Moonglow is one of our newer yarns, introduced at the beginning of 2020. It's a laceweight blend of fine kid mohair and silk. The silk is strong and shiny, holding the floaty mohair fibers in to create a beautiful halo.
Mohair comes from the long, silky, lustrous fleece of the angora goat. This fiber has an undeserved reputation for being difficult; it's often considered "sticky", itchy, and tough to use. While that may be true we think it's more of an unsung hero among fibers. It takes color beautifully, has a nice natural shine, and because this yarn uses kid mohair, it is considerably softer than some mohair yarns that you may have used in the past.
Pattern Suggestions for Moonglow
When you think of mohair-silk laceweight, shawls are the first type of project that come to mind. The yarn is delicate and when knit in a lace pattern, it looks so ethereal. My Softer Side (by Jennifer Weissman) and Churchmouse Yarns' Mohair Bias Loop, and 100 Diamonds (from Sachiko Uemura) all bring out the 'floaty' quality of this yarn. Similarly, sweaters knit solely in Moonglow such as the Polly Pullover (Strikdet Sofie Bovbjerg) or the Pangea Cardigan (Elisabeth F. Parker) look as though they might just float away!
But we really think the magic happens when you combine Moonglow with another yarn. Doing so adds a slight halo to what may be a plumper or more defined yarn. It's also an easy way to add a hint of color, some warmth, or even increase the gauge of skinnier yarns. Mohair + another yarn seem to be on trend this fall, as evidenced by the sheer number of newly launched projects.
Designers are using mohair by either alternating it with a second yarn or holding the two yarns together. Autumn Mist (from Lisa K. Ross in our Fall 2020 collection) does the former--alternating bands of Moonglow with a Yummy 2-Ply Gradient Set. The Moonglow adds a halo, and the Yummy 2-Ply Toes give the entire project some weight and drape. Likewise, the Hampton Avenue cowl (Adventure Du Jour Designs) uses a beautiful sock yarn to anchor the Moonglow around your neck.
Arguably though, one of the best uses of Moonglow is to hold it double with another light weight yarn which results typically a worsted or aran weight gauge (and quicker project). Some of our favorite accessories using this technique are Col Dunes (Emilie Luis), Pillowy Cowl (Jennifer Krause), and Bonjour Hi (Espace Tricot).
This technique works particularly nicely for sweaters as well. Take a peek at Love Note (Tin Can Knits), Magnolia Chunky Cardigan (Camilla Vad), and Calliope (Espace Tricot)--each combines one strand of mohair with either a lace or dk weight wool, but is knit at a much chunkier gauge. You'll have your sweater done in no time!
Staff Projects in Moonglow
Babs played with color and stripes in her Space Elevator scarf, knit in three colorways of Moonglow. It's a free pattern!
Veronica liked her first Love Note so much that she's working on a second one - just the sleeves to go now!
Helen has designed a beautiful heirloom lace stole in Moonglow (pattern coming soon!)
Jennifer is also weaving with Moonglow, using it to add texture. The warp is Yummy 2-Ply in Rock Sparrow, and the weft is Pegasus Moonglow.
We've compiled a bundle of projects on Ravelry as well as a selection of projects in our Project Gallery that would work beautifully with Moonglow and any of our other yarns, and we hope to see your Moonglow makes soon!