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    Pianta cotton/linen

    Make a handknit you can wear in the hottest weather.

    Pianta, named for my Italian heritage and its gentle-on-the-earth plant fiber content, is delightful to knit with. It's not stretchy, like wool, but is fairly easy on the hands, unlike coarser linens or heavier weight cottons.

    It's fingering weight and creates a soft flowy fabric that washes and wears beautifully. Each time you machine wash and tumble dry this yarn, it will get softer and softer.

    I've washed and reskeined this undyed yarn in full skeins and 50g half-skeins, so it's clean and ready for you to cast on. It has 382 yards to a full skein, and 190 yards to a half skein. Full specifications are below. 👇🏻

    Pattern recommendations for Pianta

    Flying Home top by Ainur Berkimbayeva

    Sol by Jacqueline Cieslak

    Outline Tee by Jessie Maed

    Oolong Tank by Aimee Sher

    Classic LBD by Jennifer Parroccini

    ... or any knitting pattern with an gauge between 24 and 27 sts to 4 inches.

    (You'll notice that two patterns, Sol and Outline Tee, have a pattern gauge of 22 sts to 4 inches. That's because these designers prefer this fiber content at a looser gauge. You might, too!)

    Why I don't usually dye Pianta

    Dyeing plant fibers requires as much as 10 to 12 times more water than dyeing animal fibers (like wool or silk).

    I live in San Francisco, a Mediterranean climate where we experience frequent droughts, and so I only dye Pianta infrequently and when we have lots of extra rainwater.

    Also, I really love the natural biscuit color of this yarn and think it makes a beautiful natural-colored garment.

    Yarn specifications

    Pianta cotton/linen is a fingering weight, warm weather yarn.

    • Regenerative because it's made of 100% plant materials
    • Can be machine washed and tumble dried
    • Ideal gauge is 24 to 27 sts to 4 inches

    60% organic cotton, 40% linen
    382 yards | 100 grams
    4-ply construction
    Cotton grown in Peru; linen grown in Belgium; yarn spun in England

    Do you need to alternate skeins?

    Yes! Whether you are working with undyed or hand-dyed Pianta, I recommend alternating skeins because even this undyed yarn has color variation between skeins.

    My advice is to begin alternating when you have about 20g remaining, and then to alternate every 2 to 3 rows/rounds until you've worked all of the old skein and about 20g of the new skein.

    If your yarn is hand-dyed, please note that all of my yarn is dyed by hand in small batches of four skeins. There will be variations in color intensity and placement. I think that’s part of what makes each skein perfect – they’re not identical. If you will be using more than 1 skein in your project, alternate skeins to blend any color differences.

    Caring for your finished item

    Pianta cotton/linen is fully machine washable and can be tumble dried. I even recommend that you do so!

    Machine washing (delicate cycle) and tumble drying on low will help the linen content soften and soften with use and wear, making it a delightful choice for summer garments.