Linen is one of my new favorite choices for summer knitting. Linen is a smooth and crisp yarn harvested from the long fibers of the flax plant. Linen is an excellent choice for warm-weather knits because it is airy, moisture-wicking, and quick-drying. Many knitters have traditionally shied away from linen because of the initial crisp feel of the yarn and the worry that it will need special care. Now that I’ve started knitting with linen, I cannot believe I waited this long to try it!
As with all yarns, knitters have many choices. I went with four linen and linen-blend yarns for this round of test swatches,. I picked yarns that I wanted a closer look at and could easily source. I chose Berroco Chai, Juniper Moon Farm Zooey, Knit Picks Lindy Chain, and Lofty Fiber Euroflax.
The first thing to note about linen is that the feel of the yarn while knitting up is very different than the feel of the fabric that the yarn produces after washing and blocking. While knitting straight from the ball, most linen yarns feel spindly and crunchy. In some cases, it feels like knitting with thin twine might.
The finished swatches before washing still have some of the same feel, but just the movement of knitting the stitches is enough to soften most swatches. After washing and blocking, each sample softened to a more luxurious and drapey feel. Wearing a finished piece softens the linen further and further into some of my favorite knits.
For each of my sample swatches, I knit a handful of stockinette stitch, then 16 rows of a simple eyelet pattern from Barbara Walker’s blue volume of A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, then 3 final rows of stockinette stitch, and bound off in knit. I had a lot of fun working up the samples and taking pics to share what I learned with you. In alphabetical order, here’s a look at what I found.
Berroco Chai is a linen blend of 56% linen and 44% silk. The silk in the blend makes the unwashed sample already feel a bit softer and more mellow than others. But the yarn didn’t really bloom or fill into the stitches properly until it was washed and blocked. The finished sample is very nice. There is a definite difference in the row gauge between the two swatches. The row gauge in my sample shrunk from 6.5 stitches per inch in the unwashed sample to 7 stitches per inch in the blocked sample. The yarn has a heavy feel, so I expect the weight of the yarn in a garment would pull this difference back out easily and give a nice swing and drape. The stitch gauge is about 5 stitches per inch in both samples. The biggest difference for me is how the stitches go from messy-looking in the unwashed sample to uniform and pretty in the blocked sample.
Juniper Moon Farm Zooey is also a linen blend of 60% cotton and 40% linen. The cotton in the blend makes these swatches the softest of the yarns I tested. I feel like I can see some stitches in just the cotton, some in just the linen and some with a blend of both fiber types. This makes for a very interesting look to the fabric. The row gauge in both samples stayed pretty much the same at 7 rows per inch. The stitch gauge did shrink a bit from 4.75 stitches per inch in the unwashed sample to 5 stitches per inch in the blocked sample. This yarn and the fabric does not feel at all heavy, so I don’t imagine the same weight, swing, and drape in a finished garment. Again, I notice a big difference in how uniform the stitches are between the washed and blocked samples.
Knit Picks Lindy Chain is also a linen blend of 70% linen and 30% pima cotton. The higher linen content in this yarn makes the unwashed swatch less soft, and the blocked swatch the softest yet. The row gauge changed pretty drastically between the two samples from 9 rows per inch in the unwashed sample to 9.75 rows per inch in the blocked sample. That means that even over a fairly small number of rows, you can clearly see a difference in length between the two samples above. The stitch gauge grew a bit from 7 stitches per inch in the unwashed sample to 6.5 stitches per inch in the blocked sample. This yarn is a chainette construction, and I honestly expected not to like it due to the chainette. I was wrong. I enjoy knitting with this yarn and the blocked swatch feels solid without being overly warm for a summer knit. The chainette structure provides structure while still feeling light. The stitches didn’t neaten up with washing and blocking as in the other samples making this yarn a little less forgiving on stitch uniformity. But it is such a solid-feeling yarn that I was able to yank pretty aggressively on the swatch without it feeling risky and the stitches bounced back more uniform from that.
Loft Fiber Euroflax is 100% wet spun linen. The pure linen content in this yarn makes the unwashed swatch the least soft. The blocked swatch did soften up. But more noticeable changes happened when I got brave enough to machine wash and dry the swatch as the ball band suggests. I’ll admit to some hesitation to machine wash and dry because I already like the hand-washed sample. But I did it anyway. The thing is I tossed the hand-washed sample in the washer/dryer before taking row and stitch measurements. So, all washed measurements here are after machine washing and drying. The row gauge stayed mostly the same at 7 rows per inch in both samples. The stitch gauge shrunk a bit from 6 stitches per inch in the unwashed sample to 5.75 stitches per inch in the blocked sample. That means that even over a fairly small number of stitches you the blocked sample about a quarter of an inch less wide.
The pic above shows both the unwashed and hand-washed samples side-by-side. And the pic below shows the unwashed and machine-washed/dryed samples side-by-side. I could have instead worked up a third sample to show you the differences between all three in one pic….but I’ve already cast on a sample new cowl design in this yarn and I have a feeling I’m going to need all of it.
The yarn and fabric held up well to machine washing and drying. And the machine washed/dryed sample is softer. I like the hand-washed sample’s crisp, shiny feel and look better. It’s definitely possible that my version of tossing the swatch in the wash and then the dryer with a load of towels was beyond what the manufacturer intended.
The biggest tip I have to share for knitting with linen is this:
- Swatch! And to wash and block your swatches!!! The changes in row gauge, stitch gauge, and stitch formation can change drastically after washing and blocking. You’ll want to know what changes to expect from a particular yarn early in your project, so you don’t have any nasty surprises later.
Other tips to keep in mind when knitting with linen:
- Choose accessories or small projects where gauge inconsistencies won’t cause big problems. For larger projects like tees or cardigans, choose an oversized garment or one with positive ease to account for possible gauge inconsistencies.
- Avoid cables and ribbing. Think instead of patterns that use simple lace or basic knits and purls. Linen yarn is not elastic enough to work cables or ribbing well.
- Take special care when joining linen yarns since the ends will slip past each other more easily than a wool yarn where the fibers tend to meld together a bit. Duplicate stitch is what many experienced linen knitters suggest as the best way to join.
- Consider hand-winding your linen yarns into balls even if they come already in balls. This will help avoid a tangled mess of a yarn ball in the middle of your project. Also, working from the outside of a ball or cake will help you avoid tangles.
- If you’re not getting the gauge you want with your needles, don’t try to knit tighter. This will be much harder on your hands and wrists. Instead, change your needle size.
- Plan to use wooden or bamboo needles.
I had a lot of fun knitting up these samples. And I love sharing what I’ve learned with knitters. I hope this look encourages you to try knitting with linen. It really is one of my new favorites. I’ve got two sample cowls already on the needles from two of the yarns I tested above for a new cowl design. And I’m having a blast knitting on them!
