I’ve recently used Cascade 220 yarn in a number of my knitting projects.

Distributed by Cascade Yarns, it’s a soft, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool yarn, available in a dazzling array of colours.  Best of all, it’s affordable, selling for approx. $ 8.00/skein in most shops. The 220 in Cascade 220 refers to the yardage, it’s a generous skein.

This yarn is great for knitting sweaters, mitts, hats…and much more. It’s also known for its great felting ability. In fact, it prefers to be felted, even if ever so slightly.

After completing the Cloisters sweater (pictured above) I was a bit disappointed with the wools’ tendency to stretch out with wear, in just a day or two.  So I washed it, by hand in lukewarm water, then put it in a pillowcase and tossed it in the dryer on a low-medium setting for 10-15 minutes.

It was slightly damp when I took it out of the dryer so I laid it out to finish drying. The short time in the dryer felted the wool ever so slightly, giving it more shape and less of the stretch factor.  I’m much happier with the sweater now and can wear it repeatedly without any stretching occurring.

I now give all of my Cascade 220 projects this treatment.  The Claudia Hat (pictured) is much shaplier now that its been introduced to a tiny bit of tumbling and heat.

Word of Caution

All the colours, except for one, that I’ve used so far, have been quite dye fast; no bleeding of dye when washed.  I’ve used about 10 different shades.

The exception to this is the deep eggplant colour of my Cloisters sweater.  The dye ran out of it at an alarming rate when I first washed it.  Luckily, the sweater retained its vibrant colour despite the dye loss.

Darker colours of Cascade 220 should be washed seperately from other garments or your white trim may end up pink, as mine did in this Piper hat , knit in the same Cascade 220 yarn as my Cloisters sweater.

Happy Knitting!

Posted in knitting