Juniper Moon Farm: which one is which?

What they share

Juniper Moon Farm started as a Virginia sheep farm and became a yarn label distributed by Knitting Fever, and each of its lines is built around one idea: a cotton that weighs half what cotton should, a linen blend that softens with every wash, an alpaca at a sweater gauge. Most of the lines come in a plain version and one or two color versions of the same yarn — Rainbow, Spray, Stripes, Dappled, Hand Paints — and that is where the names get confusing. The base yarn is identical in each case; only the dyeing differs. We carry the full color card on every line below and match dye lots on all of them.

Side by side

The three Cumuluses

Cumulus is a blown yarn: a fine nylon mesh tube with cotton fiber blown into it, rather than cotton spun into a strand. That is why a 100 g skein holds 248 yards at a worsted gauge when an ordinary worsted cotton holds 150, and why a Cumulus sweater weighs half what a cotton sweater usually does and does not sag at the hem. It is the yarn to reach for when a pattern says worsted and the weather says cotton: tees, summer cardigans, baby blankets that go over the arm. Knit it loosely and do not pull the stitches tight — a blown yarn is soft, and tugging flattens it.

Cumulus Rainbow is the same yarn dyed in long stripes, so a plain tee comes out banded without a color change; the self-striping guide explains why the bands come out wider on a sleeve than on a body. Cumulus Matisse puts several colors into one skein in short runs instead of stripes, a variegated rather than a striped effect, best in plain stockinette where the colors can mix.

The three Zooeys

Zooey is a cotton-linen DK — 60% cotton for softness, 40% linen for drape and crispness — with 284 yards to the skein and the rare virtue of being machine washable. It is stiff in the hank and on the needles, and the first wash changes it: the linen relaxes, the fabric drapes, and it keeps getting softer for years. Shawls, summer tops and the kind of loose cardigan that gets worn over a tank top are its projects. Zooey Spray is the same yarn in multicolor shades; Zooey Stripes is the self-striping version.

Bud and Bud Dappled

Bud is a chunky, thick-and-thin organic cotton from Peru: 109 yards to 100 g, knit on a US 9 to 11, and done in an evening. It is the fastest summer project on the shelf — a cotton cowl, a loose sleeveless top, a market bag — and the slub texture carries a plain stitch, so there is no need for a pattern. It does not want cables or lace; the texture is already the design. Bud Dappled is the printed version, with color dabbed along the strand so it self-patterns as it goes.

Cotton+Merino

A chainette, a knitted tube of organic cotton and merino, which makes it lighter than its 100 g suggests and a little fuzzy on the surface. It sits between the cottons and the wools: cool enough for a spring sweater, with enough merino that ribbing springs back and the fabric has some memory. If Cumulus is too soft for a structured cardigan and Rambouillet too warm, this is the one in between.

Herriot and Iris: the alpacas

Herriot is 100% baby alpaca at 218 yards to the skein, and it is the warmest thing on the shelf for its weight. It knits at 21 to 24 stitches to 4", the light end of worsted, and the alpaca guide explains what to expect: silky, drapey, no lanolin, and no bounce, so a Herriot sweater wants a firm gauge and a seamed or ribbed hem that holds its shape. Hats, cowls and scarves are the no-risk projects.

Iris is the luxury version: suri alpaca with silk and a little wool, blown light so that 100 g holds 437 yards at a worsted gauge, and dyed in long self-striping runs. One skein is a cowl or a small shawl with the color doing the design; two make a vest. It is the most expensive yarn in the range and the one that looks it.

Moonshine Fine, plain and hand-painted

Moonshine Fine is baby alpaca, wool, silk and recycled nylon in a sport-to-DK weight with 437 yards to the skein — the yardage of a sock yarn at a gauge of 23 to 26 stitches. The nylon makes it wear, the silk gives it a glow, and the alpaca makes it warm, which adds up to a yarn for shawls, light sweaters and the heavier kind of sock. Moonshine Fine Hand Paints is the same base hand-dyed in variegated colorways; the hand-dyed guide explains how to keep those from pooling.

The wools: Rambouillet, Bluefaced Leicester, Santa Cruz

Three plain wools, each named for its sheep. Rambouillet is an American-raised extrafine merino at DK weight: soft, lofty, 273 yards to the skein, and the yarn to buy when a pattern wants a DK merino with good stitch definition — cables, textured stitches and plain sweaters all show well in it. Bluefaced Leicester is a worsted-weight longwool with a luster that merino does not have; the fiber is longer and stronger, so it pills less and holds a cable crisply, and it is a little less soft against the neck. Santa Cruz Organic Merino is a plain worsted organic merino in a small color range, a basic sweater wool at a basic price.

Saxony and Findley: the luxury pair

Saxony is three-quarters cashmere with merino and tweed flecks, in a 50 g skein of 120 yards at worsted weight — a yarn for a hat, a cowl or the collar of something, not an everyday sweater; the cashmere guide sets it beside the other cashmeres we stock. Findley is the opposite kind of luxury: 798 yards of merino-silk lace in one 100 g ball, enough for a large shawl from one skein, smooth and glossy and not inclined to split.

Which to buy

A summer sweater or tee: Cumulus, or Zooey if you want drape and a machine wash. A quick summer accessory: Bud. A spring cardigan with some spring in it: Cotton+Merino. The warmest hat or cowl: Herriot. A sock-weight yarn for shawls and light sweaters: Moonshine Fine. A DK merino for cables: Rambouillet. A worsted wool that will not pill: Bluefaced Leicester. One skein to show off: Iris, or Findley for lace. And the summer yarn guide is where the cottons sit beside the other brands' cottons.