Knitters Review of O Balance Yarn

July 2, 2007 by Laura Nixon 1 Comment

I love [tag]Knitters Review[/tag] yarn profiles. The reviews always tell me what I want to know about a yarn without prejudice. This time the review is written about [tag]O Balance Yarn[/tag] from [tag]Vermont Organic Fiber Company[/tag].

Vermont Organic Fiber Company has been supplying organic materials to the textiles industry since 2000 with clients that include retailers [tag]Patagonia[/tag] and [tag]Sahalie[/tag]. Just a few years ago, the company decided to launch a line of yarns for handknitters. After finding quick success with its [tag]O-Wool Classic[/tag] 100% wool yarn, this spring the company introduced O-Wool Balance, a three-ply blend of 50% organic Merino and 50% organic cotton.

This review states a few of the reasons why organic is a better way to grow and process fibers. Now the push is also on to be “green” with fiber producing animals as well. Vermont Organic Fiber Company follows the [tag]Organic Trade Association’s North American Organic Fiber Standards[/tag] in processing its wool.

While all of the above information is commendable, the yarn is according to Knitters Review, actually pretty decent. It does pill but not as fast as some blended yarns and took awhile for wear to show.

The only drawback is that it is not machine washable. The reviewer states that a sweater for a medium sized woman would be about $80. She suggests small, baby garments – “While I’d still use it selectively for babies of knitters who aren’t afraid to handwash, I’d stick to smaller items of clothingâ€”friends don’t make friends wash blankets by hand.”

I agree – hand washing is not something anyone, especially a new Mom, has time to do!

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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