It sometimes feels, especially online, that the knitting community is enamored with European yarns.
But with the tariff situation and general price on everything, I started looking closer to home for an affordable, well made American yarn.
Enter: Knit Picks.
Specifications
| Brand | Knit Picks |
| Yarn Name | Wool of the Andes Sport |
| Composition | 100% Peruvian Highland Wool |
| Yardage | 137 yds (125 m) per 50 g ball |
| Suggested Gauge | 24 sts = 4″ (10 cm) on US 3-5 (3.25-3.75 mm) needles |
| Weight | Sport |
| Country of Origin | Peru |
| Price | $4.99 USD |
| Color sampled | Wonderland Heather, White |
Wool of the Andes Review
Knit Picks
Knit Picks is an online yarn brand known for its extensive range of affordably priced, good quality yarn.
They’re actually two sites run together, Knit Picks for knitting and WeCrochet for crochet, but they sell the same yarn and fiber arts tools.
I don’t know how to crochet (yet) but would love to learn someday!
As someone who grew up going to Michaels, I have a soft spot for big box craft companies that sell hobby supplies at an accessible price point.
Wool of the Andes
Wool of the Andes is Knit Picks’ #1 best seller and iconic yarn line.
It was originally launched as a Worsted weight yarn, but due to it’s all around quality, ease of use and popularity, Knit Picks has expanded the range.
They now sell it Wool of the Andes (‘wota’) in many varieties:
.. and more!
It’s actually quite incredible how many variations of Wool of the Andes are offered.
Roving is unspun yarn for the spinners out there while Bare yarn is for the hand dyers.
Superwash is machine washable and great for baby clothes or anyone who doesn’t want to hand wash their knits.
And the Cones are for the sweater makers as well as knitters on a budget. With 10x the amount of yardage as the individual balls, the Cones are great value.
Wool of the Andes in white and wonderland heather
Wool of the Andes Sport
I purchased the Sport weight version of the yarn.
As I mentioned in my previous yarn reviews, I’ve fallen into the ‘hold two strands’ together camp and like mixing a base yarn with a mohair for sweaters.
So I find that Sport weight yarn is a bit more versatile for me than Worsted.
But if you prefer working with a single strand, or don’t want to 2x or 3x the cost per project (which, fair), you may like the Worsted.
Read more: Yarn Review: Biches et Buches Le Petite Mohair
Fiber
Wool of the Andes Sport is made from 100% Peruvian highland wool.
I’ve now used it in two colors, their solid White and their heathered Wonderland, a bright teal shade of blue.
Both are bouncy, plush balls of yarn.
The fiber is strong, easy to split splice and lofty – with a lot of squish to it.
It’s 4-ply, which makes it great for bouncy cables and fun textures.
The strands have great stickyness and grip, so it’s also an excellent yarn for color work.
And, Wool of the Andes Sport is feltable so if you wanted to make felted slippers or blankets, you could use this!
The best part is the price point.
Read more: Yarn Review: Wooldreamers Saona
Wool of the Andes is a 4-ply yarn, perfect for showing stitch definition, textures and cables
Price
Wool of the Andes is very economically priced.
When I first got into knitting, I was low key shocked at how expensive supplies can be.
Each 50g ball has 137 yards and costs just $5.99 (with it often being even cheaper).
After using this, I can see why Wool of the Andes is so popular!
It’s basically great for any project so you can buy it in bulk when Knit Picks has sales (and they run sales often).
This is one yarn I don’t mind adding to stash because it’s useful for practically anything I want to make – accessories, sweaters, etc!
Wool of the Andes is great for large projects. I’m currently using it to a throw blanket which calls for 11 balls of each color (22 in total) and it came out to under $50! great value
Softness
I was pleasantly surprised by how soft Wool of the Andes sport is.
It’s not superfine merino or cashmere levels of softness, but still pleasantly soft!
I’m currently using it to make a double knit blanket and love the bouncy, squishy texture of two layers of WoTA.
learning how to double knit! I realized it’s kind of like a beginner intro to colorwork
Colors
I will say, the color range isn’t the same across all of WotA’s variations.
Sport is offered in ~33 colors at the time of writing, whereas Worsted is available in a whopping 112+ colors.
I have noticed that Knit Picks is constantly offering new colors and retiring old ones, so I’m hopeful they’ll expand the shade range for Wool of the Andes sport!
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Yarn Review
Overall, I’m extremely pleased with how Wool of the Andes Sport knits up.
It’s got excellent stitch definition, the fabric is warm, comfortably soft and drape-y without being too heavy and the price point is excellent.
A 50g ball retails for $5.99 but Knit Picks always has coupons floating around – their welcome offer gives you 15% off here.
Definitely a yarn I’ve already repurchased and will use for years to come!
Read next: My Favorite Knitting Books as a Beginner Knitter
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