It’s time for another yarn review! I’ve been sitting on this one a while and really testing how it washes and wears, so I hope you enjoy all of the yarn data I’ve collected for you.
Like past yarn reviews, I’m covering fiber content, color options, ease of care, knitting machine compatibility, wear, and much more. If there’s a category you don’t see covered, let me know! I’ll add it to my list.
If you’re interested in learning more about the UK-based designer Jody Long, his designs, and the other yarn in his line, check out his website.
Today, we’re focusing on his fun fiber blend of
Jody Long Coastline
All opinions are honest and my own. I am not affiliated with any company or individual mentioned or linked unless otherwise noted. I purchased this yarn myself and did not receive compensation for this review.
About
| Fiber Content | 33% Cotton / 28% Viscose / 27% Nylon Polyamide / 12% Linen |
| Yardage/Meterage | 218 yd / 200 |
| Ounces / Grams | 3.5 / 100 g |
| Yarn Weight | 4 / Medium / Worsted |
| Made in | Italy |
| Availability | Local Yarn Store, Online |
| Put up | Donut |
Although retail listings might state Jody Long Coastline is a worsted weight yarn, its ravelry page and recommended needle/hook size place it closer to a heavy worsted or Aran weight yarn.
Coastline is distributed by Knitting Fever and has 18 colorways. The core of the yarn is made of natural fibers while the other fibers, which contain the dye, create a spiral chain around it.
The chain surrounding the core of the yarn occasionally allows the natural-colored core to show through, giving the yarn a heathered or marled look.
I untwisted the yarn in the image below to give you a better look at the chain and core construction.
Because Coastline is a heavy worsted/Aran weight, its low yardage count isn’t too much of a surprise. Coastline checks in at around $0.08 a yard.
Coastline retails for about $16.49 a ball at your Local Yarn Store but can be found at slightly lower prices online at WEBS yarn store.
I will always recommend shopping at your LYS since you won’t have to pay shipping and you’ll benefit from their years of experience at the shop. Feeling the yarn and seeing the colors in person is well worth it considering you’d only save a couple bucks by buying online.
As for how this yarn is presented, the donut put up is my least favorite way to obtain yarn. Yes, they look tiny and tidy on the shelves at the LYS, but once you use 50-60% of the ball, the donut starts to fall apart and tangle. It is one of the worst ways to present yarn in my opinion. It’s just asking for added headache, especially in slippery plant fiber yarns.
Care Guide
| Hand Wash | Yes | |
| Machine Wash | Yes, Warm | |
| Flat Dry | Yes | |
| Machine Dry | Officially: No. Unofficially: Maybe |
Coastline handles a washing machine cycle with ease. If you’d like to be extra cautious, wash your project in a mesh bag or in a cycle of only knits to avoid snagging.
Don’t plan on washing your Coastline project one day and wearing it the next, though. Coastline takes a long time to dry.
The front of my Coastline tank top can be nearly dry while the back underneath it is still very damp. I recommend flipping any project after a few hours to assist in the drying process.
I believe this is due to the natural fibers at the core of Coastline. The cotton really soaks up moisture and doesn’t seem to want to let go of it easily.
While it isn’t recommended by the care label, I did send one of my swatches through a machine drying cycle. It was still damp after one cycle on low. The low heat of the dryer did not seem to affect any of the synthetic fibers, as the swatch held its shape but was not permanently melted into that shape.
That said, machine dry at your own risk.
Knitting Machine Compatibility
| 4.5mm Standard Gauge | No | |
| 6.5mm Mid-Gauge | Yes | |
| 8mm / 9mm Bulky Gauge | Yes |
Coastline is too large to try on a standard gauge machine, even if you were to attempt using every other needle. The small chained threads around the core would catch on the small needles of the standard gauge machine. I do not recommend this yarn for a 4.5mm machine.
Mid-gauge machines can handle this yarn at medium and upper tension numbers with ease. You might run into some difficulty if you attempted to use this yarn at a lower tension, though, as it is on the stiffer side as far as yarns go.
Bulky machines should handle Coastline well.
Swatches and Performance
If you’re interested in how I swatch yarn, please check out this post.
This yarn knits into a lovely but slightly heavy-feeling fabric at medium to high tensions on the SilverReed LK 150 mid gauge machine. Lower tensions produce a stiff, dense fabric that might work for a bag or utility project but would be uncomfortable in a garment.
This swatch was washed on warm, dried flat, and gently steam blocked. I did not stretch it or force it, merely smoothed it out flat.
There wasn’t any discernible shrinking in the swatch since it was dried flat. To add to that, the Desert Queen tank top that I knitted with Coastline still measures true to gauge after over a year of wear and washes.
SilverReed LK-150 Tension 7
| Before | After | |
| 20 stitches | 4.25″ | 4.25″ |
| 30 rows | 4.25″ | 4.25″ |
When I machine dried a swatch, however, I did notice some shrinkage.
SilverReed LK-150 Tension 5
| Before | After | |
| 20 stitches | 4″ | 3.875″ |
| 30 rows | 4.125″ | 3.5″ |
Stitch gauge shrank about 3% and row gauge shrank about 15%.
*The row gauge shrink could be due to the number of weights on my swatch as I knitted them. I formerly used two claw small weights on my cast-on comb, but now I use one.
Blocking
Since just over half of Coastline’s fiber content is synthetic, be careful when steam blocking this yarn. That being said, the natural core structure will hold the yarn’s shape well, so gentle steam blocking is not out of the question with this yarn. In fact, that’s my go-to blocking method, and I used it with this yarn just like I do with other yarns. I was just a little more cautious about than I normally would be until I learned how it blocked with steam.
That’s another reason it’s important to swatch! Practice your blocking method on your swatch and you won’t be surprised when you’re blocking your finished project.
If you are unfamiliar with steam blocking, wet blocking any project is still a great choice for this yarn, but be aware of lengthy drying times.
Projects
Back in February and March of 2020, I used Jody Long Coastline to make the Desert Queen tank top by Meghan Kelly.
I had to adjust the DK weight pattern to fit the larger Aran weight Coastline yarn, but it knit up beautifully.
I wear my Desert Queen tank top about two times a month, so at this point the garment has been through around 30 wash cycles.
And it still looks wonderful!
The stitch definition is still as strong as it can be with the heathered effect, and harder use areas like the underarm are strong with no signs of pilling whatsoever. The denim-like look of the fabric has not faded, and the eyelet elements at the neckline and bust of the top are still well-defined.
I’ll admit, I initially HATED working with this yarn. Amid all the stress of March 2020, this yarn presented my ULTIMATE yarn pet peeve: knots in low-yardage skeins. And I purchased six skeins to treat myself to this top that I had fallen in love with.
Here are my initial thoughts from my ravelry project page
I’m NOT happy with this yarn. It looks good, but EVERY SKEIN had MULTIPLE knots in it. For a low-yardage, cotton/linen NYLON/VISCOSE blend, that is unacceptable. This yarn retails for $16.99 a skein. Yes, it’s machine washable and looks very nice once knitted up, but you can find similar blends at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s for under $5.00 that perform just as well or better.
I even wrote comments in my swatch binder about the knots. “Hated” was underlined twice.
Hmm.
Final Thoughts
I’m still a bit torn when I remember the knots. Each skein had a knot joining the last 50 yards to the rest of the ball. Some skeins had knots every 50-75 yards.
I had six skeins of this yarn.
Considering the cost-per-ball and only 218 yards in a knot-filled ball, I felt really ripped off, especially as this was supposed to be me treating myself to a fancy yarn. Jody Long is a prolific designer, and it felt a bit like I was paying a premium for his name while getting an entirely mediocre product.
But after living with this gorgeous tank top that has held up beautifully through one of the most stressful times any of us may live through, I have to think my initial reaction could have been a little harsh. After all, a knot just means another end to weave in, and that’s not as bad as I make it out to be, even if I hate doing it.
I don’t know if I just got a bad batch or if the knot issue is persistent throughout all Coastline colors. I’ll admit, it has made me reluctant to try another yarn from Jody Long’s yarn lines, and I’ve seen some lovely cottons that really tempt me.
The durability after over a year and a half of wearing and washing is nothing short of impressive, and without the knot issue, I’d give Jody Long Coastline a 4.5 out of 5, but because of it, I’m only giving it a 3 of 5.
It’s a good yarn, but buyers shouldn’t have to fight knots when the skeins are so small.
Have you used Jody Long Coastline before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?
What’s your yarny pet peeve?
Are there other properties you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for coming along with me in my knitting machine journey! See you next time!
ELY Knits 