Recently, I was given the opportunity to review some U.S. Organic Cotton from Appalachian Baby. I love that it’s grown organically in the U.S. and processed by small family companies, plus it’s pretty cool that they use earth-friendly dye processes. You can learn more here, if you like. Mostly, I love pretty yarn! I got to choose from 3 color combinations, and I selected Indigo, Natural, and Doe. When it arrived, it was a delightful surprise to see the beautiful organza gift bag holding the yarn. I also liked the brown paper labels; they fit the brand perfectly.
Each ball was 194 yards of sport weight yarn, giving me a total of 582 yards. Sport weight isn’t one I use often, and it took me forever to decide what to make with my kit. I don’t have any little babies in my life, and selfishly, I wanted to make something I could use. Finally, I decided on the Diamonds in the Rough cowl, a pattern that’s been in my Ravelry queue for ages. Since it was designed for two colors and I had three, I chose to do the main seed stitch section in stripes. At first I was going to switch to stockinette, but then I remembered the dreaded stockinette curl and decided to stick with seed stitch after all. After refreshing my memory of the provisional cast on, I got started, choosing 4-row stripes so I could easily carry the yarn up the side and avoid weaving in fifty million ends. This project took a month, giving me a finished cotton cowl in plenty of time for early fall.
I really enjoyed this yarn. The colors were rich and earthy, and the yarn was soft in my hand, with the subtle crispness that you get with cotton. It made for a lovely squishy fabric in the seed stitch, airy and breathable but still with some substance. Given that it’s cotton, it was a little splitty, but I think I (unintentionally) made it worse by choosing the pointiest metal needles I’ve got. Still, I knit easily and quickly, a good thing since I had 30″ of seed stitch to knit! I have to say, I did get tired of it for a bit after about 20″ of neutral-colored seed stitch, but that’s no fault of the yarn, just my own wandering brain. Still, the indigo was my favorite. It’s a deep dark blue, but not hard to knit with like black is.
My only hiccup in this project was pairing this pattern with this yarn. If you’ve ever tried to p2tbl (purl 2 together through the back loop) with cotton, you know what I mean. Cotton tends to give less than wool, so I struggled a bit with manipulating multiple stitches. I tried to remember to knit as loosely as possible, and that helped. Anyway, cotton and complicated lace are just a trickier mix than I personally like, but I have to admit the end result is attractive. The yarn blocked wonderfully, opening up the lace pattern just enough.
And the cowl even came out long enough to wear doubled!
I enjoyed both the yarn and the pattern. This yarn, especially since it’s machine washable and dryable, would be fantastic for baby garments and blankets. I also think it would crochet wonderfully! It comes in seven beautiful colors, or you can buy the 3-color set in one of 3 versions: Indigo like mine, Blush, and Woodland. They’re available for purchase here.
But one lucky person can get one for free! Appalachian Baby generously provided a set for me to give away, in the same colors I used. Would you like it to be yours?
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling me what you’d like to make with the 3-color set of Organic Cotton!
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 6 pm CST on Friday, July 13th. All entries must be submitted on this blog. Winner will be announced by 10 am CST on Saturday, July 14th. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. (You don’t have to put the address in the comment field for everyone to see, just make sure it’s in the email address field.) I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new winner. Shipping via USPS first class. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. US residents and APO/FPO only please.
A special thank you to Stitchcraft Marketing and the folks at Appalachian Baby Design, who sent me one 3 Pack U.S. Organic Cotton Yarn Set (retail $35) for free, as well as one to give away. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own.
I would knit a lightweight wrap for early fall.
That is lovely!
It’s beautiful yarn but I get what you mean about it being difficult to do lace with. I’d be entering if I lived in the US:)
We are expecting our first grand baby so I would be using the yarn to make something for the baby.
Love the colors and the cowl. I think it would make a lovely baby blanket but I wonder if it would be enough? A possible excuse to buy more yarn?
gradient shawl! The colors are fabulous 🙂
Ooh, I love that purple paired with the white and beige! I saw a really cute cropped coverup that would be perfect for a day at the beach, and these colors would really look great with something like that. 🙂
I would love to make a shawl, not entirely sure which one yet as there’s a few I have my eyes on!
That cowl is gorgeous. I really like the stripes. Since it’s cotton yarn, I would probably use it to make some waffle stitch towels and dishcloths. You picked colors that match my kitchen lol.
I’d love to make either a baby blanket or this pictured cowl that is absolutely stunning!
I would knit a cowl for my daughter to wear to college this fall!
Mine is going to college too! Maybe I should send mine with her. 🙂
That’s a wonderful cowl, and I might do something very similar, but with an easier to work lace pattern in the beige, and maybe wavy stripes or chevrons in the cream and purple? Whaddaya think? Thanks for the giveaway, KittenWhiplash on Ravelry.
That sounds lovely!
I would knit a similar wrap. I love the colors, and they fit the style perfectly!
Thank you for the fabulous giveaway.
Hugs,
Erin
Bonny that cowl is beautiful! I think that I’d make a wrap of some sort.
I would make some flowers to give to my mother
I’m trying my hand in some lovies and rag dolls for some friends of mine. I would love to try them with this gorgeous yarn!!
I would make a shawl or perhaps a light summer tank
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