| Araucania Ruca Solid |
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| Written by Barbara Rottman | |||
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The Look Araucania Yarns are hand dyed in Chile, where expert textile knowledge dates from the Pre-Columbian era. Textile designer Nora Bierschwale and her daughter, Michelle Boisier, an architect, founded Araucania Yarns as a way to provide local artisans with a global market to create sustainable job opportunities. Using carefully selected fibers and traditional methods, each hand-dyed hank is unique. For an original, impossible to be duplicated project, use Araucania Yarns.
Ruca is a smooth silky yarn from Araucania Yarns. Ruca is the name for the thatch and wood homes of the Mapuche, a people of southern Chile. They use a fabric made from vegetable fiber to line the walls of their homes. This fabric is highly resistant to the humid weather conditions of the region. Araucania’s Ruca is a lightweight yarn produced from 100% sugar cane. It’s luster is a dead ringer for silk, and it has the strength and texture of lightweight cotton. Ruca is available in beautifully dyed solids or variegated tones, called Multy.
The Feel Soft, sweet and smooth, Ruca rates #7 on the softness scale. Its luminous surface appeals as much as its silky touch.
The Patterns Ruca is featured in lacy openwork shells, shawls, stoles and scarves. Use it for anything that you might think to use lightweight cotton or silk. Color Range With Ruca’s popularity, now there’s an even wider range of color choices from the dyers. The 2010 season adds 16 new colors, including 8 new solids, to the original 12 colors. Take heed of the label warning regarding dye lots for hand dyed yarns. Buy enough yarn at one time to complete your project. Even in the same dye lot, there will be slight variation in saturation. To avoid noticeable lines when joining in a new skein, join in the new ball a few rows before you reach the end of the first skein. Over the next two to four rows, alternately knit one row from each ball to blend the colors.
Working It Ruca has more body than rayon and is not nearly as slippery to work with as it looks. You can use wood or bamboo needles if you like, but enjoyed the slippery speed I could achieve working it on metal needles. Even though Ruca is somewhat loosely plied you will need to exercise care to avoid splitting the yarn. If you have to rip out, take the time to unpick instead of unraveling. Because this yarn is soft and loose, it is difficult to pick up unraveled stitches without splitting them. If you pick up only three or four of the plies, it will not be easy to catch the loose strand as you come around to reknit the row.
Ruca is ideal for lacy, open patterns. It can be satisfactorily worked in lace patterns or in smaller gauge pattern stitches. Pattern stitches are crisp and sharp. The smooth yarn drapes nicely, especially nice in flowing lines like shawls or scarves. Like cotton, Ruca is a bit heavy but this weight is not so heavy as to cause it to stretch out of shape or droop.
What I’d Like to Make with It Ruca is ideal for small projects like lacy scarves or shawls. It has a graceful fluid drape that is ideal for shawls. Ruca retains its shape, but it is a bit heavy. However, most extruded plant fibers create yarns that are breathable, with good wicking ability to absorb moisture. This means garments made from these fibers, like cotton, are cool to wear in hot weather.
Knitting Outside the Box This hand-dyed yarn is ideal for romantic, frilly garments and shawls. Think about using it for a vintage-look baby hat or booties. The extra care needed for this yarn may dissuade you from using it for a garment that will require frequent laundering.
Blocking It Lay flat to dry. Do not apply heat. To block a lace scarf or shawl, try spritzing it with water, then stretching it, rather than immersing.
Washing It You will need to exercise a bit more care with hand-dyed yarns. The colors can sometimes be unstable or bleed. Therefore, dry cleaning is recommended. Natural fibers can be gently hand washed in cool water with a mild soap, but you should test a swatch to ensure the color is stable before you launder any project.
Wearability Some extruded fibers relax after washing, causing them to stretch and droop. For that reason, follow the recommendation to dry clean your garments knit in Ruca. With that caution, you should get long wear from this yarn. Overall Recommendation Ruca earns a #8 rating. It is a pleasure to knit with but does require a bit of fussy care.
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Yarn Name: Ruca Solid
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