It’s fall, y’all! …well, it is autumn according to the calendar.
Sweater weather hasn’t fully arrived yet in Northeast Oklahoma, but I am here for you with a seasonally appropriate review of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport 100% wool yarn ON CONES!
Before we get into my knitting experience, here are
The Details
| Fiber Content | 100% Wool |
| Yardage/Meters | 1682 yards / 1598 m |
| Ounces/Grams | 16 oz / (1 lb) / 452 g |
| Yarn Weight/Size | CYC 2 / Sport |
| Made In | Mitchell, NE, USA |
| Availability | BrownSheep.com, Brick-and-Mortar Local Yarn Shops |
| Construction | 3 plies |
| Put Up | Cone |
| Hand Wash | Yes |
| Machine Wash | NO |
| Flat Dry | Yes |
| Machine Dry | NO |
| MSRP | $55.80 |
| Price Per Yard | $0.03 |
Additional Info
•This yarn will felt if you do not follow proper care instructions.
•NatureSpun is treated with a moth proofing agent at the time of dyeing that makes the wool “unpalatable to the wool moth larvae.” (See their FAQ page for more details.)
•The main wool breeds used are Corriedale, Rambouillet, and Columbian.
•This construction is available in fingering, sport, worsted, and chunky yarn weights.
•Sport and Fingering are the only options that come in cones.
Machine compatibility
| 4.5mm Standard | Yes |
| 6.5mm Mid-Gauge | Yes |
| 8mm / 9mm Bulky | Yes |
Mid to high tensions felt best on a standard gauge machine. Low-mid tensions felt appropriate for the mid-gauge machine. Low tensions are appropriate on a bulky machine unless you plan on using specific techniques that require looser gauge.
(If you’re wondering, I knitted the pictured sweater at Tension 5/5 for the ribbing and Tension 10 for the colorwork.)
What I’m Looking For
I’ve laid out what I’m looking for in a book in recent reviews, but I haven’t really talked about what I want in a yarn. The completely unhelpful answer is “It depends.”
It’s about purpose.
Am I indulging myself in a luxurious, expensive specialty garment, or am I making a jacket I am going to wear every single day? Is the item for someone who will take the time to properly wash it, or is it for a busy new mom who barely has time to think, let alone check the care label on some knitting she got from Auntie Em?
I want to say I’m a bit of a yarn snob because the yarns I end up choosing for personal projects tend to be hand dyed from indie dyers that are specific wool breeds. I want that handmade, one-of-a-kind element to be there from start to finish.
But I can also appreciate acrylic and will argue that has its place in your stash alongside your finest, rarest fibers.
My considerations boil down to
•Will this work on my machine(s)?
•What is its purpose (everyday workhorse vs luxury) and does it meet it?
•How does it feel on my skin?
•Is it easy to care for as a gift?
•What are the color options?
•Is it sustainable/renewable? (This can be difficult to answer depending on the amount of information available)
•How does it block?
•Does it match the claims it makes? (i.e,. “just like silk!”)
•Is this going to be discontinued just because I like it?
I’m kind of kidding with that last one, but I’ll admit I’ve started to stay away from brands that are always introducing new yarns and then discontinuing them after a year. If it’s gone by the time I get to knit with it and I can’t find more, why bother even trying it? That’s a major yarn peeve!
Speaking of yarn peeves, you may not mind these things, but I sure do!
•Knots in low yardage skeins
•Knots in general
•Donut put-up
•Quickly discontinued
•Splitty construction
•Loose/easily lost labels (especially those wrapped but unsecured labels on those dang donuts)
Knitting It Up
I bought this yarn to knit the Sweet and Simple Block Jumper by Kandy Diamond from her new book, Discovering Machine Knitting. (Check out my review here!)
Nature Spun has a great selection of colors. The two colors I used, Autumn Leaves, an olivey chartreuse, and Pomegranate, an autumn red, had very nice depth of color due to a tiny bit of added black. It really made the colors pop.
With more than eighty vibrant colors spun in four different weights, the possibilities are unlimited for creating something beautiful with Nature Spun.
BrownSheep.com
When I think of 100% wool yarns, I think “scratchy,” but that isn’t the case with Nature Spun. It is a bit more textured than a chemically treated superwash wool yarn version, but that is normal.
Nature Spun is pleasantly soft and squishy with a bit of a size bloom in the twist as it comes off of the cone. Brown Sheep Company classifies Nature Spun Sport as a CYC 2 yarn weight, but I wouldn’t call you wrong if you said it was a light DK or CYC 3 weight, as it is on the heavier end of “fingering” weight yarns.
This yarn flowed very nicely through my machines. I didn’t encounter any breakage or splitting, and when I needed to un-knit a few rows due to a punch card mispatterning, it didn’t cling to itself or create fiber halos around the strand of yarn as I unraveled it. It did shed a slight bit of fuzz as it went through the knit carriage, but others wools I have worked with shed the same amount.
I lightly steam blocked the sweater pieces before putting the sweater together. After a bath in some Eucalan, I wet blocked the finished sweater.
The yarn bloomed a tiny bit more after a steam and a soak, but the stitch definition is still nice and clear.
This wool is WARM. Much too warm for Oklahoma in general, but I had to try it on even if it was 82F outside when I finished. If you’re at higher latitudes, this should keep you very warm in the winter.
If you’re picky about your yarn’s sourcing, Brown Sheep Company says it sources its wool from local growers, and the entire process save wool scouring, carding, and combing is done at their Nebraska location. Plus, they are family owned.
Final Thoughts
This yarn is much nicer than I expected it to be, especially as a nonspecific wool blend at $0.03 per yard. Brown Sheep Company’s product listing claims “breathability, resilience, vibrancy, and warmth,” and I haven’t experienced anything to contradict that.
I joked with my husband that we needed to buy a building downtown and open up a yarn shop just so I can get a wholesale account with Brown Sheep Company. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, and I plan to purchase more of it. I personally don’t mind its care requirements, but if you plan to gift an item made from this, make sure your recipient knows how to wash it. It’s basically a one-season/winter only garment yarn in Oklahoma, but I think it’s worth it. I give it a solid
Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport on Cones is a workhorse yarn you’ll want to add to your stash.
Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! I hope you’ve enjoyed my review. What factors do you consider when judging yarns? What do you want to see next on the blog? Let me know in the comments or contact me through my site form.
Disclaimer
I purchased this yarn myself. All opinions are honest and my own.
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