Yarns For Serious Knitters
A good yarn shop is a necessity for a serious knitter. There are a large variety of yarns available. You can find almost any color or color combination to incorporate into a project. Choosing the right color and texture is sometimes the most fun. It can also be fun trying to choose from several different colors to give your project a unique touch.
Before choosing a color, a knitter first needs to decide the type of fiber that is appropriate for their project. Natural fibers come in cashmere, mohair, alpaca, cotton and wool. There is also a long list of hand dyed products available for those who choose not to use the natural fibers. Many knitters who are knowledgeable about their yarns know that it is important to use the highest quality yarn they can and choose to only use skeins produced in Australia, as they have a reputation for good quality and selection. This decision is far more important than color or texture.
The question of how to decide the quantity of knitting yarn that you will need can be answered with a tension square. The next step would be to figure out what ply you need. Ply is generally determined by matching it to pattern ply. Crochet patterns can be found on the internet, in books and in magazines, just to name a few. The wrapper for the yarn skein also usually has a free pattern on it. The good part about this is that the pattern and the yarn will match. The internet has many different places that a knitter can go for information about yarns, crocheting and needles, and a knitting blog or live chat rooms are also available to communicate with other knitters. Magazines and books are also good sources for crochet patterns and detailed instructions on how to perform certain stitches.
Knitting can turn out to be quite an investment. However, there are some good quality yarns available at good prices. Low cost, good quality ones include “Aran,” available in two, three and four ply, and “Double Knit.” Several cotton products, which are made of eighty percent cotton, are available for knitting fashion garments. These include Milan, Apache, Sirocco, Gypsy and Amore. One yarn that is very fuzzy and soft is a yarn called Eskimo DK. Tuscany is a very nice, high quality yarn that is good for sweaters, hats and scarves. For ladder knitting, choose Firefly and Illusion. Several metallic types that sparkle are called Medici and Vegas. Wool blend types are good for knitting winter garments.
By Crafts Editor
