For the last few weeks, I’ve been on the couch for one of two reasons: I’ve either been working on my latest book submission OR I’ve been sick. I got Strep last Saturday and slept and lounged all weekend and then took off Monday and Tuesday. I was OUT. OF. IT. And it couldn’t have been a worse time because I had a book submission due Wednesday (!)
My latest design was a skirt. I’ve been wanting to do one for awhile now and have drawn up plans for many, but this concept lured me in. Plus, I was given the chance to work with luxury yarns so that was a huge bonus. was such a pleasure to work with. I’d use it again with no reservations. Someone had asked that I post my experiences in using this yarn. I’m hardly one to “review” a yarn in the proper context, but I’ll give my thoughts on it candidly.
Nice to Meet You!
Can I use this yarn every time I make something? What a wonderfully soft yarn with a nice color selection.
Le Fibre’
I call Oasis the never-ending skein. Each skein is a whopping 240 yds and it feels like it when you pick it up. Put it to your face and you can feel how silky soft it is. It’s made from 100% soysilk which is from byproducts of the tofu manufacturing process. (How cool is that?) It’s also nice on the hands when working up. (There’s nothing more annoying than having to work with itchy yarn, IMO). Kelli of did a great overview of the process in making their yarns. Really fascinating listening. It’s in her first episode, I believe.
Work It Gurl
When I first began working up the yarn, I had that typical problem where my hook kept jabbing into the “tube” of the yarn (it’s not a spun fiber, but rather it’s worked into a long, skinny tube. If you pull on the end of the tube, you’ll see it can unravel, which I will come back to later on). I had a slight learning curve with this yarn but worked it out in a matter of minutes.
It works up beautifully and stitch definition is to a maximum. The stitches themselves work up to the gauge on the label, which neither says it’s for knit or crochet (you know, because sometimes they differentiate, and sometimes they just say it’s a knitted gauge). It’s a pretty fast fiber to work; I was able to do the first tier of my 3-tier skirt fairly quickly (once I settled on a mathematical formula for increases).
Anyway, Oasis is an incredible yarn for draping. I found that I could achieve the look that I desired and was able to re-create the fullness of a typical poofy skirt from Anthropologie, but in yarn.
Random Thoughts
At one point in the finishing process, I need to sew a zipper on the side of the skirt. I realized that I didn’t purchase matching thread for this, but not until that time of the night where the stores were closing or closed and I basically had no options beyond the limited number of thread I had here in the house: black (nylon), white, and trace amounts of any color other than turquoise.
“Now what?” I thought. I had gotten myself into a pickle. I was sitting there holding the yarn when I tugged on the ends: “I wonder how easily this’ll unwork itself?” I was about to find out. I began pulling and pulling and pulling. I was convinced it could backfire and Larry would find me tangled up in fibers the next morning. But alas, it worked! I was able to unravel it without it tangling.
I doubled up the thread because it was a tad too fine on its own and began sewing. The first two attempts were cut to shreds. I had to water down the yarn a little so it would lay flat enough to cooperate. By the third attempt it worked. It sewed beautifully. And what’s better than thread that exactly matches the project? Right? (right.)
N’est-ce pas?
What problems I did have with the yarn were very minimal, but I feel the need to mention them regardless. I had one skein that had parts where the yarn became too thin, which can mess up your gauge. I auto-corrected while working by varying my tension on the yarn. Also, a few of the skeins had dye specs. This is my non-technical term for seeing what appears to be tiny dots of dye that clung to the yarn after the dying process. I would hardly call them noticeable to the average eye, but if it’s you who is working up the yarn, you’ll see them. I also had a skein that seemed to have several knots. Nothing that I would write home about, though.
In the end…
I would recommend this yarn to anyone who is willing to spend anywhere between $12.50 to $12.95 a skein for a high quality yarn with excellent drape and feel. You could say that I fell in love with this yarn and I’m excited to try South West Trading Company’s, “Bamboo” yarn next.
I was also given the chance to work with SWTC’s, “Shimmer” yarn which I doubled up because it was too thin. They don’t provide a gauge on the label because it doesn’t really affect your gauge to include it along with another yarn while working it up. If Oasis put out 5sts per inch, Shimmer doubled up probably got me about 6sts per inch. Close enough for jazz. the two worked well together and I’d do it again.
And if Oasis was the never ending skein, Shimmer was the never-NEVER ending skein (cone, really). When the yarn arrived, I saw the cones and thought, “Oh crappp. I won’t get past the first of the design with this little yarn.” But to my complete surprise, the yarn kept trickling in as I was working. I would look down occasionally wondering when it would end.
It did end though. Sadly. I had come up with an edging for the skirt for all three tiers, but the yarn ran out and I had to adjust the design…TWICE. I was committed to the idea that the ending would have two rows or Oasis and two of Shimmer, with the last and final row being Shimmer. I needed the contrast between the differing yarns to add a pop. The ENTIRE skirt was done except that last round/row of the tier edgings and I HAD TO MAKE IT WORK. Talk about stressful! My solution? I wound up changing the design AND switching to a smaller hook. In the end, it wasn’t what I had planned for, but it met the requirement. I had left-overs after that.
