Monticello from Cestari in Pewter
What an interesting study in contrast! I swatched out two cotton / linen blends back to back for the next yarn reviews and they couldn’t be more different. It was amazing to see how twist, plies, and how the two fibers were combined changed the effects and feel of the yarn. Up first, Cestari Sheep’s Monticello!
Material: 75% Cotton, 25% Imported French Linen
Weight: 3 Ply DK Weight
Physical Weight: 3.5 oz / 100 g
Approximate Yardage: 250 yd / 228.6 m
Care: Machine Wash Cold Gentle Cycle or Hand Wash Cold. Reshape, Air Dry Flat. Do Not Tumble Dry. Do Not Dry Clean. Do Not Bleach.
Made in the USA.
Monticello is available in 19 colors. The gorgeous color in this review is Pewter!
Gauge Summary:
Swatched in Stockinette on US 5 to US 9, with additional textures swatched on US 5 to US 8. Color me surprised – the Stockinette stitch gauge changed by the exact same amount on the US 5, US 6, and US 7 stitch gauge with the US 6 and US 7 row gauge changing my the same amount as well! Come the US 9, the st gauge moved to a 20% change between on the needles and washed/ blocked. But up until then 10% change was the most common. Interestingly there was less change on the row gauge than the stitch gauge through the testing. Row gauge maxed out at a 5% change up until US 8 where it jumped to an 8% change. US 5 and US 9 both had a row shrinkage, which surprised me, as the others had a stretch.
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Texture close up -
Lace close up
Stitches:
The resounding result was pick your desired drape. There is great stitch definition with this cotton and linen blend, perfect for the twisted rib, rib, seed stitch, garter, and lace tested!
Pros:
– Great stitch definition
– Good eco value
– Made in the USA with imported French linen for the linen aspect
Cons:
– Finger feel… it takes a bit of getting used to if you’re unfamiliar with working with linen. At 25%, the linen was present enough to be felt. If you love linen, feel free to pop this back into the pros section!
– Some fuzzing after washing.
Eco Value
Having interviewed Cestari before, I know their kettle dyed cotton is not organic. However it is grown as part of a sustainable crop rotation plan and their dye has been EPA tested twice and approved for humans, animals, birds, fish, and release into the septic. Read the full details here: https://knitecochic.com/an-inside-look-at-cestari/
Overall Rating:
9 out of 10. I would LOVE for Cestari to take the plunge and go for organic fibers as well as sustainably produced fibers. For me that’s the only thing keeping it from a 10 out of 10!
Find out how the other cotton linen blend fared in my next yarn review blog. Then look out for a shawl release featuring Monticello next year!
Comments 4
I got to hear Mr Cestari tell about his boyhood in Brooklyn at In the Loop in Massachusettes (which closed last year.) He’s so animated and funny, I was thinking he was maybe in his 60’s, but he’s actually in his 80’s.
Author
I know! Even though we didn’t meet in person, I could tell he was a card from his video and replies.
I would love to try that. I have never worked with flax before. I am however using their Montpelier yarn, cotton/wool/silk for a sweater and am loving it thus far.
Thanks for the review.
Author
Oh cool! Enjoy your sweater knitting and thanks for reading :-).