Yarn review: Manos Silk Blend

Composition: 70% extra-fine merino and 30% kettle-dyed silk
Tension: 22sts x 30 rows
Length: 270 metres per 100g hank
Colourway: Candyfloss
Price: £15 (from SoSusie Yarns at Archway Market)

Now that my Ishbel is done, I’ve been able to concentrate on testing out a yarn I’ve had for a while. Manos Silk Blend is, as you might expect, a gorgeous mix of silk and merino from fair-trade organisation Manos del Uruguay.

In progress: the colour and stitch pattern are shown off nicely.

Manos del Uruguay is a non-profit social organisation which, since 1968, has provided jobs for craftswomen living in Uruguay rural areas. The yarns are hand made and dyed in small lots, and the collective also produces clothing and artisanal goods.

The yarns really are luscious and Silk Blend is truly gorgeous: soft to the touch, smooth and warm. It has a very high ‘squish factor’, as I like to call it - a yarn’s ability to produce that need in all knitters and crocheters to grab a yarn and squash it, stroke it and hold it against our skin.

A very simple k2tog/YO pattern was used to create the lattice effect. The merino blend combined with the open-work stitches should produce a very warm yet lightweight hat.

This is not a very tightly wrapped yarn and I was slightly concerned it would be splitty but it’s not all. It’s actually really nice to knit with, although I would suggest that metal needles would be better than wooden or bamboo. I used a metal circular and the yarn slid along it nicely, but I suspect it might stick on the rougher surface of wood or bamboo. It knits up nicely and the stitch definition is lovely.

The lacy cap I designed to test the yarn shows off the variegated colour well, I think, and the super-soft blend of silk and merino means it’s safe for even the most sensitive of heads. The pattern will be available shortly via Ravelry and as a kit from SoSusie Yarns - watch this space!

The finished hat. It would make a great gift for a baby or little girl.