Yarn Review: Berroco Bonsai

Helen took home some skeins of Berroco's bamboo yarn, Bonsai, and gave them a workout. Here are her impressions.

The facts: Bonsai is 97% bamboo 3% nylon. There are 77 yards per skein, and Berroco suggests a gauge of 5 stitches per inch on US 7 needles. The care instructions are to hand wash and lay flat to dry. We have seven solids and two multi colors in stock. The price is $6.50 - $7.50 per skein.

Helen knit the sleeveless eyelet top, pictured right, out of 5 skeins. It's her own design and if you purchase the yarn, we'll give you the pattern. She used a US 10.5 needle for this loose, relaxed knit. She found the yarn easy on the hands and comfortable to work with no splitting. She suspects the garment will "grow" in length as it's worn on the body or hung on a hanger, so in general Bonsai is probably not a good choice for a pattern where exact row gauge is important. It's is well suited for lacey knits, seed stitch or double moss stitch. It would make loose, relaxed cables and ribbing; it doesn't have the stretch/rebound effect that you want for "functional" ribbing. It would be an excellent choice for a quick-knit summer wrap.

Berroco has a very nice booklet of patterns for Bonsai, number 283, which we carry in the shop.

Have you used Bonsai? Let us know what you think in the comments.