Sneaky Peek of Rowan Chenille

May 14, 2014

Chenille is back!  Recently I was given a skein of Rowan's new mid season yarn, Chenille.  When given a new yarn a try, I usually cast on 30 plus stitches and start knitting some garter stitch, then stockinette, a few YO's and some K2tog's to see how the yarn behaves.  But recently I've been knitting doll sweaters so I can have a little something fun for my efforts.  I did make a doll sweater, I'll show you that at the end, but this post is really about the yarn.

Rowan Chenille was very easy to knit.  It was slightly slow going with wood needles so I switched to my Addi Lace needles and started to fly.  The feel in the hand is velvety and thick and creates a tight, dense, almost suede-like fabric that is very even and for my little project, required no blocking.  I have since learned that this Chenille is two-ply, so is a round yarn and will not "bias" which is why it was able to lay so flat with no blocking.  (Bias in knitting:  when knitting a rectangle, the fabric with turn into a trapezoid, totally annoying.)  Apparently, previous chenille yarns were one ply and flat and would therefore bias and "worm".  Worming is when yarn coils back onto itself while knitting, another terrible experience.  And while I don't like to write a review telling you all the bad things a yarn won't do, I think it's important to address these issues since if you've ever knit with chenille before you'd be asking these questions.

With my one skein doll sweater I had no worming, no problems with bias and absolutely no shedding.  It required no special care while knitting except to change to faster needles.  I thought Chenille might be too thick to use for seaming and chose instead a matching fingering weight yarn I had.  Even though it is cotton, I see this as a fall or even winter knit. I was totally unfamiliar with chenille yarn and was only too happy with my experience and my project. 

So you lovers of natural fibers, who want warmth without wool, I think Chenille might be a perfect choice for you.  Enjoy some of the patterns below designed specifically for Chenille.

 Chambray.
I am totally in love with this sweater/cape combo and am going to make it I think in the gray Steel.
  Not now please, I'm marooned in the middle of my vast queue of summer knits.  Sigh. 


Satin

Batik.

Braid.

Gabardine.


Amazing cables pop in Twill Shrug.

Velvet.

Moleskin in a gorgeous red.

Plush.

Serge Wrap.

The Serge Wrap again in snowy white.

Here's the wee sweater I made.  Since the collection seems to have fabric names, 
I'll call this little one Corduroy.




Unfortunately while knitting this doll sweater I didn't keep any notes.  I just knit away making a basic top down cardigan and guessing what would fit, knowing dolly wasn't too terribly fussy.  Since knitting this, I've made a few more doll clothes and did take notes and was able to write up the patterns and share them here.  You can find my free patterns under the "patterns" tab at the top of the blog.   






Rowan Chenille, 100% cotton, machine washable, dk weight, 120 yards.
It's new, not officially released until May 15, but I already
found it at Jannette's and Deramores.
When I have a link for the pattern book I'll edit this post.


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9 Comments

  1. Wow. I'm pretty astonished. I didn't think I would ever feel the urge to try a chenille yarn again, but you might just have changed my mind. Love the pattern support too. Thanks for a great review.

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  2. Love how it looks in the last doll close-up and great news that it was so easy to knit with. Time to unpack my sample skein!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad to hear the Chenille was so easy to work with! What a fun choice for winter accessories. I want a chenille hat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So lovely Kristen...I can only admire your skills. Happy Mother's day to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello, I'm knitting a throw in the Chenille and wondered how and where you would join the yarn?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello, I'm knitting a throw in the Chenille and wondered how and where you would join the yarn?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello, I'm knitting a throw in the Chenille and wondered how and where you would join the yarn?

    ReplyDelete
  8. sorry I seem to have posted too many times, obviously my blogging is a good as my knitting!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. sorry I seem to have posted too many times, obviously my blogging is a good as my knitting!!!

    ReplyDelete

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