Yarn Bases

If you are new to yarn, here’s a great place to get some info on the differing yarn weights. 

Hand-dyed yarn needs to be wound into a ball or cake before it can be worked. There are lots of great online tutorials about this and if you are planning on Getting Really Into Yarn, a swift and ball winder are a good one-time investment.

Also, let’s all just have a good giggle about the fact that my most frequently used yarn weight is called “fingering.” I’ll wait.

Yarns in bold are the Republica Unicornia stalwarts and are always around! 

LACEWEIGHT

Mohair Silk

 72% Kid Mohair/28% Mulberry Silk

 459 yards/ 50 grams/single ply

It has a lovely halo and is a treat to work when held double with a fingering weight yarn (IT'S SO FLUFFY!)

 

Suri Silk Floof

 74% Baby Suri Alpaca/26% Mulberry Silk

328 yards/ 50 grams/single ply

Suri has less stitch definition than mohair and looks like a wet Muppet in the skein BUT it is lovely and soft and provides a wonderful texture. It's a little beefier weight-wise than the mohair silk, and is also great for those of y'all who are allergic to mohair! 

 

FINGERING WEIGHT YARNS

Bluefaced Leicester Wool Bases

Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a British sheep breed that produces the most glorious wool: it's soft but a little sheepier than merino, which means it is less prone to pilling. It has a beautiful luster, takes dye wonderfully, and has good stitch definition. (I love it so much.)

 

BFL Sock

75% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester Wool/ 25% Nylon

464 yards/100g/4-ply

 

Pure BFL

100% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester Wool

438 yards/100 grams/4-ply

 

BFL Silk Cashmere

70% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester Wool/20% Silk/10% Cashmere

438 yards/100 grams/3-Ply

 

Targhee Sock

Targhee is a US sheep breed that produces the most glorious, springy, sturdy-yet-soft wool. The Targhee Sock base is more of a heavy fingering (giggles)-to-sport weight and is excellent for socks, accessories, and garments. 

90% Superwash US Targhee Wool/10% Nylon

465 yards/115 grams/3-ply 

 

Domestic Merino 3-Ply

100% domestically grown and processed nonsuperwash Merino wool

450 yards/100 g/3-ply 

 

 Arcade Carpet

85% superwash Merino wool/15% neon nep

437 yards/100 grams (fingering weight).

It is so ridiculous that I broke my own rule of "no cutesy yarn base names" for it this one. 

   

DK WEIGHT YARNS

 

BFL DK

100% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester Wool

246 yards/100 grams/4-ply

 

  Domestic Merino DK

 Domestic Merino DK

 100% domestically grown and processed nonsuperwash Merino wool

240 yards/100 g/3-ply

 

 

WORSTED

Rambouillet Worsted

100% U.S. Grown and Processed Superwash Rambouillet Wool

196 yards/115 grams/5-Ply