the old asylum swimming pool if you enjoy that kind of thing, too.

    1. Ooh! I’ll have to check out the park. This week is my last week of classes for a while so I’ll have lots of time to go exploring.

  5. Hmm, but is it an old and new version of the same thing or are the two coexisting? If they’ve updated then the old ones (with the white-like label) should be phasing out slowly, no? Confusing!

  6. Interesting. I haven’t used this yarn yet, but I will keep an eye out for the different labels when I do.

  7. Lovely colours! I have some of that yarn in my stash somewhere but haven’t used it yet. I will look out for the problems when I do get round to it.
    x

  8. Lovely colours! I have some of that yarn in my stash somewhere but haven’t used it yet. I will look out for the problems when I do get round to it.
    x

  9. Oooh… Rowan, great yarn! Very interesting about the different versions!

  10. That’s bizarre, and definitely disappointing. Your hearts still look cute, though!

  11. That’s really strange about the different yarns, I would have thought that with Rowan being such a big yarny company they would have some sort of consistency.

  12. It still looks cute. It makes the white bits pop out a bit more.

  13. It still looks cute. It makes the white bits pop out a bit more.

  14. Oh gosh, how weird! Your knitting looks great though, so I shouldn’t worry too much.

  15. That’s crazy! I actually… like? the way it looks though! It could totally be passed off as an intentional design. I also like the pattern in general – excited to see a finished product!

  16. I see the fuzzy bits you’re talking about but I think it looks ok. Of course if it was me, I’d be going crazy.

  17. I see the fuzzy bits you’re talking about but I think it looks ok. Of course if it was me, I’d be going crazy.

  18. Very weird! I’ll definitely keep this in mind, if I ever use this yarn!

    Your project looks lovely! ๐Ÿ˜€

  19. Rachel

    Could it be that the fuzzy doesn’t happen if you wash it first like you did with the red??

    1. Nah. I only washed one skein of the red and I didn’t end up using it because it wasn’t dry when I was ready to cast on.

  20. Love your post for Knit and Crochet Blog Week (which I’m also participating in this year!) People seem to have a lot of varied opinions about the Rowan brand and it’s interesting how you’ve added your voice to the mix.

  21. Love your post for Knit and Crochet Blog Week (which I’m also participating in this year!) People seem to have a lot of varied opinions about the Rowan brand and it’s interesting how you’ve added your voice to the mix.

  22. Yup. New supplier. The new version comes in a tightly wound ball which helps the yarn retain its memory. Rowan is no longer carrying the old version, so what you get depends upon your LYS and how quick their turnover is.

  23. Yup. New supplier. The new version comes in a tightly wound ball which helps the yarn retain its memory. Rowan is no longer carrying the old version, so what you get depends upon your LYS and how quick their turnover is.

  24. You know, I’d never noticed that. But I do have both kinds of PW DK in my stash. I think there is an experiment in my future…

  25. You know, I’d never noticed that. But I do have both kinds of PW DK in my stash. I think there is an experiment in my future…

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