Katia Triana vs Starbella

After making my Starbella scarf, I was determined not to use that yarn again.  But the owner of the yarn shop told me that the self-ruffling yarn she carries (Katia Triana) is much higher quality than the self-ruffling yarn you can find at a regular craft store.  The Katia Triana I bought was about $9/a skein more expensive than the Starbella.  But they were both equally unpleasant to knit with.  When you are knitting with regular yarn, you can control how tightly the stitches are held on the needles.  When you are knitting with one of these self-ruffling yarns, you use the holes in the yarn tape to cast on your stitches.  There isn't a way to tighten up the stitches, and if you aren't careful, the stiches can just slide off  the bottom end of the needles. 

As far as the yarn quality goes, I can't tell a difference.  The Katia Triana might be a little bit wider than Starbella, so the scarf might be a little fuller.  I think some of the fullness will disappear with wearing, though, as the scarf itself stretches out a little.  Both the scarves are fun to look at and touch.  A friend of mine says hers gets snagged on EVERYTHING, so use care when selecting jewelry if you are wearing a scarf like this.

Here's a picture of both scarves (Starbella is pink; Katia Triana is blue).