Confessions of a Yarn Addict: Yarn Review #11: Malabrigo Chunky

The true essence of "fall" only lasts for a few short weeks in my household. A few days before Hallowe'en hits, it turns into "HollowBirthGivingMasCruiseYearDay," which lasts until about the first week in January. It's short for "Hallowe'en-Little Man's Birthday-Thanksgiving-Christmas-Cruise-New Year's-My Birthday." Soooo...things don't always go as planned, things get tossed out the window, and plans change constantly.

In other words, I'm running behind on my yarn reviews and book reviews. Again.

But, that should change for today because today, I have a yarn review :)

The intention is that once a month, roughly about mid-month (depending on the day - Year of Projects are on Sundays, WIP Wednesdays are on Wednesdays, and FO Fridays are on Fridays so rarely will you see a Yarn Review on those days), I'll do a yarn review, which may or may not include multiple types of the same yarn or multiple different yarns on the same day. The yarns in question, unless specified, are coming from my stash, purchased by me, for me, and for my use. I've been given no money or other non-monetary gifts for these yarn reviews. The reviews are of my opinion and based on my own experience and do not necessarily coincide with other fiber enthusiasts, though they may.

Disclaimer. I haz it.

Malabrigo Chunky

1. Information About The Company: Malabrigo is a small, family-owned company located in Uruguay. Uruguay is the biggest wool-producing country in South America. They work with a co-op group of women from Uruguay, they have developed a line of hand-painted yarns with incredible softness and color variations. (Information from their Ravelry Page as I could not find any information about them on their webpage).

2. Other Yarns Offered: Aside from the Chunky, they have thirty (30) other yarns listed in Ravelry's database (their website lists 17 but they may have combined a couple lines. Included are Malabrigo Worsted, Arroyo, Rasta, Rios, Sock, and Twist.

3. Information About The Yarn:

- Official Name: Malabrigo Chunky

- Fiber Content: 100% superfine merino wool

- Skein Weight/Yardage: 100 g (3.53 oz)/104 yds (95 m)

- Gauge: 14 sts = 4 inches (on US #10 or US #11 - 6-8 mm)

- Yarn Weight: Bulky

- Washing Instructions: Hand wash, dry flat

- Where to Purchase: This yarn is available in several places, but Malabrigo only sells to shops (translation: you cannot buy their yarn via their website but you can locate a shop via their website). You can also find it online in several places, including Eat.Sleep.Knit ($11.60/skein), Webs ($12.99/skein), and ImagiKnit ($11.75/skein) - ImagiKnit is also fairly local to me as it's located in San Francisco.

4. Review (the reason you're really here):

- PROS

1. Extremely soft (honestly, that's no lie)

2. Tons of colors to chose from

3. Durable

4. Good stitch definition

5. Great for felting (or spit-splicing) and Russian joins

6. Warm warm warm :)

- CONS

1. Kind of expensive for the yardage. It's fine if you need a skein to make a hat but if you need bunch of skeins to make, oh, I don't know...a Freeport Vest, perhaps...it gets a little nuts. Not that I'd know anything about that.

2. This yarn will grow when you wash and block it...and I don't mean it will grow a little. No, this yarn will grow quite a bit. If you make a fitted beanie out of this yarn, wash it, and lay it flat to dry...the beanie will turn into a slouch that is a bit too big around the brim. Not that I'd know anything about that either. In other words, you should probably do a proper swatch before using this yarn.

3. This goes without saying but for Bob's sake, match the dyelots! But, be aware that even when you match dyelots, the yarn still won't be all matchy-matchy. I spent probably a half-hour drying to match skeins from the same dyelot...and in the end, there were still subtle stripes. ::sigh::

Here are a couple projects I've done with Malabrigo Chunky :)