Rowan has released a sock yarn, and it's aptly named...... Rowan Sock!
Nearly a decade ago they released Fine Art Sock, which was a nice plied yarn that worked very well for socks. But it was $29 back then, and that was A LOT for a sock yarn in 2013 (even though it had four fibers in the combo and really held up nicely). This time around, they went for a single ply fingering weight yarn that's just superwash merino and nylon, which is surprising for something named Sock, right? A single isn't something you necessarily thing of when knitting something that get so much hard wear, right?
So Rowan sent me two samples a few weeks ago of color 05-Coral. I cast on one for a pair of socks, and our shop manager Heather cast on hers holding with a strand of mohair. I believe she's doing a cowl. I knit a few inches of the yarn, but it really wasn't too pleasant to knit as a sock. I don't like to look down much when I'm knitting socks - I like to watch TV or a kids soccer game or whatever else I'm doing, so I found that a single wasn't good b/c then I just constantly pierce the yarn as I'm knitting, and splitting parts of the single off as I go. Heather's finding her knitting experience to be much more pleasurable and I can't wait to see what she's makes.
All this is to say that we carry a lot of singles that I wouldn't use for socks (hey, Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light is great and one of our biggest sellers, and I do love a LITLG Single with a Sockhead Cowl for a quick gift knit), and I do really like the texture and the colors (I do hope they release more color soon, because 6 is just not enough) - and the price point is wonderful. So I do think this is a great yarn for sweaters and accessories, but I didn't enjoy knitting a sock with it and won't finish it. I will instead use the 85% of a ball I have left for a soft hat or cowl. And I might do what Heather is doing and hold it with a skein of Marvelous Mohair. Something with a lot of color.
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