Squish It! – Jody Long Delish Yarn Review

Hello everyone! It’s been a while! 

Christmas Covid is the gift that keeps on giving, and recovery has been rough. It’s Fiber Christmas In July time already!

I’ve been through a slew of tests with more to come, but I’m finally able to break through the covid brain fog enough to feel confident writing again. 

My yarn rep stopped by a few weeks ago and gave me some yarn samples for inspiration, so I thought I’d share my opinions with you.

Disclaimer: 
All opinions are honest and my own. I was given this yarn for free with no expectation of review or endorsement. 

Jody Long Delish

is a 50/50 extra fine merino wool/mulberry silk blend you will want to pet and squeeze repeatedly the second it gets into your hands. The color palette is well-rounded for a that is newer to the market with a nice blend of neutrals, pastels, and brights in its 16 colorways. 

With an MSRP of $19.99 and MACHINE washable and DRYABLE labels on the tab, Delish seems almost too good to be true. Skeins are 50 grams each with 230 yards per skein (that’s about $0.09 per yard), which makes sweater quantities (1200-2200) fall in the $120-200 range. For a luxury yarn, that number feels about right. 

Delish is OEKO TEX and Mulesing Free wool certified.

I carried my sample skein in my purse for days and made all of my friends squish it and rub it against their face. It feels amazing. 

How It Worked Up

Delish flew through my standard gauge machine at Tensions 10 and 8, and I suspect it would be nice even at Tension 6, although that might produce a fabric that is too tight to show off the yarn’s wonderful drape. According to the label, Delish is a CYC 1 Superfine/Lace weight with a recommended hand knitting needle US3 and crochet hook D. It is a good yarn weight for lace work and could also be treated as a light fingering weight yarn with nice results.

Machine Compatibility

Standard	worked amazingly
Mid-Gauge	lower tensions
Bulky	will work, but not the best choice

My sample skein was only 25 grams (retail version is 50g), so I didn’t test at as many tensions as I ended up wanting to. 

I had zero issues with yarn breakage or tangling, but this yarn will stick to itself if you give it the chance. I ran into quite the yarn tangle while winding it into a cake on my yarn swift. 

Laundry Care

I was most excited about the machine washable and dryable aspects of this yarn, and while the label is technically correct— you can do it— you shouldn’t. 

My swatches did not appreciate being machine washed, and the second I pulled them from my machine, I wished I hadn’t done it.

Delish developed a very nice halo after washing, but it was also pill city. That doesn’t bode well for high-wear areas in garments. 

The yarn also lost a lot of its pleasant sheen.

Here’s a refresher on how I treat my swatches when testing yarns: 

1. Fresh off the machine — Set Stitches, Lay Flat, Measure, Record Gauge
2. Hand Wash, Flat Dry, Measure, Record Gauge
3. Machine Wash Cold, Flat Dry, Measure, Record Gauge
4. Machine Wash Cold, Machine Dry, Measure, Record Gauge

I think this method gives me a good feel for how a yarn will wear when worn. If I am concerned about a fabric dropping or I know the garment will be particularly heavier, like a skirt, I will hang the swatch and put a claw weight on it for a few days to simulate the weight and pull of the garment. 

Always treat your swatch like you will treat your finished object!

A small part of me knew the machine wash and dry labels were probably too good to be true. I was disappointed, yes, but Delish did maintain its drape and wonderful hand feel after machine wash. It lost a bit of its sheen/vibrance after washing, but the halo was a nice trade off. The pilling wasn’t unexpected since the yarn does like to stick to itself, but I will note that the pilling issue wasn’t as present with hand washing. 

Final Thoughts

Jody Long Delish is a really nice, luxury yarn at a decent price. It flows well through a knitting machine and wears fairly well if you treat it like a luxury yarn—which means NO machine washing or drying. (This may be a hot take, but if you put in the time and money for a sweater’s worth of yarn, you should be hand washing it anyway.)

I have to be very picky about what I spend my energy on now with Long Covid, and I’m probably a little more disappointed that I might’ve been in the past about the machine washable and dryable aspect not turning out as well as I’d hoped. 

I still plan on buying some of this yarn.

While I originally wanted to make myself a nice cardigan using it, I think making a lacy shawl will show off the yarn’s wonderful drape and feel and take advantage of its lightweight warmth while avoiding the inevitable pilling in the higher wear areas of a cardigan.

I give Jody Long Delish

You can use Knitting Fever’s Shop Finder to find Jody Long Delish at a local yarn shop near you.

Thanks for joining me on my machine knitting journey! I love hearing from you! 

Contact me if there’s something you’d like me to cover in future posts, or feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

In-person classes are on track to resume at Get Stitchin’ in October. I am in the process of getting internet access in my studio for future Zoom classes and streaming sessions. Hooray rural life!