Baby Wear Test: Cascade 220
Hello knitty bloggy baby bumpers! My name is Elinor and I'm a new mom to Beatrix (5 mos) and I blog at Exercise Before Knitting. I recently decided to revisit some of my baby knits to see how the yarns are holding up. Some of them are great, others are horrible. I've learned that quality and cost are not directly related. I'm going to review several yarns so check back for more!
I thought I'd start this series of blog posts with a real winner: Cascade 220. Now, I know some of you wince at the thought of baby garments made from feltable wool (and indeed, Cascade 220 is a champion felter). Frankly, so do I. Heavy sweaters and jackets are the exception, however, as they don't need to be washed every time they're worn. I could not resist the yarn/pattern combination with this garment so I just hoped I'd have time to do the washing. In fact, now I do a wool wash about every two to three weeks.
Pattern: Double-Breasted Hooded Jacket, Phildar inspiration, my own creation.
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 7
Finished: July 2006
The jacket has held up remarkably well and looks as good today as when it came off my needles. Most notably, there is no fuzz. You know what I'm talking about. Even when you wash your woolens with extreme caution, over time they develop a slight halo of fuzz. Not this yarn. As you can see, the stitch definition remains quite crisp. While the color of the jacket is different in each photo, both are accurate reflections of the jacket's true color. This is another thing I like so much about this particular yarn - light (and likely the seed stitch texture) dramatically change the jacket's appearance.
I'm very pleased with the results, especially since Beatrix wears this all the time. Let me assure you that this jacket has seen its fair share of drool and spit up too! Furthermore, layered over another sweater, this jacket keeps Beatrix warmer outside than any other hand-knit or store-bought garment. For this reason, I've made several of these for other friends with babies. So baby knitters: go get yourselves some Cascade 220!
I thought I'd start this series of blog posts with a real winner: Cascade 220. Now, I know some of you wince at the thought of baby garments made from feltable wool (and indeed, Cascade 220 is a champion felter). Frankly, so do I. Heavy sweaters and jackets are the exception, however, as they don't need to be washed every time they're worn. I could not resist the yarn/pattern combination with this garment so I just hoped I'd have time to do the washing. In fact, now I do a wool wash about every two to three weeks.
Pattern: Double-Breasted Hooded Jacket, Phildar inspiration, my own creation.
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 7
Finished: July 2006
The jacket has held up remarkably well and looks as good today as when it came off my needles. Most notably, there is no fuzz. You know what I'm talking about. Even when you wash your woolens with extreme caution, over time they develop a slight halo of fuzz. Not this yarn. As you can see, the stitch definition remains quite crisp. While the color of the jacket is different in each photo, both are accurate reflections of the jacket's true color. This is another thing I like so much about this particular yarn - light (and likely the seed stitch texture) dramatically change the jacket's appearance.
I'm very pleased with the results, especially since Beatrix wears this all the time. Let me assure you that this jacket has seen its fair share of drool and spit up too! Furthermore, layered over another sweater, this jacket keeps Beatrix warmer outside than any other hand-knit or store-bought garment. For this reason, I've made several of these for other friends with babies. So baby knitters: go get yourselves some Cascade 220!
posted by Elinor at 4:38 PM
5 Comments:
Thanks for the tip! Great sweater, too.
Thanks for the review! I spent a good deal of time and money on a cabled sweater coat in cotton angora for my little guy (photo's posted here) and after the first wash it's flimsey, grew a good deal and sheds all over. I can't let him wear it too much as he sucks on it and I don't want him getting that in his mouth!
Okay, is this just a ploy so you can show off such an amazingly cute baby photo? What a cute babe! What a cute sweater!
I must say, I have knit a few children's items out of feltable wool. If it's not outerwear, I say go for it. It can always be gently handwashed.
Excellent to hear! I never pay much attention to superwash/non-superwash and everything seems to work out fine. But it's good to hear someone really write up how well a non-superwash wool can work for baby wear.
Thanks!!
Wow - that does look incredibly crisp still.
Thanks for the tip.
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