A while ago, BettaKnit kindly gifted me their Jodi Sweater kit to try out their Alpaca Brush yarn. BettaKnit is an Italian yarn brand. They offer a wide range of gorgeous, natural yarns and a bunch of fun knitting, crochet, weaving and embroidery kits. Their beautiful products are paired with a mission to create a cleaner environment and sustainable fashion.
The kit contains the pattern for the Jodi Sweater, 6 balls of Alpaca Brush, 8mm wooden knitting needles, a darning needle and a cute little label which you can sew into your sweater once it’s all done.
The Jodi sweater is a raglan sweater, worked flat. You’ll need to finish the four separate pieces (front, back + 2 sleeves) before you can seam everything up. The design features a lovely lace pattern, which is fun to knit up and quite easy as well: if you know how to yarn over and decrease you’re good to go. However, I wouldn’t recommend the pattern to beginners. Although the pattern includes both a lace chart and written instructions, it gets a little tricky for beginners when the raglan decreases start. You’ll need to figure out how to get the lace pattern to line up when decreasing on the sides for the raglan. Intermediate knitters probably won’t have an issue with that, but it might be a bit hard for beginners.
Another thing which is important to consider before purchasing the kit is that it comes in only one size – ‘one size fits most’. The finished width is 61cm/24” and the finished length is 57cm/22.4”. Depending on how tight or oversized you like your sweaters, this size might work for a lot of knitters, but I personally think it would be better to offer it in a wider size range. It’s a really lovely sweater and I love how it looks on me, but extending the size range would make this sweater a lot more inclusive.
Let’s move on to the yarn. Knitting with Alpaca Brush was like knitting a cloud – it’s super soft and fluffy. I think it looks and feels great. It reminds me of cotton candy, without the stickiness! I chose the color ‘Baby Rose’ for mine, and it’s absolutely stunning. Some other favorites of mine include ‘Mellow Rose’ and ‘Almond’. The fiber content is 44% alpaca, 44% wool and 12% polyamide. Although I usually go for 100% natural yarns, I still loved this one. The polyamide is a technical necessity for the production to create the ‘hairy’ effect of the yarn. Nevertheless, the yarn doesn’t feel very synthetic and it’s very lightweight and voluminous. Alpaca Brush comes in 50g balls à 200m/218 yards. It’s worked up on 8mm needles, so it makes for a very quick and lightweight knit!
My kit came with 8mm wooden knitting needles. These are optional; you can select whether you want your kit to include needles or not. The needles are great. They’re smooth, but not too slippery (so all of your stitches would slip off the needles). The wood feels very durable, and I’m sure these needles will last a long time. The little red ball at the end of the needle ensures your stitches won’t slide off the other side. I think it gives the needles a fun and unique look.
The darning needle is a plastic one. It has a pretty large eye, which makes it perfect for weaving in the ends of your chunkier knits! I’ve actually used mine quite a lot since I finished my Jodi Sweater. It’s easier to thread the needle because it has such a large eye. The plastic is more flexible than metal darning needles, which also makes it easier to seam up chunky knits.
Last but not least, BettaKnit gave me a discount code for you to enjoy! You can use code SANNE20BK at checkout for a 20% discount when you order something from their website. Code valid until January 31, 2021.
Happy knitting!
