Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

April 23, 2008

When Kermit said "it's not easy being green", Jim Henson penned what was to become a statement about our environment. As I work with Luke on building the Rare Purls website, news of all the trendy, eco-friendly yarns comes across my desk nearly every day. The words organic, renewable, sustainable, green and natural are used to describe yarns made from familiar materials, such as wool or cotton, to extruded fibers made from soy and milk. While doing my best to sort out the vernacular, I see irony in much of the merchandising. Of course, we should all be aware that certain chemicals and growing practices are harmful to the environment, but am I a bad person if I buy regular cotton yarn rather than organic cotton yarn? Will my baby be happier and healthier? What if my organic cotton is not certified organic? Does it make sense to buy wool only from organically grown sheep that is dyed with natural dyes if I have to drive 50 miles further each way to find it? Does using all of that gasoline negate the good of the organic yarn? I have heard so many discussions on this subject, my head may explode! For me, the bottom line is using common sense with an eco-conscience. I simply do the best I can without becoming obsessed over every tiny detail.

But there are products I always do my best to avoid, those labeled "Made in China". That WalMart has launched an advertising campaign asking every WalMart shopper to buy "just one" light bulb or box of detergent from them to help save the planet is ludicrous when so much of their wares are manufactured in China. China has no EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The top 10 most polluted cities in the world are all in China. They have no OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Those inexpensive leather jackets from China were probably tanned by stripped down men immersed in vats of chemicals, using their bodies to stir the hides. There is no FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in China. Both antibiotics and vitamins manufactured in mainland China and imported to the U.S. have been recalled as they were harmful.

WalMart came to be a giant corporation by ad campaigns touting that they sold goods "Made in the USA". Flags were flown and stars and stripes motifs were everywhere in the store. What a difference 20 years make. I am not a racist and I respect Chinese culture, but every piece of Chinese merchandise supports the country with the very worst policies on human rights. We are funding the atrocities in Tibet when we save a few bucks by purchasing Chinese goods. So many American jobs have been lost to cheap foreign labor, especially those in manufacturing everything from clothing to kitchen gadgets. Our GNP (Gross National Product, an indicator of economic strength) now relies on exporting technology and food, rather than the widely diverse exports of 50 years ago. In my lifetime, America has gone from banning goods from mainland China to becoming dependent on them.

The yarn industry is effected by the influx of inexpensive Chinese goods as well. Personally, I will not use any yarn labeled "Made in China". Although China does produce most of the world's silk and cashmere, most Chinese yarn I see are synthetics. The U.S. Produces many quality yarns, for example Brown Sheep Yarns are lovely. I have no problem buying yarns from Peru, France, Italy, New Zealand or any of the other nations who produce fine yarns, but I draw the line when I know the yarns are being manufactured without regard to human suffering and our environment. I sincerely hope all of you will give this matter some thought the next time you purchase supplies for your next project.

Happy knitting!

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

March 24, 2008

Every day, I see articles and hear interviews on the recessive trends of our economy. Fewer jobs, high interest rates, both companies and individuals turning to bankruptcy, are all indicators of lean times ahead for many Americans. Now we are all looking for more bang for our buck. Isn't it great that our craft is so practical?! You go play golf and come home with a scorecard. A model train won't keep you warm at night. Though usually hobbies choose us, rather than vice versa, I get great satisfaction that my craft has a very practical side.

Although needle arts as a hobby is a phenomenon that began primarily in the last 50 years, needle arts as a necessary skill for women prevailed throughout history, only becoming less important since the advent of ready to wear. In 1937, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed a standardized sizing for women's clothes, making ready to wear finally fit acceptably. This ushered in a huge change in how we clothed our families and needle arts for the homemaker became an unnecessary, though still admired, skill set. In my lifetime, I have witnessed this evolution. As a child, my mother, a fabulous seamstress, lovingly constructed beautiful clothes for my sister and I, primarily because it saved her a considerable sum. I interviewed my mother, affectionately known as "Mum", when developing this article. Mum did not purchase clothing, other than undergarments, until 1948, when she was 19 years old and started to work in the city. Even through the 60's, my mother at her Singer was a common sight in our house. She could sew superior garments for the women in our family at a reduced cost, while keeping them stylish, enjoying her craft in the process.

According to Mum, World War II was the turning point for home sewing. When so many women went to work, taking on traditionally males jobs to support the war effort, there was far less time in the average woman's day to knit, weave, or sew. Mass production accepted the challenge of developing ready to wear. It took years for ready to wear to be embraced by women, although there was early success in military uniforms, men's jackets and slacks which bolstered the young industry. Eventually women saw that they could buy ready made clothes cheaper than they could hire a seamstress, though still more than if made at home. They became used to the idea of mass produced fashion and having a wide variety of garments to choose from began to replace the women's taste for individual and unique designs.

The growing number of working women were now able to purchase their clothing, but many turned to women who remained in the home as laundresses. My grandmother worked long hours sewing in a mill and paid a local woman to wash, dry, fold, and press her families' clothing and linens. Mum remembers when she purchased her first automatic washer and dryer in the early 1960's, freeing up many hours in her busy week.

When the clothing industry collaborated with Toni, the home permanent company, in an effort to make permanent creases, especially in the very popular khaki pants or chinos, the chemical process so weakened the fabric, it would shred after 2-3 washings. In 1939, the development of nylon and polyester by a scientist named Carothers, working for DuPont Laboratories, made the new process called permanent press a success. By adding either nylon or polyester to fabric, it was strengthened enough to withstand the chemical treatment. In the following 10 years, there were many advancements in the permanent press process and in fabrics. When pleats and creases remained after washing and wrinkles were minimal, homemakers had extra hours every week to pursue other interests. Finally with ready to wear, automatic laundry appliances, and permanent press fabrics, the American housewife could claim some leisure time.

Today, many of us use leisure hours to return to traditional pursuits. Although sewing is not as popular an activity as 50 or even 25 years ago, knitting and crochet have recently had an upsurge in popularity. Needle arts allow us to be both creative and productive. Handmade gifts are cherished and women practicing needle arts are generally admired. While a well hand knit sweater will not usually save us money over a foreign mass produced machine knit, the difference in a quality and fit is noticeable. And while bowlers, golfers, and movie goers leave their leisure activities with little pieces of paper in hand, we knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, and seamstresses have a practical souvenir of our free time.

On Kay's Needles

After frogging my completed first attempt, I finished the "Go To" Pullover I designed, using Araucania's handpainted Limari, a merino/alpaca/silk blend, which knit up super quickly on size 17 needles. I designed the pullover to be knit sideways in one piece; from sleeve edge to sleeve edge, nipped in at the hip, tapering out to a modified batwing sleeve. For info on the "Go To" Pullover, please contact me at kmather@rarepurls.com. The Rare Purls Original Kit will be available on our website soon!

Another quick knit is "Aspa" from the book Araucanian Moments by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton for Araucania Yarns. Requiring only two (2) 50 gram balls of Araucania's Atacama, a yummy 100% handpainted alpaca yarn, the front tie shoulder wrap is worked in garter stitch on large needles, for a sure to please weekend project.

My final effort was a felted tray to hold all of the various remote controls for our home theater. I chose both a solid and handpaint yarn from the Cascade 220 line, to match our rosewood table, and began with a knitted rectangle. Despite my knowledge that felting shrinks stockinette more per row than per stitch, when my tray came out of the washer I saw that my estimates were faulty and ended up with sides that gaped. They are obviously not a design feature, so I plan to tack and clip a dart on the two misshapen sides and chalk this project up to a learning experiment. Perhaps a needle felted design on the inside of the tray will draw attention away from my repair. Either way, I now have a tray to protect our table from marring by clunky remotes.

Happy knitting!

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

March 8, 2008

When shopping for yarn, we may first choose a pattern and then ask for the recommended yarn or we may fall in love with a yarn, then go in search of a pattern. In either scenario, the information on the yarn label, or ball band, is important. Although labels vary greatly in the data they supply, they all are there to help us in choosing a satisfactory yarn for our project.

The most obvious information on the label is the yarn line and the name of the yarn. My first example below shows that the yarn is from the designer line by Louisa Harding and the yarn name is Impression. We are told the suggested needle size in both the US number, US6, and in metric, 4 mm. In giving the recommended tension, or gauge as it is commonly called in the US, we are told it is 22 sts x 30 rows. Here is where manufacturers vary and novice knitters can get a bit confused. Most gauge swatches are 10 x 10 cm, or 4 x 4 inches, but occasionally labels will give the number of stitches and rows per 1 inch square, for example .

Also on the label is the weight. Our example shows 50 grams, but many yarns come in 100 gram hanks and some are measured in ounces rather than grams. A 50 gram ball is approximately 1.75 ounces. Usually, the yardage is also on the label, either in yards or meters, and on our label, both. Other important numbers are the color and dye lot. It is always a good idea to buy sufficient yearn for your project in the same dye lot, to avoid subtle changes in color. Personally, I always buy at least on extra skein, knowing that at my local yarn shop, an unused skein in new condition is returnable within 60 days, if I keep my sales receipt. A frequent exception to this policy is when purchasing yarn that has been discontinued or for some other reason reduced in price.

Washing instructions either written out or given in standard symbols are very helpful, prompting me to include a yarn label in any handknit I gift. When there are no instructions for laundering, check the fiber content and clean accordingly.

Increasingly product identification numbers and bar codes are being included on all products, including yarn. These make keeping up with inventory much easier for the shops who have the equipment and software to take advantage of this system.

The final item on our label is "Made in Italy." This is the country where the yarn was manufactured, not necessarily the country where the fiber originated. Sometimes the distributor of the yarn line will also be included on the label. Many distributors have websites where they list the yarns they carry, the colors of these yarns, and listings of the yarn shops, by area, that supply their merchandise to the public. Pattern books using their yarn are usually listed and often there are photos of each design. Free patterns are often offered, as well.

If you cannot find the information you need on a yarn label, at times labels are printed both on front and back. The labels that are tucked inside balls must gently be pulled out of the yarn to see all of the specifications. There are times when very little information is given on yarn labels. I purchased a large amount of yarn from Turkey a few years ago and the only information given was a brand name that I had never heard of before. Some foreign yarns have labels in Italian, French, or other languages. A real challenge is presented when the label uses a foreign alphabet, such as with the Russian and Japanese languages. This is rarely seen in the US, but part of the fun of travel is perusing foreign yarn shops.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

February 29, 2008

When I moved back to the metropolitan Atlanta area, the first women to befriend me were fellow knitters. We are a social bunch! Even without introduction, we chat in yarn shops and at craft fairs. When I take my knitting out in public, it is always an ice breaker. Whether with another knitter, someone who has always wanted to learn, or a person who reminisces that their mother knitted, needles and yarn seem to spawn conversation. Today, I am acknowledging the camaraderie of the knitting community, how the young and old, the new and experienced, the conservative and the risk takers, the women, and yes, the men who enjoy sharing each other's company while practicing our productive and creative craft

I first learned to crochet when I was around 12 years old. Sitting in my friend's room, I was amazed at how with a little plastic tool and a ball of yarn, she fashioned something that was more than the sum of its parts. Pardon the pun, but I was hooked.! I would spend hours in a rocking chair in my room, trying so hard to make beautiful things to wear and share. Before long, I was making commissions on my garments, added motivation to keep me learning new techniques. Although I still enjoy the actual physical movements of forming stitches, my interests have grown to include teaching and learning ever more about the fiber arts.

Although knitting is a solo effort, my fellow knitters truly enrich the process. Whether I am chatting on a forum, reading someone's blog, or stitching with a group at my townhome, I belong to a large community of knitters. As we trade experiences, we usually get a peek into the everyday lives of our comrades. I know Sandi has a hubby named Nicholas and that Cornelia is inspired by Swedish history. My friend Christel has two adorable toddlers and Lindsay works with young women living away from home. The women of the prayer shawl ministry at my church count rows and consult patterns, while trading phone numbers and recommending hair stylists. On a larger scale, knitting retreats are more popular than ever.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

February 14, 2008

Last entry, I discussed using the yarn standards chart to determine if a yarn is suitable to use as a substitute for a recommended yarn in a pattern. Although there are several guidelines to aid in this determination, in my opinion the most accurate is to compare the wraps per inch or wpi. This value never seems to be on commercial yarn labels, so one must learn to determine it - an easy task. Wpi is the number of strands wrapped side by side within a one inch measure. For example, a lace weight yarn will be 18+ wpi and a worsted weight 12 wpi. For more information on wpi and a handy chart comparing them to standard yarn weights, go here.

Retail wpi tools are available, but it is so easy to make one yourself. A ruler, even a pencil with an inch marked in the wood, will work, but with a dowel and a woodburner, your new tool will earn a place in your knitting bag.. Notches marking off each inch are a plus and a four inch tool will double as a measure for stitch gauge.

Finally, there are some exceptions when substituting yarns with different characteristics from a recommended yarn, even using a wpi tool. Even though eyelash yarn or fine mohair will have a very high wpi value, they are usually considered a heavier yarn rhan their wpi would suggest. DiVe's Mohair Kiss, a 70% mohair blend distributed by Cascade Yarns, has a wpi of 14 or sport weight by my determination, yet is considered to be worsted weight and the recommended needle size is #9 US, knitting up at 4 stitches to the inch, the higher end of what is considered worsted weight. Very flat, wide ribbon yarns, such as Louisa Harding's Sari Ribbon, are another example of an exception to the wpi method of yarn substitution. This yarn would measure over an inch, if wrapped flat around our tool only two turns, yet is considered another worsted weight at 4 stitches per 1 inch on #11 US needles. As in life, common sense works in our favor when we are presented with situations outside the norm.

Finally, the fiber content of a yarn will effect many aspects of your finished project. Felted items must be made from animal fibers, usually wool, but a superwash wool will not felt, as is the case with some white wools. If you substitute a bulky weight cotton yarn for a bulky weight angora, your garment will be heavier (in ounces) and the actual weight of the fabric can effect the fit. A trumpet skirt fashioned in linen will lose its exceptional drape if knit in acrylic. I am not wanting you to be afraid to try very different yarns than the one recommended in your pattern. You just need to be aware that the pattern designer had specific reasons for choosing a particular yarn and has used stitches and techniques with that yarn in mind. Swatching is always your best guide to how a substitute yarn will look in your pattern stitch and when using a different fiber alternative, laundering the swatch is most helpful. Although there is science involved in our craft, knitting and crochet are needle arts. We express ourselves through the patterns and yarns we choose, so although some choices may work better technically, there is no right or wrong in art.

On Kay's Needles
Presently, I have several projects on my needles. I am making a felted basket to corral our multiple remote controls out of Cascade 220, a double strand on size 11 US. We just got in On line's Supersocke 100 in the Hiking colorways and I just had to cast on this popular self patterning yarn on my #3 US double points for some handknit socks for hubby. I pulled a spring sweater out of my UFO pile, a pattern from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer '06 using Gedifra Fiocco and began both sleeves on a circular needle.

Having learned to spin recently, I just have to show you my very first homespun yarn. (Yes, I know. It's pretty darned homely.) Spinning has helped me to have a greater appreciation of the many factors that go into making a good yarn, such as amount of twist, color, choice of fiber, and number of plies. By taking a step back to the 18th century, I am more keenly aware that as hand knitters in the 21st century, we are so fortunate to have a wonderful variety of commercially made yarns readily available to us.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather