Product Review: Ocean

Stats:

Yarn name: Ocean
Weight: Bulky
Manufacture:Skacel
Size: 50 gram ball/80 yards
Fibers: 61% cotton, 29% tactel, 10% nylon
MSRP: $7.95 per ball

This is a very tactile woven boucle yarn, dense but very light thanks to the tactel and nylon in its composition, which should also make it somewhat more water-repellant than cotton alone. I didn't realize how chapped my poor hands had been getting from the frequent handwashing we practice at the children's center until I sat down Friday evening to begin whipping up a baby hat for my colleague, Jamie.... the yarn kept catching on my skin, even though it wasn't splitting as I knit it. It would also make a great, fast-knitting lightweight sweater for someone allergic to wool.


Here is the finished baby hat, modeled by my favorite Steiff bear, who is holding a bit of the leftover yarn, so that you can see the great color repeat. 

I am a little concerned that this fiber combination lacks the long-term elasticity needed for a hat, and realize that this one will have to wait for the newborn to grow into it in several months, but I do love the variegated look.