Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Knit and Purl

It is officially winter. MyGirl and I are trying our hand at knitting. (It is always a good idea to learn something new, right?)

I borrowed a book from the library, then bought a couple of knitting needles and two balls of yarn. According to the book, since people will knit differently (different tension, etc.), it is advisable to knit a 5" x 5" piece first to see whether it is necessary to use a bigger (or smaller) needle for the desired knitted item. So we decided we would take it from there.


We embarked on our DIY knitting lessons last Saturday. We cast on our first stitches based on what we estimated would make 5 inches of knitting. By the time we finished our FIRST row, it was time to sleep.

We added a couple of rows to our work on Sunday. MyGirl got more knitting done than I did because I tried to squeeze a visit to the library, a trip to the grocery, making spaghetti sauce and Korean beef in between.

When I looked at MyGirl's masterpiece that evening and compared it to my one-of-a-kind linked up yarn pretending to be something knitted work, I realized that the book failed to mention that knitting is not WYSIWYG. What I saw on the book was definitely not what I got on my knitting needles.

I'm not giving up ... YET.

I do intend to get my 5" x 5" square out by hook or by crook.

If I don't learn how to knit (well) from the book, at the very least, I will have learned the various types of fibres from there.
I found the below quite interesting. I am only vaguely familiar with plant fibres that eventually become cloth. I never really paid much attention to animal fibres. However when it comes to knitting, choosing the right type of fibre does matter to the finished product.

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Natural Animal Fibres

ALPACA --a very fine, soft yarn that comes from the animal of the same name. Alpacas are related to llamas.

ANGORA -- is made from the shorn fur of angora rabbits. It is very fine, lightweight, and has the ability to absorb considerable amounts of moisture before it feels wet.

CAMEL HAIR -- has a wonderful sheen. It does not accept dye so is often mixed with other fibres.

CASHMERE -- is combed from the backs of cashmere goats. This silky, soft fibre is very expensive but also extremely warm.

MOHAIR -- a hairy yarn obtained from angora goats. The yarn from very young goats is known as kid mohair. Mohair accepts dyes readily.

SILK -- this luxurious fibre is taken from the cocoons of silk worms. A very comfortable wear fibre, it keeps you warm when the weather is cool and cool when the weather is warm.

WOOL -- although wool is often used as a generic term for knitting yarn, it applies more specifically to the fleece of sheep. It accepts dyes easily and is particularly warm and durable. Lamb's wool is obtained from the very first shearing of an animal and is particularly soft. Shetland wool is a coarser wool taken from the back of Shetland sheep. It is mainly use to create country tweed yarns.

Natural plant fibres

COTTON -- is an easy care, cool to wear yarn but it lacks the elasticity of wool.

LINEN -- was one of the first fibres used by humans in making fabric. It makes a strong, stiff yarn, however it is usually blended with other fibres to soften it.



RAMIE -- is very similar in appearance and handling properties to linen. Like linen, it is usually combined with other fibres when making a knitting yarn.

RAYON -- is spun from cellulose and readily accepts dyes. It is not very resilient and so can easily stretch out of shape.

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