Yarn Test Kitchen Review – Phat Girlz Fiber
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
Welcome to our Yarn Test Kitchen Review!
The yarn test kitchen went on tour this month. Our busy schedules meant that my friends and I could only find one morning that worked for all of us mid-September. It also happened to be just a day and a half after my return from a visit to England. Past experience tells me that baking and jetlag are not a happy partnership, so I suggested that we meet at one of our favorite spots for a cuppa – Paisley’s Tea Room in Isaaquah. As you will see from the photos, the quirky, cozy seasonal decor makes for a great place for a show and share. The tea and baked goods are delicious too.
Our fabulous yarn dyers: Phat Girlz Fibers
Fairwood based Ashley and Rozlyn have been hand dyeing sumptuous, superwash skeins since 2020. They are inspired by the world around them and produce richly dyed, unique color ways that are hard to resist. A visit to their online shop is highly recommended. There, you will also find fabulously designed project bags in joyful fabric that look great and are also practical. (More on those later).
Tester: Keeley – Base: DK 85% Superwash Merino, 15% Nylon, 246 yards – Color Way: Rhubarb Fields – Pattern: Hollyhocks Hat by Chit Chat Knits
Current Vibe: 1. Sweater or accessories? Sweater. 2.Solid or Variegated? Solid. 3. Knitting or Crochet? Knitting.
When you look at this color way, you can’t help but think of a vibrant springtime flower bed. It is beautiful! This base would make a great pair of socks (15% nylon for durability), but these adorable colors are too pretty to be tucked away in a pair of shoes. While considering projects I was torn between mittens and a hat, but when I found this cute little fluffster of a pompom in my stash the decision was made. One Ravelry search later and I was casting on the Hollyhocks Hat from Chit Chat Knit – the floral vibes of this color way and the pattern name felt like the perfect match.
It is always fun to knit with colorful super wash yarn, and this skein was particularly joyful – no color pooling and the splashes of color intermingled to create a pretty fabric. The Hollyhocks Hat pattern is easy to follow and will knit up quickly. I am a big fan of a false cable pattern – always useful when you don’t want to be reaching for a cable needle. This is a good pattern to consider when you want a knit with a little extra, but not too complicated. I highly recommend adding it to your “to knit” list.
Tester: Caitlyn – Base: Fingering/Sock, 85% Super Wash Merino, 15% Nylon, 400 yards – Color Way: Geopark – Pattern: Ribbon Scarf by Purl Soho
Current Vibe: 1. Variegated or Solid? Solid. 2. Sweater or Accessories? Sweater. 3. Knitting or Crochet? Crochet (currently).
This is a color way to fall in love with, particularly at this time of the year. In the skein it reminded Caitlyn of a picture she had seen of colorful stones in Flathead Lake MT. She wanted to see how the colors would combine in simple stockinette and as the fabric of her Ribbon Scarf grew, she knew she had made the right project choice – this is a wonderful accessory for our Autumn days ahead. The pattern has options and you can use up a whole skein to make a scarf, but Caitlyn decided to turn hers into a hair accessory. It looks fabulous next to her blonde hair. She has plans to make a scrunchie to match. Cute!
For this yarn test kitchen Caitlyn had the full Phat Girlz Fibre experience. She had bought a project bag and notions keeper from their booth at this year’s Fiber Fusion Festival and had the pleasure of using them as she knitted with their yarn. Caitlyn highly recommends checking out the Phat Girlz Fibre bags and accessories on their website – she is a huge fan.
Yarn Tester: Cindy – Base: Fingering weight, 85% super wash Merino, 15% Nylon, 400yds – Color Way: Ice Queen – Pattern: Raindrops by Tomoko Nishimura
Cindy’s Current Vibe: 1. Variegated or solid? Solid. 2. Sweater or accessories? Sweater. 3. Knitting or crochet? Knitting.
This beautiful pattern could have been created for this pretty purple variegated yarn. Cindy picked up the book that contains this design on her recent travels to Hong Kong. It’s written in chinese but includes an English translation. Cindy was delighted to make use of her vacation purchase and loved seeing how the violet, purple and mauve tones in the yarn play together to form the “raindrops” in the pattern as the shawl took shape. We were all struck by the delicate halo that forms over the fabric this yarn creates – it feels as soft as it looks. Cindy is looking forward to wearing her shawl throughout the coming months – beautiful knitted raindrops to bring a smile during the rainy days ahead.
Yarn Tester: Taylor – Base: DK super wash 85% Merino, 15% Nylon, 246 yards – Color: Penelope – Pattern: Taylor’s own design.
Taylor’s Current Vibe: 1. Variegated or Solid? Variegated. 2. Sweater or Accessories? Accessories. 3. Knitting or Crochet? Knitting
Sitting on the opposite side of the color wheel, pink and green will always be playful with each other. The shades of teal and tones of pink in the pretty Penelope color way combine beautifully to create Taylor’s resplendent cowl. The skein was dyed in quarters with pink and teal alternating. Taylor’s plan was to crochet a mesh cowl that would be light enough to wear throughout the PNW seasons. However, when a Ravelry pattern was not turning out as she hoped, she decided it was time to create her own design. Taylor’s cowl consists of simple stitches that are perfectly placed to create a beautiful, intentional, diagonal striped effect. We were all so impressed that Taylor took the time to play around with the yarn to create something truly unique that perfectly showcases the skein of yarn. Bravo Taylor – this is an inspired choice of pattern!
We all enjoyed these four beautiful skeins of colorful yarn immensely and would like to say a very big thank you to Ashley and Rozlyn for sending us such marvelous fibers to sample. Do check out the full range of yarns and project bags in the Phat Girlz Fibre online shop and look out for them at future fiber festivals.
Coming soon in the Yarn Test Kitchen: Our Yarn Test Kitchen Club Edition featuring exclusive Woolpack colors from Thought to Thread.
As always, if we have inspired you to knit/crochet any of the featured patterns, simply click on the pattern name to head to Ravelry.com. You can also find all of the Yarn Test Kitchen featured patterns on our Ravelry Projects Page – PSWoolpack.
Yarn Test Kitchen
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One of my all time favorite knitting activities is a “show and share”, with friends – it’s a perfect way to seek ideas, gain inspiration and get helpful advice. This is the idea behind the yarn test kitchen – I hope our projects will have you reaching for your needles as we bring you our ideas on how to turn those neglected single skeins of yarn in to “One Skein Wonders”, and inspire you to try new yarns that are produced and sold across the Puget Sound Region.
Oh, and I’ll also be sharing monthly baking recommendations as we go. After all, who doesn’t love a slice of cake or baked good? Yum!
Happy reading!
Keeley