Yarn Profile: Cancun

First Impressions
Cancun is like confetti on a string. It's made up of a strong core from which evenly spaced, colored flags protrude. When knitted up, it has a lightweight and cool feel that is perfect for summer.

This is not a hug me/squeeze me yarn. The core is moderately hard and scratchy, but for a scarf or other accessory, where you want truly unusual color and texture, it's great.

With one skein and size 11 (US) needles, I made a simple but lovely garter-stitch summer scarf.

Knitting Up
Cancun was surprisingly well behaved. The flags pulled through easily, and only once did my needles snag. This yarn has no elasticity, so you need to pay more attention to your stitches and tug your work at the end of every row. Be sure to cast on and bind off loosely.

The strong core makes it easy to track your stitches and retrieve lost ones. Although not as easy as a plain yarn, Cancun is a heck of a lot easier than Fluff.

Blocking / Washing
Cancun survived the blocking and washing tests beautifully. There was no stretching or fading or bleeding, and the dried swatches looked identical to the unwashed ones.

Do take the time to block your Cancun garments, because the yarn has no bounce or elasticity of its own.

Wearing
The yarn may look fragile from far away, but up close it's a trooper. I couldn't break it with my hands, and I couldn't pull even a small strand from the protruding flags.

A word of advice: The yarn's core is actually composed of many smaller strands that will quickly unravel with wear. To prevent this, tie knots at any loose ends.

Conclusion
Italians make gorgeous scarves. Cancun proves that they can work their magic on knitted scarves too. This yarn is extremely easy to knit with and in just a few hours you can produce an eye-catching accessory.

Cancun and Fluff are great yarns to stock for last-minute gifts. Unlike Fluff, Cancun provides a well defined, airy but textured look that is entirely appropriate for summer. And, at $11 per skein, it may be the cheapest Italian scarf on the market.

Reader Comments
"This review made me curious to see if it was in the lys. I love the color in the review and a Italian scarf sounds like fun." myshortcuts, 7/13/2001

If your LYS doesn't carry Cancun, you can simply click on the link to your right and go to Halcyon Yarn's online store. They carry it, and that's where I got the skein for this review! -Clara