Sock Wool Review 8

...and, time for a review of some more sock yarns! This set is all merino/nylon blends.

1. Woolen Rabbit Harmony Sock: I got this at a decent price from a fellow knitter who was selling off some of her stash via Ravelry. It's a little thicker than I would normally use, and not as tight a ply as Woolen Rabbit's other sock yarn (Pearl). But again I fell for the colours, which I cannot praise highly enough. I got "raspberry truffle", a delightfully complex pink/purple/brown mix. Again, no pooling or striping, so that the cables I knit look fantastic! The yarn is smooth, withstands frogging well, and gives lovely stitch definition. There's no halo. For those who prefer a slightly thicker sock this is just the ticket. For "special socks", personally I prefer Woolen Rabbit's Pearl base.
update:  my son washed these by mistake in regular detergent, along with all the sports clothes on a "cold" setting, and the socks faded horribly. Yech!! I will have to overdye them. They're ugly now...

2. Turtlepurl Sock : got this expensive hand-dyed stuff at a local shop. It looks to be a Regia-type base: nice tight ply with no halo, and comes in at over 400m/100g; but unlike Regia this is superwash merino. The put-up is 2x 50g hanks set up for identical sock knitting (the colour sequence is identical on both hanks). The striping is militaristic in its precision, which means you get identical stripey socks without the work (or joy, depending on your outlook!) of picking colour combinations, handling colour changes, and dealing with ends. I like the base. But, I'm not so in love with the self-striping; it's hard work to bust out of the plain-old-stripey socks mold with this yarn.
update: developed a hole in the toe after about a year. Not as hard-wearing as I had expected!!

3. Cascade Heritage sock: practically identical to KnitPicks Stroll. It has a slightly tighter ply, but otherwise, about the same. So it won't be a favourite of mine. Same superwash merino/nylon blend. Similarly budget-priced, similar slight halo, and comes in a similar range of colours. Similar wear characteristics (will pill and "relax" in time). There are more sources for this yarn than Stroll, which may be an advantage. If you like Stroll, you'll like this.