The Perfect Choice for Back to School Makes
For this week’s Yarn Corner, I wanted to find a range that would go hand in hand with school garments. I always had a knitted school cardigan when I was growing up; I remember one in particular that was navy blue with gold animal buttons. I chose Wendy with Wool for this feature as it carries some of the classic school uniform shades, such as blue, green and grey. It also comes in huge 400g balls, which is more than enough yarn to complete a full children’s garment in selected sizes. Let’s get into it!
Wendy is a trusted UK yarn brand, and their yarns have been extremely popular in store since we became stockists. Wendy with Wool is a basic range of aran yarn designed to give you plenty of material without a hefty price tag. For the next 2 weeks, premium subscribers to In the Wool can save 15% on this yarn in our online shop. That’s a saving of £1.79 per ball (code valid for as many balls as you’d like!). Discover your exclusive discount code in Edition #53.
As the name states, a full 400g/800m comes packed inside Wendy’s retro-themed ball band. The yarn is made of 75% premium acrylic and 25% wool, making it a great choice for warm handmade garments. This will be definitely be useful this winter as energy bills are shooting through the roof; 25% pure wool is more than enough to keep you warm!
These giant balls of yarn are great for garments, but also for homeware such as blankets, throws and cushions. You can create a bigger project without having to burn through lots of individual balls. It’s kind of like buying in bulk, as one 400g ball usually turns out cheaper than buying four 100g balls. This is especially true with the added wool content; this can raise the price of a yarn, but Wendy has ensured that their basic aran range is affordable for all makers.
As this is a classic aran range, it also means that Wendy with Wool works with pretty much any standard aran pattern. The yarn looks lovely knitted up into cosy cable knit sweaters, a classic design which many crafters already have a pattern for at home. There are also plenty of free patterns for aran jumpers and cardigans online!
Check out my article Back to School: Handmade Favourites for 15 free knitting and crochet patterns, some of which are children’s garments that call for aran-weight yarn. In fact, you can crochet this simple mini cardigan with just one ball of Wendy with Wool Aran 400g for most sizes:
What’s the most important question you should ask when making school outerwear with a nice yarn like Wendy with Wool? The answer is - how well does it wash? When you send your little ones off to school, they’re guaranteed to come home covered in something, whether it be food from lunch, ink stains from their pens, or grass/mud stains from playing outside. This is a concern of quite a few of our customers, as they don’t want to spend a long time making a lovely garment just for it be destroyed quickly when going through the washing machine on a regular basis. Wendy with Wool is very easy to care for. It can go in the washing machine up to 30 degrees and can even go through the tumble dryer on a cool setting without damaging the fibres. The gorgeous stitch definition that this yarn provides will live on, even if you’re getting everyday use out of a garment!
Don’t forget to make use of your 15% Yarn Corner discount for extra large savings on this extra large line!
Yarn Corner: Wendy with Wool Aran