Debbie Bliss is synonomous with high end, wonderful to work with yarns and the associated patterns to suit any knitting project. Debbie Bliss has been designing knitware for over thirty years and her career has culminated in the production of over 25 yarns that combine the qualities of silk, merino and cotton to produce a high quality, beautifully soft product.
Despite the high quality of Debbie Bliss yarns, maybe because of the high quality finish, there are several downsides that need to be considered carefully in any knitting project featuring Debbie Bliss. This article addresses the pros and cons of designing and knitting with Debbie Bliss Yarns.
Pros
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarns are lovely and soft on the fingers and a delight to knit with. These yarns knit up with an excellent stitch definition and an even color. The stitch definition lends itself to designs with cables or lacy stitches.
The Cashmerino Aran has the thickest yarn weight which makes it very quick to knit up. The Baby Cashmerino is perfect for baby garments because of it is very fine fibers and all of the Cashmerino varieties come in an amazing range of colors.
The Debbie Bliss Andes range is equally lovely and soft. It also has an amazing sheen which makes it well suited to knitting projects with intricate stitch patterns. As with the other Debbie Bliss yarns, the Andes range is available in good number of colors.
Whereas the Cashmerino and Andes ranges are simply soft, the Eco Baby range is scrumptiously soft. Debbie Bliss Eco Aran and Eco Baby are so amazingly soft they would make anything seem coarse by comparison. How can something made from cotton be so soft? That’s rhetorical. For those concerned by the environment (and we all should be) then the good news is that the Eco range is certified 100% organic and adheres to Fairtrade guidelines.
Cons
The softness of Debbie Bliss yarns also leads to problems in that they can feel “floppy” and fragile when knitted up. This can lead to the finished item stretching out of shape and in some cases this can be permanent.
The Cashmerino yarns can also have the following tendencies:
- Fuzziness – the yarn can become shabby simply from handling during the knitting process
- Pilling – all soft yarns are likely to pill so care should be taken with the target project. For example, sweaters will pill under the arms; gloves between the fingers
- A problem that can result in wool wastage and wasted money arises from underspun fibers and knots in the yarn
- Colors running, particularly dark colors
- Spoiling with machine washing – even though the care label states that machine washing is acceptable, hand washing in mild detergent should be practised.
Debbie Bliss Andes yarns also suffer from losing their shape, underspun fibers and color bleeding. Additionally they can shed lots of fibers during the knitting process which is not only messy but can be a problem for knitters with allergies.
Unique to the Debbie Bliss Eco range (Baby and Aran) is that, without care when knitting, the yarns can split which can result in plies sticking out from the finished garment. These can be threaded back and prevented altogether with a better knitting technique.
The Eco range also suffers because the balls of wool can fall apart easily resulting in tangling and, as with the Cashmerino range, hand washing is highly recommended.
In summary, the Debbie Bliss yarns are a delight to work with and knit up into amazing garments. However, care needs to be taken to protect against the various shortcomings of each of the ranges.
