Are you looking to knit with a new and different yarn? Anzula's newest, Dottie is for you!

It is 420 yards of a fingering/sock weight that is a blend of 80% Superwash Merino, 17% Acrylic, and 3% Polyester.

What?! Acrylic? Polyester?

Dottie is special, there is a tweedy effect created by the neps of black Acrylic. It creates a very unique fabric, as you'll see in the swatches below.

I personally find tweedy yarns very difficult to work with as I want to re-spin it into a smooth yarn. As they aren't a yarn I tend to choose on my own, I don't have much experience with them. That made this post much more educational for me than I expected when the yarn first arrived on my doorstep.

Tweed yarns sing best with simple stitches. We'll change things up in this post and I'll begin with crochet before I share the knitting.

My first swatch was a large one worked in single crochet. The structure of crochet traps the tweed neps into each stitch.

The effect changes slightly half-double and double crochet. While there is some stitch definition, it's subtle.

So what if you were to work different stitches? What happens with lack of sharp stitch definition?

I personally don't find the effect of combining this tweed yarn with a motif stitch exciting. That could change with a different hook or blocking. I sprayed this lightly with water and finger pulled it to its roughly square shape. This is why swatching is important!

Does it work in a texture stitch? This is the same stitch I've worked for all my other texture swatches. It's ok, however I feel the essence of the texture is lost in the tweed. Does that matter? Maybe, maybe not. If you enjoy this stitch why not work it?

Ok, lace. I think in a certain design, and at a different gauge and with attention blocking, it could work as an accent (or edging) to a piece worked in a more basic stitch.

What have I learned from these few humble swatches? That it's very important to swatch. Maybe you’ll love the look in a very different stitch, such as crocheted (post-stitch) cable. Maybe you'll decide that single-crochet is the way to go. This is a very different yarn in Anzula's current line-up and I think you'll be able to have lots of fun with this yarn.

Next up: knitting!

It looks different than when crocheted. There is still stitch definition in the stockinette section and the garter stitch looks very different.

I'm surprised by how much I want to squish this garter stitch swatch. I find the tweed neps fun in this swatch in a way they weren't in any of my crochet swatches.

The same is also true in this stockinette. It's a more subtle effect than in crochet in a way I'm not yet able to articulate.

Dottie is a unique yarn that I think will entice you to swatch (in either knit or crochet -- or both) to find the combination of stitch and gauge that speaks to you.

If you'd like to try Dottie, head to your favorite local yarn store on April 27th for Local Yarn Store Day and pick up a kit for a gorgeous knit shawl by Jen Lucas! It features stockinette and some slipped stitches in a contrast color for a unique look. Crocheters, as each kit includes 420 yards of Dottie and 3 mini skeins of Squishy, why not combine a simple crochet stitch with your favourite scarf or shawl recipe and have some creative fun?

All swatches are in the Teal colourway with 3.75mm needles and hooks, any perceived differences in shade are due to the photographer.

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Penny Shima Glanz spends her days spinning yarn and code into memorable projects. Small businesses rely on her for smart technology decisions. Designers rely on her to sample, test, and edit their hand-knit and crochet patterns. She loves muddy trail runs, fosters kittens, and lives in Westchester, NY with her husband and cat. www.pennyshima.com