If you follow me on Instagram then you’ve probably noticed I’ve been posting photos of a fur yarn. It’s called Go For Faux and it’s sold by Lion Brand Yarn. It’s very on-trend for this Winter. There’s faux fur blankets and jackets, and cropped sweaters popping up everywhere. I’m working on a Go For Faux blanket and finished a simple pullover sweater. I used different colors for each project and had slightly different experiences with them.
It sheds. That’s been the number one question. My experience so far is some colors shed more than others. The pastels (blue, white, & pink) seem to have more shedding than Bear and Pomeranian. I knit a sweater (that took a total of 2 evenings!) in the Blue Bengal colorway and it created a disaster in my apartment. The photo below is an example, but doesn’t truly convey the full extent of the shedding.
I didn’t mind the yarn getting all over me since I expected the shedding before casting on. The cats cats didn’t seem to care either. The dog and the boyfriend might have had more of a problem. It got in the dog’s mouth and the boyfriend found it was irritating his face.
How soft the fabric is and how fast the sweater went made me feel ok about the fur particles flying around everywhere while I was knitting. Sort of an ends justify the means kinda thing. I used US size 15 needles and 6 skeins of yarn to complete my sweater. Rick lovingly calls it my “Sexy Blue Carpet Sweater.”
After I was done assembling the sweater I tossed it in the wash. Delicate cycle (cold water) with regular laundry soap and then in the dryer on delicate for a half hour. The lint tray was FULL! But the sweater held up and didn’t shrink. The shedding seemed minimal. I rubbed it on my black leggings to see what happened and there was some fuzz, but none of the flying clumps of faux fur that was happening pre-washing.
I wore the Sexy Blue sweater to work this week. It’s warm! In the office I was actually wishing I’d brought a t-shirt or a flannel to put on instead of the sweater. Since it’s 100% polyester it doesn’t have much breathability. If I’d knit tighter I might have died of a hot flash. But hey, if I was out in the snow and wanted to look good I’d probably have been pretty comfortable.
Unfortunately I wasn’t super impressed with how the fabric held up on the sleeves. The body was fine. But the sleeve of my right arm, which was gliding across my desk all day using the computer or writing, got very worn looking. Picture a little matted and not “fresh” looking. The fur was pressed down and slightly clumpy.
The blanket using the Bear colorway is amazing! I’m almost done and will have used 12 skeins in total. This color doesn’t shed like the blue. It’s soft and fluffy and will become my new favorite blanket. I’ll have to fight the cats and dog for it, though. They’re all already trying to claim it as their own! I have to ship the blanket off for photographs once I’m done knitting. I’ll be counting the days until I get it back!
Pros and Cons
- Con – It sheds like crazy
- Con – It adds more pounds to your figure than a camera
- Con – High friction areas get matted quickly
- Pro – It’s super soft
- Pro – It works up crazy fast
- Pro – It’s on trend
- Pro – It’s machine wash/dry
- Pro – It’s vegan! The fur look without harming animals
Ending Thoughts
Would I use it again? Yes. I’m actually already planning another design that uses the Chinchilla colorway as an edging only. I wouldn’t use it again for a full sweater due to the sleeves. Blankets, pillows, accessories, and garment accents/edges are what I think Go For Faux is best suited for. I’m not sure I would personally want to crochet this yarn. 1) I just generally like knitting better and 2) I feel like it might be hard to see where to put the crochet hook. With that said, I have not actually tried crocheting it.
Mama In A Stitch did work up a crochet pattern for the yarn. You can get the pattern on her website or the kit (yarn and pattern) on LionBrand.com. If you plan on working with Go For Faux it’s worth taking a read through her post to form a fuller picture before diving in.
