Yarn Review "Cornish Organic Wool" DK

Well, before I wax lyrical about how lovely this yarn is, first a warning and a frustration that the tension described on the ball band is entirely out. It should be a DK of 22sts by 30 rows on 4mm, but by my tension (which is usually quite standard) it's more like 19sts to 29 rows. To my mind it is effectively an aran-weight, or at least worsted. The unfortunate consequence of which is that I cannot use it to knit up a boyfriend beanie as intended; it doesn't seem to help to go onto smaller needle either given the coarseness of the yarn... Oh well, plan B... I think instead I will try to knit this pattern 'Lorna Suzanne', which requires a tension of 19sts/25 rows on 5mm needles. The tension for Cornish Organic wool on 5mm might better be described as 18st/25 rows - but I think it is close enough. Only thing is now I need to order more yarn!

Otherwise, I think that this yarn is really great for all these fabulous, rustic farm-type projects that are around at the moment. The shades in which it is dyed are really great, subtle, good choices, with the nice touch of being named after Cornish towns. When I say rustic knit, I mean that the yarn is a little coarse, nothing too alarming, but not one for a baby's skin. Actually it is very refreshing to knit with something that is not overly processed, it produces a fabric which has some structure to it, and should be a fairly warm knit too. It is nice to have a slightly uneven stitch, although it will probably look best in textures that are not overly reliant on stitch definition. I really like this yarn, I just think that it will be prudent for customers of this yarn to think carefully about which project it is suited to :)