Yarn review: Bernat Baby Blanket Stripes

If you know me, then you know that I rarely knit with a) synthetic fibres, and b) chunky yarns. And yet, when the lovely people (truly, they are a great team of folks!) at Yarn Canada contacted me and asked if I’d like to try a new synthetic chunky/bulky yarn, who was I to say no? I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked their last offer (and even have ended up buying more), so I was happy to take them up on the offer again. They gave me my choice of colours in Bernat’s new Baby Blanket Stripes yarn, and I went with Above the Clouds. A couple of weeks later, and I had three monster cakes of the stuff in a box at my door.

Essentially it’s a machine-washable polyester chenille, in a self-striping colour way and as the name implies, intended to be used for baby blankets. First I had to dig through my needle stash to see if I had anything large enough, but some US 11s (8mm in Canadian sizing) showed themselves and I cast on with a free pattern provided by Yarn Canada.

You know, as much as I like knitting with finer yarns, there is a real instant gratification factor with a chunky yarn. Knitting goes FAST. Well, faster… I’ll admit I’m still not done the blanket yet, though my cats (or perhaps a new baby in my circle of friends; I’m at that age…) will no doubt appreciate the finished product.

I also am finding the experience of knitting with it quite pleasant–I tend to associate syntheticyarn with squeakiness (a trade-off for the fact that you can punish it with machine washing), but it’s not bad. I’m also very impressed with the lack of shedding or pilling, which can be a real issue with chenille yarns.

The colours are nice and they have some good gender-neutral choices in addition to your standard blues and pinks. One aspect I don’t like is the colour changes–they are abrupt and the different colours are quite obviously and sloppily sewn together with white thread. It doesn’t end upshowing in the blanket I’m knitting but I would expect a bit better quality in that regard for the price (takes about $35 worth of yarn for a baby blanket).

Will I knit with this again? Likely not, given my yarn proclivities, but if you do like quick projects, chunky yarn, and the ability to machine wash your finished object, you’d probably like this yarn. It’s soft, sturdy, and cute. Check out the full line here.