Knitch Magazine

Yarn Name: Wild Meadow
Review Date: August 27, 2010
Date Introduced to Market: Fall 2010

The Look

Debbie Macomber’s new Blossom Street Collection includes a versatile, DK weight blend with easy care properties of acrylic (84% acrylic) plus the resiliency and warmth of wool (16%). Wild Meadow, a marled yarn, knits up with a tweedy effect reminding me of the speckled petals and leaves on a Lady’s Slipper. The subtle splash of color comes from a variegated strand plied with solid yarn. It’s just enough color to add interest, yet it won’t compete with pattern stitches. With Wild Meadow, you can add hints of color to patterns like mini cables, lace, and textured stitches that are generally reserved for solid color yarns. Like the other yarns in the Blossom Street Collection, Wild Meadow is another high quality yarn produced by Universal Yarn.

The Feel

Wild Meadow is kitteny soft, a good choice for babies and children. It rates #8 on the softness scale.

Softness Scale

The Patterns

In a well-executed and thorough product roll-out, Debbie Macomber and Universal Yarn released a series of pattern booklets to support the Blossom Street Collection. Book 2 in this series features four patterns that illustrate the versatility of Wild Meadow. There is a cozy ripple stitch afghan, a simple seed stripe baby cardigan, adult vest and eyelet row cardigan sized to fit children to adult. It’s easy to get designer results with Wild Flower: simple textural or yarn over stitches combine with the tweedy overlay in to produce a swirly interplay of color and texture.

Color Range

Working It

Soft yarn is always relaxing to knit, and Wild Flower is no exception. It zips off the needles and you’ll find yourself watching the random color effects develop as you knit. Yarn this soft can be hard to knit to recommended gauge without dropping down in needle size. Be sure to knit a gauge swatch because, once you get to the recommended gauge, you’ll notice a knitted fabric that is distinctly more elastic. This elasticity gives Wild Flower good stitch definition and body. The variegated strand is plied with the solid base using slightly uneven tension. When knitted, you’ll notice a slightly nubby surface with irregular dispersion of the color over the knitted surface; just another bit of visual interest to this lovely yarn.

What I’d Like to Make with It

Wild Flower is a soft, easy care and prettily colored yarn that calls out to be used for babies and toddlers. You can add lots of color without overpowering the tiny bodies. In a light DK weight that knits to about 5 stitches per inch, you’ll be able to use lots of ribbing and other shaping details that create good fit. Michael del Vecchio’s sweet seed striped baby jacket is an example of simplicity made striking with Wild Flower.

Knitting Outside the Box

Try the dark brown (Fairbanks) and natural black (Juneau) versions of Wild Flower to knit yourself a tweedy vest along the lines of Melissa Horozewski’s Bridget Vest in Blossom Street Collection Book 2. The simple styling and sophisticated color combinations will add a light touch to your fall wardrobe.

Blocking It

Dry flat. Do not tumble dry or apply heat. Wild Flower has a high acrylic content that can be irreparably damaged by heat.

Washing It

Hand wash or machine wash in warm water using a gentle cycle.

Wearability

This easy care machine washable yarn presents no concerns about wear. Be a little careful not to snag the colored strand on your jewelry or Velcro-type closures on baby’s clothing, and you should get long wear from your garment knitted in Wild Flower.

Overall Recommendation:

I recommend Wild Flower. It is a daintily pretty yarn that delivers a lot of interest in a DK weight. I rate it #8.