virtual yarntasting: subtle drifter

King Cole’s Subtle Drifter is the solids version of their very popular Drifter variegated yarn.  Subtle Drifter DK was launched last year while the chunky version is one of the new season yarns for Winter 2020.  A mix of cotton, wool and acrylic makes for a wonderfully soft yarn with the cotton providing weight, the wool warmth and the acrylic durability.  The colour range is good with a mix of neutrals and colours giving choices for everybody’s taste. 
 
Subtle Drifter is smooth and nicely rounded making it easy to work with for beginners and more experienced crafters alike while the acrylic content means it goes a long way so it is an economical choice too.
 
Like other acrylic mixes, Subtle Drifter is easy to care as it can be machine washed.  Care needs to be taken though as if too much heat is applied it may lose structural integrity and the project may grow and lose its bounce.  The cotton and wool content will however ameliorate this effect.

The acrylic content of the yarn is derived from petrochemicals which may contribute to our environmental changes. As a synthetic, it cannot resist heat and will melt and then burn if exposed to a naked flame.
 
Technical details: 
25% cotton/6% wool/69% acrylic mix sold in 100g balls.
DK has 300m/ball and chunky has 156m/ball
Knits to standard DK and chunky tensions
 
Recommended For
Subtle Drifter is a great all-round yarn for both knit and crochet and has good pattern support  from King Cole.  
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Our opinion:
This is a really soft and cosy yarn with gives good drape on the finished project.  It shows cables well as it has good stitch definition. King Cole have included some patterns for men's garments in their support as well as accessories and garments for women and children so it ticks all the boxes.
 
Itch Rating: 
(0= not itchy at all 'I could wear this next to my skin' and 5  =very itchy 'I can't wear this'
Ruth's rating: 0
Jenny's rating: 0 (Jenny is knitting the DK up for her middle son who is even more fussy about itchy yarns than she is!)  
 
Bottom line:
This is a good quality mixed fibre yarn with an good colour palette. It feels soft when knitted up and is accessible to most budgets.

​Cons:
Petrochemical origin for acrylic content
Slow to biodegrade
Structure destroyed by heat
Medium stretch
 
Pros:
High quality fibres
Good value
Smooth and easy to work with
Versatile
Easy to care for
Good metreage so goes a long way

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