Louet Gems Fingering is a worsted-spun yarn with a tight twist to minimize pilling while maintaining a high elasticity. This combination allows for excellent stitch definition, making cable designs truly come to life.

Louet Gems Fingering is:

• Pill-resistant and hard-wearing
• Prickle-proof and scrumptiously soft
• Machine washable & dryable
• Spun for amazing stitch definition
• 100% merino
• 50 grams / 185 yards per skein

Why worsted spun?
(as opposed to woolen spun)

When a yarn is worsted spun, all of the fibers are aligned, and lay together nicely. It means that the yarn has a fabulous stitch definition, and is also ‘prickle-proof’.

Some customers pick up Gems and feel how soft it is… and don’t believe it’s really wool! It is! It’s a 22 micron, 100% merino made from South African wool from non-mulesed sheep. (If you aren’t familiar with the practice of mulesing, you can read about it here.)

The minimum staple length for the merino used in Gems is 90mm (3.6″ long), which is VERY long for a merino (known for its short staple lengths!). The short staple lengths that many other yarns feature means that merino has developed a reputation for pilling… that’s because the short fibers easily work their way out of the twist and create a ‘pill’. Not Gems. While every yarn *can* pill, Gems Fingering is pill-resistant, a much harder-wearing yarn than any other Merino yarn on the market.

Hercosett-Treated is Better than Superwash!

There are several ways to make wool machine-washable. Technically speaking, the term ‘superwash’ is a patented process, and these yarns can be machine-washed, but it is recommended that they are laid flat to dry (i.e. not put in a washing machine).

Louet Gems Fingering is Hercosett-treated (a resin is applied to the yarn to keep the scales from felting with each other) and does not use the superwash process. It’s even better than superwash! Gems can be washed and dried in the dryer. Fabulous, right?

Louet Gems Fingering Details

• Weight: 2-ply fingering
• Yardage: 185 yards (169 meters)
• Skein weight: 50 grams (1.76 ounces)
• Content: 100% Hercosett-treated (superwash) merino wool
• Care: Machine wash on gentle cycle using a non-bleach, mild soap. Dry the garment or item in your dryer on a medium setting for 15 minutes, then lay flat to finish.