Yarn Bitch Reviews: Sandnes Garn Line
Welcome to the first ever installment in the Yarn Bitch Reviews series! Picking the right yarn for your project can be a daunting task. If you’re spending your hard-earned money, I’m want to make sure you get your money’s worth! My goal is to help you weigh the pros and cons using my own experience working with these yarns.
With summer creeping in, why not start with one of the summer yarns I’ve been seeing used most; Sandnes Garn Line.
Overview
Line is a plant-based yarn that is offered in 3 weights. Tynn (fingering), Line (Aran/Worsted), and Tykk (technically classified as worsted/aran, but more of a light bulky). I have used both tynn and regular Line in multiple projects, but before we get into those, let’s talk specs.
COMPOSITION/CONSTRUCTION
53% Cotton, 33% Viscose, 14% Linen
First off, I LOVE this blend of fibers. The viscose gives it a beautiful drape, and the bit of linen gives it a little tooth that makes the fabric feel more durable. Fun Fact - linen is the only fiber that gets stronger when wet! All these natural fibers mean that your finished project will be super breathable, ideal for the spring and summer.
This is a multi-ply yarn with a medium twist. While this slightly looser twist creates a beautiful bloomed fabric after blocking, it does mean some splitting can happen while working with it. I also noticed that the heavier weight yarn tends to split more often in knitting projects. When it comes to knitting vs crocheting, I prefer crocheting with Tynn Line and knitting with standard Line. In the future, I only see myself using Tynn Line for crochet projects and will probably not use Line again or try Tykk Line due to the splitting and the heaviness of the larger gauge weights.
One interesting thing I noticed was that I was finding bits of VM (vegetable matter) in the natural colorways, likely from the linen. Funnily enough, I didn’t see this nearly as much in the dyed colorways, likely due to the extra processing. I thought this wouldn’t be an issue, considering VM doesn’t bother me in sweaters. But once I finished my top, I could feel it constantly poking me! Boo :(
When it comes to the life and wear of this yarn, I haven’t noticed any pilling at all! But I will note that I haven’t used this yarn in a context where it’s more likely to pill (ex. laying fabrics, fabrics rubbing against each other). The feel of the fabric tends to soften the more you wear and wash your finished piece. Items made with yarn will easily live long and well-loved lives in your closet.
YARDAGE/COLOR PALETTE/PRICE
Let’s talk yardage! Each weight has approximately half the yardage of the lighter weight yarn. The main way this affects your project is the physical weight of the project. Since plant based fibers are typically more dense (aka weigh more) than fibers like wool, it’s not uncommon for larger projects to get weighed down and stretch/deform over time due to the weight of the yarn. This holds true for this yarn and is important to remember when choosing a project. I recommend sticking to tynn line for larger projects (anything larger than a top!).
The color selection leaves a bit to be desired, especially for a summer yarn. While I’m happy that there’s a bit of everything, they stick with their classic Scandi muted colors. I mean, this is a summer yarn that has maybe 5 bold, saturated colors. Where is the cobalt blue? The fuchsia? or a kelly green? They’re not here! Even the neutral palette leaves a bit to be desired, I’m seeing a lot of super similar tones (cough 3021 vs 3511 cough). What about a yummy espresso? or some greys? You may think I’m being a bit harsh, but this is Sandnes Garn! If anyone is going to have the capacity for a broad color palette, it’s them. Plant-based yarns are notoriously difficult to get a saturated color in the hand-dyed space, but not so much in the commercial space (just look at lily sugar n’ cream). So, while I do love many of these colors, there is still room for improvement.
Since I’m based in the US, I’ll be using pricing from stockists in the United States. Prices will likely vary depending on your location. Of course, prices in the US may also change depending on the effects of current tariffs (stupid). “Expensive” and “affordable” are all relative to your budget, so I’ll focus on where this price point falls when looking at comparable yarns. I would say this yarn falls on the higher end of average. We can see other plant-based yarns offered by US-based companies (like Cascade and Berroco) that are primarily cotton tend to fall at around $11-$13/100g. However, most of these yarns don’t include viscose and linen. At $15/100g, Line comes in at the higher end of average. To me, this pricing feels fair, considering linen is a fiber that tends to come at a premium.
DUPES
Yes, besties, the yarn industry has dupes! Just like fashion, sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes it’s not. But let’s get into what similar options are out there. Depending on where you are, it may be easier to source these yarns, or they may have the color options that Line lacks.
Drops Belle is as close to an exact dupe for Line as possible with one main difference: it has a much looser ply. You can see it in the photo! Which inevitably will mean more splitting while you’re working with it. I haven’t worked with it myself, but I asked some friends who have; they said they enjoyed it but had heard that Line was better to work with (though they hadn’t tried Line themselves yet). Drops Belle is only offered in a DK/Worsted weight and is quite difficult to source in the US. Generally, when I order my Drops yarn, I order directly from Wool Warehouse. The color palette also generally lines up with Line, which means lots of muted colors.
Hobbii Seashell is one I haven’t had the chance to try out yet, but it seems to be a great alternative if you’re looking for something more of a true DK weight. It has a slightly higher linen percentage which means that this yarn will generally be more durable and will continue to soften over time. This yarn has gotten a 4.5 star rating over 24 reviews. People mention how soft it is when it’s worked up, both knitted and crocheted. They also mentioned how it does tend to grow a bit more than expected so be sure to do your due diligence with swatching! There were a couple of comments made about splitting, but the one reviewer who did mention it said it was only a problem when she was trying to crochet at her top speed. To top it off this is finally a color range that screams summer! That bright grass green caught my eye immediately. This yarn is definitely on my “to try” list!
My Projects
This was my first project with Line, and I initially loved it! The fabric had great stitch definition, and it worked up quickly. Though the splitting could get a bit frustrating, I was generally happy with everything else, and especially loved how summery the fabric and color felt. It blocked beautifully with hardly any rolling at the hems. Unfortunately, after I wore it out a few times, I noticed that it was getting longer and wider, and started feeling heavy. I put it away and haven’t reached for it in almost 2 summers. Which is such a shame because I have the same dress in a different yarn that I absolutely love!
I think the nature of knitted fabric also contributed to this. The extra stretch that you find in knitted fabric will just exacerbate any issues with stretching out.
I had ordered a BUNCH of Tynn Line alongside the standard Line above, so I decided to try my luck with crochet and had a much better experience! The yarn was significantly easier to work with. Easily half the amount of splitting, and the final top felt lightweight, durable, and like something I would actually wear! I noticed a good amount of VM (likely the outside of the linen flax) and was picking some of it out as I went, but gave up after a while. While this project was 10x more enjoyable and something I would actually wear, the VM made it difficult to wear next-to-skin since it was constantly poking me! Where the knitted fabric was too soft and stretchy for this yarn, crochet fabric has all the right characteristics for this yarn to shine.
If you’re interested in making this top yourself, I’ve linked the free tutorial ;)
ROSITA RUFFLE TOP
I loved working with Tynn Line on my Claudia top and didn’t want to give up on it quite yet! So I picked up 2 more skeins in a cute green color to play around with freehanding a frilly femme summer top. Like I mentioned earlier, way less VM throughout this yarn. To the point where I was able to comfortably wear this top next to skin! yay!
I played around with gauge on this top, keeping the mesh portion looser with a 3.5mm hook and the bust section tighter with a 2.5mm hook. I made the ruffle with the larger hook, but finished off the neckline with a picot edge in the smaller hook to keep it nice and taut. I cant find any of my FO photos so here’s some of the try-on photos I took while figuring out some of the shaping.
This top is the culmination of the trial and error of my previous projects. It lets the drape and softness of this yarn shine!
My Opinions
WHAT I LOVE
The fiber composition of this yarn is wonderful. I think it strikes the perfect balance of drape and durability with its use of viscose and linen. I love the weight of Tynn Line, it is a true light fingering weight yarn, which has made it a staple in my summer crochet yarns. I still find myself doing at least 1 project a year with this yarn. While the bold color selection is limited, the available colors are right up my alley. The Sunny Lime colorway is one I go back to over and over again, and I can’t wait to try colorway 3819.
I love how low-maintenance this yarn is. There’s no wool, so no risk of felting, the linen gives it some extra strength in the wash, it hasn’t pilled, and it only gets softer with each wash and wear. I still always handwash though!
This price point is great for my budget, especially at the Tynn yardage. I would typically recommend purchasing directly from Garntopia or other Scandi yarn stores where they are half the price, but with current tariffs, I wouldn’t recommend it. Because of this, I appreciate how easy it is to find Sandnes Garn stockists in the US. My go-tos are Wool and Company, Mother Knitter, or Apricot. Wool and Company is top tier with their free shipping on all orders.
WHAT I DON’T LOVE
The first thing that comes to mind is how quickly projects made with Line become weighed down with anything other than Tynn Line. I love the fabric of the dress I knitted with this yarn, but it gets so heavy that I can’t comfortably wear it! And this is a MINI DRESS. The lower yardage in Line means the cost/project goes up quite quickly. Line is much more splitty than its Tynn counterpart, putting a damper on the knitting experience. Another issue is the amount it can grow, especially in knitted fabric. Viscose is a fiber that is NOTORIOUS for its everlasting growing. There are few things as disappointing as putting dozens of hours into your project only for it to grow to the point where you can’t wear it. For that reason, I’m sticking to crochet, which has more structured fabric and is less likely to experience that issue.
Even though I love Tynn Line, the sheer amount of VM in their neutral/natural colorways makes it so difficult to comfortably wear this yarn next to skin, and with a summer fiber, that’s the whole point!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Would you recommend this yarn?
Short answer - yes. Longer answer - depends on your project, I love this as a softer and drapier alternative to 100% cotton, especially for crochet makes. I recommend sticking to Tynn Line overall for the best value and crafting experience.
Would you work with this yarn again?
Absolutely! I’ve been wanting to make a crochet dress with it this summer.
I hope this helped you decide if you’d like to try out this yarn! Feel free to drop any extra questions in the comments or share your own experience using this yarn <3
