Mulled Over Yarn

Just a quick post about a hat I completed yesterday.  Actually, this post is about the yarn -- Mister Joe Sangria, a mohair-nylon-wool blend yarn that I had received in a swap about two years ago.

First, the hat, named Mulled Winne Toque after the yarn colorway.  I chose to make a simple skull cap that fits loosely about the head.  This toque, which is a hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all, is shaped wide at the top, sits loosely about the head, and then evokes the curve of the crown by narrowing slightly at the brim for a secure fit.  I only had the one ball and it took exactly one ball to make.  When I finished the last row, I had three inches left to weave in.  Talk about cutting it close.  The pattern will be posted soon.

Now the yarn.  Mister Joe Sangria is a self-striping yarn, featuring two colors with similar hues.  A third stripe of shiny white (likely the viscose rayon) wrapped around the mohair/wool/acrylic strand provides random pops of color.  Personally, I don't like it.  It looks like the remains of bird droppings at worst and dried paint at best.  My sister says the white looks like the remains of melting snow.  But hey, I'm not the paragon of fashion.  My two teen self-proclaimed fashionistas love the dashes of white.  Go figure.

The specs for Mister Joe Sangria are below.  One would think that a yarn with 60% mohair-wool would be soft to the touch.  Sadly, Mister Joe is quite crunchy to the touch and a bit stiff from the tight ply with the acrylic rayon.  However, despite its crunchiness, the yarn is just a tad scratchy when you run your hand over the fiber halo that is typical to mohair yarns.  Perhaps the crunchiness will go away with washing.

Would I use this yarn again?  Not very likely, unless I receive it as a gift, again.

Fibre Content:	53% Mohair/ 22% Acrylic/ 18% Viscose Rayon/ 7% Wool
Made in:	Italy
Care:	Hand Wash/ Dry Flat
Gauge:	14 st/4 inches 6.0 mm (US 10)
Yardage:	100 m (109 yards)
Size	50g (1.75 oz) ball