From the Stash #2: A Country Loom Review

  The story behind how this yarn found its way into my stash is something many of us can relate to. Unlike the yarn from the first of this series, it wasn't bought for work purposes. A beginner at the time, I just wanted to crochet a blanket... A full-sized blanket. I picked colors, mixed brands, and bought more than I needed for a project that would soon be abandoned. Now it's time to resurrect the three remaining balls of Country Loom from the depths of the stash. Why not do a review? I will be comparing it to another yarn for the purpose of the story, but you'll learn why they're nothing alike...

  Packed in the depths of the stash for way too long, the Country Loom yarn has lost its fluffy texture and become more like a tape yarn. This yarn fell as flat as my hopes for that blanket. 😅 The bumpy, loopy, fluffy texture is what attracted me in the first place, but I found it difficult to work with back when I was at that beginner level. Now with more experience and advanced skills, I have no trouble at all. But, let's jump back into that story before continuing with the review...
 

  Put yourself in the yarn-shopping shoes of beginner-me: Wandering the yarn section at Michaels, where Loops & Threads yarn can be found... Looking for an awesomely bold color combination, I fell in love with Country Loom (by Loops & Threads) in the color Merlot. I already had some Homespun (by Lion Brand) in my stash, left over from the attempts at knitting a blanket. (HAHA!!!) Beginner-me didn't bring along a yarn label or a piece of scrap... Beginner-me only had colors in mind... And beginner-me actually thought they were the same yarns at the time of purchase.

  Fast-forward past the frustrations of gauge not working out after color changes, ripping back, and the eventual discarding of the project which led to the burial of the yarns... Let's get back to modern day, where advanced-skill-me knows to check yarn labels and weights: Although they look quite similar and are both 100% acrylic, these two yarns are nothing alike! Homespun is a bulky-weight (5), and Country Loom is super-bulky (6).

  Comparing them at first sight, they almost could be mistaken for the same yarn. But, no. Homespun is loosely-spun around a core, while Country Loom is more dense. It's a hard yarn to pick apart... I'm not sure if I see two core threads in there, or if a tighter twist just makes it look that way. Mine has lost some of that bumpy-fluffy texture from being smashed in the stash, but a closer comparison still shows that it is thicker than Homespun:

    And if you're asking yourself why I would do a review on an old squished-down yarn, the answer is because I had little faith that this mess could become something after all these years. My poor, flat, acrylic yarn had lost the character that gave it life, and we all know there's no hope for acrylic that looses its shape, right? Right??? Ah, but I was in for a surprise...

  I debated over whether I should just throw it out or try to work something up. I feared any project made with the deflated yarn would look just as flat and lifeless. I gave the tail a few twists between my hands, trying to fluff it back up a bit...

  Well, would you look at that? With just a little fluffing, Country Loom went back to looking like new again! The texture that I loved was back, and now I have the skill level to tackle a project without frustration... Oh, how many times did I split and snag those loops as a beginner? I remember wanting to cry when I realized my stitch count was off from mistaking those bumps as extra stitches...

  And that's what leads us to the conclusion of the review: Country Loom is a yarn that can take a lot of abuse, but it can be abusive towards a beginner's patience. The super-bulky weight works up fast, which makes the length of a 5-oz skein disappear quickly. You can barely finish a scarf with one ball! That's something that will usually steer me towards other brands with more yardage. Although I can't complain about the yarn itself, I do wish it was sold in 8-oz or even jumbo skeins...
 

  I mean, can't you see the problem here? I sat down to take pictures for the series, and Country Loom ended up on my hook. An hour later, the ball was gone and I had finished the project! What on earth is a crochet junkie supposed to do about that? Make another? Well, I suppose I could, since there's two more skeins that came from the stash... 😉

Happy Crocheting!

PS - If you're interested in an easy one-skein project using Country Loom, the pattern shown above is "in the works". We don't say "coming soon" around here anymore... But, we can hope.