I think I may have found a substitute for the precious but discontinued Rowan Chunky Soft: “White Buffalo Un-spun”. I haven’t met this yarn in person yet, but the review on Knitter’s Review was very favorable and it looks very similar. The only problem will be that the review says it’s not as soft - it’s more “wooly”.
From Knitters Review: White Buffalo is composed of six thin strands of fiber that are as flat and uniform as linguini. Before you can knit, you need to start a slight spin to keep the strands together and give them some strength. … The knitting process feels very much like knitting with a huge wad of cotton candy. It took a few rows to get the hang of the yarn (mostly remembering to accentuate my movements so that the fibers wouldn’t snag), after which knitting was smooth sailing.
The best thing about the Chunky Soft is that it’s a very bulky yarn (10 sts/inch) but it’s fuzzy enough that it doesn’t look bulky. It comes together as more of a fabric than a knit and its drape is very light and flattering. We’ll see if the Buffalo is the same…
On another vein, does anyone know why the Chunky Soft was discontinued after such a short run? Does it pill badly? Dissolve in water? If I wrote a pleading letter to Rowan, would they bring it back, like Coke Classic?
September 15th, 2002 at 8:17 pm
I know nothing about knitting…but cool site…I like the name and the set up…very cool indeed!!
September 16th, 2002 at 1:07 pm
Wow, this is great! I found this by following a link from blogger.com, and I know that I’ll be adding this to my favorites! I’m 17, and I just started knitting a few weeks ago. I’m sure this will be a great place for me to find info, ideas, and such. Keep up the great work!
September 16th, 2002 at 6:43 pm
Jamie - I have some cowichan (like the white buffalo stuff) that I found at a thrift store in gresham… if you want to try it out before you order a bunch I can bring it to S&B. Let me know!
September 17th, 2002 at 5:50 pm
Hey Shetha, that would be so cool! Thank you! Eva and I are planning to finally join in the festivities at the meeting on the 23rd.