We’re having a heatwave here in the UK and that makes crochet and knitting sticky and tricky.  Some people recommend cotton yarns as best for hot weather crochet/knitting but I have found that kidsilk type yarns are easy to use in the heat and I have been using up lots of my long acquired and much loved kidsilk type stash.  I have crocheted over 1000m of this type of yarn in the last 6 weeks (yes, that’s over a kilometre!) and I think it really is perfect for hot weather.  I ran a quick CAL using it a few weeks ago and I have 2 new designs using it which are almost ready for publishing 😉   

So I was overjoyed that the lovely people at LoveCrochet asked me to review some yarn in their sale – Willow & Lark Plume, a kidsilk type yarn!

So what is kidsilk type yarn?  Well it is made from a combination of silk and kid mohair.   I discovered it many years ago when Rowan seemed to be the only supplier of this type of yarn, but there are many more now.  Typically, it is laceweight yarn and comes in 25g balls of around 200m of yarn.   It has a lot of fluff (from the mohair) and is very lightweight.   The weight of it is one of the main reasons it is good for hot weather working – it isn’t heavy on your hands as you work it or on your knee as it grows.   If your hands are a bit damp it actually helps the use  because it dampens the fluffy fibres a bit.  This also makes it a little easier to frog if you make a mistake.

Willow & Lark Plume is described as ‘Barely there silk mohair’ on the label and I think that’s pretty accurate!   It is 70% super kid mohair and 30% mulberry silk and has 210m in the 25g ball.    It comes in  26 shades – the colours above are Poppy, Marmalade and Toffee.  And the best bit – it’s in the BIG SALE over at LoveCrochet/LoveKnitting at only £6.36 per ball! I’ve been playing with Plume quite a bit and I think there may be a new design in the making:

Designing for me means doodling with the yarn, and frogging a fair bit, so I have tried several stitches and frogged (actually frogged A LOT).  I have found it is similar to Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Debbie Bliss Angel, but I think it is slightly softer and I haven’t had any issues with frogging which has proved very easy.  It is so similar that it would be easy to mix and match these yarns in one project if you like, which extends the potential range of colours in a project.  I tried that in this simple little flower

The centre of the flower and the leaf are in Rowan Kidsilk Haze (colours Liquer and Jelly) and the other 2 petals are in Willow & Lark Plume (Poppy and Marmalade).  I think they work well together and you can’t tell any difference in the yarns.

I have 2 key tips for using this yarn, especially when crocheting.  The first is: you should check each row/round as you complete it because sometimes you can hook a bit of the fluff rather than the core yarn, and it is best to spot this early.  The second is: if you do need to frog pull the yarn gently and if the fluffy fibres have stuck use your hook or needle to gently break the fluffy join.

Which do I prefer?  That’s a difficult one to answer because they are so similar, but I think the Plume softness had the edge which just makes for slightly more comfort when hooking.

Would you like the pattern for my little flower?  I’ll pop that in my next post.  Meanwhile why not spoil yourself in the BIG SALE?

Happy crocheting xxx