As expected, unusual yarns and patterns bring up big reactions in knitters. I like those reactions, since I don’t expect everyone to share my taste.  Truth be told, I see about six people a day wearing what must be perfectly acceptable clothing, since nobody is pointing and laughing, but can’t imagine myself in it at all.  I extend that same privilege to everyone – as long as we dwell in the land of good manners.   That means I’m down with "I personally find that ugly/unattractive/odd as fish" or "I don’t think ratty clothes are nice" but will struggle somewhat with "You’re so stupid to buy that" or "Quick question? Are you stunned as a bat?"

A little Q&A perhaps?

With regard to the stainless steel/wool yarn, MNara asked "Ok I’m intrigued…. How does this actually feel to wear?"

Well, I haven’t actually worn it yet, but I can speak to how the fabric feels in my hands, and how the finished felted fabric was on the jacket.  It was soft. The fibre content of the yarn is 75% wool and 25% stainless,  and the stainless steel is blended in with the wool in the yarn, and it’s super fine, so it doesn’t feel like steel at all.  More like crazy firm wool that holds it’s shape.  Once it’s felted, it’s even softer, as the wool comes up and forms a soft wool envelope over the other strand.  In the KushaKusha scarf, the stainless/wool yarn is knit for a while by itself, and while I wouldn’t call it cozy, it’s certainly not scratchy.  Just … interesting.

Melissamy says "Is that really all you bought?" 

Yup.  Everybody’s got a budget. I have to live within mine too.  If I bought all that I wanted to at all the knitting events I go to, I wouldn’t be long before I was explaining to Joe that I’d fenced his amplifier collection for merino. This, I feel sure, would be poorly understood.

Karen says: I don’t get the stainless steel yarn thing. If you bend it around too much does it break, like trying to reuse a twisty-tie?

Nope.  I’m guessing it’s because the stainless content is made up of little pieces carded together with the wool before spinning, and the wool is giving it strength, but I’m not sure.  I can tell you it doesn’t break though, no matter how much you bend it. 

Finally, Cat Bordhi said: I think you might all like to know that while Stephanie and I were sitting in the back of Carson Demers’ wonderful knitting ergonomics class on the final afternoon, she showed me how if you press two fingers into the KushaKusha fabric, it makes a shape just like Barbie doll boobs.

Cat is not lying. I did do that, and I don’t regret it.  I was trying to show her that the stainless content meant that the fabric held it’s shape, which is really the reason for the stainless content and what makes it cool.


You push, mould or shape it, and it stays where you put it.

Making Barbie boobs was just a bonus.

(PS.  Me and my aging (rather than Barbie style) breasts think this fabric characteristic may bode well for the jacket.  Just saying.)