I have a confession. All natural fibres are good, but some are just more my jam. For me, the softer the better. But softness comes in many different packages. Silks are sleek, smooth and delicately soft. Mohair’s halo creates a softness you can see, whereas to me Suri Alpaca embodies the epitome of cozy soft. Not to overlook Merino, or Qiviut, or other luxury fibres that each have their own take on the word ‘soft’.

Of course softness is in the eye of the beholder. If you catch me helping at the shop, you will find that I dodge answering requests on pointing out our ‘soft yarns’. In parallel, I often question people’s claim to finding wool ‘scratchy’. What one covets another may claim they cannot wear, and so much depends on the matching of yarn choice to a pattern. I guess this is why they call this a fibre ART!

My own road to finding what yarns entice themselves onto my needles seems to be an endless fascination with softness as much as any other factor (such as colour)! And it is not just about the fibre itself, but rather the combination of various textures and fibre contents. Recently I paired two yarns that sent me over the moon: a 50/50 silk/merino held double with a suri alpaca (which is often a 75/25 blend of baby suri alpaca/silk). Somehow the smoothness of silk balances the halo of the suri with the added structure of the soft merino to create what I have dubbed as the softest combination EVER. So why not knit it into a sweater??

I used this combination of Vera (a 50/50 silk/merino sport-weight which is discontinued and now in our Sale Bin) and a Woolerton suri alpaca (from our sister store Baaad Rabbit) for Camilla Vad’s Field Sweater to create the Softest Sweater Ever. I am just about to weave in the ends and take it on a road trip to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s Strung Along Retreat, so we’ll see if it will pass the test!

What has been your Softest Project Ever? Any natural fibres or combinations you have been hoping to to get on your needles in 2024? Please share!