Textile Thursday - Mirasol Hacho

Textile Thursday - have a peek at the fibre I'm using this week....  

©  T. Bunny Knits

Yarn name: 

Hacho

Manufacturer:

Mirasol

Fiber content:

100% Merino.

Gauge:

20 sts by 22 rows=4 inches / 10 cm on 4mm(US 6).

Weight/yardage per skein:

50g / 127 yards (135m).

Construction:

Plied

Country of origin:

Peru

Manufacturer's suggested wash method:

Handwash garment with care and dry flat.

Average Retail Price: 

€7.95 / 50g skein. I purchased this yarn here.

For those of you who have not heard of Mirasol yarns before let me introduce you to the Mirasol yarns here. What I love about these yarns is that by purchasing these yarns, a portion of your money actually supports Shepards and families in Peru and a portion of each purchase makes its way to a centre for disadvantaged children in Munani and April 2009 saw the official opening of the school. If you want to read more about this wonderful work please check out the Mirasol project here and of course their blog here.

Swatching:

First of all anyone who knows me knows that I am fairly new to crochet and when taking my first crochet class I was drawn to Hacho. Now, any of you who crochet generally shy away from variegated yarns due to pooling but I stood my ground. I swatched during the course of the class and loved how the colours sat around the treble stitches.

© T. Bunny Knits

I liked the yarn so much I brought it home and knitted a swatch on 4mm needles.The yarn has an amazing amount of spring to it and is quite tightly plied. Obtaining the gauge was easy and the stitch definition was so clear I wanted to cable with it. However looking at my swatch the next day I decided to continue with crochet rather than a knitted garment.  

Washing and Blocking:

The manufactures label suggests hand washing which I did and the knitted swatch did relax almost instantly. It  held gauge after washing and easily took the shape of whatever I pinned it in to, though there really was no need for blocking it was a perfect square after washing. 

Knitting and Pattern Choices: 

The Mirasol Hacho book 25 by Jane Ellison has some beautiful knitted pieces from full garments to accessories as you can see below. I know I'm having trouble deciding between Nazca and Tarma. 

Tumi © Mirasol

Tarma © Mirasol

 Suri © Mirasol

Nazca © Mirasol

Ravelry has a host of Mirasol Hacho projects which you can find here. Most of these projects that have comments agree that Hacho is a joy to knit with and they are not wrong! 

Overall View: 

I really believe this yarn is a hidden gem. The colours may be a little too variegated for some people but there are colourways available that will suit almost everyone. At 7.95e a hank it is a yarn that most people will use for accessories rather than a full garment but this yarn is sold at fair prices and supports communities. I know I will definitely use it in future. 

© T. Bunny Knits

Aside: My personal project in Hacho was  this beautiful crochet cowl