SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock: yarn review

Robynn has another yarn review for us today. This time she’s fallen for the palette of colours on offer from SweetGeorgia Yarns. Thanks Robynn!

SweetGeorgia’s Tough Love Sock shown in Sapphire

SweetGeorgia Yarns – Tough Love Sock
80% superwash merino, 20% nylon
425 yards/388m per 115g skein
Gentle machine wash

I’ve always been something of a natural fibre snob. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the virtues of synthetics – who wouldn’t like to make easy-care, long-lasting, affordable garments! I just really, really hate the way they feel. Even a small amount of nylon in a sock yarn is usually enough to introduce a certain squeakiness and put me off thoroughly.

But by the end of last winter, facing a giant pile of sock darning, I was ready to give nylon one more try. So I ordered some Tough Love Sock because I am a huge fan of SweetGeorgia’s rich colours.

SweetGeorgia Yarns’ most popular base – Tough Love Sock

It was a revelation. I don’t know what magic exactly goes into spinning this particular superwash merino/nylon blend, but it’s on another level from other such yarns I’ve tried. As you’d expect, it’s soft and smooth; as I did not expect, it isn’t squeaky. It’s also got a gentle sheen that makes for especially beautiful patterning (and explains why I’ve seen so many shawl patterns using this sock yarn – a nylon mix doesn’t usually scream “lace” to me). A well-balanced two-ply, this doesn’t have as much bounce as some sock yarns, but it’s plenty springy enough to work any stitch pattern you care to dream up, and tough enough to withstand everyday wear for years to come. It’s love, indeed.

Best of all is – of course – the range of colours. Founder and creative director Felicia Lo describes her colours – produced in a studio in Vancouver, Canada – as “relentless, unapologetic and passionate”. One look at the seasonally updated line is enough to get the point. Besides a rainbow of vibrant, juicy semi-solids, she creates exciting variegated colourways – the website helpfully shows them in swatches, not skeins, so you can see whether they will create stripes, mottled fabric or flashes of contrast.

New SweetGeorgia variegated colourways (L-R): Oyster Bay and Spring Garden

Incidentally, the website is well worth a visit, with plenty of little treats. From a video about the dyeing process to tutorials on subjects as diverse as choosing the right knitting needles or spinning a gradient yarn. Yes, SweetGeorgia’s offering includes spinning fibre as well as yarn! There’s also a well-maintained blog, and a growing collection of patterns for sale.

Another reason to love SweetGeorgia: you can actually buy it pretty easily! Although the company’s profile is deservedly rising, they seem to have mastered the art of making consistent colours readily available through a range of stockists. So when you fall in love, it’s easy to indulge that passion on your next half-dozen projects.

Some of SweetGeorgia’s newest colours (L-R): Blood Orange, Melon, Coral Rose, Basil

And what projects might those be? I’m itching to see how the Slipstream Mitts show up in the Oyster Bay colourway. I’m also seriously panting over the Melon, Coral Rose and Basil combination that were three of their new colour offerings last spring – leading me to any of Louise’s great stripe-y patterns: maybe Another Way? Or Trust Me With a Twist? So many possibilities!

PS from Louise: What Robynn doesn’t know is…that we’ve recently made Painted in Coral Rose, ahead of the pattern becoming available from me in March. I just had to see how it would work in this gorgeous yarn, in a Springtime colour! I love it. Watch out for it in a few weeks.