Welcome to another exciting week at KNITmuch, where I’ll be knitting with Universal Yarn Odette. Odette combines 61% superwash fine merino and 17% alpaca with 22% nylon for strength, creating a chained yarn that’s light and lovely. This yarn is perfect for sweaters and a multitude of accessories with a light heather and feathery halo.
The name Odette is of French origin meaning wealthy. You may also recognize the name as the good or white swan in Swan Lake.
Odette is available in 10 different colors of which I’ll be using 7 this week; Bordeaux, Rusted Orange, Picholine, French Blue, Rose Villa, Winter Wheat, and Gargoyle. The colors look intense when coiled up in their skein, but in reality, each color is very soft and muted. The intensity of each color is only revealed in quantity. If you’re wondering about Picholine, it’s an olive of French origin that is primarily used as a cocktail olive, but also used for making olive oil, which is an accurate description for the color.
![Each 1.75 oz [50 g] ball of Odette yarn contains 241 yds [220 m], which speaks to the lightness of the fiber. Universal Yarn Odette](https://knitmuch.com/wp-content/uploads/image1-30-sa-22.jpg)
Odette is available in 10 different colors. L-R, Picholine, French Blue, Gargoyle, Rusted Orange, Bordeaux, Rose Villa, and Winter Wheat are my color choices for this week.
Each 1.75oz [50g] ball contains 241yds [220m], which really speaks to the lightness of the fiber. Chain construction means that the fibers are knitted rather than spun, resembling a crochet chain. This results in a puffy and airy strand that is filled in with the feathery halo of the alpaca.
Rated as a Light, Odette is truly a chameleon when it comes to gauge for projects. The recommended gauge is 21-23 stitches over 4”[10cm] using a US 5 – 7 [3.75 – 4.5mm] knitting needle, and 18-20 stitches over 4”[10cm] using a US F-5[3.75 – 4.5mm] crochet hook. Because of the open and airy chain construction, it will puff out when knit at a more open gauge, and compress beautifully when knit to a very tight gauge.
Let’s take a close up look at an individual strand of Odette. You can see the chain construction and how the feathery halo of the alpaca fills in the gaps.
A close up look at an individual strand of Odette in Rusted Orange reveals the openness of the chain construction filled in with the soft halo of the alpaca.
As with all blended fiber yarns, the most delicate of the fibers dictates the laundry care, and Odette is no exception. Hand wash and lay flat to dry will keep your projects looking beautiful.
I have some interesting and diversified projects in store for Odette this week.
A multi-colored sweater, (7 colors to be exact), socks, (yes socks!) and a warm, funnel cowl are all on the list.
Each of these projects will be knit at a different gauge using different needles to show just how much of a chameleon this yarn really is. Tomorrow I’ll be knitting some swatches and various patterns to see how Odette responds to the various needle sizes. I hope you’ll join me for the balance of the week as I explore knitting with Odette.
This is part 1 of 5 in this series
Go to part 2: Various swatches disclose the chameleon qualities of Odette yarn
