Knitting With Debbie Bliss Merion Yarn (+ links to FREE patterns)

DISCLAIMER: This post contains gifted yarn given without any obligation for a mention

A few months ago, LoveCrafts sent me 2 skeins of the latest Debbie Bliss Merion yarn to try out. If you are thinking about knitting with the Debbie Bliss Merion yarn, check out the projects I completed for some ideas!

The Debbie Bliss Merion yarn is a bulky weight yarn made with 50% wool, 50% acrylic fibre. The texture is unbelievably soft and I enjoyed working with it with both metal and bamboo knitting needles. 

With just 2 balls of the Merion yarn, I was able to make 1 hat (with a pom pom), a pair of fingerless mittens, and still have some more yardage to spare! The remaining yardage will go into storage for now until I figure out another project I want to use for them. Perhaps a teeny cowl / neck warmer?

Knitting a Hat with Debbie Bliss Merion Yarn

Even though the free Anya Hat pattern is provided for the Merion yarn, I wanted to try something different to see how this yarn looks with a textured stitch. I found the free Chevron Hat pattern and thought that the chevron pattern looked like trees and would go well with the Mint colour way for my Debbie Bliss Merlion yarn and casted on right away! Here are the details of the project:

Pattern

Chevron Hat by Premier Yarns Design Team

Yarn

• 1 skein of Debbie Bliss Merlion in Mint for hat main body
• Less than half a skein of Debbie Bliss Merlion in Oatmeal for pom pom

Link

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1190/0400/files/ChevronHat_SerenityChunky.pdf?1948

Modifications

• Use 6.50mm needles to knit rounds 1 to 6 of ribbing
• Continue pattern until section for shaping crown
• Skip round 11 of crown shaping

Knitting Fingerless Mittens with Debbie Bliss Merion Yarn

After finishing the hat and attaching the pom pom, I realised that I still quite a bit of yardage left with my Oatmeal colourway. During the same period, we were also experiencing some pretty cold weather in Central Texas. And so, I decided to make some fingerless mittens to go with my new hat! I found the free knitting pattern for the fingerless mittens by Sandra Ronca via Ravelry. Unfortunately, Sandra Ronca does not appear to have a personal own site so I am unable to provide a link that bypasses Ravelry. If you are still interested, read on to learn more about the pattern and the modifications I made for my tiny hands.

Pattern

Agility Mitts by Sandra Ronca Designs

Yarn

Less than 1 skein of Debbie Bliss Merion in Oatmeal

Link

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/agility-mitts

Modifications

• In the section of ‘rest of the mitt’, skip R8 to R12 inclusive
• Omit the use of contrasting yarn to make crosswise stitch

In hindsight, I probably should have used smaller needles for the ribbing for my mittens like I did with the hat. They fit fine for now but I may consider thread shirring elastic through the ribbing section in the future for a tighter fit around my wrists.

Knitting with Debbie Bliss Merion Yarn

The Debbie Bliss Merlion yarn is easy to work with and knits up quickly because of the bulky weight. There was minimal shedding during knitting and I have only noticed it on the working yarn strand (FYI I knit continental style knitting).

I have worn the hat + mittens a handful of times and there has been little to no shedding during wear. However, the mittens do look like they are about to have more fibres rubbed off. This may be because I usually wear them while walking my dogs on the leash. It will be interesting to see if my mittens will end up piling more quickly than my hat. Obviously, our hands move more than our head!

Have you knitted with the Debbie Bliss Merlion yarn or are you considering making something with it? Let me know if you have any questions about the yarn or my knitting projects!

See more of my knitting projects here.