Wool of the Andes Worsted, A Yarn Review
Wool of the Andes Worsted is a line carried by KnitPicks and sister site WeCrochet, made of 100% Peruvian Highland wool. It comes in a large array of colors (over 90 as of writing this review), some solids and others with a heathered effect. Both of these visual textures come in skeins at 110 yards (100.5 meters)/50 grams (1.76 ounces) for the same price.
Additionally, Wool of the Andes comes in sport, bulky, superwash worsted, superwash bulky, and a worsted tweed line (Peruvian Wool and Donegal Tweed) - several of those variants also being sold in an undyed version (called Bare on the website).
Texture
Unlike what seems to be the general expectation of wool, this has been fairly soft in my experience. I would say it's good for items such as hats, scarves, and fingerless gloves - things that tend to rub against your skin while worn one way or another - as well as items like sweaters and shawls, which may not do that as much. It's also fairly easy to soften wool with handwashing at home, and there are plenty of tutorials/articles out there to learn how to do so.
Flexibility
While not the most drapey yarn I've experienced, it's not bad. It can lend itself to being stiffer or falling loosely - it depends on your own tension, for the most part, which I believe is part of why both sites mention it being an "all-purpose" yarn. I made a pointed wizard/witch style hat crocheting two strands of it fairly tightly, and the cone part of the hat actually stands up partly on its own - though if I wanted it to sit up fully, it'd need support. The brim on the other hand, without support, was almost satisfactory with how well it stood out by itself even with how wide I had made it.
Absorbency
This yarn isn't particularly absorbent, and definitely not suited to items like hand towels or washcloths. When I tested with a small swatch I had crocheted, it mostly just spread the few drips of water around as opposed to picking it up - though it did a little bit. Given this, it is a good candidate for outerwear - while it won't necessarily resist water it doesn't tend to soak it up all too easily either. It still doesn't repel water though, so you're still getting drenched in a torrential downpour.
Weight
At 2.2 yards per gram, this yarn is pretty light - which is to be expected of wool. This makes it a great candidate for a number of larger garments, like sweaters and cardigans, or even dresses and coats. As such, even huge projects like queen-size blankets will remain lighter than if you made them out of something like cotton. This could be advantageous if you don't like a lot of weight, or if you're like me and prefer heavy blankets - not so much.
With all these factors in mind, I would definitely recommend Wool of the Andes Worsted for those wanting to try out wool and maybe as a wool in general. It is a little more demanding with its maintenance requirements than cotton and acrylic, in the department of care - if you follow the label's instructions of "Hand Wash/Dry Flat" - but even so should be fairly easy to deal with. My own experience with wool yarns is somewhat limited, but with all these things considered I think it's worth a try at least.
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