Whenever I see the word chenille, it makes me think of unbelievably soft things. There was a trend a few years ago of Chenille sweaters. They had a very distinct look and were incredibly soft. I was actually wildly jealous because I felt like I was the only one in a small town without one. That is, until a friend bought me one for a birthday gift! Universal Yarn Bella Chenille Big brings back that little bit of nostalgia and sense of fitting in for me.

Bella Chenille Big in the color Elephant.
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Bella Chenille Big is from Universal Yarn and it’s a heavyweight yarn, which means one thing: it knits up very quickly! One of the patterns I’ll talk about later this week is knit with two balls of it and it took me no more than a couple of hours. I love projects that knit that quickly! Starting with the stats, as we should, one ball is 200g or 7oz. Your average skein of yarn is half that, if not less, but because of the bulk in Bella Chenille Big you’re getting more.

The color Oatmeal, a perfect neutral!
The yardage is another reason for the heavier ball. Bella Chenille Big is 87yds or 80m to one ball. While that may not sound like a whole heck of a lot it’s actually enough to get a decent size swatch. Considering the gauge is noted on the ball at 6 stitches and 9 rows for a 4 x 4″ [10 x 10cm] square.

A 4 x 4″ [10cm] sample swatch in the color Misty.
Bella Chenille Big is 100% polyester, which we all know means easy washing instructions – machine wash warm, dry flat. I’m always a huge fan of easy washing instructions because then you can knit something for literally anyone. You don’t have to worry about giving them all this info on how to wash it and be super careful when you’re washing it because you don’t want to wreck it. Most people don’t have the time or care to put into handwashing a knitted garment, which leaves them in one of two camps. Either they don’t wear it because they’re worried about wrecking it, or they accidentally wreck it while washing it.

Bella Chenille Big in the color Blush
Bella Chenille Big is a perfectly soft yarn in a large gauge, the perfect blanket knitting yarn. Keep an eye out this week for a couple of posts about patterns and some tips and tricks specific to working with Bella Chenille Big or any other favorite large yarns in your stash.