Breed: Pure Gotland
Category: Not classified
Brand: Blacker Breeds
Form: 50g ball, DK weight
Preparation: Woollen Spun

Skein Squish: Soft, fuzzy, bouncy, slight halo, love the deep charcoal grey colour.

What It Is Like to Knit With: Very smooth to knit with although you definitely can feel some of the lanolin absorbing into your hands.

Breakability: Can break easily with your hands but no problems at all with breakage while knitting.

The Unwashed Swatch: I cast on 63 stitches with 4mm needles. The pattern is called Northern Lights and is from Barbara Walker’s Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns. The unwashed swatch measures 9.25 inches wide and 10.25 inches high and the stitches look as if they are bouncing up off the table, though that may be a result of the twisted stitches in the pattern. I am absolutely smitten with the colour which is a dark charcoal grey with flecks of lighter grey that catch the light.

After the First Wash and Block:
Blocked to 10.25 inches square. Has a slight halo and feels quite soft and fuzzy. The stitches have smoothed out and settled. Stockinette is lovely with the flecks of lighter grey showing through. Textured stitches aren’t as pronounced. I wore the swatch against my bare hip for about ten hours on a Saturday as I ran about doing errands and then lounged on a sofa meeting friends for coffee. There was an initial prickliness but then I forgot that the swatch was there, so I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for garments against my skin.

After the Second Wash and Block:
Final swatch measures 10.25 wide and 10.5 high. It has lost its sheepy smell on the second wash, but feels very soft. Halo has increased slightly but no visible signs of pilling after vigourous rubbing. While the stitch definition isn’t as strong as with other breeds, there’s an added bonus of depth of colour that the light really catches in person, but which is impossible to capture accurately with a camera (or at least mine). All three photos were taken without a flash; the first from the top was outdoors in sunshine, then indoors in regular light and finally, indoors but near a window with natural light on it - and all three photos seem to show a completely different yarn. The middle photo seems to capture the actual colour most accurately and its beautiful up close.

Final Notes:
This is a very handsome yarn with a soft handle and nice sheen to it. It definitely softens with washing and has a depth of colour to it that changes in the light. There’s a real springiness to the yarn too. I think that due to the halo, it looks best in simple stitches - garter and stockinette are beautiful but anything too textured might get lost. I would use this for jumpers, cardigans, mittens, socks, hats and blankets.

Update: So, over two years later, I have dug this swatch out again for Knit British’s Wool Exploration year and given it another wash and block and wear test. It feels slightly softer with every wash and the halo is definitely more pronounced - no pilling as such, but extra halo with wear. I still find it incredibly soft against the skin and no worries at all with irritation. Having subsequently knitted a Houlland hap shawl with this yarn and looking at the stitch definition on this swatch, Gotland certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for patterns requiring lace or cables. However, I think it’s a marvellous yarn for cozy sweaters, hats and mittens and it would work fine for colourwork.