Furls Crochet recently released a new acrylic yarn, so I wanted to take an opportunity to do a quick review of both of their yarn lines, the Whims Merino and the Wander yarn. Check it out!
*Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase I may, at no additional cost to you, earn a commission. Read full disclosure here.
I’ve made no secret about how much I love my Furls Odyssey crochet hook. I’ve also been happy to try out the streamline, streamline swirls, and Tunisian hooks from Furls. However, the Odyssey hook is definitely my favorite of the ergonomic hooks. I also love my Tunisian hook (it glides better than my extendable Tunisian set, so I cannot wait for Furls to – hopefully – someday – make an extendable Tunisian. We’ll see!). Today isn’t about the hooks though; it’s all about the yarn! We’ll go through both the Whims Merino and their new Wander yarn, plus a video review below.
Whims Merino Review
Furls has had their Whims Merino yarn for a while now. I’ve been lucky enough to try it out in both the DK and the Worsted weight. The first thing I noticed when I first held a skein of whims merino is that it is heavy. It was much heavier than I thought it would be, and if you look at the label, you’ll see that it’s not just my imagination. When I asked about the yardage/weight ratio, Furls told me that the weight is because of the nylon content in whims merino, but that the yardage works up like a regular worsted. So if you’re trying to calculate how much yarn you need, go by the yardage, not the grams when it comes to Whims!
That being said, I actually really love the weight of this yarn. It gives it great drape, and the z-twist construction that Furls likes to go on and on about really does give great stitch definition and zero issues with yarn splitting. The cost of this one can be a little prohibitive at $10 per ball with only 120 yards for the worsted or 200 yards of the DK. Oh, and did I mention it’s soft?! It’s really super soft and I am dying to make myself some garments with this yarn. I would have no issues wearing it next to skin.
One downside that I’ve come across with this yarn is that in the 3 skeins I’ve worked through so far, 2 of them have had knots (not yarn tangles, but knots where two strands of yarn are tied together to get the yardage). I super duper hate knots in my skeins, because I super duper hate weaving in ends, so that’s annoying. Hopefully I just got a really unlucky few skeins to start off with, but only time will tell. On the knots front, this yarn is also a little slippery, so make sure to leave plenty of length on your tails to weave in, as there’s a good chance knots can pull apart.
Wander Review
I’ll start off with a disclaimer – I’m not a super big fan of acrylic yarn in general. That being said, I have used a fair bit of acrylic since it is virtually indestructible and easy to wash, making it great for baby gifts or gifts for all those non-crocheters who don’t understand the importance of hand washing. Okay, so that being said, at first blush I’m really impressed with the Furls Wander yarn. I haven’t had a chance to design a pattern with this yarn – yet, but I definitely see some in my future.
*Update – Now that I have designed a garment using Wander yarn (the fabulous Tessa Skirt – free on my blog, so check it out!), I wanted to drop a note to update on Wander yarn quality. I know Furls is aware of the issue and working on it, but they definitely have an issue with quality control on this yarn. I still like it a lot, but every now and then you’ll get some thinned out sections of yarn that you’ll basically have to cut out and restart. I reeeeeally hope they get those manufacturing issues worked out, because otherwise it’s a great product!
The first thing I noticed about Wander was the shine. It’s got a really pretty shine, but it’s not offensively sparkly. I also love the color palette for the Wander yarn much more than the Whims. The whims tends a little more toward the pastel than I would usually prefer, but the colors for Wander are right up my alley! I love all the dark and broody, but they also have some great sunshiny colors like these two (I’m thinking they need to be a cowl?!):
Wander has plenty of squish, and for an acrylic yarn it is quite soft. You can certainly still tell that it’s acrylic by looking/touching, but in my opinion it’s one of the nicer acrylics I’ve felt. It didn’t bother my hands to work with, and it worked up easily.
The price on Wander is also much more reasonable at $5 per skein, with discounts for buying in bulk. It’s still pricier than some of the craft store acrylics since there’s only 120 yards per ball, but it definitely puts more projects within reach when compared to the Whims yarn.
Video Review of Furls Whims and Wander
Which One’s Better?
Whims and Wander are both marketed as worsted weight yarns, but they feel, look, and work up significantly differently. The Wander is definitely thicker than Whims and my small swatch had taller rows than the same stitch with Whims.
I really like both of these yarns, and I think they would be great for different projects. On color palette, Wander wins for me. Wander also wins for durability and squish factor. Whims wins for stitch definition, drape, and softness (though I think Wander is also reasonably soft). I like Whims for Tunisian projects, since they tend to be bulkier and Whims is a thinner yarn, and I can see some rad sweaters using Wander.
I hope you enjoyed this Furls yarn review, and now I’m curious – which one do you like better? What would you make out of these yarns? Ooh, and which ones are your favorite colors?! Drop a comment below and let me know.