Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

Whether you have come across yarn that you just cannot leave behind you in the shop or a pattern simply perfect for your style, pairing yarn to pattern cannot be left to chance. In a perfect world, we would love the yarn recommended by the designer and it would be found only steps away in our favorite color. Not only would it be readily available, but it would cost no more than we would want to spend. But realistically, all too often, that's just not the case. If the pattern is several years old, your chances begin to drop that the yarn is still available and colors are discontinued at even a faster clip than yarns. Also not all shops carry all yarns lines and even if they carry the line, they may not carry all yarns within the line. For example, at Rare Purls, we stock nearly every yarn in the Elsebeth Lavold line and in many colors, yet there are a few yarns we have yet to stock. Of course, most shops are happy to special order yarns in lines they regularly stock, but then there is a wait. In the U.S., most Noro yarns stay back ordered and it can take months to get in a specific color of yarn.

So, as I have discussed in earlier articles, we often find ourselves looking for a suitable substitute yarn. I am not going to rehash how to determine a good substitute yarn by weight. For that, check the Rare Purls archives January 22, 2008 and February 14, 2008. Even when you find a yarn that knits up to the recommended gauge on the suggested size needle, there are other issues to consider. For example, a summer shell is more comfortable in cotton, silk, ramie, or my personal favorites, linen or hemp. Plant fibers are known for being breathably cool. Although linen tends to be a bit pricey, I think it reigns supreme for a skirt with lovely drape, well worth the small investment. A fellow Noble Knitter from my Wednesday evening group completed a tiered skirt knit in Louet's Euroflax that was stunning. It had so much movement and the colors were exceptionally elegant, a real show stopper. Another plus, after multiple washings and even the heat from an iron, the fabric continued to soften and the colors remained true.

For cooler weather, most of us who appreciate fine yarns turn to wool. Wool yarns are available in every weight, a mind boggling array of colors, and in a a variety of styles and blends. Mohair, cashmere, angora and alpaca are also very popular for keeping warm. Alpaca is actually four times warmer than wool, due to its natural hollow core fiber. A sweater knit in sport weight alpaca will be warm without added bulk, something that as a pleasingly plump woman, I adore. These animal fibers can be smooth, thick and thin, boucle, brushed, plied, or woolen. It will not be difficult to find a substitute yarn when working within this most popular group.

But there are many considerations other than matching yarn to a season. I love the look of brushed mohair, but the halo of this fiber adds pounds to my appearance. My friend Kathie knit a sweater in mohair and her dear hubby commented that it looked like "mo' hair" than she needed! When knitting a super bulky pullover, cashmere yarn would be prohibitively expensive, for me at least, and far too warm for my Georgia winters. People who can wear wool without an itch or sneeze, may be miserable with a cloud of angora near their face and nose. There are also practical considerations. A baby blanket for every day use needs to be machine washable and preferably able to weather a dryer, where a woman's scarf is the perfect opportunity to use a luxury fiber, for example a silk or cashmere yarn. Large projects such as afghans need more affordable yarns, if your budget is anything like mine.

Durability is yet another factor to consider. Wool socks will last much longer if 10-25% nylon is blended into the fiber. Where acrylic yarns pill with wear, a plied worsted wool will look great for years to come. Even within the wide range of wool yarns, some, like merino, are better suited for next to the skin, where more coarse fleeces make excellent outerwear.

So, we find a yarn that suits our purpose and will work with our pattern. A final consideration is to pair the yarn with the stitch pattern. If you are working with cables or any stitch pattern that you want to be crisp and textural, a smooth, round yarn will work best. A fuzzy yarn such as chenille would waste the effort required for a fisherman knit sweater. Even a softly textured cotton yarn will change the impressive look of a double moss pattern stitch, where a smooth plied wool will make it pop. Silk is always a good choice to enhance stitch detail.

Although recognized pattern designers will have taken purpose into consideration when recommending a yarn, remember, we do not live in a perfect world. Although I haven't nearly covered every option for when pairing yarn with purpose, I do think you now have some good guidelines. Knit on my friend!!

Next week, I will explore the big wide world of novelty yarns. Don't want to miss it? Subscribe to Kay's Korner - A Knitter's Notes and never miss a featured article. As always, we love hearing from you. If you have a question regarding knitting or crochet or would like to suggest a topic, contact me at kmather@rarepurls.net.

On Kay's Needles - The lace bug has bitten me and even though I have created lovely lace with crochet, my lace knitting has been limited to mostly accents and trims. This week I became inspired and more ambitious and cast on a feather and fan lace stitch stole using Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool in color #14, a muted, soft green. Feather and fan is an easy lace stitch pattern using knit and purl stitches yarn over , and knit two together in only one row of the four row repeats, the other three being either all knit or purl. So easy I can knit it at my Wednesday evening knitting circle, where I talk, listen, and sip, without missing a stitch. I find the Silky Wool a very good choice for beautiful stitch definition. On size 4 US Addi turbos, I'm making excellent progress and enjoying every minute!

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

Let's face it, new things create some excitement for most of us, whether it's a new baby, a new job, a slim new cell phone, or a new model car. As knitters, new yarns grab our attention season after season. With summer in the air, I look to cotton as my warm weather fiber staple, with soy, hemp, bamboo, and linen close behind.

There are many varieties of cotton yarns from which to choose. Of course they are available in every weight, from tablecloth cotton to bulky, but they are also grouped by where and how the fiber was grown and how it was processed. For example, On Line's Linie 12, familiarly known as Clip, is 100% Mako Egyptian cotton, an extra long staple cotton favored for high end goods, especially bed linens. The long staple length of the fibers makes a superior yarn, as well.

Although the term Egyptian cotton is commonly used in advertising and marketing, the plant which bears this fiber originated in America. In fact, pima cotton, which includes Egyptian, Extra Long Staple, Creole, Sea Island, and other varieties of cotton, is a species of plant that originated in Peru and has been widely cultivated for many years. Along with its value as a fabric fiber, its antifungal and medicinal features cemented its place in American agriculture.

But as cotton is a pesticide intensive crop, it is susceptible to some very aggressive natural enemies. A large percentage of all pesticides used worldwide go to protecting cotton crops. The overwhelming popularity of cotton fiber for clothing and linens, as well as a multitude of other uses, prompted agriculturalists interested in protecting our environment to come up with ways to grow this sustainable fiber organically. Simple crop rotation, the use of natural enemies of the harmful insects, and organic fertilizers have made organic cotton a popular and lucrative crop. From 2003 to 2008, the production of organic cotton grew 22.7% and is expected to grow 15.5% in 2008 alone. To be deemed organic, no pesticides, nonorganic fertilizers, synthetic hormones, irradiation, antibiotics, or genetic engineering can be used in producing the crop. To insure that consumers are truly receiving an eco-friendly product, large producers must be inspected by a third party, USDA accredited agency to be certified organic.

On Kay's Needles

My sister's only son and his wife are expecting a baby boy this fall. Babies are a great reason to get knitting needles clicking! Most baby blanket patterns knit up a little too small for my liking. Even though I was itching to try the new Bebe Cotsoy or Pima Fresca we got in, I opted for Cascade 220 Superwash in a baby blue. Anything for a baby that is washable is doing the new mom a favor. My first attempt, I began knitting my design double stranded on US #13 needles, but about 1/3 way to being finished, I decided the knit fabric was too bulky. I was also using a lot of yarn, as I had already used two 100 gram balls. I unraveled my work and began again using a #8 US Addi Turbo circular and a single strand of the Cascade Superwash. The blanket has a 3 inch double moss stitch border all around with the main stitch pattern being a broken rib. I am so pleased at the delicacy of the smaller stitches - so much more baby like! The blanket will be warm from both the wool fiber and the all over texture, which will insulate. One more stitch pattern repeat and I will add the final border, using only 3 balls for a 29" x 32" blanket. In a few hours, Blake's Blanket will be ready to wrap for a baby shower.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

Next time you flip through a pattern book and choose a fabulous project to hand knit, please give the pattern designer a moment of love. When I refer to someone as a designer, I do not mean the courageous knitter who either substitutes a different yarn or adds a few rows to make sleeves a bit longer. I am referring to the person who begins a design with a blank sheet of paper and an idea. Although I have both altered many sweater patterns and designed throws and accessories, sweater designs are a relatively new skill for me. So that you may appreciate the effort behind the stunning abundance of sweater patterns available to today's knitters, I thought I would take you through some of the ups and downs of designing Slip Into Spring, my latest pattern.

The inspiration for this comfy, cotton blend top was the yarn, Amerino by Laines du Nord. The two plies of differing textures blend color as well as interest, with the yarn available in seven lovely, warm weather colorways. As I handled the yarn, an image of a fairly loose fitting, casual top came to mind, something suitable for active spring/summer days. I knew the yarn could produce a fairly firm fabric with enough body for a gentle tenting from a softly empire waist and also for a structured squared neckline. As I began to swatch, I was inspired to add slipped stitches to stockinette to add a subtle striping. This became stitch pattern 2. The slipped stockinette was lovely, but the skirt portion of the top begged for a greater definition of the slipped stitches and also more texture, so another stitch pattern was developed and swatched, which became stitch pattern 1. I must tell you, swatching has to be a designer's best friend.

The nature of the second slipped stitch pattern was a firmer more narrow fabric, which I used to slightly nip in the empire waist, without decreasing the number of stitches. It also would encase the bustline, but I found it did not lay properly when I bound off for the neckline. I could have solved this with a crochet finishing, but wanted the pattern workable for a novice knitter with no crochet skills. So, I tried binding off on both right and wrong sides, both knitwise and purlwise, but was not pleased with the effect. Had I been knitting with a more elastic fiber, such as wool, blocking would have solved much of the problem with the neckline, but Amerino is a cotton/acrylic blend, not as forgiving as properly blocked animal fibers. Finally, I decided to use ribbing for the neckline and shoulder sections, maintaining my line of slipped stitches. It was necessary to go down from the #10 ½ US needles, to a #9 US in order for the modified 1 x 1 ribbing, stitch pattern 3, to maintain my working gauge. All I had left to do was to decide on the length I wanted my loose fitting, short sleeves and write the instructions so that the sleeve cap would correlate with my armhole shaping. Then the design was complete.

Now, my pattern and sample sweater were customized to fit me. My 41" bust puts me in the size large range, but patterns need to fit a variety of sizes. As "Slip into Spring" is not close fitting, I decided that if I made it to fit small, medium, large, and extra large, it would fit women with busts from 33 inches to 46 inches. Using simple math and basic design concepts, I could determine the changes in the number of stitches and rows throughout the pattern to allow the desired range of sizes.

With my pattern completed, the all important sample knit got underway. With any pattern, it is best to have the sample worked up by someone other than the designer, in fact many publishers require it. This insures that the instructions are clear and that consumers will attain satisfactory results when they follow the pattern. "Slip into Spring" will be available as a Rare Purls Original kit later this summer.

On Kay's Needles

The fringe is being added to a new throw I worked up using a 100% wool tweed from Valley Yarns, striped with rows of Plymouth's Oakmont. The throws full length was cast on, so much of the fringe was in place simply by leaving long tails at each tie on and tie off when changing yarns. I love the design element of the raised rows of Oakmont. The neutral palette will make this throw at home in a wide variety of settings.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

Gifting a hand made item is a moment of pride. Make sure that your finished project is just that, finished. So many times in our rush to wrap, we overlook or just plain ignore that important last paragraph of the pattern instructions, "finishing." The designer had a good reason for including those final instructions, from sewing in sleeves to blocking and working in the loose ends from tie ons. So many times the finishing instructions are what take our project from completed to fabulous.

The blocking process insures that not only our projects will be the proper size, but also that the stitches will be set. The spring in animal fibers will respond favorably to the moisture used in blocking. Even cotton items take on a new look when properly finished. Lace stitches, when rinsed and pinned open, show off their intricacy and true beauty. I could go on and on discussing the virtues of proper blocking, so please trust me on this one, just do it.

Don't forget to include the care instructions when gifting a hand made item. I always include a ball band from the yarn used, which shows the fiber content and usually, the best method of cleaning to use. It is also a good idea to tuck a little bobbin of the yarn in the gift, so a small repair can be effected, if necessary. To add a touch of panache to your presentation, custom woven labels can be ordered on the internet and at many craft shops. (Mine read "Rare Purls Original.")

Still on my needles this week is the Elsebeth Lavold pullover "Happy" knitted up in her yarn Hempathy. After several years of projects using heavier weight yarns, I am enjoying working with this finer weight yarn on US #6 needles. So many lovely hours of knitting for my yarn investment and the finished project promises to be the perfect weight for a mild Georgia winter. I have also begun a spectacular cardigan worked in 14 different yarns, blended to perfection. I came across the yarn and pattern when checking my craft closet for UFO's (unfinished objects.) I had made the swatch, knit three rows, and tucked it away in a plastic project storage box for another day. Now it is a gift to myself.

We are having some delays getting all of our new yarn listed on rarepurls.net, but please feel free to contact us at 678-373-3020 or at kmather@rarepurls.net and we will do our best to find the yarn for your needs.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

May 10, 2008

Even though I recently turned 52, I consider myself a work in progress and continue to try new activities, especially ones associated with the fiber arts. Sure I have crocheted and knit for 40 years, but only in the last decade have I committed to becoming a true fiber artist. My appetite for learning all things fiber has taken me down many interesting paths. As in all endeavors, if you do something long enough , somewhere, somehow, you are going to goof up. The trick is to learn as much, if not more, from our mistakes as we do from our successes.

Several years ago, felting became the latest craze, whether needle felting designs onto knit fabric, felting knit projects in the washing machine, or felting items by hand. My first felted project was happenstance, when as a teen I tossed one of my nicest wool pullovers in the washer and dryer, where it came out a ¾ inch thick toddler sized calamity. I quickly hid it under empty soap boxes in Mum's laundry room trash, never to be seen or mentioned again. Many years later, I saw a pattern for a jaunty felted hat at my local yarn shop, knitted in Wool Pak 14 ply New Zealand wool. My hat turned out so well that I made two for myself and several women commissioned me to make them one for themselves.

For those of you unfamiliar with the felting process, any animal fiber when exposed to agitation and heated water with a dash of detergent, will felt. This means the item will shrink and the fibers fuse together, leaving a sturdy fabric that will not pick and can be cut to size without raveling. Felted fibers are especially useful for hats, handbags, and placemats, but do not limit yourself! I may be showing my age, but do you remember the "boiled wool" jackets so popular in the 70's and 80's? They were felted. It is tiny scales on the fibers, invisible to the naked eye, which allow animal fibers to felt. They lock together when agitated with heated water and detergent enhances the process. Wool seems to be the animal fiber that gives the most consistent result, but as long as you swatch, felt, then evaluate the swatch, any animal fiber can be used. Very desirable outcomes are found when mixing animal fibers with novelty yarns. When the wool or other animal fiber felts, the synthetic novelty yarns become more prominent and take front stage.

I invite you to experiment. A word of caution: superwash wool and very white wool do not felt as they are processed with chemicals that negate the scales. They will no longer felt. Also, once fibers have felted, there is no going back. You cannot unfelt, so be sure to check the felting progress often to assure your desired result. I strongly recommend the use of latex gloves, in the weight used to wash dishes such as Playtex gloves, when fishing your felting out of the hot, soapy water. They will allow easy manipulation of the item, without scalding your hands in the process. It helps to have a measuring tape handy, as well.

As this article is titled that knitting never felt worse, let me advise you of other pitfalls. My mother's lovely off white felted hat was returned to me for resizing. She felt the brim was fine, but the band area needed to be tighter. I naively put the hat back in my washer, trying to shrink only the band area. Despite my tugging and checking the hat every minute, the result was an overall shrinkage and as I mentioned, felting cannot be undone My suggestion is to find a reliable pattern, to measure the recipients head circumference, and to block on a head mannequin or suitably sized bowl. Felting shrinks evenly and any tweaks for a large or small head should be addressed while knitting.

Which brings us to my most recent felting endeavor. My family has a simple home theater that has four remote controls. My Japanese rosewood table is where everyone tosses the four remote controls my guys swear are required to enjoy the movie. After seeing multiple mars on the table surface, I set out to knit and felt a tray with an approximately 2 ½ - 3 inch edge. I was confident that with my experience this 10" x 14" x 2 1/2" tray would be a piece of cake. I began by knitting a rectangle from 2 strands of Cascade 220, held together, one a handpaint with the other a coordinating solid. Cascade 220 is widely regarded as the most popular yarn for felting and it comes in more colors than Oprah has long lost cousins. I knew that I should expect 30-35% shrinkage in the felting process and to expect greater shrinkage per row than per stitch. In my haste to complete the tray, I did not aptly compensate for this difference. Although the piece looked perfect in every detail before being felted, my heart sank when I pulled my work from the washer tub. My nipped in corners retained their shaping and the top and bottom edges were slightly concave, just as I had planned, but the sides of the tray where the work was counted in rows were floppy and gaping. Every attempt to reshape was futile and the end result was a bitter disappointment. I could not delude myself into believing that anyone may mistake my hourglass sides for a design element. With a little glue and clipping away some of the excess, the tray will be usable, but the pattern will become part of my "good yarn gone bad" file.

On Kay's Needles
This has been a busy couple of weeks! I had to rip back my sleeves on "Happy" so that the stripes would match properly with the body of the garment. This pattern had a new twist - the sleeves are knit first! I am already contemplating which Lavold pattern I will start next, as I have so enjoyed working with Hempathy, one of the fabulous yarns from her designer line. I am finishing the crew neck on a Mother's Day shell, knit in Jaeger Celeste, a viscose, polyamide, linen blend ribbon yarn. It will complete a set, when paired with a poncho knit in 2007. My openwork stole worked in Linie 12 "Clip", the perennially popular 100% Egyptian cotton yarn from On Line, has become a warm weather staple for me, the perfect accent to casual wear. Worked double strand on large needles, the effect reminds me of broomstick lace.

Happy Knitting!

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather