New Yarn: Good Wool
Welcome the newest addition to our yarn collection, Good Wool, as in, “Wow, that’s a really good wool!”… As in, a classic, stitch-defining, durable, heirloom-worthy, really good yarn!
Good Wool comes from the Andean highlands in Peru, a place with pure air, rich fiber traditions, and lots of sheep! This region’s culture and beauty spark our imaginations, and we love that Good Wool takes us there with every stitch.
This yarn is 100% Andean highland wool and comes in five undyed colors: Heirloom White, Winter Grass, Driftwood Gray, Walking Stick, and Hickory Nut. In colors grown by the sheep themselves, Good Wool is beautiful but also environmentally gentle with no harsh dyes and little water waste.
Good Wool is also a real pleasure to knit. A light worsted weight, it is buoyant and hardy, toasty and soft. It has a genuine natural beauty that is obvious in how it looks and feels, and right now, it’s on our needles for sweaters, scarves, wraps, mittens, hats, and blankets… pretty much everything!
And each skein is a very affordable 383 yards so you can knit a scarf with just a couple of skeins and a sweater for not a whole lot more… So good!
Our first project in Good Wool perfectly reflects the simple beauty of this yarn. Our Lovely Ribbed Scarf, in the color Walking Stick, is a true classic! Get the free pattern, plus two or three skeins of Good Wool and cast on!
Good Wool looks beautiful! And the price is wonderful too. But is it soft enough for next to skin? Hats? Scarves? Is it merino?
Hi,
Thanks for writing in and great question! Good Wool is made from an Andean Highland wool which is a bit more rustic than our fine merino. We love it for accessories (see our Lovely Ribbed Scarf). I, myself, am knitting a sweater from it now and find that I like it quite close to skin. While not as soft as super fine merino, it is still soft and very lovely to work with!
Best,
Cassy
This is so exciting! I have been saving up to knit a blanket, and this yarn will make it much cheaper than I was expecting. Do you have a blanket pattern you can recommend for this yarn?
Hi Alanna,
We are very excited about Good Wool too! I think that it would be lovely for a large number of blankets! The Colorblock Bias Blanket would be lovely and require just 4 skeins to get the correct yardage. If you got one of each of the 5 colors that we have available, you could make a very lovely blanket! The Ridgeline Blanket would be quite nice in a 4 skeins of a single color of Good Wool! You would also make a Super Easy Blanket using all 5 colors. You would want to cast on approximately 160 stitches on a US 6 and you would be able to make a blanket that is 32 x 42 inches.
Happy knitting!
Cassy
I like your new yarn, Good Wool and appreciate the natural, undyed colors. What weight is this yarn? Fingering, by chance?
Hi Linda,
Great question! We like Good Wool at a knit gauge of 5 – 5.5 stitches per inch which would make it a DK/Light Worsted weight!
Best,
Cassy
Do you think this yarn would work well for your stitch block cowl?
Thanks,
Ellen
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for writing in! Good Wool is a bit thinner that the Worsted Twist that we used in the Stitch Block Cowl. You can certainly make the cowl a bit thinner by using Good Wool and US 6 needles. It would probably be about 10% narrower which I think could still be quite cozy and lovely!
Happy knitting!
Cassy
I love the look of this yarn and the fact that it isn’t dyed. Do you have a suggestion for hip length, button front cardigan with pockets that I can you this yarn for? I have a very specific request from a family member, thanks!
Hi Kim,
Thanks for writing in! I am afraid that I do not have a suggestion for a button front, hip length cardigan with pockets at the moment but we will certainly keep the request in mind! We do have an open front cardigan that may work but it does not have pockets of a button front. The Olson could work with Good Wool. The yarn that we used for Olson is a bit thicker than Good Wool but they should knit at a similar gauge. As with any yarn substitution, you will want to knit a gauge swatch first to determine if you like the fabric at the required gauge!
Best,
Cassy
Is Good Wool woolen spun or worsted spun?
Hi Liz,
Great question! In truth, Good Wool lies somewhere in between! I would call it a tighter woolen spun yarn.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Love the beautiful, neutral colors! I just ordered 3 skeins, 2+ for the scarf and the remainder of the 3rd skein to knit a coordinating men’s hat. Can you suggest a Purl Solo men’s hat pattern that would go well with the scarf? Maybe with a minor modification? Thank you!
Hi Mary!
Thanks for your question! We have a few beautiful hat patterns that could work for Good Wool!
I’ll like them below:
Heel Stitch Hat
Reversible Pleat Hat
Happy knitting!
Carly
Thanks for the suggestions, Carly
Love the colors! Is Hickory Nut a grey-brown color? And Walking Stick more brown than grey? Hard to tell in the photos. Thanks!
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for your kind words! You have it spot on! Hickory Nut is a bit cooler in tone, a brown/gray color and Walking stick is warmer, a more of a brown color!
Best,
Cassy
Great priced wool and beautiful earthy colours. Would it suit for a crocheted blanket? What is it’s washability like?
Hi Julie,
Thanks for writing in and for your kind words! I think that Good Wool would be lovely crocheted! It is a looser spun yarn so you will want to be sure that your tension is not overly tight but otherwise it looks lovely crocheted! The care instructions for Good Wool are to hand wash cold and lay flat to dry!
Best,
Cassy
You have such beautiful yarns (and patterns). I am happy to see you offer something in a more affordable price range, and Good Wool looks lovely in its natural colors. Is this yarn feltable? The colors would be perfect for felted hats.
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for writing in! We are smitten with Good Wool as well! This yarn is feltable and would be lovely for felted hats!
Happy knitting!
Cassy
Hi, I would like to make a throw size blanket (about 50×80 or so) with the five colors of Good Wool. Would you have any suggestions for something very simple with a bit of character (like the Chevron baby blanket)? Thank you
Hello Sue,
Thank you for writing us! You have a few options here since blankets are rectangles and fairly easy to change gauge on. You could certainly make a chevron blanket with Good Wool, all you would need to do is go down in needle size (I would try a US 8) and up on your cast on number. The first thing you will want to do is knit up a little gauge swatch to see how many stitches per inch you are getting and then use this number to figure out your cast on number. The only thing to keep in mind is that your cast on must be a multiple of 14 plus 2 stitches.
If you would like to go another route I think these blanket patterns would be beautiful in Good Wool;
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hello,
would this yarn be suitable as a base for natural dyeing? Has it been treated in any way that would limit dye uptake?
thanks,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Thanks for writing in! I think that this yarn would be great for natural dying! As a minimally processed and undyed yarn, it should work well for dyeing in general.
Best,
Cassy
Would the Good Wool kit be good for the Tonal Blanket? Please say yes!
And BTW – I bought the Good Wool kit as soon as I saw it – what a bargain! And spectacularly beautiful yarn – soft enough to be used for anything.
Mary
Hello Mary,
Thank you for reaching out and your kind words! I think The Tonal blanket would be beautiful in Good Woo- what a great idea!
Good Wool has a slightly larger gauge than Season Alpaca so you will need to use smaller needles and to increase your cast on number. I would suggest knitting a gauge swatch in pattern to determine your gauge. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width that you would like and cast on the nearest odd number. As there are only 5 colors of Good Wool, you will have just 4 contrast colors and as such, you will need to knit each section a bit longer to make the blanket an equal size to what we have here.
Let us know how it turns out!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
I am very interested in this beautiful yarn for a DK sweater project I’ve been dreaming of. Is there a concern about color matching across hanks of an undyed wool like this? Thank you!
Hello Alice,
Thank you for reaching out! As long as all of your skeins have the same lot number you will be in good shape. I would recommend buying all of your yarn at once to make sure you will have skeins from the same lot.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
I’m needing one skein of Driftwood Gray and one of Hickory Nut. When will you have these back in stock. I need these 2 for a test knit due completed project and picture ready for April 5th.
Hi Cheri,
Thanks for reaching out! While Hickory Nut is now back in stock, we are unfortunately completely out of Driftwood Gray both at our warehouse and store. I really can’t say when it will be back in stock, but our mill is currently making it. While we do not have a firm ETA, we are hoping that it will arrive soon. You can sign up to be notified when we get it back in stock. To do so, go to the product page, select the color that you are interested in and enter your email address. When that yarn and color arrives, we will email you right away!
Best,
Julianna
How can I get details of a sewing pattern that includes a raglan sleeve tunic and a dress?
When I tap the pattern it does not open and just takes me back to a previous page.
Hi Elanor,
Thanks for reaching out! I am happy to help, but I am not quite sure what pattern you are speaking about, do you happen to remember the name? This page that you wrote on is for our Good Wool yarn, to find our selection of sewing patterns please click here!
Warmly,
Gianna
Do you have suggestions of how to block good wool? I’ve just completed a vest and getting ready to block. I did block a swatch in tepid water and that was ok.
Thanks,
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for reaching out. We recommend wet blocking Good Wool and laying it flat to dry!
All the best,
Lili
Is Good Wool soft enough for sweaters?
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for reaching out. Good Wool is absolutely soft enough for sweaters! We love designing sweaters in this yarn, so I’d be happy to give you some pattern suggestions if you’d like.
All the best,
Lili