The Best Faux Fur Yarn I've Ever Seen -- Louisa Harding Luzia

So one day I arrive at my knitting group in Montréal, and my friend Claudia is wearing a luxurious cowl that looked like it was made out of $$$$ mink.

Brimstone Faux Fur Cowl by Claudia Maheux (free pattern!)

I thought she must be sporting a special gift for her anniversary until I heard her say, "I needed 7 skeins for it!" What?? That was made of yarn?!?! I tell you, if you see these items in person, you'll never believe they were knitted.

This furry yarn is Louisa Harding Luzia and it comes in both "normal" fur colors and all sorts of crazy ones.

I wanted to see how Louisa Harding used this yarn and found a beautiful fur-trimmed cardi that came in full-length and cropped sizes, called Constantine.

Louisa Harding styling always impresses.

Both versions match the body to the fur trim, but I thought it would be fun to do something in contrast colors.

I also hope you can see how the body has some cool detailing that matches moss trim with stockinette. These aren't separate button bands but knit at the same time as the body pieces. It was my first Louisa Harding pattern, and I found it to be well-written with a nice attention to fit.

My only regret is that I used a DK yarn called Lang Merino S160 that I was not impressed by. Most merino yarns I use are highly spun, giving them a nice bounce. This yarn is really limp and looks and feels like a cotton. Fail!

The cardigan uses a lot of buttons, so think about that if you are on a budget. The fur yarn is very expensive (but worth it!), so keep in mind that you need 13 buttons. Well, 14 -- always buy an extra one!

I feel so chic in this thing, like I'm channeling Breakfast at Tiffany's.

So let's talk a little bit about knitting with very furry yarn because it's not trivial. You knit the fur with a bigger needle, but because the fur is quite long, it will still get stuck in each stitch and need "grooming". Take an embroidery needle and run it in the opposite direction of the nap looking for trapped loops. Simply grab the loops and pull upwards! The knitting will soon look like your favorite pet.

And if you don't have a pet, congrats, you now have one that doesn't need a poopy scooping human. WIN!

Tiger Shrimp, an imp.

Ok -- if you want to try this yarn out, sadly it's discontinued, so go out and get it! However, miraculously, there seems to be another very similar yarn according to Yarnsub from Lang called "Softhair". If you try it, tell me if you like it!

See my Fur at Tiffany's on Ravelry

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