Some Thoughts About Yarn (Mostly)

Disclaimer….. All statements posted here are my personal preferences and opinions and although, there may be proof to back up and prove that my preferences and opinions are correct (or maybe even incorrect), I am offering no substantiating proof here.  I believe that for every knitter in existence there are personal preferences and opinions and we all have a right to have them.  I also believe that for every knitter in existence there is a way to knit.  The way I knit, may not be the way you knit, but that doesn’t mean either one is the only “correct” way to knit or the “wrong” way to knit.  I do believe that we can learn from each other and if someone has a better/easier way to do something than the way I am doing it, I for sure will be adopting it.

I already told you that I have never blogged before, so I am pretty much making this up as I go.  I have decided that I should share with you things I have learned over the years of knitting (and crocheting, but I ate to admit to anyone that I even know how to crochet).  With that in mind, today I want to talk about yarn.  The Yarn Craft Council has come up with suggested yarn standards.  www.YarnStandards.com   http://www.craftyarncouncil.jade-server.com/files/s-and-g.pdf  actually, the Yarn Craft Council website is a wealth of information and if you are going to get serious about knitting and/or crocheting, you should bookmark this site.  http://www.craftyarncouncil.com

I am not an expert on yarn, but I am the first to admit that I am extremely opinionated when it comes to yarn or rather the fiber in the yarn.  My word, I think it would take a college degree in yarn to even half way understand all the aspects of yarn.  That’s why I gave you the links to glean your own information and make your own decisions of what you prefer to use and wear.  Personally, I prefer wool of wool and certain natural combinations, in fact, if I never had to knit anything else again in my life, I would be perfectly happy with that.  I am totally in love with Merino wool and silk combinations.  It is totally awesome pairing!  That said I do knit with synthetics from time to time, usually acrylic.  The reason I knit synthetics is that most people I knit for would not give proper care to wool or other natural fibers.  They do now have Superwash wool, that you can machine wash; making care of items knit with this yarn a bit easier.  I do want to warn you that even the Superwash will felt, if not taken care of properly.  It is recommended that you put any machine washable hand knit or hand crocheted item in a lingerie bag when washing in the machine.  Some Superwash wools say you can dry in the dryer, but I strongly recommend you not try that. If you MUST wash in the machine, I recommend these steps (NOTE THIS APPLIES ONLY TO YARN LABELED MACHINE WASHABLE – we will discuss hand washing another day):

1.    I prefer a front loading washer as there is much less agitation and stress put on all your clothes and especially your hand knits.  If you don’t have a front loader, not to worry, just use the gentle cycle of what you have.

2.    Measure garment in all directions

3.    Put in zippered lingerie bag and zip shut

4.    Wash on gentle

5.    When the wash cycle is complete, remove from the lingerie bag supporting the item at all times so as not to stretch the fibers used in the garment.

6.    Lay flat (DO NOT HANG!!) shaping into the before washing shape and measurements to dry on a thick bath towel out of the way so it can take its time drying. LET DRY COMPLETELY!! I have an ironing board that hangs from a door that I put down in working position and put my blocking board on it and this is where my hand knits are blocked and dried.  It isn’t exactly out of the way, but in my tiny little space is the best I can do.

7.    Once your garment is dried, fold and put away flat.  DO NOT HANG!!

Okay, so that is how I recommend caring for your hand knits especially if you have natural fiber hand knits.  If you have acrylic hand knits, do not dry in a hot dryer; turn down to no higher than Permanent Press, but preferably gentle or whatever is below the Permanent Press.

Now, let me tell you why I prefer wool and natural fibers.  Wool is like working with warm putty.  You can mold, sculpt and manipulate it in ways that you can never do with synthetics or some other fibers such as cotton, linen, etc.  Wool has such a soft, cuddly feel where as some other fibers are not.  A lot of people will say that they are allergic to wool and some (actually very few really) people most likely are allergic to the lanolin in the wool, but most often the reason some people feel they are allergic to the wool is the “extra” little items that are left in the fiber such as tiny bits of straw and such like makes the yarn scratchy and rather than breaking out in a rash, they are being scratched by the “extras” left in the yarn.. If you choose good quality yarn and fiber, there will be little to none of the “extras”.

If you aren’t going to take care of good woolen hand knits and I am going to knit for you, then I will definitely not make you anything out of good yarn.  You will get good ole acrylic.  The garment will be nice, because it is lovingly hand knit for someone I love and my hand knits are quite nice, but it will be inferior just because it is acrylic instead of lovely wool or some blend of natural fibers.

I grew up in an era when “felting” was a bad word.  You did not want your lovely woolens to shrink and/or felt.  Now, some people knit items purposefully to felt, but I am a snob there as well.  I doubt that I will ever knit something to purposefully felt.  I won’t say “never”, because you know they say, “Never say Never.”

Not only am I a snob about the fiber I prefer to knit with, but I am also a bit of a snob as to the size of the yarn.  If you looked at the yarn standards you will understand this next bit better.  I DON’T LIKE FAT YARN.  About the thickest yarn I will ever knit with is worsted weight/4 if you are going by the yarn standards charts.  I really prefer knitting with smaller yarns, in fact the smaller the better.  I don’t mind that it takes thousands and thousands of stitches to get around (I recently knit an item that by the last inch each row had over 1,500 stitches).  I currently have two favorite yarns that I really love working with.  You can purchase any of the yarns listed below at Country Yarns 119 Avenue B Snohomish, WA, 98290.  And while I am being so self opinionated…. This is the best yarn shop in Washington State.

1.    Lollipop Cabin Yarn is my absolute favorite.  This yarn is the nicest yarn I have EVER knit with.  If you don’t want to knit on such a small gauge, you can knit worsted weight/4 by holding two strands together.  http://lollipopcabin.com Lollipop Cabin is 400 yards of organic wool sock yarn (1).  Each skein is one-of-a-kind, individually hand-dyed in a wee little cabin with collected rain water from the Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains. To contact, email: lollipopcabin@gmail.com.   You may also see this yarn at the 2011 MADRONA FIBER ARTS WINTER RETREAT
FEBRUARY 17-20, 2011 Hotel Murano, Tacoma, Washington

2.    Cleckheaton Country 8 ply machine washable pure wool from Australia.  The label says it is a DK/ 3, but it is really a worsted/4 (this is from Australia where they must not be using the yarn standards I mentioned above).  This brand has solids, tweeds and some painted yarn colors.

3.    A close 3^rd is several different wool/silk combos.  Merino/silk is the very best just because Merino is the very best wool you can get your hands on.

Tomorrow maybe I will pass on a tip I learned from the LYS owner to get as much water as possible out of your hand washed woolen garments.  For now, I wish you happy knitting.

I pray you are all always happy, blessed, loved and healthy.

Have a God filled day,

V