Sayer sleeveless silk top by Julie Hoover review

Sayer in Purl Soho cattail silk
Color: Cherry Blossom

I started knitting September 2017, I have logged more than 120 projects on Ravelry, some projects contain multiple identical items, such as beanies for gifts. I am a self taught knitter. The first project I have to call it quits is the Terrace Wrap by Purl Soho. It uses 2 skeins of cattail silk ($32 a skein) and the pattern is free. It took me about 8 hours to knit one inch. So do the math, how long will it take to knit 60 inches. I just could not simply pass one stitch over 2 stitches. Cattail silk does not have any stretch at all. I tried to knit loose but did not help. I reached out to Purl Soho and they suggest Addi Turbo needles, I was using Chiagoo Stainless needles. I read comments on their blog as well as on Ravelry. Evidently I am not the only one who has this problem.

So a year later, I unraveled the whole thing. Then I looked on the Purl Soho website to see if there is another project I can do with the 2 skeins of cattail silk I have, and I came across this Sayer top by Julie Hoover. It requires 3 skeins in my size (2/40), knitting 2 strands of yarn together. So the first thing that came to mind is dye lot. So this is what I did. I already have Skein A and B, I bought Skein C. I used Skein A&B knitting the back, and Skein A and C knitting the front. I have a lot of yarn left, expensive yarn left.

Terrace Wrap by Purl Soho

According to the pattern, I have about 479 yards left. One skein is 618 yards. The smallest size only requires 2 skeins. I really like this top, it is fairly easy to knit and I really would love this in another color, but the thought of spending $96 to knit this in another color quickly go out of my mind when Purl Soho raise the free shipping threshold from $90 to $100. I figured it must be a sign. Otherwise, I look forward to wearing this top.

Note: Cattail silk is probably raw silk, because it does not feel silky like a silk scarf, it feels more like a cotton bath towel that had been dried in the sun.

Update: I knitted 2 Sayer tops in Lion Brand Nuboo. A single strand is the same gauge as double strand cat tail silk. The garment is a lot heavier than cattail silk. It is also more difficult to knit because the yarn is so slippery, but also a lot cheaper. Here is one in bone and one in duck egg. I did not know that the color of one skien in the duck egg is totally different than the rest, so you can tell where the line is. My friend Judy really likes it, so I gave it to her.