Panda Bliss Yarn Review

panda bliss 10ply

Panda Bliss 10ply

Details

Panda Bliss is an Indian made cotton/acrylic blend yarn.

61% cotton, 39% acrylic.
It is a # 4/worsted weight yarn.
Panda Bliss is sold in 100g cakes of yarn with 200m/218.7yds per cake, with 10 colour variations available.
It is a soft chainette yarn.
The label recommends 5mm needles with no hook recommendations.
Knit gauge (4 in x 4 in): 18 sts x 25 r
The label recommends to hand wash and dry flat.

My Thoughts on Panda Bliss

Panda Bliss is quite different to any cotton yarns I have used previously. It is a chainette yarn (the fibres are not twisted together but constructed of a tube of chain)
It has a fuzzy halo that makes is seem more like a full acrylic, even though it is 61% cotton.
I found it easy to crochet with and it doesn’t split at all.
It is a soft cotton which still has good structure, and the fuzzy halo adds to it’s softness.
It pulls easily from the centre of the ball and because it is a cake style, the ball stays put as you work.
I didn’t find any joins throughout my projects.
The colours are really beautiful. You can see all ten here.

These baby bucket hats used less than half a ball of the Panda Bliss.

You can find the pattern here at this very old little obscure website that I happened upon in my searching. 😊 (make sure you do a guage swatch!!)

Washing

I have never used a cotton yarn that has specified ‘hand wash’ only before, I’m assuming this direction is because the yarn has a fuzzy halo. I am not keen on extra work that I really don’t need to do, so I wanted to see how it went in the machine.

I used a wool cycle on my washing machine and washed both hats together. I was pleasantly surprised with the result, and didn’t see any damage or stress on the fibres.
Next time, I would be happy to wash with a load of other clothes as long as they are in a laundry bag, but the wool cycle is normally pretty quick, so I can’t see any real issue there, unless you’re concerned about water usage.

In Summary

I always love to find a new 10ply yarn, simply because it works up quicker, and these colours are so nice, I’m trying to imagine what I can make with each one.
This is a great yarn for garments, hats and blankets. The acrylic adds a bit of give to the final fabric and 61% cotton is great for comfort and breathability. Perfect for children and babies.
The hand wash only instruction does not put me off and I tend to think it is there just as a precaution to be careful.