Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2022 in a BIG way with Bella Chenille Big by Universal Yarn! Bella Chenille has been around for a while, but in this series, I’m looking at the new Glimmer line.
Bella Chenille Big is a 100% polyester chenille yarn, and in each ball of Glimmer, 6% of the polyester fibers are metallized, giving each of the 12 colors a soft shimmer that children and adults alike are bound to love.
It’s really challenging to get a photo to show off a shimmer or metallic fleck in yarn. You can see white flecks in the purple ball. That’s the light catching the metallized fibers!
Bella Chenille Big Glimmer yarn
A super bulky yarn, the recommended gauge for Bella Chenille Big Glimmer is about 6 stitches to 4” [10cm]! The recommended needles are, well, huge, at size 13 or 15 [9 or 10mm], so, if you want a quick scarf, 12-15 stitches ought to do it! It also makes the biggest i-cord ever!
I couldn’t resist! This i-cord is ⅞” [2cm] wide! I laid it over a ruler so you can see!
Bella Chenille Big Glimmer comes in 12 sumptuous shades. Drift (white), Believe (pale pink), Dewdrop (pale gray), and Reflection (pale blue) would all make great baby play mats. If you prefer jewel tones for babies, Thorn, Dreams, Thistle, Primrose, and Starlight (rich shades of green, navy, teal, red, and purple respectively) fill the bill, and if neutrals rock your world, the aforementioned Drift and Dewdrop can be paired with Whispers (medium gray), Hourglass (sandy beige), and Magic (shimmery black).
Each ball of this big yarn has 200g (about 7oz), with 87 yds [80m], which minimizes the frequency of yarn joins.
One ball of Bella Chenille Big will make a hat, two will make a cowl, and a whole bunch will make one of those hooded-blanket-with-sleeves that are all the rage this winter (and perfect for my chilly basement!). There’s no better yarn for trapping air and making one stylishly cozy than Bella Chenille Big Glimmer!
Other cool (well, warm) ideas for this yarn include a top-down capelet using — or adapting — a chunky knit, round yoke sweater pattern; a bed or TV watching jacket; a cozy tuck-in for around a baby’s car seat; some truly fuzzy slippers; a hot water bottle cover; bed scarf; even a festive Christmas wreath! If I had a supply of Thorn or Primrose, I might be tempted to adapt this wreath pattern I did two years ago! I wonder if I have a cable needle that’s big enough!
This wreath was originally knit in double knitting weight yarn, but I could use Thorn or Primrose to adapt it on a large scale for Bella Chenille Big Glimmer.
You can use Bella Chenille Big Glimmer to make this wreath.
Read along this week as I continue to play-knit with Bella Chenille Big Glimmer.
