 |
 |
 |
Debbie Bliss Andes
Debbie Bliss Andes is a gorgeous yarn. It is unbelievably soft and silky with a slight halo due to the splendid combination of 65% baby alpaca and 35% mulberry silk. It’s almost impossible to pick up a skein and not squeeze and cuddle it. Andes yarn knits up with a lustrous sheen and wonderful drape and is ideal for all those textural stitch patterns such as cables and bobbles. There is excellent pattern support from Debbie Bliss in the form of books such as ‘Andes’ and ‘An Andes Story’ which contains six and twelve women’s hand knit patterns respectively. Use it for numerous projects such as cardigans, tops, shrugs, shawls, wraps, scarves and hats. It comes in a great choice of solid colours and retails at £5.95 a skein. This yarn is hand wash only.
Yarn Particulars
Length: 100m (110yds) per skein
Weight: 50g per skein
Yarn Weight: DK
Tension: 22 sts = 4”
Needle Size: US 6 (4mm)
Pros
Debbie Bliss Andes is beautifully soft in skein form and feels just as soft while knitting it up. It has a lustrous sheen which lends itself very well to projects that require intricate stitch patterns as it enhances their definition. When knitted up it has a lovely drape and because it is so soft it does not feel itchy against the skin.
There is a good choice of 16 colours with several rich shades of blues, purples, pinks, dark and light neutrals and black and white (see below).
Cons
Because Debbie Bliss Andes yarn is so soft and has good drape this could be interpreted as being quite limp and saggy. Some garments have stretched completely out of shape after wearing and have not sprung back even after washing. A good way to prevent this is to use slightly smaller needles which will give a tighter and less stretchy knit and will also drape less. Nevertheless, when following a specific pattern it is crucial to knit to the correct tension so this may not always be possible except for scarves and shawls where the finished garment size may not be important.
This yarn also tends to shed lots of its fibres while knitting with it. The fibres end up everywhere including up your nose so if you are very sensitive to dust and fluff you may not enjoy working with this yarn. The fluffy fibres in the yarn can also go fuzzy while you are knitting with it, which can make the garment look felted and worn before you have even finished it, although pilling doesn’t seem to be a problem. Blocking may help to reduce the fuzziness slightly but will also flatten down the appearance of the soft halo.
Another problem is the amount of underspun sections found in a skein of Andes yarn. You may have to cut away these fluffed up underspun areas which will eat into the yardage of each skein making for a very expensive waste of yarn. Try to purchase a few more skeins of yarn than you require just in case you do have excessive waste. Most yarn stores will allow you to return full unused skeins of yarn but do enquire before buying.
The yarn’s silken fibres will also make it quite slippery so, if you use metal knitting needles, be careful that they don’t slip right off. Bamboo needles might be a better option but if colour staining is an issue the needles might become stained.
It has also been found that some colours, not just the dark shades, can stain your fingers while knitting. If staining is a problem test the yarn first for colour fastness by knitting up a swatch and washing it making a note of how much colour bleeds in the water. If there is excessive colour bleeding, try soaking the finished garment in cool water for a few hours or overnight to remove any residual dye.