Yarn Bases

Here are my current yarn bases in order by yarn weight. The numbers following the name of each yarn base indicates its weight according to the Craft Yarn Council numeric system.

Please note that I use the word sock in the yarn base name to indicate the weight of the yarn, which is the same as fingering weight. If you are looking for yarn that is appropriate for making socks (which is about the toughest use for any yarn), look for the yarn bases with an asterisk right after the name.

Suri Lace Cloud (0) - Suri Lace Cloud is a wonderfully soft and fuzzy textured yarn made of 65% baby suri alpaca and 35% silk. It comes in 50 gram skeins with 437 yards each. It's lovely on its own but even better paired with a sock-weight yarn. Uses: Knitting, Crochet, Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, fuzzy slippers, and more.

Sock Perfection (1)* - I have finally found the perfect yarn base for actual socks! It is a fingering weight that combines 80% extra-fine 19.5 micron superwash merino with 20% nylon. It's a good solid 4-ply yarn that comes in 100 gram skeins with 450 yards per skein. It can be machine washed on cold and air dried. It tends to take the dye rather brightly. Uses: Knit, Crochet, Warp and Weft in Weaving. Great for socks, shawls, sweaters, etc.

Sparkly Merino Sock (1) - This 4-ply yarn is made of 92% superwash merino and 8% lurex. There's enough lurex to really sparkle without compromising the softness of the merino. The neat thing about lurex is that the sparkle shows even more on darker colorways. This comes in extra-large 115 gram or 4-ounce skeins with a total of 409 yards, so it's on the heavier side of fingering weight. Sparkly Merino Sock tends to dye up brightly. This can be hand washed or washed on a gentle cycle in the washing machine on cold. It should be laid flat to dry. Since it doesn't have nylon or silk, I don't really recommend using this for socks. Uses: Knit, Crochet, and Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, hats, and more, but not recommended for socks.

Stained Glass Sock (1) - Stained Glass Sock is a soft and squishy 2-ply yarn made of 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon. Each 100 gram skein of this sock-weight or fingering-weight yarn has 437 yards. The thing that makes Stained Glass Sock uniquely wonderful is that one of the two plies is made of black merino wool, so when I dye the yarn, it looks like stained glass. This yarn base would be great for shawls, sweaters, hats, legwarmers, and more. Since it is a 2-ply, I wouldn't recommend it for hard-wearing socks, but it's great for everything else. While it is better to hand wash this, it can be machine washed on cold and air dried. Uses: Knit, Crochet, and Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, hats, and more, but not recommended for socks.

Squiggle Sock (1) - Squiggle Sock is a delightfully fun yarn base that looks a lot like spiral-plied handspun yarn. It has a ply of superwash merino wrapped around a core of nylon, and the superwash merino also has little beehives or slubs every foot or two to add fabulous texture. This yarn base would be great for shawls, sweaters, hats, tops, legwarmers, and more. Like Stained Glass Sock, I wouldn't recommend it for hard-wearing socks, but it's great for everything else. Because of the texture, I recommend hand washing this yarn base in cold water.
Uses: Knit, Crochet, and Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, hats, and more, but not recommended for socks.

So Silky Sock (1)* - This yarn is lusciously soft! It's a 4-ply made of 50% mulberry silk and 50% superwash merino. It comes in 3.5 ounce or 100 gram skeins with a total of 438 yards per skein. So Silky Sock tends to dye up fairly softly. I recommend washing it by hand in cold water because of the silk content, though there's nothing that will felt in this yarn. Uses: Knit, Crochet, Warp and Weft in Weaving. Great for soft, strong socks as well as shawls, sweaters, hats, and more. This is my favorite yarn to use as warp.

Diamond Silk Sock (1) - Diamond Silk Sock is made of 100% mulberry silk. Each 3.5-ounce 4-ply skein has 436 yards. Just like diamonds, Diamond Silk Sock is incredibly lustrous and strong. This is a great yarn base for everyone who is sensitive to wool or for that special project that you want to be the ultimate in luxury. Uses: Warp or weft when weaving. I also recommend it for knitting or crocheting shawls and cowls and slouchy berets. I do not recommend it for sweaters or socks because, unlike wool, silk does not have memory.

Buttery Soft DK (3) - This is a wonderfully soft 2-ply DK base with great stitch definition. It's made of 45% extra-fine merino (non-superwash), 45% baby alpaca, and 10% silk. It is a dream to work with! Each 100 gram skein contains 245 yards. This should be washed by hand in cold water and dried flat. Buttery Soft DK dyes up softly. In spite of being only 2 plies, I have used this yarn as warp on several occasions and had no difficulties. Uses: Knit, Crochet, Warp and Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, hats, and more.

Squoosh DK (3) - Squoosh DK is a squishy, soft, stretchy yarn made of 100% extra-fine superwash merino. It's a 4-ply yarn that comes in extra-large 115 gram skeins with 250 yards. This can be machine or hand washed in cold water but should be air dried. In spite of being somewhat stretchy for standard warp yarn, I have found that it works nicely for that purpose. Uses: Knit, Crochet, Warp and Weft in Weaving. Great for shawls, sweaters, hats, and more.

Squoosh Worsted (4) - Squoosh Worsted is just like Squoosh DK but heavier. It's made of extra-fine superwash merino, and it comes in 4 ounce skeins with 213 yards per skein. It's a soft and squishy 4-ply yarn that's great for hats, sweaters, shawls, and more. This base can be machine or hand washed in cold water but should be air dried. It dyes up at a medium intensity. Uses: Knit, Crochet, Warp and Weft in Weaving.

*recommended for socks