Lion Brand Notebook ®
Welcome, Penelope! As the newest addition to our Superfine family, Penelope is an answer to the question from many of our crafters, who’ve asked for more lightest-weight yarn options. Lovely Penelope comes as a knitted chainette hank. But give the thread a tug to unravel, and poof! Sock weight yarn. One hank works up into a pair of adult socks, but this yarn is fabulous for shawls, fingerless gloves, any lacy project.
Penelope is a blend of polyamide and wool, the lion’s share being wool (75%). The Polyamide guarantees durability and washability – anything worked up in Penelope can be machine washed & dried, for your convenience! Each hank weights 3.5oz (100g), and unravels to 459yd (420m). The weight is 1 Superfine. For a crochet gauge, 4″ x 4″ is 28sts and 34 rows = 4″ (10cm) in single crochet with a C-2 (2.75mm) hook. For knitters, a 4″ x 4″ gauge is 31sts and 40 rows = 4″ (10cm) in stocking st on US 1 (2.25mm) needles.
Penelope is available in 7 colors, with mythical names to describe their magical color properties.
If you’re a literature buff you’ve probably heard of Homer, who wrote two epic poems, The Iliad & The Odyssey. In the second, his main character Odysseus journeys far from home. The name Penelope is an homage to Odysseus’ wife, who held down their fort while he was away at sea.
Calypso is a nymph, who falls in love with Odysseus and detains him on an island for seven years (!).
Once freed, he runs into some trouble with Poseidon, the god of the sea.
Hard to believe, but had more trouble at sea!
The Sirens sing bewitching songs to lure the sailors toward deadly rocks, he survives an attack by a six-headed monster called Scylla, and Zeus himself destroys the ship, leaving Odysseus as the only survivor.
These fantastical names and characters have inspired our amazing color variations. There’s a hand-dyed quality to them, making each project unique, depending on your choice of pattern. From vibrant, to more sensible, any of these options will work up into a memorable project.
While we don’t have any Penelope-specific patterns (yet), we’d love to suggest some of other patterns of the appropriate weight. Any of these would be made magnificent by Penelope’s winding colors.
The Men’s Crochet Socks & Striped Ribbed Socks Pattern (Knit) are both free patterns on our website.
They’re both Level 5 – Experienced, but if you run into trouble, you can always stop by the Sock Hop hosted monthly at our Manhattan Studio!
These lovey knits, the Cuffed Poncho & Gossamer Cowl Pullover, would come to life in a whole new way when worked up in Penelope! Either of these would be an epic we’d love to read about (or better yet, see pictures!).
The Sunnyside Cowl & Safran Shrug are two gorgeous pieces that would bring magic to any outfit.
We hope you’re as inspired as we are by the myth & the magic of this special new yarn. If you’ve already picked up a hank of Penelope, we’d love to hear what you think as you’re working it up! Please tag us on Instagram to share photos, and we’ll keep you posted as we offer new patterns just for Penelope.
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Abby
I think the weight is probably 100g (3.5oz) rather than what’s listed!
Ally Carey
Good catch, Abby! 🙂
Susan Ertel
The new Penelope yarns is so nice, but can’t we have a yarn with no wool? I am getting more and more requests for none wool socks. More peolple are getting allergic to it.
Ally Carey
Thanks for the feedback, Susan! I’ll pass that along.
Cher-Lynn Maynard
I too would love to find a diverse selection of wool free sock yard. I tried your scarfie yarn but broke out in hives soon after starting to crochet.