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Debbie Bliss Cashmerino
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarns feel incredibly soft and squishy when you pick them up and squeeze them. This is due to the fibre content combination: 55% merino wool, 33% microfibre, 12% cashmere.
Cashmerino aran is an aran weight pleid yarn, Cashmerino dk is double knitting weight pleid yarn and baby Cashmerino is between a 4 ply and double knitting weight. They are suitable for many projects such as sweaters, cardigans, hats, scarves, baby booties and blankets and have excellent pattern support from baby to adult, as you would expect from Debbie Bliss. They come in a great choice of colours so you can be sure to find the right one to suit. Each ball retails at around £5.50 but you can sometimes find them cheaper online. They are machine washable but I recommend that you hand wash and leave to dry flat.
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Yarn Particulars Cashmerino Aran
Length: 90m (98 yds) per ball
Weight: 50g per ball
Yarn Weight: Aran
Tension: 4.5 sts = 1”
Needle Size: US 8 (5mm)
Yarn Particulars Cashmerino DK
Length: 110m (120yds) per ball
Weight: 50g per ball
Yarn Weight: DK
Tension: 5.5 sts = 1”
Needle Size: US 6 (4mm)
Yarn Particulars Baby Cashmerino
Length: 125m (136 yds) per ball
Weight: 50g per ball
Yarn Weight: 5 ply
Tension: 25 sts = 4 inches
Needle Size: US 3 (3.25mm)
Pros
The Cashmerino yarns knit up to a lovely even colour and texture with a nice stretch and a lovely sheen. While knitting they feel beautifully soft on the fingers and are a pleasure to use. When knitted up your project will have great stitch definition, especially garments with cables or lacy stitches, but just knitting in stockinette stitch will give great results. Because of this good stitch definition mistakes will show up clearly but it is easy to unpick and correct. The finished product will feel incredibly soft and cuddly with a lovely halo and is not at all itchy on the skin.
Cashmerino Aran knits up quickly as it is the thickest weight yarn of the Cashmerinos and is great for sweaters, cardigans, throws, hats and scarves.
Cashmerino DK is also great for sweaters, cardigans, hats, throws, scarves and also baby clothes.
Baby Cashmerino is very fine and is great for baby booties, mittens, beanie hats and buggy blankets. If knitted on smaller needles it is great for adult socks as it makes the finished material denser but with less drape.
Actually, you can make just about anything with the Cashmerino yarns.
The choice of colours is fantastic (see below) with several shades of blues, purples, reds, yellows, greens, neutrals, darks and lights. The Baby Cashmerino colours tend to be very slightly muted rather than being brightly pastelled.
Cons
Because the Cashmerino yarns are so soft they have a tendency to feel quite ‘floppy’ and fragile when knitted up. In some instances the finished garment can stretch out of shape permanently. A good way to counteract this is to use slightly smaller needles which will give a tighter and less stretchy knit. Nevertheless, when following a specific pattern it is important to knit to the correct tension so this may not always be possible except for scarves and shawls where the finished garment size is not an issue.
The Cashmerino yarns also have a tendency to go fuzzy while you are knitting with it, which can make the garment look a bit shabby and worn before you have even finished it. Blocking may help to reduce the fuzziness slightly.
Cashmerino yarns also have a propensity to pill quite badly. This is probably due to the fact that they are very soft and all soft yarns made with wool will pill to some extent. In fact, the softer the yarn the more likely it is to pill. Pilling will occur when the fibres of the yarn are rubbed together which causes them to form into small balls. Therefore, areas such as the underarms of sweaters or in between the fingers of gloves are likely to pill if knitted with any soft wool yarn. Knitting with slightly smaller needles has been found to reduce pilling but, as mentioned above, it is important to knit to the correct tension. It might be a good idea to knit up a one skein project initially, such as a scarf, to see if there will be any problems with pilling or fuzzing before you attempt a larger project such as a sweater.
If pilling and fuzzing is found to be a problem it may be that the Cashmerino yarns are unsuitable for garments that are intended for heavy use as they will endure more abrasion due to friction while wearing and washing.
Another problem is the amount of knots and underspun fibres found in a ball of the Cashmerino yarns. This is a real concern as they have quite low yardage for the price per ball which will be a problem if you are short on yarn as you may find you have to cut away the fluffy underspun areas. It is always advisable to buy a little more yarn than you think you need. Most yarn stores will allow you to return full unused balls of yarn but do enquire before purchasing.
It has also been found that some colours, especially the darker ones, tend to bleed quite badly. If this is a problem, try soaking the finished garment in cool water for a few hours or overnight to remove any residual dye. If you are considering using two or more different colours together it might be advisable to knit up a mixed colour swatch first and wash this to test for colour fastness before you buy all the yarn for your chosen project. Some of these darker colours may also stain your fingers and bamboo knitting needles while knitting. To prevent staining use metal knitting needles, but beware, when using the lighter weight Cashmerino yarns, your stitches are more likely to slip off metal needles as these yarns do not grip the needle very well. In the end, sharp metal needles might be a better choice as these yarns split easily when knitting with bamboo needles which tend to be less pointed.
Although it states on the care label that the Cashmerino yarns can be machine washed , I would recommend very careful hand washing. When you have spent so much time and money creating something really special, do not take a chance and ruin it! Turn the garment inside out before placing in cool water with mild detergent specially developed for wool. Do not rub or ‘over handle’ as this may lead to pilling, felting, fuzzing and even shrinking.