If you are new here, I am attempting to test as many easy to find yarns and fibers offered to knitters and crocheters on my Ashford Rigid Heddle loom. This week I am writing about my experience with LB Collection Cotton Jeans. You can find the yarn here.

My three balls of lovely Lion Brand Cotton Jeans Yarn

This post will be blissfully short and sweet. This yarn is lovely. At this time it runs $8.99 on the Lion Brand site before shipping. Each ball yields around 210 yards of size 3 yarn. It’s 100% cotton and comes in a limited of selection of heathered hues based on…. you guessed it- jeans.

Of course there are other 100% cotton lines with countless colors, but sometimes a limited pallet can be such a breath of relaxing fresh air. Studies show consumers are happier if they have limited choices, and sometimes I feel overwhelmed when looking at dozens of different hues at once. Feeling uninspired? Have a habit of selecting colors that always disappoint you? Don’t worry, Cotton Jeans has your back with a handful of blue/grays that work for everyone.

I used a 7.5 heddle for a looser weave with lots of drape. If I were making household items such as kitchen towels, a size 10 might be a better option for a firmer, tighter cloth. It took 3 balls to make a side poncho around 15” wide and 70” long (before the fold). I had a hard time with the edge on this one, so a little crocheted border came to the rescue. it was my first time playing with hachure inspired weaving, which I think of as having all the charm of clasped without doubling your weft with each pass. It’s the same technique as shading in tapestry weaving, only done with a balance weave- it opened up a ton of options for playing with color!

I kind of think the pictures speak for themselves. The finished cloth felt buttery and soft, it drapes like a dream. I am waiting for a sale so I can stock up on more, because I love the tones this yarn comes in. I also have a dream to hank it into a skein and dip dye it. Or get the lighter grey and the black and do some houndstooth scarves for the gents or the gent identifying (or anyone really).

Without further ado…the run down:

Pros:

Feels like high end yarn
Lovely warp and weave with
Finished cloth has lots of softness and drape
Limited color range that can fit well into most wardrobes
Dyeable with fiber reactive dyes for plant fibers

Cons

It’s not enough of a good thing, of course I wish this had 400+ yards per ball!
At around $9 a ball, there is so much I want to do with the yarn, but can’t justify the cost. A blanket out of this would be a dream, but it would be about $90 for supplies, so I feel limited in what I can actually make out of it from a cost perspective.

Suggested uses: Shawls, lighter scarves for mild weather, table runners, household items

Woven test with Lion Brand - LB Collection Cotton Jeans