Episode 4 features a review of the new Lion Brand Re-Spun yarn and the Lighthouse Beanie.
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You can watch episode 4 by clicking here.
I recently picked up a skein of a new Lion Brand yarn, Re-Spun, from my local Joann Fabrics. This is a new yarn made of 100% recycled polyester and is available in 12 heathered colors. I bought the blush colorway and it is a gorgeous color. As I’m writing this it looks like both Joann Fabrics and the Lion Brand website are mostly sold out of this yarn, which makes me wonder if others had the same reaction I did: that this is a really pretty yarn!
This is a worsted weight yarn that comes in 10 oz /285 g balls with 658 yards/ 602 meters. The ball band lists the gauge for knitting at 18 sts and 24 rows per 4″ square on #8 (5 mm) needles. The crochet gauge is listed at 14 sc x 18 rows per 4″ square on J-10 (6 mm) crochet hook.
I knit a swatch using US 8 (5.0 mm) knitting needles and actually got the gauge listed on the ball. I like the knitted fabric and found the yarn easy to knit with. Unlike many synthetic yarns, it wasn’t rough on my hands or stiff.
After swatching, I cast on and knit a Lighthouse Beanie with the yarn. This hat was originally knit in Lion Brand’s Wool Ease worsted yarn and I loved the idea of adding a blush version to my hat collection. I talk about this in a bit more detail in the podcast, but am going to go ahead and re-knit this hat to tighten the brim.
I decided to leave the hat for this blog post and the podcast. I did this to show that while I really like the fabric for the stockinette stitch part of the hat, the Re-Spun yarn is a lighter worsted yarn than the Wool Ease so the Re-Spun brim is looser and doesn’t have the same stitch definition. This doesn’t mean that the Re-Spun yarn is incorrectly classified; it is just a lighter worsted than other yarns. So if you’re planning to use this as a replacement for a pattern that calls for worsted weight yarns like Lion Brand’s Wool Ease or Pound of Love, Joann Fabric’s Big Twist, or other acrylic or polyester yarn, you’ll definitely want to swatch first.
All in all though, I really liked using this yarn. It is what I would consider ‘ready to use’. It was easy to fine the end of the yarn and pull from the center of the skein. The yarn didn’t have any knots or breaks, and it didn’t stick to itself (which can create knots while knitting).
All in all I do highly recommend this yarn. And if you do a lot of charity and community knitting as I do, this is a great option for worsted weight hats that will be easy to care for.
If you’re interesting in knitting The Lighthouse Beanie it is a free pattern (also great for charity knitting projects!. You can find more pattern details or download the free pdf here.
If you’d have any recommendations on yarns I should review, leave a comment below. As always, I love to hear from you and see your projects. If you knit a Lighthouse Beanie, tag me on instagram (@knitmckinley) or use the hashtag #knitmckinley.
Happy Knitting,
Kara