Yarn Review - Knitting for Olive Pure Silk: The Perfect Summer Yarn

Knitting for olive yarns are everywhere on knitting Instagram, and there’s some pretty good reasons why, their colours are just drool worthy, the big-name Scandinavian knitwear designs use them a lot (think petite knit!) and they claim a lot of sustainability points.

I’ve been stockpiling a lot of knitting for olive in my stash for the last few years but until recently never brought out a pattern designed in any of their yarns, but this spring I finally released the ‘Bedruthan Camisole’ which is a classic drapey summer top with step details on the neckline inspired by the Bedruthan steps of Cornwall. It features wide shoulder straps, two neckline depth options and a split hem.

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Bedruthan Camisole

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So why did I choose knitting for olive pure silk and what was it like to knit with?

What is it?

Knitting for Olive Pure silk is a slightly rough, slightly shiny 100% silk yarn. With 250m/100g it’s a lightweight 4ply/fingering yarn and is best suited for warm weather garments. It’s very drapey and has no stretch. The recommended gauge is 28 sts / 38 rows in 4”/10cm on 3mm needles. However personally I got a gauge of 28 sts / 32 rows, so always swatch!

From the KFO website: “Knitting for Olive Pure Silk is a soft, exclusive yarn of pure bourette silk (raw silk) produced from silk fibers collected from cocoons after the chrysalises are allowed to mature into moths and escape.”

How is it to knit with?

Ok so.. let’s start with the fact it’s not wool, being 100% silk, it has zero stretch whatsoever, combined with the fact that this yarn is 500m/100g, so very fine, it’s not the most pleasant knitting experience. The yarn is formed of 3 strands plied together, each composed of 2 strands. I would describe the spin as fairly loose, sadly this does mean that while knitting the strands can separate and cause some problems, especially when knitting lace. The yarn itself is also not completely smooth and has a bit of a grippy rough texture, which helps it stay on the needles unlike some super smooth yarns which just fall off the needle in a very annoying slippery manner, however it can cause some tension issues.

All in all, it’s not the most enjoyable yarn to physically knit with, however it’s by no means the worst. I personally found it worked up a lot nicer on my new shiny chiaogoo twist metal needles (TOTALLY worth the hype by the way, maybe a review for another time!) than on my trusty knitpro symfonie. However, don’t let this put you off, because the resulting fabric is totally worth it and I would happily knit with it again!

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Price

This is by no means a cheap yarn, however considering the insane yardage I find the resulting garment is not bad value for 100% silk. Take for example my Bedruthan Camisole pattern, the smallest size uses 2 balls (28”/73cm), the largest (64”/164cm) uses 4 balls, which means a 100% silk camisole will cost you between 15-30 euros if you buy direct from KFO. I’d say that’s a pretty good value!

Quality & Softness

First of all, the quality of all knitting for olive yarns are fantastic, everything from the branding through to the colours is a dream, hence the popularity on Instagram! Specifically, the pure silk is a genuinely lovely product. We’ve been over the fact that it’s not the best to actually knit with, but once you’ve made your garment and blocked it this yarn undergoes an impressive transformation (much like the silk moths!). The yarn blooms somewhat and the drape and subtle shine is out of this world. The colours suit the yarn so well and really scream elegance and sophistication. The roughness that was evident during knitting magically turns into a satisfying grip-iness that hold the texture of your design and gently holds the garment on your body. Wearing a garment in pure silk feels like you’re not wearing anything at all, and I mean that in a good way!

What are the colours like?

Perfection, plain and simple, knitting for olive has colour cracked! There are 24 colours on their website at the time of writing and they span a pretty good colour range, there is also a decent choice of more saturated colours which are perfect for summer. If you have a chance to see the yarns in person at your local yarn store, go and check them out. Photos, especially on their own website don’t really capture the colours very well. I knit my Bedruthan Camisole sample in ‘copper’ which is an almost brown copper with a tiny touch of red tones. I also have dusty artichoke and putty in my stash. I particularly like ‘putty’ which is a hard to describe warm white colour, that somehow looks great against my pasty skin tone. My friend and test knitter knit her Bedurthdan Camisole in raspberry pink, and wow I just love it on here, it has a real zing for such a light colour, although I would have called it raspberry ice cream if I was in charge of naming. I also really love the look of sunflower yellow!

Which patterns can I use?

I’d be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t suggest my own pattern here, the ‘Bedruthan Camisole’ a 2x2 rib camisole with bra friendly straps and a classic scallop like step detail on the neckline. There are 2 v neck depth options, the armhole depth can be easily adjusted and because it’s knit top down you can make it as long as you like, or until you run out of yarn! Find the pattern on my website and Ravelry:

Bedruthan Camisole

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Of course there are plenty of other designs out there, various petite knit patterns and a bunch of other scandi style camisoles, most in the muted white tones, which are gorgeous, but the saturated colours in this yarn are just so gorgeous you’d be missing a trick if you didn’t try them, and if you can’t wear colours in summer can you ever?! I’d also personally not hold this yarn double, I know its daunting to knit a garment on small needles, but it is so worth it!

Some of my favourite patterns are the Farfa Top by my friend Sophie The Knit Purl Girl and MELIDES dress by Inês Oliveira, although I personally haven’t knitted either.

Are there any good yarn substitutes?

It’s tempting to assume that any 4ply/fingering weight 100% silk yarn would make a direct substitution for KFO pure silk. However, it’s slightly rough texture is a bit different to a mulberry silk yarn. While I reckon in terms of a pattern working, I think you could substitute it for any 100% silk or 100% Tencel yarn, you won’t get quite the same look. Below are some suggestions of more similar yarns. Although I have not knit with any of them myself:

BC Garn Soft Silk: 100% bourette silk, 350m/100g (considerably heavier weight!), £11 / 100g https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/bc-garn-soft-silk

Rosarios4 MADRAGOA: 100% silk, 400/100g (slightly heavier), £6/50g https://www.wildandwoollyshop.co.uk/shop/yarn/rosarios4-madragoa/

ISAGER TRIO: 50% linen, 30% cotton and 20% Bamboo, 700m/100g (even finer), £7/50g https://www.tribeyarns.com/products/isager-trio?gclid=CjwKCAjwrpOiBhBVEiwA_473dOl0JBCXU-v-Ru9MElZSzXrVLv9IahbbDku2R-PMphFUxl3VlJ4z-BoCFwAQAvD_BwE

My sustainability rating

KFO does raise the topic of sustainability on their social media and appears to have an interest in animal welfare at the very least. Their pure silk is made from silk that is harvested only after the moths have left rather than killing any moths. You can see below the information from the KFO website, however in all honesty it’s not that easy to find out much more than this, there is no designated section on their website and it’s not clear where the yarn is actually produced. I would love to see them make this information easier to find as I think they probably do care about these things. Anyway long story short you can do a lot worse for sustainability, but you can also do a lot better, although for this kind of yarn I don’t have any super sustainable subs that I know about!

If you’re interested in this topic head to my YouTube channel to hear more about my “sustainable” yarn stash:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fud9KtD-WIE

From the KFO website: “The little butterfly on the label indicates that the chrysalids were allowed to evolve into butterflies, thereby allowing them to complete their life cycle. Our spinning mill follows ethical, technical, and environmental standards creating yarns free from harmful chemicals. The yarn is STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certificated”

Where to buy:

This review is in no way sponsored and the links below are NOT affiliate links, they are purely to help you find the yarn online.

Worldwide:

Direct from KFO (7.50 euro / 50g): https://knittingforolive.com/collections/knitting-for-olives-pure-silk (shipping and import taxes will apply depending where you live)

In the UK (£9-11 per 50g):

No Frills Knitting: https://www.nofrillsknitting.co.uk/products/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk-50g

Yarn Worx: https://www.yarnworx.com/products/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk-50g?variant=43104000901359&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjwrpOiBhBVEiwA_473dFGxyXJLMfsUguMdP-v98L6P_FdDdR-CgzP6dnpsE5f2sRMDQXXT8BoCAhsQAvD_BwE

A yarn story: https://ayarnstory.co.uk/products/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk?variant=44017160454357&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2020-07-18&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign

Beautiful knitters: https://beautifulknitters.co.uk/products/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk

Knitt: https://knitt.co.uk/products/copy-of-knitting-for-olive-pure-silk

USA/Canada (approx. 15 USD per 50g):

Art of Yarn: https://www.artofyarn.com/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk.html

Brooklyn General: https://brooklyngeneral.com/products/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk

La Mercerie: https://shoplamercerie.com/products/pure-silk-knitting-for-olive

Espace Tricot: https://www.espacetricot.com/us/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk.html

EU (approx. 9 euro /50g):

Maschenfein: https://www.maschenfein.de/produkt/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk/

Nordelig: https://nordelig.com/produkt/knitting-for-olive-pure-silk/