Pishkun Welcomes Soka'pii!

My Sister Knits has welcomed a new addition to our yarn family!  The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers DK weight Pishkun is joined by its fingering weight relative Soka’pii (pronounced Sue-Cop-E).

Soka’pii is a versatile single ply, rather slubby, hand dyed yarn.  Andrea Mowry’s Montana Mountain Cowl and The Daydreamer both suggest using this rustic yarn. Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks designed her Ravado shawl with this yarn in mind. Almaz, a colorwork cowl designed by Christina Danaee, was also designed for this yarn! 

When seeing Soka’pii for the first time, some of us at My Sister Knits thought it would show off best in a plain stitch such as stockinette or garter.  We were curious about what projects had been made with this yarn so we opened up Ravelry, chose ‘yarns’ at the top of the page and entered Soka’pii in the search bar.  From there we looked at the ‘pattern ideas’ and ‘projects’ tabs. We’re so glad we did because we found patterns designed specifically for this yarn and we also found out that it works beautifully with all designs!  Plain, colorwork, textured stitches, it’s all there!

Soka’pii is 100% Rambouillet wool from Montana and Wyoming.  Rambouillet are like a first cousin to Merino. They are named after Louis XVI’s estate just outside of Paris in northern France, Rambouillet. The original sheep were Merinos from Spain but once they got to France the breed was modified which resulted in a new, separate breed.

They are plentiful in the United States due to the fact that they are a hardy bunch.  One thing that’s led to the growth of the breed is their strong flocking instincts. Some breeds spread out over their pasture and sleep by themselves.  Rambouillet like to gather in tight groups to sleep which protects them from predators. Kind of like a slumber party every night!

Rambouillet wool is not quite as soft as Merino and has a bit less luster.  On the other hand, it has more loft and elasticity for extra warmth and resilience.  It has less luster because the fibers are longer so less light reflects off of them. This creates a more matte surface which takes dye beautifully but the resulting colorways are soft instead of vibrant.  You’ll notice this in both The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers Pishkun and our new Soka’pii! 

We invite you to find some Merino yarn while you’re in the shop to compare with Soka’pii and Pishkun and you will understand the difference!