Yarn Review – Knit Picks Totem

I thought I’d write up this review for the new Knit Picks wool/modal blend yarn called “Totem”.

I bought three balls: Northwest Cloud (milk white), Graphite (black), and Hematite Red (red).

Specs off the ball band:
50% Wool, 50% Modal
164 yards/100 grams
Gauge: 4.5-5sts = 1″ on #6-9 needles
Hand wash/ dry flat

Modal is a man-made cellulose fiber.

My initial impression right off the bat, was this is a cabled yarn. Each of the three plies is made up of another 4 plies. The 3-ply is not twisted together very tightly, and thus is pretty darned splitty. I knit up two swatches, one on #8 addi turbos (too slippery!), and one on #7 bamboo takumi. The bamboo needles made knitting much quicker and easier. The colors seem typical for KP, nothing extraordinary.

The drape on the size 8 swatch (small though it is) would seem to be appropriate for a summer tank. However, at 4.5 sts per inch (pre blocking), it’s a bit too “holey” for my tastes. The #7 swatch knit up at 5 sts per inch, and is a much nicer feel to it. In both swatches, the strandy-ness of the cabling is still quite apparent. Also quite noticable, is that there is the lack of noticable “memory” to this yarn – it acts more like KP Shine or a full synthetic, than any wool yarn I’ve knit with.

I think, however, that washing & blocking this yarn will reveal it’s true potential. The wool content bloomed up very nicely and the yarn half-way redeemed itself.

It screams “split me!”

Pre-washing

Post washing (still wet, but a very noticeable difference in the hand of the fabric)

Would I buy it again? Probably not. It’s not “wooly” enough for me, and the cabled nature puts me off a bit. However, I’ll only know after I’ve completed a project with the yarn.