All About the Cakes ..

After watching the Bake-Off final last night I have cakes on my mind.  As I'm not too keen on baking though, I thought I would do a bit of a review of the Cake Yarns that we now stock.  

If you are new to this phenomenon of yarn cakes, you might like some guidance.   A  yarn cake is yarn that has been wound to create a cake rather than a ball or a skein.  When we talk about yarn cakes though we are usually referring to variegated or shaded yarns.  Yarn cakes come in all kinds of weights and yarn types from amazing hand-dyed natural yarns to much more affordable acrylics. 

​We stock branded cakes in the shop so I'll concentrate on these.
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Katia Infinity Shawl
Our finest yarn cake (both in weight and yarn-type) is Katia's Infinity Shawl.  This is a lovely pure merino wool spun with a very light twist.  There isn't a sharp break between the colours and  it is ideal for floaty shawls knitted on fairly large needle for the a 4-ply but it can also be knitted on smaller needles to make garments rather than accessories.  The cakes are 150g giving 600 m and retail at £14.95 each.
Katia Degrade
Next is another Katia yarn, Degrade.  Degrade is a heavy 4-ply sock yarn with 75% wool and 25% polyamide.   These cakes are one colour which fades from pale to dark to pale throughout the cake.  They make amazing ombre effect socks but would also knit up 4-ply garments.  Again the cakes are 150g with 410 m on them, retailing at £12.95.
Candy Swirl and Batik Swirl
Moving to DK, we have the Stylecraft Cakes.  Stylecraft launched Candy Swirl in the Summer and have now brought out Batik Swirl.  Candy Swirl is 100% acrylic and is the same yarn as in the Special DK range.  As with all Stylecraft acrylic, Candy Swirl is very soft and has vibrant colours.   With 443 m on a 150g cake, the yarn can be knitted into accessories or garments.  Candy Swirl retails at £6.99/150g.  Batik Swirl arrived today and a caked version of Stylecraft's current Batik yarn although it has some colours not available in the current range.  Batik Swirl is 80% acrylic/20% wool with 200g /550m and retails at £9.99/200g.  Patterns are for accessories and garments.  Unlike Katia's range, the Swirl yarns have definite colour breaks and knit up into fairly wide stripes.
Katia Paint
Finally we have Katia's Paint.  This was launched in the early Summer and is a 80% aran/20% wool aran weight cake.  Pattern support is for shawls and accessories but again can be worked up into a garment.  Paint has 150g/540m  retails at £9.99/150g.

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