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9670 Review
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Review on Red Heart E847 3850 Indigo Silver by Heather Shaw

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Elegant heavy worsted acrylic yarn with metal inserts

I like to crochet and knit with different yarns. Since one of my daughters has a wool allergy, I'm always on the lookout for interesting wool yarns to give away. Red Heart Gleam is 96% acrylic and 4% other fibers (believed to be the metallic part of the yarn). Sometimes the feces will be thinner or thicker when working with a ball of yarn. The acrylic portion of the yarn (black with metallic silver in my first Raven pick) is almost like roving yarn in that it has very little twist. The metal part of the yarn is wound onto the acrylic core yarn. It is tightly wound and the windings are random in the sense that they can be close together or further apart. This looks more interesting in the final project as it is discontinuous rather than sequential. I like to test new yarns with a similar pattern. I knit a scarf with a half column with a crochet. In this case, since the strand was long enough, I chained 202 and crocheted 200, using two as my first turning chain. I worked six rows with an I-9 (5.5mm) hook, the recommended hook on a ball. I think a larger hook might work just as well as I had a bit of an issue with the head of my hook getting caught on a flat piece of twine. I solved this problem by twisting the yarn a bit while crocheting. I ended up with a scarf that was 76 inches long and 3 inches wide before blocking. I expect the size of the blockage to change a bit, but I know a lot of people don't block, so I measured and took photos beforehand. I had enough thread left over to wind up for future repairs if needed. The yarn felt pretty good in my hands. Unlike some metal threads, it didn't scratch. I noticed the metal part while working, but it didn't irritate my skin. There was only one knot in the skein, but I chose not to disassemble and weave it in as the scarf has a bulge that adequately hides the knot. Yarn is dyed in batches, so it's important to get as much material as possible when you start your project. The yarn is hand washed and dried on a horizontal surface. It is 169 yards (154 m) long. I love this product and will definitely buy it in the future, especially in some complementary colors to give to my daughter. It's a decent price if you can find it at Red Heart's recommended retailer.

Pros
  • Yarn
Cons
  • Very expensive