I have some fun new yarn to share with you, and it's Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi sock yarn. It's pretty new, and it's a yarn I wanted to test for myself before ordering. It's a one ply yarn, and I'm somewhat skeptical of one-ply sock yarns. Noro's Kureyon and Silk Garden sock yarns are both one ply, and while they are very gorgeous to knit with, they aren't super soft and don't hold to up wear like a 3 or 4 ply sock yarn does. They work for socks, but I find that they both lend themselves better to scarves, gloves and various lace work. I wanted to make sure that if I carried more one-ply yarn that it's not only as beautiful as Noro, but also soft and will wear well for socks. Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi delivers all three, and I'm really enjoying this new yarn. FYI- it's considerably softer than Noro's one-ply sock yarns. Not even in the same ballpark.
This is the only picture I've taken so far (with one of my favorite mugs that Joe made), of the sock with about half way through the leg. I did this last night and already can't wait to knit a bit more. I really like watching the colors develop and especially like the pattern I chose, the Dublin Bay Sock pattern (a pdf), which I have used before.
I cast on 64 stitches, and after knitting the cuff, I found a knot. And honestly, I was expecting it. I straight out asked Crystal Palace how knotted the balls were (and they admitted that I might find a knot in every other ball or so), b/c one-ply yarns seem (to me) to be notorious for having a knot in every other ball or so. I don't know if it's just my experience, or if this is really true. It could just be that it's more memorable when a yarn that progresses in color has a knot, because usually it's re-knotted in a place that messes up your color repeat, or (gasp!) is knotted onto yarn that is running in the OPPOSITE direction, which really makes your project look different than you expected. Sooooo... back to the knot. There was one, and the yarn basically then skipped over one color (the orange) and was knotted onto a red-violet. While it doesn't bother me, I know that there are some knitters who prefer exact matching socks, and you may not get that with Mini Mochi. Or if you REALLY want perfectly matching socks, you may have to skip over alot of your yarn to find the right part in your color repeat.
Even with the knot, I still really enjoy knitting this yarn. For me, it's mostly about the color progression. I chose to knit the color I like best (107, but I also may need to knit color 106 soon as well) and I haven't yet decided if these babies will be for me or a gift. If you want to see the one-ply up close, click on this picture.
If you want to see how all eight of the colors knit up, go here to Crystal Palace's website for little swatches. Their website also features a nice list of free patterns, many of them for Mini Mochi, Panda Cotton and Panda Soy. All great sock yarns at very competitive prices.
*Please note that while I ordered quite a bit of this yarn, it's now sold out in the US so I can't get more until May. If the color you want sells out, I'll get more asap, but it will still be a few months.
Thanks for telling us about the knots in the Mini-Mochi yarn. I am one of those knitters who likes their socks to match. I am ordering 2 skeins and will try it. I have heard good things from other knitters, especially about the softness. I am sure I will be ordering more soon!
Posted by: Debby | February 09, 2009 at 05:17 PM