All hail the return of Cotton Ease. I humbly bow to her graces. Until last week I really never understood what the fuss was about. Sure I noticed the online uproar when it was discontinued, but it never occurred to me that a Lion Brand yarn could be all that great.


I have purchased and used wool ease in the past. When I first started knitting, I decided to knit my nieces and nephew scarves. The only thing I could stand at the local Michaels was the Wool Ease. I didn't really like the colors or the feel, but I thought, "At least it's machine washable". I knit all of the scarves, but I didn't enjoy one minute of it. I just can't stand how plastic the stuff feels. I've also knit with Homespun (arghhh!) and the suede one (ho-hum). I have to say that I don't generally have a positive view of the yarns at all.



But then last week I noticed Cotton Ease at Michaels. I had been looking for an inexpensive machine washable yarn to sub for a summer top pattern. At first I was just going to but a couple of balls to check it out. When I picked up and felt it, I could resist. I bought ten balls, 4 in a light blue and 6 in violet.

After a Mother's Day knitting fiasco which I will relate later, I needed to whip up a quick replacement gift and I remembered this pattern from the latest Vogue Knitting.








The pattern calls for Lion Brand Organic Cotton which is the same gauge as Cotton Ease. Boy does this pattern show this yarn to it best effect. Cotton Ease knits like a dream. It shows of textural knitting beautifully. Here are a couple of close ups:

The eyelet pattern is just gorgeous:








It is also incredibly light. Cotton is much heavier than wool, but the added acrylic makes this blend (208 yards to 100 grams) exact the standard weight of wool. This means you can add all of the cables, texture, and bobbles that you want, without creating a garment it takes a forklift to pick up. I have wanted to knit a cotton blanket for a long time, but I hadn't yet found a good inexpensive sturdy light weight yarn for the job. This is definitely it.


The only negative comment I have about the yarn is the limited and slightly depressing color selection. It is clear that Lion Brand tried to come up with a more sophisticated color palate. I do think the taupe color and the lime are lovely, but this yarns calls out for rich and vibrant colors. Hopefully if the relaunch is successful enough they will expand the colors choices.