Amelie Yarn from Illimani

Amelie is one of the loveliest yarns I've ever seen.  . You will often hear me say that softness and durability are on opposite ends of one spectrum. Extremely soft yarns, are often a bit fragile.  Temperamental even.  Especially alpaca and silk yarns. But Amelie is different. She’s the beautiful yarn that’s nice to work with.  Easy going and versatile. Who doesn’t love that?!?

What kind of yarn is Amelie?

Amelie is one of the modern construction yarns I talked about in this blog post. They start with a fine strand of silk that’s knitted into an i-cord.  Then the take alpaca fibers and blow them into the tube.  The silk tube, like all knitted fabric, has space between the stitches where the soft alpaca make their way just barely through the silk.  Touching Amelie is like stroking a kitten.  Only softer.  

What does Amelie look like?

Visually, the yarn has a subtle but wonderfully complex, almost 2-tone appearance. You can see both the tube and the fibers inside, so there is a lovely consistent level of contrast through the yarn.  It’s noticeable enough to be interesting, but not so much as to be distracting to any stitch work.  In fact, Amelie has great stitch definition, which is unusual for a yarn this soft. It lends interest and sophistication to plain stockinette and its shadow effect showcases cables and knit-purl patterns beautifully.

Is Amelie yarn good for cables?

Amelie is especially nice for cables because it’s so light.  Each plush skein gives you 164 yards but weighs just 50 grams.  Most yarns with a recommended gauge of 16 stitches per 4 inches would have about half that yardage.  Amelie is not only kitten soft, but feather light.

What is the recommended gauge for Amelie?

The recommended gauge for Amelie is 15-16 stitches per 4”, but I have swatched it much tighter and much looser.  It is happy at both ends of the spectrum. I am impressed with it’s versatility and willingness to do whatever I ask.  In this podcast episode I show you those swatches as well as some of the garments knit with Amelie at a variety of gauges. 

What should I knit with Amelie?

You can do whatever you like with Amelie, but I think a pullover is what I want - something that puts this yarn right next to my skin all the way up to my neck.  Maybe PetiteKnit Wednesday Sweater as I said on my 2023 Knitting Plans video.  Or maybe something else - maybe a Breton style sweater – heck, maybe both.  

What are your thoughts?  What would you like to knit with Amelie? Tell me in the chat. 

 If you liked this review, please share