One of the best features of Uptown DK Magix is that it’s an antipilling acrylic. As we explore this yarn over the next few days we’ll look at patterns and colors, and yesterday we looked at its structure. Today, however, we’ll look at what happens to this yarn with some wear and tear!
Here are two un-washed swatches of Uptown DK Magix.
One of the reasons I give Uptown DK Magix top marks is because it truly lives up to its antipilling label. There are certain pima cotton yarns and merino wools, both lovely, and often quite pricey, that pill as I’m knitting across the needles, and that is SO disappointing.
I’ve knit a comfort blankie, 2 swatches, and a hat with 1 skein of Uptown DK Magix and there has been NO pilling while on the needles. I also sat and watched a 1-hour TV show and rubbed these two swatches together, and wrung them, and spun them and fidgeted with them the whole time…not one pill.
Two swatches that have been through the laundry.
I put these 2 swatches through one more experience! A load of laundry in hot water (they swam around with kitchen cloths and bath towels) and a trip through the dryer saw these two swatches come out unscathed.
After a stint in the wash, this swatch has a slight halo of fuzz, but no pills.
As you can see in the photo above, the washing and drying experience didn’t result in pills on these acrylic yarn swatches. The slight halo of fuzz that is visible doesn’t even seem to matt and form those pre-pilling wads which often happens to acrylics when they go through the laundry.
I tried to find out as much as I could about how antipilling yarn is manufactured, but the information must be buried outside of Google’s “eyes”. I even looked at fiber engineering resources and really came up with little, so I’m guessing it’s a tightly guarded trade secret.
What I could gather from my research is that the polymers used to produce a longer, stronger more resilient staple (individual strand of fiber), that handles being spun by large spinning machines really well. I tried to see if there is a chemical bath, like the ones superwash wool or mercerized cotton get dumped in, that would change the properties of the acrylic yarn, but I couldn’t find anything to indicate that’s a thing. There’s a lot more experimentation with microfibers and blending nylon and different types of viscose and polyesters with acrylic as well, but the label would reflect that, I think.
Suffice it to say, I may never be able to find out what the secret sauce is, but I don’t need to. I’m happy knitting with this yarn, and it will be one of my go to yarns for gifts that need easy care.
3 bright colorways of Uptown DK Magix in cool tones
Another reason I give Uptown DK Magix a high score is the six colorways it comes in. They are bright and they don’t fade in the wash. I really like pairing green with purple, and this use of a sea-foam green in Purple Party would be perfect for mermaid fans. If you’ve read any of my earlier blog posts, you’ll know that teal is my absolute favorite color, and when it’s paired with red, like in Swing Set, I just love it. The blues in Blue Shades will be the choice of many knitters, I’m sure.
3 bright colorways of Uptown DK Magix in warm colors
Yellow Slumber reminds me of some marshmallow Easter candies we would have in the house every spring. All of the items I knit this week are knit in Summer Flies, a fitting name with the sky blue and meadow greens used in this colorway. Pink Tango, is a saucy, fun name for a colorway, and captures this blend of pinks perfectly.
Summer Flies colorway of Uptown DK Magix is a cheery combination of summer skies and green meadows.
Just a last note: the washing instructions on the ball band say wash in cold water and tumble on low. I hadn’t paid attention to that before I washed it in hot water and dried it in full-blast heat on a towel load. I’m guessing if you follow the ball band, you’re knit items will look lovely even longer, but if you must disinfect anything, it’ll all turn out fine.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at some great pattern ideas to knit with Uptown DK Magix.
This is part 2 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 1: Knitting with Uptown DK Magix yarn
Go to part 3: Easy patterns to knit with Uptown DK Magix
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