Our latest acquisition here at the shop is one for sock-knitters: meet Schachenmayr Regia Pairfect Cotton.
Pairfect Cotton is a self-patterning fingering weight blend of 72% cotton, 18% nylon, and 10% polyester. You wont usually find fibers like these on our shelves, but for some sock yarns we make an exception to our all-natural-fibers rule. Small percentages of nylon or polyester are often blended into sock yarns for strength, and in this case, also for elasticity.
Occasionally we get requests for a non-wool sock yarn, but we’ve rarely found one that seems to have enough elasticity for sock-making. Though we haven’t knit with it yet, we can feel the elasticity of Pairfect Cotton just by tugging on it a bit; it bounces back in a way 100% cotton never could.
Just like the original woolen version of Pairfect, Pairfect Cotton is designed to make an identical pair of socks, and does so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread. Simply cut off the yellow thread at the beginning, cast on and knit a sock, unwind the yarn til you see another stretch of yellow, and repeat.
Look for Pairfect Cotton and other self-patterning Regia sock yarns here at the shop! See you there.
Judie on said:
Hmmm…very cool. I wonder what we non-sock knitters could use it for? There must be some nifty little projects out there.
Julia on said:
I bet you could use half a skein for a “Purl Beret,” “Hitchhat,” or a full skein for a pair of “Long Striped Hand Warmers.” Let us know what other pattern ideas you come up with!