Yarns Reference Library 90+ pages 'text book'

To discover everything you need to know about all types of Yarns download or view the comprehensive Yarns Reference PDF here (Yarns page 7 to page 101).

Below you can find out about handspun yarn and advice on knitting and caring for silk here.

Handspun Yarn

With this article, I would like to introduce the knitter to the exciting benefits of knitting with handspun yarn. Many shops sell handspun yarn as well as being available by mail from the spinners themselves.

Note: There's also a section on knitting and caring for silk here.

Handspun yarns are as different as the people who spin them, and patterns may have to be adapted. Swatches are essential to discover the gauge, which will work best for the yarn. Therefore, it is important to keep a record of where the yarn was obtained what kind of wool it was spun from and size of needles used for the swatch.

How to make a swatch from handspun wool

1. Cast on roughly 20-24 sts. Begin with a reasonably small needle and knit four rows of garter stitch.

2. Keeping four stitches in garter stitch at each end of each row, work about 2 inches of stockinette stitch using the same size needles.

3. Change to the next size needle and work four rows of garter stitch followed by stocking stitch.

4. Continue in this manner increasing the needle size until you come to the largest size needles you feel are suitable for the yarn.

5. [Keeping a record therefore will help you when you use similar yarns in the future.]

6. This method will also help when using more distinctive commercial yarns such as yarns made from the banana leaf or nettle fiber.

Plying

If you notice that either the vertical rows of stocking stitch slant in your swatch then you need to ply the yarn, or you need to use yarn with less twist in it. Spinning puts a twist into the fibers and a certain amount is necessary in order to hold any fiber together in order to give some strength to the yarn. Thin yarns need more twist than thick yarns. more twist in a yarn will give it bias as well as giving it more strength but this will also cause it to feel coarse and it will therefore lose its 'LOFT' [the number of air spaces between the fibers which give it its warmth] by squeezing out the air spaces in the fiber.