Meet the Yarn: Luster
Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits
Miles Davis said he had to quit playing ballads because he loved them so much. Not sure what a ballad is? Check this list, you have probably heard many of them. I had to step away from Luster in the same way! Luster is a fingering version of It Could Be Worsted. As much as I enjoyed It Could Be Worsted, fingering is more my gauge. I almost lost myself on the swatches of twisted stitch rib with cables and lace from the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible.
I have done my usual exploration swatch of garter, stockinette, seed, and 1x1 rib. The yummy blend of 50% super wash merino and 50% tussah silk means it looks good in all types of stitches. Tussah silk is not as refined as some silk filaments, so you get little bits of variation in the fiber.
The yardage for Luster is 405 yards or 370 meters to 114g or 4 ounces. I used a US size 3(3.25mm) needle. The exploration swatch used 40g, I have approximately 36g remaining unknit, and so my other swatches used about 38g. I know what I’m going to do with the unknit Luster—because I have an other skein which I’m going to knit up — it will become accents.
So let’s get to the details so you can start having Luster-ous dreams:
Do note that there isn’t a lot of change in gauge from unblocked to blocked, but that the stitch pattern gauges vary quite a bit. I used the same needles throughout my swatches. Every stitch looks great in this yarn. Knit it tight enough to counteract the in-elasticity of the silk, and to insure even stitches. I love it in the twisted stitches, but I need a different skein for that because the other one I picked up is multi-colored. This is a yarn worth waiting for!
8 rows of stitch pattern 162 from the Japanese Knitting Bible.
I love looking at the projects and stashes on Ravelry. Prices online vary from $33 per skein to close to $37 per skein. A shawl or project taking two skeins will cost about $70-75 and to my thinking, that is a nice price for the hours of knitting pleasure you will get. Then, of course you get to wear it!
I do a cost analysis for my yarn based on knitting time. I recently worked up a project in 1 skein of Sport with similar yardage and spent about 12 hours knitting. Double that if you use 2 skeins. That means it costs $3.125 an hour. About the same as the cost of my Saturday double espresso. That does not take into account the future wearing.
Seeing photos of a yarn worked up is always a good way to take its measure. Here are some Luster projects I selected from the 158 listed on Ravelry. I added the number of skeins used — so you can do the cost math. There are 203 stash entries on Ravelry, and of the six listed for sale or trade, two are just the remainder from projects knitted.
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/panfila/ever-again 1 skein plus a second yarn
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/MelKnitsInOly/zucchero 6 skeins (5 colors)
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sixfoursgirl/kiss-me-romper 2 colors
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/mysisterknits/purless 1 skein
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/rindab/hitofude-cardigan 3 skeins, size small
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Summ/santa-rosa-plum 4 skeins
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/hellogirl100687/im-winging-it-sweater-xxxvii-discreet-faux-isle unknown, but sweater appears to be an XS.
Looks like there is plenty of user satisfaction! Take a look, then purchase a skein or two and set sail on your next beautiful knitted thing!
You’ll find more great pattern ideas for Luster on our Pinterest page!
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