myboshi Yarn Review

As 'myboshi' is a new product, I thought it would be a good place to start for a yarn review.  To get the legal stuff out of the way; the review below is my own opinion and the yarn from my own supply.  I have received no payment for this review, I just thought it would be a nice thing to do!  

Information on the brand

myboshi was developed by two German Skiiers, Thomas and Felix who learnt to crochet whilst at a remote ski resort in Japan.  Whilst it's gathering popularity in Europe, it's only just coming over to the UK and so it's quite hard to find much more about myboshi in English.  It's being distributed by DMC, and as well as yarn, there are crochet hooks, labels and patterns available too.

Information about the yarn

myboshi original No1 50g ~ 55m ~ 60 yds
Content: 70% Polyacrylic, 30% merino wool
Wash: machine wash, 30 degrees
Recommended hook size: 6mm, US J/10
Recommended needle size: 6/7, US 10
1 hat ~120g
Medium hat = head circumference 53-56cm
Large hat = head circumference 57-60cm
Cost: Around £4 per 50g ball

First Impressions

The colour range for myboshi is outstanding.  The 36 colours in the collection include neutrals, pastels, brights and neons and so give a modern, young, unisex feel.  The merino in the yarn makes it feel soft and warm but without looking whispy.  It's actually softer to touch than it looks.  The yarn is nice and chunky and perfect for it's intended purpose; outdoor winter hats.

Crocheting with yarn 

This yarn is pretty nice to crochet with.  It works up especially fast to make a hat in a hurry.  It's very slightly splitty, but not so much that it's problematic.  The merino/polyacrylic blend means that it has a bit of stretch in it, but not enough to loose shape.  For a chunky yarn, it was easy on the hands. I found that the patterns in the small guide were clear to follow if you've crocheted before, but would probably be tricky to follow if you were new to crochet.  I also found that I needed a fair few more rounds in order to make a long enough beanie to cover my head although this could be because I crochet very tightly.

Final thoughts

I'm a fan.  myboshi yarn gives a polished finish that means even simple stitches like half trebles (UK terms) produce a professional looking hat.  myboshi beanies are easy to make, and would be perfect as a beginner project, although the patterns aren't the clearest I've seen.  I'm sure it could be used to make scarfs and gloves easily and would make great gifts for christmas.  

My Boshi Yarn - My New Favourite Thing!

There are three yarn shops in Great Yarmouth.  One at the end of the dodgy end of town, so rarely visited.  The other two are cute little local yarn shops, full to the brim with soft squidgy good stuff in hundreds of colours.  Whilst celebrating payday by browsing the aisles for some christmas inspired cottons, I found this:

I took this after I had raided the stash, which is why the display looks a little unkept!  

Bright colours?  Check.  Thick and chunky?  Check.  Ooooh it was everything I'd been waiting for to begin making those winter hats everyone keeps asking me to do.  I scooped up as many colours as I could hold (that's not an exaggeration, literally as many as I could hold) and made my way to the counter.  I even went back and picked up a couple of accessories for good measure.   

The owner of the shop,  Lisa, told me a little about the 'My Boshi' brand.  It's the idea of two German skiiers who learnt to crochet whilst at a remote Japanese ski resort in order to make their own beanies ('Boshi' is Japanese for 'beanie').  The guys then had their idea picked up by DMC and now it's available all over Europe.  You can read a little more about their story here although to be completely honest, most stuff I've found about it on the internet is in German.  

Now I went to town on this stuff.  The heady mix of payday and bright chunkys appears to have forced the sensible, money-conscious part of my brain to switch off so I made it home with a ginormous stash.  

 This is most of it.  There were a couple of pinks and white too.  And more grey.  I loooovvvee grey.  It just goes with everything.  A good mix of fluorescents, brights and base colours.  These three however are my absolute favourites:

I think mossy green is such a lovely colour and the photo doesn't do the bluey-teal justice.  I can't wait to use these together.  In my frenzy, I also picked up the small pattern guide and a label two pack.  The labels are a nice touch in my opinion (although I'm sure some of you will think it's a bit gimmicky).  The labels say 'Selfmade Boshi' and add a nice finishing touch to take away that homemade feel that I wanted to avoid.  The pattern book has three patterns, one slouchy hat, one beanie and one ear warmer and gives patterns for both medium and large head sizes.  Were they a bit of a rip off?  Probably.  The labels were £2! Although I've since found them on the internet for 85p for two and the patterns I probably could have worked out if I gave it a little thought.  But still, I was happy with the things I'd bought.  

I woke up early the next day and could only think of starting a hat.  I blame the fact that it was ridiculously early to account for me making the hat double the size it should have been.  I'm not really sure how I even managed it, or how I failed to notice, but when Coop eventually woke up and began questioning who's head I was making it for, I realised there was only one thing for it; it had to be frogged.  Luckily for me, this stuff works up quickly and the hat was even quicker to make when it was human head sized rather than that of a small elephant!  I should think it took less than three hours from start to finish.  

I am so pleased with how it turned out.  With such a large colour selection, it's easy to find complimentary colours that work well together.  Here it is:

 And modelled by me: (notice the glasses?  I'm rocking a 'Where's Wally?' kind of thing)

The orders for 'My Boshi' hats are already rolling in so I don't think it will take me too long to get through my stash of colours.  Even Coop, a huge clothes snob has selected his colours and requested for his hat to be made next.  Praise indeed!  

Tomorrow, I'll be reviewing My Boshi yarn so be sure to come back and take a look.