I’ve been searching for Superman yarn, and haven’t found much yet. I spent a very long time in Weaving Works on Thursday, and came home with this.
Mainly because I really wanted to use up my gift certificate from April. So I guess I got my pretty sock yarn, eh?
On Saturday, I went to JoAnn’s in search of a fake Christmas tree (yay! I’ve wanted one for years, but it wasn’t until this year that Nate’s dislike of getting wet and cold to buy a tree outweighed his dislike of plastic trees). I ended up getting one at Michael’s instead, but while at JoAnn’s I perused the yarn section and saw some great Superman colors in Microspun. It is soft. It is cheap. And it has a little bit of sheen to it which I like for a Superman blanket.
The reason I’m looking at acrylic yarn is because I don’t want this particular project to fuzz and ball. And quite frankly, I like the way Red Heart looks when it’s knit. It has a very tidy look to it, which will work very well for what I have in mind. So I was thinking about using Red Heart, but I haven’t found a good red, and their signature day-glo red isn’t going to work for me.
Then I saw Microspun. I asked a woman stocking yarn if it would ball, considering how soft it is, and she said that she hated knitting with it because it unravels really bad.
So talk to me about Microspun. Have any of you used it? Does it hold up well? What do you think? I’m wanting to knit a Superman baby blanket, and I’m planning to line it with flannel.
The Interlocking Balloons Scarf, seen above soaking in the washing machine, is done, and I wore it yesterday. It is yummy. It ended up blocking out very nice, which surprised me because I thought maybe I had knit it too tight. I’ll show you a picture when I get a good one.
December 5th, 2005 at 2:11 am
I haven’t personally used Microspun, but I’ve heard some people say that after they get done with the project they are making with it that it looks like it’s been worn and faded and stuff. So I don’t know. It looks and feels like it would split really easy too and become more of a headache than called for.
December 5th, 2005 at 2:19 am
Yeah, I was afraid of that. Thanks.
December 5th, 2005 at 3:27 am
I just finished a hat with the red. It’s so soft and pretty, but it is a nightmare to knit with.
I just knitted with 2 peices of yarn held together for the 1st time and it was a breeze after knitting with the microspun.
I don’t know how it will hold up, but it is soooo soft and pretty
I will probably knit with it again, only cuz it is so soft
December 5th, 2005 at 4:07 am
I didn’t think it was that bad. It does like to split a little, but I switched to less-pointy bamboo needles and I was fine. I used the purple and the color is still very bright. It’s only gotten softer with washing, and only a little bit of pilling. My only problem is that stockinette doesn’t make nice v’s, they’re tipped sideways to make straight bars because of the twist. For a baby blanket, I think you’d be fine.
December 5th, 2005 at 4:15 am
It does split quite a bit but is really soft even after washing. My problem is the stretching. I made a strappy tank with microspun and had a lot of pills after the first wear. After one wearing it was too stretched out to wear again.
December 5th, 2005 at 4:27 am
I made a sweater set for myself a few years ago. It was very splitty to knit. It feels really nice, but does get pilly. I was disappointed after all the work with the way the set looked after I wore it the first time. I used the pale blue.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.
December 5th, 2005 at 4:43 am
I tried it once and threw it away! It comes apart and splits horribly in my opinion. I wouldn’t recommend it. I like some Red Heart too, Carol’s poncho gets softer and softer the more she wears it! Good luck on the search!
December 5th, 2005 at 4:44 am
Girlfriend knit with Microspun, a shawl.
We had to convince her to remain a knitter afterwards.
Beware the Microspun…
December 5th, 2005 at 4:45 am
My Uncle is a HUGE Superman fan and when he had his daughter I made her a onesie that had a picture of Clark Kent and Lois Lane on it and I wrote “My REAL parents are from Krypton” He loved it!!!
December 5th, 2005 at 5:41 am
Microspun will not work so well as a blanket. It’s a rather splitty yarn, and pills. For a blanket where you don’t want the extra care, I wouldn’t use it.
December 5th, 2005 at 5:47 am
I used Microspun for a sweater for my baby niece and it turned out great. It is nice and shiny and continues to look 100% new. It’s slick, so I wouldn’t choose Addis, and if you are knitting in the dark, Microspun probably isn’t your best bet because you can split it sometimes, but all in all I liked it. Actually I thought of that when you were writing about looking for Superman colors for the baby last week!
December 5th, 2005 at 5:56 am
Microspun is very pill-ish and stretches a lot. It splits during knitting. But it is terribly soft. I don’t mind knitting with it, but people tell me I’m more patient than most.
I knit up a couple of cell phone cozies with it, though one was much larger than the phone and has been modified into a camera cozy. I’ve made wristwarmers / gauntlets with it, which stretched quite a bit despite 2×2 ribbing. I’ve made a hat with it, and it’s nice. I even did a short version of Branching Out with it and it wasn’t so bad.
Wow. There’s my entire life’s history out, practically. I guess I just had to share …
December 5th, 2005 at 6:35 am
hi sis,
its your elderly older brother. i sorry i haven’t communicated in a while. i never seem to maintain an email address. i want to congratulate you on my nephew. i never get to see my other one, but i hope it will be different this time. my kids are growing like weeds. deanna is chest high at 90 lbs. she will be six on the 22nd. i hope all is well.
love,
joey
December 5th, 2005 at 6:41 am
I love microspun for baby things. It does pill a bit, but it is soft, soft, soft, and comes in some great colors. Knit double stranded it is really plush. I think it could be really good for a flannel backed blanket.
And also… I went and tracked down the issue of VK that the VCC is in because I’ve so loved watching you knit yours! It looks unbelievably fantastic, curling or no.
December 5th, 2005 at 8:03 am
Wow! Despite being inconsistent, I’m so happy for the responses! Thank you!
December 5th, 2005 at 9:49 am
I used Microspun some years back for a wackily bright sweater for the first child of my knitting teacher. I’ll have to ask her about how it held up, but as for the knitting, I remember only that I had to be careful not to split, and that it was so slick I had to hold tension carefully. Otherwise, very nice to work with, even for an almost beginner knitter.
If you decide to try something else, check out Bernat Satin and here is a link for colors:
http://www.bernat.com/product.php?LGC=satin&SPP=999
I don’t know if they are adequately “Supermanish”, but this stuff was WONDERFUL to work with!! SOFT, SOFT, SOFT! Lots of bounce! Fabulous stitch definition — and very easy-care acrylic. I finished a cardigan and cap for another friend’s first baby, which you can see on my knitting gallery (it’s the Gull Wing Cardigan). GOOD LUCK!
December 5th, 2005 at 9:57 am
I just finshed a sweater for my niece in Microspun. I hated every minute of the knitting and sewing process. I did wash it in the machine and I don’t think it looks bad at all, but I’d never use it again.
December 5th, 2005 at 10:19 am
That sock yarn is beautiful – and that book is the one knitting book that I would not be without. I even carry it with me most days. Just in case….
December 5th, 2005 at 10:56 am
Pills like cotton, splits like a bannana!!
Would make great doll hair, but not for knitting.
December 5th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
I have used Microspun several times and the resulting fabric is very nice & soft as well as being easy care. But knitting with it is a bear. It splits really easily and I had to immediately wind the skeins into balls and keep them in ziploc bags so they wouldn’t unwind. I did find that when I used slightly larger needles it didn’t seem to split as bad. Hope this helps.
December 6th, 2005 at 12:07 am
This past fall, I knit a stripey varsity scarf with Microspun for my daughter to use for pep band. Initially it was very splitty…however I grew used to this after a while and was able to avoid excess splitting. Switching to blunt tipped Addis really helped w/this problem. I could not help thinking the entire time I was using it that it would be GREAT for baby knits. It is machine washable, soft and available in bright colors. As for the scarf, it was worn every friday during football season and to various band review competitions and still looks great. I say keep an open mind and go for it! And if you totally hate it it was cheap and you could return any unused balls to Michael’s of Joanne’s
December 6th, 2005 at 12:20 am
I used the microfiber for a child’s sweater from a Vogue pattern. If you go to my blog, November 29th post, there is a picture of it — the colors are wonderful. It DID split but once I got used to that it was less of a problem. As far as I know it’s holding up well. I was concerned that it would catch on things but apparently that hasn’t been a concern.
December 6th, 2005 at 1:30 am
I’ve already responded, but I have an option about Bernat Satin that Mavis made a comment on.
I used the Bernat Satin for my Griffendorf House Scarf. I LOVE it. It’s heavy and soft. However, I wear it everyday and it’s starting to get really fuzzy and if I start to sweat a bit, it gets scratchy.
so if you want something soft and light, go for the Microspun, if you want it soft and heavy, go for the Bernat Satin. (at the Ben Franklin in Redmond, it’s only $2.49 a skein/ball)
March 27th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Very good site. I’ll adopt ideas from U.t
December 27th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Microspun is a good yarn, but not for the purpose you indicate — baby blanket. You have to pay attention when you knit, because it will split on you, or one of the strands will bunch and create an odd loop (of course, always on the right side of the work) that has to be pulled through to the back. Also, If knitting any kind of pattern with a carry on the back, it will snag on the least thing. I learned this when I knit a sweater for one of my twin grand girls and she kept getting her fingers caught in the carried yarn on the reverse side of the sleeve. The other thing about Microspun is that it curls badly, so depending on your stitch, you may end up with a large tube that needs regular blocking rather than a square baby blanket. So, overall, as a knitter with 50+ years of experience, I wouldn’t recommend Microspun for a baby blanket. It’s tempting, though, because it is so very soft!