Today I am taking a close look at Stylecraft Batik yarn. I will be looking at the good and bad. This is of course just my personal opinion! No, I have not received free yarn from Stylecraft to produce this review, but hey Stylecraft, all donations gratefully accepted.

*This page contains affiliate links

The hard facts:

Composition: 20% Wool/80% Acrylic

Contruction: Full Twist

Weight: 50gms

Length: 138m

Size: 8ply Dk

Range: 18-22

Colour transition: painted

Links to Purchase: (click here for Lovecrafts),

My Opinion

For:

I typically use a 4mm hook when working in this yarn. This suits my tension.

I have produced a number of projects in Stylecraft Batik Dk and each time I work in it , I am happy with the final results.

I have used this yarn on a number of designs and you can find each pattern by following the supplied links or just clicking on their photograph.

Just a Little Bit Batik Shawl/wrap with this yarn (Click here for the pattern). I just let my imagination go wild and the result speak for themselves.

My latest venture using this yarn is my Tirari Desert Ruana. (Click here for the pattern). Again I just loved the final outcome and overall effects that was produced by using these colours. I incorporated surface slip stitch(which does seem to come out looking fab in this yarn) and used quite a few of the colour range for a stunning look.

I have also used this yarn for one of my more challenging designs my Leadlight Blanket. This blanket is worked in the round and at one point you have almost 100 bobbins in play. I am never one to be neat or ordered when trying to deal with such situations and I used cardboard as bobbins. This works okay but at times I did have a huge mess.

I have a dislike for yarn of the green variety and really am not a fan of the colour at all. I did cecide to step out of my comfort zone and made the choice to make this epic blanket in green/blue tones. . My Leadlight Blanket therefore has many of the Stylecraft Batik colours in green shades (click here for the pattern). It was time I did a design in greens as I know many do love it and while the design turned out great, and the Stylecraft Batik worked brillliantly, I can’t say I like the colours much although some of the bluer colours are quite nice. I dislike the Sage green a LOT!

While this yarn is 80% acrylic it is pleasantly surprising at how soft it is. I find it to be great to work with due to this.

Batik is constructed with a painted effect and each ball has small specks of white showing through. This is more evident with some colours in the range than others. It does add to the unique look of your finished item.

It is an affordable option and in my opinion a step up from many of the acrylics available. That 20% wool content enhances it to level above.

If like me you are someone who love colour and happy to stand out due to this fact, then the option to mix and match the selection together just makes sense. The nature and colour of this yarn in my opinion is just made for projects that you want to run wild with.

These are smaller 50g balls which make them easier to work from and less likely to end up in a tangled mess.

The full twist makes splitting not likely and if you find yourself in the sad position of having to frog (un-do) your project, then you won’t find this yarn hard to deal with.

Being a Dk weight yarn makes this quite flexible. You get a lovely warm make without it being overly bulky.

This is a machine washable yarn and so if that is a factor high on your list, something good to note.

Against:

Being an Aussie means that finding stockists can be a thorn in my side. This yarn is not available everywhere and purchasing from overseas often a very long wait.

I would love to see a few more colours of the purple variety in this range and I have to say I was highly offended when they removed plum from the colour selection,

While this is great quality for a mainly acrylic yarn and quite soft, I would state that obviously there are yarns available of higher quality. You will pay a lot more for them of course.

Overall:

If you are looking for an affordable yarn that has it’s own unique look and you want to produce something with that extra flair, then this is for you.

The sky is the limit with how you mix and match this colour range and all the colours mix very well with each other. Even the choke, splutter, greens!