Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Wool Yarn by Knit Picks: A Product Review

Wool of the Andes Yarn by Knitpicks in Christmas Colors: Pampas Heather, White, Red, and Firecracker Heather

Wool of the Andes Yarn by Knitpicks in Christmas Colors: Pampas Heather, White, Red, and Firecracker Heather


Wool of the Andes is a lovely yarn that comes in bunches of different variations. I’m reviewing the worsted weight, feltable, standard, non-Superwash, non-Tweed version of the yarn here — but this yarn is also available in sport weight and bulky weight versions, a Superwash version that’s machine washable, and a Tweed version. There’s also a Wool of the Andes Roving available for spinners. I have tried multiple versions of this yarn and love them all! I think the worsted weight Wool of the Andes offers you a particularly outstanding value for the money you spend on it.

The Wool of the Andes Color Palette:

Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn by Knitpicks in the Firecracker Heather, White and Red Colors

Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn by Knitpicks in the Firecracker Heather, White and Red Colors


Pictured here: several different Christmas-friendly colors of the standard, non-Superwash Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight yarn. This is not the complete color line — not even close to it. There are 97 colors in the collection all together.

From left to right, the yarn colors shown in the photo are as follows:



  • Firecracker Heather

  • White

  • Red


Please note: I have tried to represent the colors as accurately as possible in these photographs; however, since browsers all display colors a bit differently, and individual computer monitor settings vary, it is impossible for me to guarantee that you’re viewing the colors with total accuracy.

Worsted Weight Wool of the Andes Yarn Specs: The Important Details You Need to Know About the Worsted Weight Version of Wool of the Andes Yarn:


Fiber Contents: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
Knitting Gauge: 4.5 – 5 sts = 1″ on #6 – 9 needles (4.0mm-5.5mm)
Crochet Gauge: 11 – 14 sc = 4” on I – K hooks (5.5 mm-6.5 mm)
Yards Per Skein: 110
Grams Per Skein: 50
Care Instructions for Your Finished Projects Made From Worsted Weight Wool of the Andes Yarn (The NON-Superwash Version): Unless you are specifically intending to create felted projects, you’ll want to hand wash your projects gently in cool water, without agitation, and lay them flat to dry. If you’re trying to felt your projects, the care instructions change; in that case, wash them in very warm or hot water and agitate aggressively while washing for the first time. After that, you can default to the usual care instructions of washing in cool water and laying flat to dry.

My Experiences Crocheting With Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn by Knit Picks

This yarn is delightful to crochet with. It is a smooth yarn with excellent stitch definition. If you make a mistake while using this yarn, you can easily pull it out; every time I’ve had to pull out mistakes, the yarn has been resilient and didn’t look any worse off for the wear and tear on it. This is a yarn that I would recommend to total beginners because it is so easy to work with.

The Best Things About Knit Picks’ Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn

SPECTACULAR Color Line!


This yarn is available in 97!!!!!! different colors, some of which are heathers and some of which are solid. Both the solids and the heathers are delightful.


I haven’t worked with all the colors in the Wool of the Andes color line, but I’ve worked with bunches of them. So far, I have loved each of the colors I’ve ordered. I wrote additional pages about some of them:

Outstanding Value!


This yarn offers you a truly amazing value for the money you spend on it.


This yarn is great for beginners and easy to work with.

Warm and Resilient!


Projects made from this yarn are beautiful and warm — much warmer than projects made with a comparable weight of cotton or acrylic would be. This is fantastic if you (or your project recipient) live in a cold-weather environment, but maybe not what you want if you live in, say, South Florida.

This Yarn’s Downsides (Cons)

This is not the softest wool yarn available; it isn’t squishy-soft like merino. However, it is sufficiently soft for making typical knitting and crochet projects like sweaters, cardigans, blankets, granny squares, tote bags, fingerless gloves, hats and scarves. If you need the softest available yarn, this is not it. However, this yarn is surprisingly soft considering the ultra-low price; it is really a lovely yarn, all things considered.


Other than that, I’m not aware of any downsides associated with Wool of the Andes worsted weight yarn. So far, my experiences with this yarn have all been positive. However, I am relatively new to working with this yarn, and I haven’t yet had occasion to put it to the test over the long term. Will it pill? Will it stand up to attacks from my destructive cat? The jury is out. I have no idea. So I will have to update this review again in a few months when I have more data to share with you.

Where to Buy Wool of the Andes Yarn:

I’m aware of three reliable sources where you can buy Wool of the Andes Yarn:

So there you have it: That’s what I know about Wool of the Andes yarn by Knit Picks. I highly recommend this yarn for both knitting and crocheting.

More Lovely Knit Picks Yarn to Crochet and Knit With:

Posted By: Amy Solovay


This page was last updated on 11-13-2023.