Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

For over 20 years, my family lived on a small farm in rural Georgia and although I loved country life, there were some drawbacks. Where most of my neighbors complained that there was no mall in our county, what I missed most were the specialty yarn and fabric shops that I had so enjoyed while living in Atlanta. Sure, we had two feed stores not 15 minutes away, but I had to drive about 60 miles to get to my local yarn shop (LYS). As LYS visits were few and far between, knitting magazines were my connection to new yarns and designs. I would spend hours combing through the pages of patterns and photos, gleaning for projects. A few LYS owners, happy to take phone orders and ship my project materials, kept my knitting needles busy turning out my favorite projects - sweaters and hats.

Although eventually we did get a big box craft store in the area, visits there were most often disappointing. In their aisles, I never found the specialty yarns and notions that were advertised in my favorite knitting magazines and the yarns they did stock had little variety. So many of the craft store yarns were cheaply produced synthetics, most often acrylics. I disliked the flat, vat dyed colors and the squeaky feel of the acrylic plies. The yarns reminded me of double knit pantsuits and this gal has always preferred natural fibers.

These days, I still love my knitting magazines and luxury fibers, but rather than raising kids and feeding horses, I teach people knitting and crochet. I also help Luke decide which yarns will fill the shelves at Rare Purls. With the current economy, many crafters (including me!) are having to deal with a smaller budget. With this in mind, Luke and I decided to take a second look at some of the more affordable synthetic and synthetic blend yarns offered by our suppliers.

Through advances in technology, synthetic fiber yarns have come a long way. Though the crunchy, orlon acrylic yarns of the 70's were a far cry from a nice wool, now many of the man made fibers are more finely spun, producing a much softer yarn. Other technological improvements are the methods used for dying. In the early '70's, a gadget was invented to apply different colors of dye to the yarn in sections, giving us the wildly popular variegated yarns. These allowed knitters to make projects with multiple colors, without the work of fair isle, intarsia, and striping techniques. Now, new technology has taken us beyond simple variegated yarns! There is computer assisted machinery at many mills that can space dye yarns to self stripe, mimic fair isle, pattern, and blend colors in many new and interesting combinations. Even the look of a luxury hand painted hank can be approximated in a modern yarn mill and for a fraction of the cost.

Even with better synthetic yarns available, there are still considerations when choosing them. First, acrylic fibers are manufactured, usually in Turkey, from fossil fuel. They are highly flammable and when ignited, give off noxious fumes that are suspected of being carcinogenic. For that reason, they would not be my choice for infant's and children's sleepwear or bedding. Even the yarns that are treated with flame retardants concern me. Will multiple washes take away the effectiveness of the retardant? I simply cannot say and there are certainly more prudent choices out there. Another issue with acrylic yarns is pilling. Pilling is those little balls of fiber that accumulate on knit and woven fabrics. It is caused by abrasion, either through wear or laundering. Acrylic yarns are often utilized for easy care projects, those destined for the washing machine and dryer. The agitation, along with the company of towels and jeans in a washer, delivers a load of abrasion which causes pilling. I have found that my acrylic projects pill less when I hand wash them, then dry flat. If you do add your washable hand knits to a load, placing them in a zippered nylon bag will cut down on pilling.

As for how our customers like the new synthetic yarns, they are buying them, especially for charity projects and easy care gifts. Our best selling 100% acrylic yarn is Marble Chunky, distributed by SMC, previously Kertzer Yarns. The fibers are spun lofty to incorporate trapped air and the result is a nice, economical, bulky yarn with great yardage. The two marled plies work up into a lovely self striping colorway, giving garments and accessories interest with ease. The huge 341 yard skeins are only $13.98

Another 100% synthetic yarn that is getting good reviews is Fusion, a soft chenille, multicolor yarn with cheery colorways. The colors are eye catching and the knit fabric soft and fuzzy. The huge 200 gram skeins have a whopping 306 yards, keeping project costs for bulky garments to a minimum.

Of the new budget yarns we have stocked, my favorites are those that have a healthy portion of wool in the blend. The crimp and elasticity of wool, a protein fiber, combines with the easy care and economy of acrylic to make some very nice yarns. SMC Tweed Montage, an acrylic/wool blend yarn, delivers several desirable characteristics. The wool component supplies a hand more comparable to the animal fiber yarns we love. With long repeats of color and classic tweed flecks, this yarn quickly knits into attractive garments and accessories. My favorite yarn rep. gave us a free patten for a darling, self tie wrap that quickly knits up in the bulky acrylic/wool blend. I enjoyed the knitting, as have many of our customers. The wrap takes only 2 of the 247 yard skeins for a project cost of less than $32.

Another winner is Monsoon, a James C. Brett 70%acrylic/30% wool blend yarn, also distributed by SMC. The gorgeous, soft yarn is dyed in long stripes of saturated colorways, reminiscent of Noro's widely popular luxury yarns, but without the price tag. Woodlander DK, another wool/acrylic blend from James C. Brett, has more subtle colorways. The feel of this yarn is yummy and the color shading is perfect for classic vests and pullovers. SMC also offers an exciting collection of patterns that includes all of these yarns, single patterns starting as low as $3.25.

Bottom line, though I still choose natural fibers for small projects, I can see how the new wool/synthetic blends are good options for quick bulky sweaters and easy care throws. They keep the project cost low, so often a consideration these days, while offering a machine washable garment or home decor item. These yarns are also a good choice for charity knitting and gift knits when project cost is a factor. With more of our dollars going towards everything from gasoline to food, it is nice to know that when it comes to yarn, there are many economical options that are still a pleasure to knit and gift.

Happy knitting!
Kay Mather

Copyright October 2011