A Look at Knit Picks Tweed Yarns
by on Oct 11, 2023

If you’re a fan of the Knit Picks Podcast, you know how much we all love tweeds! We have a large selection to choose from, and each tweed yarn has its own strengths and benefits. It can be hard to pick just one for a project because they’re each so beautiful, but knowing a bit more about them can help guide your selection. Here’s an overview of each tweed yarn we currently sell, with a swatch showing a classic cable, stockinette, and a simple lace panel.

Brava Tweed

Fiber Content: 97% Premium Acrylic, 3% Viscose (part of the Tweed Neps)
Weight Available: Worsted
Tweed Nep Quantity: Lighter amount of tweed neps so stitch patterns are easy to see
Care: Machine Washable / Tumble Dry Low
Best Projects: Brava Tweed is great for blankets, pillows, and gifts or charity knits.
What Makes It Special: This yarn is incredibly affordable, and because it doesn’t include animal fibers, allergies are not a concern. It has lovely stitch definition and is a perfect alternative to wool tweeds.

City Tweed

Fiber Content: 55% Merino Wool, 25% Superfine Alpaca, 20% Donegal Tweed
Weights Available: Aran and DK
Tweed Nep Quantity: Very high amount of neutral colored tweed neps
Care: Hand Wash / Dry Flat
Best Projects: City Tweed is great for garments and accessories.
What Makes It Special: This yarn is incredibly soft and luxurious, with beautiful drape and a light halo. It’s our warmest tweed available thanks to the Alpaca, and colorways are lightly heathered.

High Desert Tweed

Fiber Content: 89% American Wool, 6% Acrylic Tweed, 5% Rayon Tweed
Weights Available: Worsted and Sport
Tweed Nep Quantity: Balanced amount of tweed that won’t compete with stitch patterns
Care: Hand Wash / Dry Flat
Best Projects: High Desert Tweed is great for garments and accessories.
What Makes It Special: This yarn is our softest tweed yarn that doesn’t include Alpaca fibers, and all the wool comes from American sheep. It has a high twist that shows off textured stitch patterns and makes cables pop.

Provincial Tweed

Fiber Content: 80% Fine Superwash Highland Wool, 20% Donegal Tweed (made of 70% acrylic, 30% viscose)
Weight Available: Worsted
Tweed Nep Quantity: Very high amount of yellow, purple, and brown tweed neps
Care: Machine Wash Gentle / Tumble Dry Low
Best Projects: Provincial Tweed is great for garments and accessories. It adds interest to simple stitch patterns because it brings so much texture and color to a project.
What Makes It Special: In addition to its multicolor tweed neps, Provincial Tweed has a subtle barber pole stripe, with one ply a shade lighter than the other ply.

Stroll Tweed

Fiber Content: 65% Fine Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon, 10% Donegal Tweed (made of 70% Acrylic, 30% Viscose)
Weight Available: Fingering
Tweed Nep Quantity: Balanced amount of tweed that won’t compete with stitch patterns
Care: Machine Washable / Tumble Dry Low
Best Projects: Stroll Tweed is great for socks, gloves, hats, and light sweaters.
What Makes It Special: This yarn is extra sturdy due to nylon content! It can handle the tough conditions of being worn as socks.

Woodland Tweed

Fiber Content: 80% Merino, 15% Baby Alpaca, 5% Viscose Tweed Neps
Weight Available: Aran
Tweed Nep Quantity: Lighter amount of tweed neps so stitch patterns are easy to see
Care: Hand Wash / Dry Flat
Best Projects: Woodland Tweed is great for garments and accessories.
What Makes It Special: This yarn has enough Alpaca to add warmth but not so much that it changes the drape. It makes beautiful, bouncy cables, and the colorways are heathered to add depth.

Wool of the Andes Tweed Worsted

Fiber Content: 80% Peruvian Wool, 20% Donegal Tweed
Weight Available: Worsted
Tweed Nep Quantity: High amounts of neutral tweed neps
Care: Hand Wash / Dry Flat
Best Projects: Wool of the Andes Tweed Worsted is great for garments, accessories, and slipper socks.
What Makes It Special: This yarn is our most affordable wool-based tweed, and it’s wonderfully hard-wearing. The colors are all lovely heathers beneath the tweed neps, and it does everything Wool of the Andes does best, with bouncy cables, open lace, and great stitch definition.

Which of our tweeds is your favorite to knit with?

7 Comments
Tags: Yarn

7 comments

  1. Deb from OK / February 12, 2024

    Thank you SO MUCH for this article and the wonderful photos! Awhile back I purchased a hank of Provincial Tweed in blue (Bluebird?). I found that it worked up at a smaller gauge than worsted as M.M. mentioned above. It is very luxurious and a treat to work with. However, I did not care for the colors of the neps, which I feel are very distracting, especially against the blue. I realize this is just a personal color preference, so this is more an observation than a complaint. I have been contemplating contacting your customer service to grill someone on the colors of the neps of each of your tweeds, so I can make a more informed choice next time. You beat me to it! You have included all the details I was looking for. Thank you ever so much!
  2. MaryEllen / February 11, 2024

    Good article. I especially like the samples that show the pattern definition. Good thing to know.
  3. nepanative / February 11, 2024

    This was so informative and helpful! As a new knitter, I always struggle to find the right yarn and don’t know much about the different fibers. Thank you!
  4. A from Alberta / February 11, 2024

    Very informative and nicely illustrated. Thank you.
  5. Madison MacLaren / February 11, 2024

    I have bought all of these but the stroll and knitted hats with them. I have found the Provincial Tweed to be the softest of all tweeds, but to be smaller in guage than stated, more like a DK than worsted. I adjusted the pattern and it’s beautiful with the two strand colors. Wool od the Andes is a good price for the quality, but has too many news, and although it’s a 3 ply is just not the finish or wearing quality of the others. Hight desert is wonderful . The round three ply has a lot of bounce and resiliency. The colors are a bit muted which I prefer, it’s reasonably soft without too many naps and gives perfect stitch definition. A fantastic durable yarn. City tweed is wonderfully soft, warm and weathered two ply, and Woodland Tweed is a heavier, less tweedy knit up faster warm yarn. Making hats with Woodland will go quickly, and the colors are earthy.
    • Martha / February 12, 2024

      Thank you for your helpful comments!
  6. Michelle Delgadillo / February 10, 2024

    I have not knitted with Tweeds yet. I’m not as fond of the look of tweed as it seems so earthy to me. I like earthy looks, but have yet to take the time to really delve into them. From this selection, I’d choose the Wool of the Andes. I’ve knitted with the non tweed Wool of the Andes and really enjoyed it. I knitted my son a hat for Christmas.