Side by side
| Rios | Worsted | |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre | 100% superwash merino | 100% merino, untreated |
| Construction | 4-ply | single-ply |
| Put-up | 100 g, about 210 yd | 100 g, about 215 yd |
| Gauge | 4.5–5 st/in on US 6–8 | 4–5 st/in on US 7–9 |
| Washing | machine wash cold, gentle; dry flat | hand wash cool; dry flat |
| Felts | no | yes, readily |
| Stitch definition | crisp — cables and texture show | soft — stitches bloom together |
| Wear | plied; resists pilling | pills under friction; softens with wear |
| Colour | the same kettle-dyed colourways, slightly brighter on the superwash | the same colourways, slightly deeper and more muted |
Choose Rios when
The garment will be machine washed, or worn hard: children's sweaters, everyday cardigans, hats and mittens that go in the wash, blankets. When the pattern has cables, lace or colourwork that needs to stay legible. When you want the drape of a superwash and the durability of a ply. Rios is also the safer choice for a first Malabrigo sweater — it forgives uneven tension less than Worsted does, but it holds up.
Choose Worsted when
Softness is the point: a scarf or cowl at the neck, a shawl, a baby blanket for a baby whose parents hand-wash. When you want the loft and the slightly haloed, painterly fabric of a single. When you are felting — Worsted felts beautifully and Rios cannot. When the garment will be worn gently and hand-washed, a Worsted sweater is warmer and lighter than a Rios one at the same gauge.
Can they be mixed?
They knit to nearly the same gauge, so a stripe of one in a garment of the other works. Do not mix them in a piece that will be washed as one — Worsted will felt and fuzz where Rios stays put — and do not expect the same colourway to match exactly across the two; the superwash reads a shade brighter.
The DK-weight cousin
If Rios is right but too heavy, Arroyo is the same superwash merino, plied, at a sport-DK gauge, in the same colour family. There is no untreated Malabrigo at that weight; the single-ply Worsted has no lighter twin.