Cascade yarns are hard to beat! We love a luxury yarn as much as the next knitter, but when it comes to tried-and-true, hard-wearing, and affordable yarns, Cascade is our 'go to' yarn. Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Superwash, Eco Duo and Cascade Heritage are our favorites. And since we've found ourselves recommending it more and more frequently, we thought it was time to sing its praises here.
- Cascade Eco Duo in Vanilla, Latte, and Hazelnut.
Cascade Eco Duo: This is definitely one of our favourites. A 50-50 blend of undyed baby alpaca and undyed merino wool, Eco Duo is a scrumptious, buttery yarn that is easy to overlook until you see it knit up (or touch it. Once you you give the skein a squeeze you'll be plotting ways to use it). We love this for those super-cozy, next to skin pieces that are so necessary at this time of year. The baby alpaca gives this yarn a lot of drape, and the yarn is spun so that it works up in stripes (solids interspersed with marl), so it's best suited to patterns unstructured patterns. We've partial to the Claudia Cowl, of course, but we're also dreaming of wearing this as a sweater — Ease or Francis Revisted would be perfect.
- Cascade 220 n Dune, Lichen, and Olive
Cascade 220: The absolute stash essential, Cascade 220 is a workhorse yarn available in a ton of colours (both solid and heathered). It has great stitch definition, is very forgiving, and, like an old friend, you always know what you're going to get when you pick it up. In knitting, where it sometimes feels like a slight breeze can throw off your gauge, that kind of consistency can feel like a miracle. We love Cascade 220 for both cables — it would be perfect for Cordova — and lace — the Fossil & Bone Shawl is stunning – and we've recommended it in the past for colourwork.
- Cascade Heritage Sock in Silk Paints #9770, #5627, and #5604
Cascade Heritage Sock: Available as both Heritage Sock (75% superwash merino wool and 22% nylon) or Heritage Silk Sock (85% superwash merino wool and 15% mulberry silk) this is a great yarn for socks, shawls or lightweight sweaters. The solids are consistent without being flat, and the handpaints are nicely variegated — perfect for simple socks, like the Hermione's Everyday Socks, or something more fun, like Monkey or Fire Flowers. Heritage is perfect for a long, draped sweater like the BlueSand Cardigan, as well as something more fitted like the Rheya Cardigan.