I am deeply enamored of this yarn. Rowan’s new Cashmere Tweed may be my soul mate.
Over the years, I have knitted many garments using Rowan’s Felted Tweed. It is an amazingly durable yarn, with a great color selection, and is perfect for knitting cardigans and jackets.
It is also pleasant to the touch and easy on the hands, which cannot be said of many tweed yarns. I believe it is the merino (50%), alpaca (25%) and rayon blend. (25%)
Touch, knitted in Rowan felted tweed
Wisdom, knitted in Rowan Felted Tweed
I love my felted tweed cardigans, but there are pullovers I'm longing to knit. And felted tweed is not soft enough for me to wear against the skin. That is probably because of the alpaca fiber. Enter the new Cashmere Tweed, soft and scrumptious with all the tweedy definition and speckles you could desire! Cashmere Tweed is 80% wool and 20% cashmere but it is the cashmere that I really feel when I knit this yarn. The granite color is particularly beautiful, a dark grey with pink, yellow and turquoise overtones. Ah, how I love this yarn!
Oh, yes, the pullover I knitted. This is Salina by Kim Hargreaves. I knitted this as a beginner, some 20 odd years ago. Knowing nothing about gauge, I made the pullover oversized, and my mother-in-law unraveled it and re-knitted it. I am still so impressed by her generosity! Anyway, the felted tweed wore like iron for about 22 years, but in 2016, some moths nested in it and there were too many holes to repair. I have felted the pullover and plan to use the felted fabric for a little hat or bag someday. I tell you, once I have a hand-knitted fabric in my hands, I will never throw it away.
My first Salina
Also, I knew how versatile this pullover is--a vintage-inspired top that pairs with skirts, trousers and jeans--so I chose the pattern to test out the new cashmere tweed yarn. I was dismayed by the price tag, of course: $13.95 for 96 yards, but I was haunted by the review my friend Kristen gave, when she said it felt like heaven in the hands and was worth it. So I waited and schemed until I found a lot of 13 balls at half price during the Christmas sales. And voilà, the result:
Let me tell you, I have not enjoyed knitting in plain stockinette so much in years. This yarn is scrumptious. In fact, holding the yarn just felt SO good that I bought another project’s worth of it when another sale popped up.
Salina is quite a straightforward knit, apart from the seed-stitch cuffs, which are knitted separately and then seamed to the cast on edge of the sleeves. I have to admit, I knitted the sleeves both at the same time to avoid getting bored of the oceans of stockinette. However, the fabric felt so wonderful as it took shape that I spent much more time knitting the pullover each day than I expected. I did add extra waist shaping to the pattern, and I knitted about an inch right around the waist on needles two sizes smaller to create more definition. Otherwise, I just followed the pattern.
I was lucky enough to receive two balls of the Cashmere Tweed in this beautiful oat color as a gift for participating in the Rowan on the Runway fashion show at Vogue Knitting live. Here is a group photo of all the amateur knitters who walked the runway:
Who knows, perhaps I will knit a stranded hat to match this pullover, as I still have one ball of the granite left, and can mix it with the oat shade. Anyway, for anyone who is looking for a luxurious new tweed that is soft enough to wear right next to the skin, I highly recommend this yarn!