Yarn Review: Purl Soho's Note

Plus, Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is being published on American Thanksgiving. However you choose to spend this holiday, I wish you (choose all that apply):

• Safe and smooth travels

• A feast of all your favorite flavors

• A table surrounded with open-hearted loved ones

• A moment of quiet, peaceful contentment

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Purl Soho has sold a gradient yarn bundle for several years. The Nine-Note Bundle comes in thirteen gorgeous light-to-dark gradient hues dyed on a base of light worsted-weight wool and alpaca. I've ogled this yarn on the website for a very long time but could never bring myself to click add to cart. Every project I imagined for this yarn required the addition a "framing color" to set off the gradient. And the yarn used for the bundle wasn't available as single skeins. I couldn't buy just one or two skeins to test drive.

Good news! Purl Soho has finally made the yarn from the None-Note Bundle available in individual skeins. I couldn't wait to get my needles into Note.

FYI: This yarn was gifted to me by Purl Soho with no obligation to use or review the yarn. The links are not affiliate links. I receive no compensation for this review (other than from your paid ❤️ subscriptions), nor will I receive a commission if you make a purchase. I have an ongoing business relationship with Purl Soho tech editing many of their patterns, and I have done some designing for them in the past.

First, the Specifications

This yarn is suitable for use in patterns calling for light worsted or DK weight yarn.

Let's Take a Closer Look

Note is a plush, round yarn with a complex construction. Six two-ply strands are plied together, for a total of twelve plies. The initial plies are quite fine and lightly twisted, keeping the yarn lofty. The final six-ply has a high twist, providing pill resistance and bounce.

Despite the fineness of the fibers, the multi-ply structure makes this yarn very strong. I cannot break it with my hands. Note is evenly and consistently spun, with no slubs or thin spots. There were no knots in the two skeins I sampled.

Let's Look at a Swatch

My Stockinette stitch swatch was knit on size US 6 (4 mm) needles. My gauge is 22 sts and 30 rows = 4" (10 cm). This is on the tighter end of the gauge range recommended on the label.

Note was a delight to knit. It moved smoothly through my hands, and the plies had no tendency to split or untwist. The stitches are even and well-defined.

The fabric exhibits the best of both fibers in the blend. The alpaca brings drape and a buttery feel, while the wool brings the resilience needed to prevent stretching out of shape. The fabric is surprisingly soft; I could almost mistake it for cashmere. As I've handled my swatches over the past week or so, they have developed a slight halo, enhancing the softness. The fabric feels warm, substantial, and luxurious.

Note is a beautiful yarn for cozy sweaters, hats, mittens, and lush cowls. I'd love to use it to make a deluxe throw to snuggle under on cold winter evenings.

Cable-icious!

A plump, round yarn like this always makes me think of cables. Just look at the way that O-X-O cable pops against a Stockinette stitch ground. The cable looks deeply carved. If you've ever thought, "I want a classic fisherman's sweater, but make it luxurious", this is the yarn to make your cable dreams come true.

How About Colorwork?

Longtime readers know that my default test-drive for a new-to-me yarn is often a stranded colorwork hat. Meet Orchidaceae.

The yarn performed well in the colorwork pattern, blocking out to a smooth, cohesive fabric. The extra layer of insulation created by the strands of yarn on the wrong side make this a very warm and cozy hat.

The motif reminded me of the curling petals of some orchid blossoms, hence the name. Just don't ask me to pronounce it—I think the Latinate botanical names of plants aren't really intended to be spoken aloud.

Paid subscribers🩷 were sent a coupon code yesterday for a free download of this pattern as a thank you for your support. (Check your email if you haven't yet seen it).

If you'd like to download this pattern for free while also supporting my work, the Anniversary Deal for new annual subscriptions is available through November 30^th. Your subscription fee will be discounted by 20% if you subscribe with the button below.

You can also purchase the pattern at a 25% discount using the coupon code Orchidaceae25 on Ravelry. Or just click the button below to have the coupon code applied automatically.

The Colors

Note is currently offered in tightly curated palette of 17 colors. I sampled Pink Bisque, a gently heathered peachy pink, and Pine Cone, a warm, mid-tone brown that reminds me of roasted coffee beans.

The color range works nicely with the offerings in the Nine-Note Bundle. Imagine a colorwork sweater knit with the Nine-Note Bundle in Penny against a background of Note in Dark Denim. It would be a showstopper.

The Bottom Line

When I owned a yarn store, there were some yarns that inspired odd behavior. Customers would pick up the skein, brush it against their cheek, then close their eyes and give it a little snuggle. They would walk around the store cradling the yarn against their chest like a three-week-old kitten. Note is one of those yarns.

If the run-up to the winter holidays has left you feeling like you deserve a little splurge, order up a couple of skeins of Note and make something just for you.

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Some Things That Caught My Eye…

• Knit Picks recently published a new design of mine—the Henley Pullover. This is a classic 3-button henley with set-in sleeves for a tailored fit. It is worked in an all-over staggered rib pattern. Fair warning: if you’re one of those knitters who don’t enjoy working k1, p1 ribbing you may not enjoy knitting this sweater. I find the texture of this stitch pattern very appealing.

• My friends at WoolTribe are offering a class at their Charlotte, NC studio on Saturday, December 7th: Intro to Hand Dyeing. You can choose to dye 3 skeins of their sock-weight Shaniko wool yarn, or 2 of their cabled beanies made with the same all-American Shaniko wool. If your gifts-to-knit list feels too long, you can choose to dye these ready-made hats and wrap them up for the holidays! Check it out if you’re in the area.

• I just finished reading Sally Rooney's latest novel, Intermezzo. Like Rooney's earlier work, it focuses on people falling in and out of love. But the real heart of this book is the relationship between two brothers, born a decade apart. Rooney explores the way our expectations of a sibling can become frozen in time, and what happens when that sibling evolves into a fully formed person who no longer fits our pictures. This is a provocative book that will haunt me for a while.

• I rented the film Conclave on Amazon Prime last night. It is superb.

The costumes and sets are, of course, a visual feast. The movie is full of excellent performances but watch for Isabella Rosellini as the head of the order of nuns who cook and clean for the cardinals while they are sequestered. In a role with very few lines, Rosellini embodies smoldering rage buried under a duty of subservience. She is incandescent.

And yes, the film is based on a novel, Conclave by Robert Harris. I’m on the waiting list for the audiobook at my local public library.

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One last thought…

We tend to talk about Thanksgiving as if everybody has a 4-day holiday weekend. As we go about our celebrations, let’s remember to appreciate the people who don’t have these days off work. From transportation and utility workers to public safety officers, from hospitality and medical staff to the brave souls who work retail on Black Friday, it takes many people working to make our leisurely holiday traditions possible. Let’s show them some gratitude and grace, shall we?

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Today, as always, I’m thankful for your willingness to come along on my explorations. Continue the conversation: What project is keeping you calm and engaged this long holiday weekend? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.