Yarn Yammer: Self Striping Yarns

Anyone who knows me knows I love self striping or color changing yarn. So I am always on the look out for a good one!

Late last month I got wind of one in an email, and so I thought I would try it. It was Gina, a yarn put out by the Plymouth Yarn Company.

I have always liked Plymouth yarns so I thought I would give Gina a try.

I have to report that I like it!!

Plymouth has had this yarn out for a while, and now for the 2014/15 fall/winter season they have also put out a chunky version of the yarn.

This is great for us loom knitters because we have two versions of this lovely yarn to work on our various gauge looms!

The regular Gina is perfect for smaller gauge looms, it is a nice worsted weight yarn with a nice amount of stretch to it so it is easy to work with. It is perfect for my favorite: mitered squares, and since it is 100% wool and single ply  it will also felt nicely if you want to make a felted project.

Here are the particulars:

The gauge of this yarn on a small gauge loom such as the AIO works out to around 6 stitches per inch.

Now the Gina chunky is a bit odd in that usually when you have a chunkier version of a yarn, you get less yardage, in this case that is not true!

Here are the particulars on the new Gina Chunky:

Contents: 100% Wool / Hand Wash, Dry Flat

Gauge: 3.5 sts. = 1″/US 10 Needle

Yardage: 131 yards

Weight(s): Chunky

The gauge of this yarn on the AIO works out about the same as listed, 3.5 stitches per inch. It is a bit stiff however.

The regular Gina currently comes in 16 color ways and the Gina Chunky only comes in 9 at the moment.

As far as pricing  goes, I found prices online from $4.50 up to $6.95 for the worsted weight and  between $8.99 up to   $11.95 for the chunky weight. You will generally have to look for this yarn in your local yarn shop, or online.

Now if you happen to be allergic or super sensitive to wool then I have an alternative for you.

Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable is a %100 acrylic self striping yarn, that is turning heads! I have used it, and forgotten that it wasn’t wool!

Unforgettable is made up similarly to Gina, in that it is a single ply yarn that has beautiful self striping color changes, and it stretchy and easy to work with even when trying tricky stitches!

Here are the particulars:

Contents: 100% Acrylic Machine wash and dry

Gauge: 5 sts=1″/US 8 needle

Yardage: 270 yd

Weight(s): Worsted

Having worked with this yarn on a few projects in the past, I highly recommend it! The gauge seems to hold true as it is listed when working on a smaller gauge loom like the AIO.

As far as price goes I have seen it range from $4.75 up to $5.99 and it is available, online and also at craft stores like Joann’s Fabric and Michaels, making it a little more readily available.

The only thing you can’t do with it.. is felt it!

So if you like self striping yarns like I do, these are two great options to choose from! Let us know what you love to make with self striping yarns!