Malabrigo March Week 4: Mecha, Rasta and Caracol

Whew! It’s been a busy month, with all this Malabrigo madness. We’re bringing in the heavyweights to see us through to the finish line: Malabrigo Mecha Yarn, Malabrigo Rasta Yarn, and the exotic Malabrigo Caracol Yarn. These luscious bulky weight yarns are all as soft as can be, and two out of three of them are superwash. Not bad stats!

Malabrigo Mecha Yarn is a bulky weight single ply superwash wool, great for anything from sweaters to blankets (such as the Family Favorite Throw - Pattern Download). Mecha has a subtle thick-and-thin texture and is of course available in a variety of beautifully variegated colorways.

Malabrigo Rasta Yarn is an even bulkier weight single ply. This super-bulky ply is lightly felted to make it a little more sturdy and a little less fuzzy; those of you who have seen the current arm knitting craze might recognize this as part of that fiber prep process. (See more about knitting and lightly felting roving here.) It sure is nice not to have to do it yourself, though! Rasta is wonderful to work with, and the big, smooth surface of its single giant ply is the perfect setting for showing off the richness of its colors. Even in natural white, this yarn has a depth and sheen that I love. Our Drop Stitch Scarf - PDF Pattern Download is a great way to make something that highlights this lovely yarn – plus big yarn and big needles means it’ll knit up in a flash!

Last but not least, we have Malabrigo Caracol Yarn. A new(er) addition to the Malabrigo family, this thick and thin super bulky yarn is 100% superwash merino. The incredibly soft, fluffy single is plied with a thin binding thread to create that unique wrapped look. We love it in Lettuce (our color 0037) and Salpicado (our color 0124). I mean, seriously. Looking at this yarn is like taking your eyes to a party.

Here at the shop our own dynamic brother-sister duo, Seth and Rachel, each knit up a quick cowl in Caracol, using the Easy: Learn to Knit Cowl Pattern Download. Download it for free here! If you’re new to knitting, this is a one skein project that gets you started with a fun yarn and great results. For some extra help, see the follow along how-to videos in our recent post.

Another larger than life knit cowl is the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] . With instructions for bulky or super-bulky gauges, it’s a perfect way to show off your favorite mega Malabrigo!

There’s no lack of inspiration when it comes to these yarns. Malabrigo’s books have lots of beautiful patterns knit up in their bulkies. For instance, Malabrigo Book 4 has the Uroboro cowl by Stephen West. Knit up in Rasta, this interesting dropped stitch design is as cool as you’d expect.

In Malabrigo Book 5 - In Soho there’s the Baxter scarf, which is knit out of Mecha. This pattern is kind of similar to my own Gimme Shelter - Hooded Scarf with Pockets, which is funny because my sister knit the Gimme Shelter scarf for our mom for Christmas… out of Mecha!

We can’t leave out the kiddos, though!  Malabrigo Book 9 - Niños has a bunch of projects in Mecha (and a few in Rasta too!).  One of my favorites is Gattaca, a short-sleeved hoodie. Perfect for the upcoming change in season, this sweater would be a fun way to play with two different colorways.