Remember the stiff white yarn I was struggling with? The internet reminded me to wash and block my swatches before drawing any conclusions. I did that, and the fabric was a lot softer afterwards. Actually floppy; much more wearable.

I also tried combining it with some white mohair (in the top half of this swatch) and the result was very nice. Fluffier and with more body than the wool on its own. It even looks a bit whiter – I’m not sure if the wool yarn is a teeny bit grey, or if it’s just the background shining through.

I had pretty much given up on the idea using the yarn for a dress, due to its lack of drape, and started picturing it as a sweater, holding the yarn double and adding mohair. I had even decided on a rough design. (A white sweater with a green design, something that could be a Christmas tree but could also just be a fir tree.) Now this swatch is making the dress idea seem not absurd, so it’s back in the game again.

I’ve been picturing a dress with the skirt knit sideways, with short rows in a contrast colour for shaping, something vaguely like this. An all-white dress seems impractical for everyday use, and the contrasting stripes would make it more versatile. However I have no idea how much fabric the yarn will knit into, and even if I did try to estimate, chances are I’d be wrong. I obviously have no way of getting more, so a skirt knit sideways seems risky. Make the skirt too long, run out of yarn too early, and I will have half an unwearable skirt. Make the skirt too short, and end up with unused yarn.

Today I was idly looking at my one and only (store-bought) merino wool dress, which is knit top-down, and realized that I could knit the white one top-down as well and just add embroidered vertical stripes afterwards. That would be a much more low-risk approach. I can knit a sideways skirt some other time, with store-bought yarn that I can top up when needed.