Sunday Swatch – Nettle Lana

Today’s swatch is in Nettle Lana Solids.

Nettle Lana Swatch

 

Nettle Lana Solids is a luxurious blend of 70% organic wool and 30% nettle with a braided construction.  This is the first nettle yarn I’ve worked with, and I like it!  Some plant fiber yarns can be tiring to knit with, but I didn’t have that problem with Nettle Lana, perhaps due to the wool content.

This yarn has a particularly rich color saturation.  The plant and animal fibers take the dye at different rates leading to an almost heathered look.  Decadent.

Starcrossed CardiganI picked the shadow cable for this swatch because I liked how it looked in the Starcrossed Cardigan (above) from e-book Nettle Lana: Behind the Curtain.  Doing cables over the knit side of a stockinette background instead of the purl side gives a subtlety to the texture.  They fade into the background more than they would in a traditional Celtic cable.  The shadow cable is a simple 8-row repeat of two over two crosses that’s easy to memorize.  Like last week’s smock stitch swatch, it’s the same thing on rows 4 and 8, just staggered.  Very easy to keep track of, and an excellent beginner’s cable.  On US Size 7 needles, I got about 5 stitches per inch in pattern, but of course your gauge may vary.

Woven Stitch Cowl in Nettle Lana ExpressionsNettle Lana Solids would look great in a larger garment.  Nettle Lana Expressions, the multi version of this yarn, would be well-suited for a smaller project.  I’m eyeing the Woven Stitch Cowl at right, a free two ball pattern on our website.  A four row repeat with great texture?  Looks like another great stitch to try for Sunday Swatch!