Glow-in-the-dark yarn sounds like a rather wonderful concept, no? When I heard this thing existed, I had a, ‘Gah, WHY didn’t I think of that?’ moment. This happens a lot – the universe is clearly some way ahead of me. Anyway, I know TheTwistedYarn is primarily a stuff-for-the-home blog, but when I heard about this brand new yarn, I had to take a minor swerve into garment-knitting, because what toddler-about-town doesn’t need a glow-in-the-dark knitted hat?
Pedantically, I should point out that the yarn in question is not glow-in-the-dark, but rather it contains a highly reflective fibre. Perfect, I thought, for toddlers with questionable road sense out and about (albeit accompanied by semi-responsible adults) in winter. Time for some hats! Want the details?
Hey! You with zero interest in either toddlers or glowing yarn! Don’t worry, I’ll be done with this stuff soon and will reward you with lovely scenes of autumnal sunset. Promise. Bear with me.
The yarn in question (thank you so much for asking, darling) is Rico Design Glühwürmchen Luciole. (Translation: glow-worm. But you probably figured that out already. See? Everybody’s ahead of me.) I was quite excited when it arrived. It’s a chunky yarn, supplied in eight colour options in 100-g balls. Unfortunately, it plopped through the letter-box in broad daylight so its nocturnal reflective qualities were of no use whatsoever. I waited. I drummed my fingers. I scratched the skin above my ear. I fetched some green tea. I knitted. Eventually it got dark. A-ha! Now we’re talking. Look!
Can you see those little reflective fibres amongst the orange? They really are very reflective. They’re glass fibre and they comprise 16% of the yarn. The rest is acrylic (54%) and wool (30%). This yarn has only just hit the market in the UK, and I’m not sure whether it’s even directly available in North America yet. So I knitted some hats for the toddler twinnage, because I thought this would be fabulous from a safety point of view, and because I wanted to test the yarn out in order to review it. I used a very simple pattern. I knitted and I knitted:-
And at last they were done. The yarn is wonderfully soft, but be warned: it’s like a soft conglomeration of fibrous fluffiness rather than a coherent plied yarn. So if you tug on it more than the tiniest amount, it gently pulls apart, like this:-
This takes a little getting used to, when you’re accustomed to being able to inflict a certain amount of abuse on a yarn. But no matter.
So the hats were knitted and gratuitously pom-pommed. And I decided to quite literally road-test them, to see whether they’d make the slightest difference in the terrifying case of a toddler caught in the headlights of an approaching car. Here they are, illuminated by my beat-up old hatchback on full-beam. And the result, as you can see, is distinctly hmmmmm….
(No, those aren’t really the Toddler Twinnage. You’re uncommonly observant, if I may be as bold as to say so?) Yes, there are tiny flecks of reflective loveliness in the hats, but that’s the problem: they’re just tiny flecks. They do what they’re supposed to, but really, this yarn isn’t going to make the difference between safe and unsafe for an unreliable pedestrian. I know it’s not billed as a toddler-saver, but I can’t be the only person who thought that this might be the perfect use for it? So, disappointed, I go back to the toddler-safety drawing board, and wait for a yarn that’s maybe got a little more reflective fibre in it. Ah well, it was a nice idea.
But let’s get back to some sunsets. It’s been quite pretty round here lately of an evening, as the clouds turn lazily pink:-
And a tractor works across the field, purely for the delight of the Toddler Twinnage, obviously:-
And then the sun slides low in the sky and everything is beautiful, even the things that are usually a bit ‘meh’:-
And even though all can most certainly not be said to be well in the world, there is still some beauty, and peace, and colour, around us. So life is good.
Tajana says
October 3, 2014 at 5:48 pmSo,if I understood it right,you didn’t obtain safety hats but rather two quite girlishly glowing beanies….?Are you sure it’s a good idea to make the toddler twinnage wearing them? 😀 😀 😀 I love so much this post both for the brilliant writing style and the beautiful Oxfordshire sunsets 🙂
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:07 pmThank you. 🙂
nicolaknits says
October 3, 2014 at 5:49 pmThere are yarns available in North America that do that too. One is called Lumio. Also I believe Red Heart may have one. I’ve not tried them though.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:07 pmAh, thank you. That’s helpful to know. 🙂
jackallcraft says
October 3, 2014 at 5:57 pmAwh I love the Teddy Twinnage all suited and booted. They look very smart, even if the glowworm properties of the hats aren’t up to much.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:08 pmYes, it was quite fun. But it all went wrong once the twins found them. 🙂
thecontentedcrafter says
October 3, 2014 at 8:24 pmOh such a shame the required glow is lacking! But having read the previous comments it occurs to me that perhaps you could get some actual glow-worms and attach them to the edges of the hats a-la Aussie cork style?
Beautiful scenic shots – sigh! Your part of the world is definitely not ‘meh’!!
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:08 pmGenius! Now where do I find glow-worms….
thecontentedcrafter says
October 5, 2014 at 9:31 pmWe have some here 🙂
narf77 says
October 3, 2014 at 8:36 pmLife is, indeed, good. I had excited visions of being able to string ropes of this amazing yarn all around the house. I get up at 3am (2am at the moment as I refuse point BLANK to be knocked for 6 on Sunday when Daylight Savings kicks in again…mutter…mutter…) in order to get 4 solid hours of delicious “me” time into my day. The problem with that is that it is dark when I first get up and I have to walk out in the dark to the kitchen. I was starting to think that I could follow the bright glowing fibres out to the safety of my PC and my little desk lamp but you saved me from dissatisfaction by your review. Cheers for that. It would have been twice as hard to walk out with a plethora of yarn acting like a giant narf77 spider web every morning ;).
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:09 pmThat’s a very clever idea, but…. YOU GET UP AT 2AM?????? Now, you’re scaring me….
narf77 says
October 6, 2014 at 5:34 pm2am in order to tame the daylight savings monster…back to 3am this week. 3am means 4 hours of amazing ME time. Nothing to get in the way of blogging, commenting, reading RSS Feed Reader blog posts and learning new things. I love it. Used to be a “go-to-bed-at-1am” person and was very grumpy if anything woke me before 8am but now, I am one of those annoying “happy-in-the-morning-raring-to-go” people that are up for it at 7am. Amazing what you can change about yourself if you really want to and think of all that extra hooky time when my brain is up for it!
The Twisted Yarn says
October 6, 2014 at 5:50 pmWow! I really am in awe. 🙂
narf77 says
October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pmAgain, it’s really amazing what you will do in order to get 4 hours of “me” time all to yourself 😉
slippedstitches says
October 4, 2014 at 1:27 amThey may not have the amount of reflection you want, but I bet they are warm.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:09 pmI think they are. They do feel as though they’d be quite cosy.
northmelbournemum says
October 4, 2014 at 10:26 amThose teddy bears are great!
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:10 pmYes! I’ve got mixed emotions about them because they were a present from Santa Claus when he came round the children’s ward when one of my sons was in hospital after brain surgery and the other was visiting. But they’re huge, lovely, cuddly teddies. 🙂
Woollen Wildnerness says
October 4, 2014 at 11:17 amThe name for that yarn is brilliant! I honestly thought this would also be a great thing for me to make a hat out of. Not because I’m a toddler but I do bike to and from work, and in the winter that means biking through the dark. So it’d be great from a safety point of view. Too bad that it’s not that reflective then.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:11 pmYes that would have been a fantastic use for it… BUT it just doesn’t glow enough to make a significant difference. Or rather, the glowy bits just aren’t big enough. Sigh.
bxryrns says
October 4, 2014 at 12:09 pmRed Heart does have a reflective yarn. My friend made a snood for her giant hound from one of them. I’m not sure that it’s any more reflective than that one though.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:12 pmAhh, thank you. That’s helpful to know. 🙂
KerryCan says
October 4, 2014 at 12:35 pmAs a non-knitter with no toddlers, I came for the scenic photos–and they didn’t disappoint!
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:12 pmThank you. 🙂
Crochet Club says
October 4, 2014 at 5:59 pmI think a bit of a glow is nice even if it’s not a road safety device. Kids usually like glittery things, no? And lovely glittery sunset photos.
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:12 pmYes, the boys thought the hats were quite fun.
mindfulmagpie says
October 4, 2014 at 9:00 pmToo bad the yarn didn’t glow as you had imagined. It looks as though the consistency is like cotton candy, sticky to knot with indeed. But your photos were the real prize!
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:12 pmThank you. 🙂
atelieroursonne says
October 5, 2014 at 3:25 pmI really like the idea of reflective hats but I have now this image in my head of two identical looking (and like teddies looking – sorry that is now how I imagine them) creatures, possibly from a distant planet, with red glowing heads suddenly appearing at the side of the road…. It really might be a better idea to look for something more conventional 🙂
The Twisted Yarn says
October 5, 2014 at 9:13 pm🙂 🙂 🙂 That’s quite a scary image….
jensalittleloopy says
October 6, 2014 at 10:03 amAwwww, your teddy photo is adorable! The glowworm yarn doesn’t look like it has as many reflective bits as Red Heart’s Reflective does, but it totally wins because it has a much better name.
A Crafters Journey says
October 8, 2014 at 3:44 amThank you for the wonderful pictures. I too am sorry your yarn did not glow as you thought. Different..and must say the hats are cute.
kazacrafty says
October 9, 2014 at 10:45 pmI was inspired to do a bit of internet surfing- I too think this is a fantastic idea if it makes children and other people visible in our dusky winters. I found this http://www.redheart.co.uk/learn/videos/introducing-red-heart-reflective-yarn anyone tried this?
kazacrafty says
October 9, 2014 at 10:58 pmOops! Just realized several people have also talked about red heart. There also was this http://www.metlon.com/retroglo.html it uses 3M so will be officially reflective but I’m not sure it’s available in the UK. Anyone used retroglo? I think it would have to be double knitted with another yarn….
pippinpuss says
December 2, 2014 at 9:16 amRico Design Glow Worm Luciole is so much better than Lumio. There is far more glass fibre thread through it. I have bought both & wish I hadn’t wasted my money on the Lumio