Lux Adorna Knits Fun Size Bundle Sport

lux_skeins

I’m a sucker for cashmere and cute packaging.

But there’s something more to these kits, which actually don’t look like kits at all—they look like a sort of magical multicolored caterpillar in fiber form.

I first noticed them in people’s pictures on Instagram. I followed the tags and discovered that they were coming from a Boise, Idaho-based company called Lux Adorna Knits. They contained 100% cashmere yarn. Naturally, I immediately had to order a kit.

The kit arrived, but I waited.

I’m the kid who kept her Halloween candy for months before finally opening it. I love holding pleasures in suspended animation because as soon as you pop the cork or untie the bow, a little bit of the magic is gone. And so I held onto my beautiful cashmere bundle for several months—even displaying it on a shelf in the living room—before finally breaking down and opening it up for this review.

Each of those cute mini-skeins unfurls into a slender hank.

lux_open_colors

That’s a lot of winding, snipping, tying, twisting, and braiding right there, and all of it was done more or less by hand in Boise, Idaho. It should come as small surprise that this 360-yard bundle of cashmere retails for $52.

If you’re more of a solid-colored person, Lux Adorna also sells 230-yard (210m) skeins of the DK-weight cashmere for $38 apiece. You’ll also find lace, bulky, and DK weights.

Part of the charm of these kits is that they come with a simple pattern designed to use every inch of yarn. This particular bundle will make a Lila Cowl, the pattern for which is abbreviated on the label and offered in full form on Ravelry. But more than the convenience of having a pattern already picked, I really appreciate that someone else chose the colors for me—and the colors in these kits are, in a word, gorgeous.

lux_closeup2

The yarn itself is constructed in the S-on-S manner, with three two-ply strands of cashmere twisted into a single larger strand. The initial two-ply strands were plied in the S direction, and then the strands were held together and plied, again, in the S direction (hence S-on-S). With all that twist going in the same direction, you have a yarn that is both round and as bouncy as its fibers will allow it to be. You also have a strong yarn, with layers upon layers of twist holding the fibers together. That is quite helpful when you’re dealing with delicate cashmere.

Knitting Up

lux_swatchDespite the yarn’s energetic construction, there’s very little bounce or oomph or va-va-va-voom here. The yarn has a dry, cottony feel to it, which is common for cashmere before it’s sufficiently washed and lovingly flogged to bring up the bloom.

For extra grab and control, I used my Knitter’s Pride Bamboo Interchangeable Circulars. The tip isn’t as pointy as the other Knitter’s Pride needles, but it is precise. And I was relieved to see that the yarn didn’t split at all. In fact, it behaved beautifully on the needles.

I swatched using the needle size that the label recommended for the cowl pattern (US 5/3.75mm). It produced a lovely, open fabric that works well for a cowl. For anything that requires more structure—say, a sweater—I would definitely go down at least one needle size, probably two.

There were no knots in any of my tiny skeins.

Blocking/Washing

I was hoping to lose some of that powdery dryness in the wash, so I made sure to use a water hot enough to dissolve any remaining oils or residues from spinning and dyeing. (Not hotter than I’d wash my own hair, but definitely warmer than lukewarm.)

The swatch released no residue or color in the wash, nor did it do so in the rinse. While the fabric relaxed slightly, it never lost a strong, underlying “stringy” structure holding the stitches together.

I blotted the swatch, reshaped it on a towel, and waited for it to dry. Initially, I saw no significant change.

Wearing

Here’s a fun fact for you. Dyeing hardens fibers ever so slightly, and the phenomenon is more pronounced in delicate fibers like cashmere. In this kit I had both dyed yarn and undyed white yarn, and the difference—though perhaps tricky to see in this picture—was noticeable if I really closed my eyes and let my fingers wander from color to color.

lux_bloom

Having a physical example of this phenomenon is alone worth the price of a kit: Consider it an in-depth cashmere workshop in which you come home with a cowl.

Cashmere is a notoriously delicate fiber with a short staple that requires more twist than manufacturers usually give it. (The higher the twist, the firmer the yarn, the lower the skein appeal on the shelf. Plus, let’s not forget the cost of running the machines longer to give that additional twist.) But here, in these layers upon layers of twist and ply, the fibers are firmly held in place. I huffed and I puffed, but that little skein—even with its lack of significant structure—held firm.

Conclusion

People have been going bonkers for tiny skeins for a while now—but usually they’ve been in the form of gradient kits that play off a single color. These kits, on the other hand, celebrate all sorts of color combinations that move from serene to surprising.

I’m sure you can find varying yarn equivalents elsewhere. The real charms here are the sumptuous, thoughtfully blended colors and captivating presentation. Whether for yourself or as a gift for another knitter, these kits are a winner.

Fast Facts

Post Tags
Share Post
Latest comments
  • love the new look of the site!. I am not shouting, it seems in the comment box that all caps will appear whether I hit the shift key or not. The cashmere looks amazing as well, and will go on my to be acquired list. Welcome back!

  • I love it too! Tried to get on this morning and it wasn’t working and i was sad but now, WOW! Looks great.

  • Love the new site. Want the cashmere. I don’t know what I’d make but I might sleep with it.

  • Yes, welcome back. I used the “back door” and that worked perfectly. I just might have to follow the link, mightn’t I,. b I did have trouble getting the code to show when typing it in. FWIW

    • I had trouble with the code too, and the request to “contact” took me to an “internal server error” page. Ah, technology!

  • I also like the look of the new site, including the video. Even taking that package apart leaves me finding the structure mind-boggling.

  • Having trouble getting to comment. First the code wasn’t showing up when I typed it in and when I finally got one, my comment had disappeared.

    BUT I enjoyed your review — welcome back! And now I might have to follow the link since I’m going to be in the US in a week and, well, I can’t go down there and not get *some* yarn, can I?

  • Clara! You’re making me drool on my keyboard! That yarn looks wonderful–and I need more yarn like I need a hole in the head. (Appears you got the all caps thing fixed as mine isn’t doing that.)

  • Welcome back, I’ve missed you. And I just might have to follow the link, mightn’t I.

  • That is certainly an interesting, creative way to put up mini-skeins. When you knitted with the S on S construction, did you find any evidence of biasing?

  • I feel like I’ve been away on a long trip and come home to my comfy place, but everything has been gussied up while I was away. Thanks for bringing us home, Clara. And with cashmere. Gilding the lily!

  • Love the new site! Being from Boise, I’ve had lots of opportunities to play with these yarns. The knitted cowls are to die for! So soft and warm on your neck.

  • This new site is just awesome!!! I love it! Reading it this morning, with cup of coffee was a wonderful way To start my day!!! So much information and organized so well! Beautiful! Easy on the eyes! I’m swooning…oh that cashmere…! Kudos to you for this new Site! How Exciting!

  • I haven’t had a knitters review mailing in some time and thought it had something to do with my living in africa where everything is a bit sleepy and sometimes left behind- so have your newsletters been active all this time and i was just not getting them or have they been dormant for a while?
    Love all this – love the yarn (wool in africa) and will have to hope that some day i will be able to come and try it- tried several times to order items from the us and it always ends in tears!
    Love the shawl pattern- not too sure how it all works so will have to try it. tried printing it but it won’t fit on the page- any suggestions out there?

  • As I’d hoped, page is working super well today! Good to see you online again, Miss Clara, and with such an enticing yarn – Cashmere! HMmm,

  • Glad to hear that they’ve tightened up the spin on this yarn. My previous experience (early 2015) with Lux adorna Cashmere was not good. It was so loosely spun that the laceweight yarn broke every few stitches.

  • Does this company have a retail store ? If so , this provides another reason to visit my father-in-Law. Love the review and the video. I might have tO start buying yarn again.

  • Great to see you back, Clara! I’ve been astonishingly disciplined this past year yarn-wise, and focused on stash-busting (versus stash-building). But this yarn, oh my goodness. Cashmere is a girl’s best friend, and really, I think I must have this.

  • Love the new site! And once agAin, you have tempted me with a lovely yarn to purchase. ? Welcome back from summer.

  • Have missed my regular dose of Knitter’s Review but do like the new look!

  • New site looks great! I will be wanting to try one of these kits, such interesting colors they put together. Glad you are back!

  • Love the new site, Clara. Congratulations! re: Lux Adorna review, the only thing I wanted to see was the swatch post wash and block. I know you said it was the same, but that’s still instructive to see. thanks!!

  • I just made a cowl with the Lux Adorna yarn….loved it and am planning on ordering more yarn to make another one!!!

  • Hi, Clara. I’ve been reading the newsletter, but hadn’t been to the site in a very long time. Life happens.

      • Do you actually remember me?

  • I absolutely love your new site. The link worked right away for me.

  • I’m so glad to see your new site, too! I was at the Webs retreat this weekend & picked up a hank of the same kit while I was there. They’re mailing it, along with the rest of my yarn goodies & I can hardly wait for it to get here.

  • Love the new look of the site. 16 years! Awesome! While I haven’t been knitting as much as I have in the past I still do knit at least one thing a year and I always look forward to Knitter’s Review.

  • Clara, this is FANTASTIC! Congratulations isn’t a big enough word!

  • Love the cashmere bundle , I plan on ordering it next week . Looks like so much fun. I love the softness of cashmere and the colors are so so pretty.

  • Love the beautiful presentation of these gorgeous skeins.

    It reminds me of the Eric Carle children’s book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”….

    When will the internet have a touch and feel through the screen app?

LEAVE A COMMENT

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.