Something About Me and Whirl by Scheepjes – yarn review

What can be better than yarn? And what can be better than gorgeous and high-quality yarn? Today I would like to tell you something about Whirl – brand new yarn product by Scheepjes. It’s very different from what I have ever been working with. It differs in look, in construction, in size and in colours!

As an official Scheepjes blogger I get samples of new yarns to try, to test and maybe to design something. I saw a cake of Whirl back in November when I was visiting Scheepjes HQ in Tynaarlo (the Netherlands). Being a quite conservative and not very spoiled fiber designer I never saw a real *cake* of yarn before. It looked fantastic, yes. With all colour changes… I would display it in a glass cabinet as a piece of art. But because I mainly work with solid shades, not a single idea came to my mind when I saw Whirl. I thought: It’s really beautiful, but maybe not for me. I am not sure I can find any use for this yarn. So later, when samples were ready, I didn’t ask for one to try…

But a month later a postman knocked at my door and he had a small package for me. With one cake of Whirl inside. In black and white! YAY! And that was THE moment when I felt something. Something very strong.

The same evening I grabbed my hook and started to crochet. Just a plain circle with double crochet stitches. I had no idea what I am doing. I was just very excited about how the colours are being changed and was literally “running” from one colour section to another. And can you imagine? In three evenings my new design was almost finished! I need one more or two days – and I will show it to you!

So Whirl… I LOVE this yarn. As other Scheepjes products it has a story behind. The 12 colours were inspired by different flavours of ice cream, and looking at the colour chart makes me happy. I worked with shade 751 (Liquorice Yumyum). And I am also very excited about the look of Green Tea Tipple (754) and Blueberry Bambam (755). And what is your favourite flavor?

Here are some facts about Whirl yarn:

Construction and Composition 

Whirl is 60% cotton/ 40% acrylic blend created for lightweight and breathable projects. It has a very interesting construction which allows to create long and “soft” gradient sections and is absolutely non-split at the same time. The repeats are not painted but every new shade is added by twisting a fine thread of a new colour. Scheepjes did great job with construction of this yarn: the transitions between new shades are almost invisible. You will probably notice a little bit of fluff in the places where new thread is attached, but it will be hidden in your stitches and not visible in finished project. It’s absolutely invisible in mine.

Whirl yarn is winded into a cake and you can start working either with colour from inside or outside. You can even crochet or knit with both colours at the same time – alternating them. Whirl doesn’t have an Easy Start label, but it is not difficult to find a yarn tail inside the cake.

I decided to use black colour for the beginning of my project and pulled yarn tail from inside of the cake. I was a little bit worrying about how it will behave by the end. But I was very careful and my cake kept its shape till the end. No knots or vomits were found. To make sure your own cake is not smashed in the end, you can put a tall glass inside to secure it.

Yardage

Whirl cake is huge. Below you can see a picture with a crochet hook which can give you an idea of a scale. It’s Fingering weight yarn and each cake comes in 215-225g with 1000m (!!). Yes, it’s literally one kilometer of yarn and it’s enough for one finished project – a shawl, scarf, lace baby blanket, or even a garment.

3.5mm – 4mm crochet hook is recommended, but you can go for a smaller or bigger size, depending on how dense or open effect you want to achieve. I used 3.25mm (C) for my new design which I will show you very soon.

 

Price and Where to buy

UPDATE: Whirl is already available for purchase at Wool Warehouse HERE*. And free pattern for my Whirl Mandala Cardigan is HERE.

Whirl yarn will be available for purchase on March 6th (I will keep you updated) via large retailers and in your local Scheepjes shops. The price will be £20.99 / €24.50 / $25.99 for one cake.

I will for sure work with Whirl in the future. And I have one more idea already…

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