The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
Not all yarns are alike. Some make our hearts and hands sing, some get the job done without much fanfare, and some cause nothing but frustration and disappointment. The gorgeous pair of socks that emerged from their first bath twice as long as when they went in. The delicate baby sweater that started pilling before it even came off the needles. The stunning colorwork scarf that you can’t wear because the yarn feels like sandpaper against your neck. If only there were a way to read a skein and...
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Not all yarns are alike. Some make our hearts and hands sing, some get the job done without much fanfare, and some cause nothing but frustration and disappointment. The gorgeous pair of socks that emerged from their first bath twice as long as when they went in. The delicate baby sweater that started pilling before it even came off the needles. The stunning colorwork scarf that you can’t wear because the yarn feels like sandpaper against your neck. If only there were a way to read a skein and know how it would behave and what it wanted to become before you invested your time, energy, and money in it. Now there is! With The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, you’ll learn how to unleash your inner yarn whisperer.In these pages, Clara Parkes provides in-depth insight into a vast selection of yarns, giving you the inside stories behind the most common fiber types, preparations, spins, and ply combinations used by large-scale manufacturers and importers, medium-sized companies, boutique dye shops, community spinneries, and old-fashioned sheep farms. And, because we learn best by doing, Parkes went to some of the most creative and inquisitive design minds of the knitting world to provide a wide assortment of patterns created to highlight the qualities (and minimize the drawbacks) of specific types of yarns.The Knitter’s Book of Yarn will teach you everything you need to know about yarn: How it’s made, who makes it, how it gets to you, and what it longs to become. The next time you pick up a skein, you won’t have to wonder what to do with it. You’ll just know–the way any yarn whisperer would. Jan Zlendich - Library Journal Many longtime knitters are not all that knowledgeable about the yarns they use in their craft and would be hard-pressed to distinguish a cellulose from a synthetic yarn, let alone expound on fiber characteristics. Parkes, publisher of the wildly popular KnittersReview.com weekly, has made it her mission to explore the potential uses and quirks of yarns, from simple two-ply yarn to chenille and bouclés. She has visited large manufacturers, importers, small dye shops, and sheep farms and learned how fibers are prepared, spun, and plied and what types of projects might best bring out the assets of a particular yarn. She tells all in this readable book that also includes a variety of projects suitable for each type of yarn. This marvelous resource belongs in every knitting collection.
Fiber FoundationsProtein Fibers 12Cellulose Fibers 34Cellulosic Fibers 38Synthetic Fibers 42Making YarnEvaluating Yarns Up Close 49Mills and Microspinneries 49Farm Yarns 51Fiber Festivals 53Going Organic 54Color in Yarn 55The Original Spin 60The Politics of Pills 64Ply Me a RiverThe Single 68Two-Ply Yarns 84Three-Ply Yarns 126Four-Ply and More 144Cabled Yarns 177Textured Yarns 190Boucle Yarn 206Brushed Yarn 212Chenille Yarn 218The Felt Factor 222Putting It All TogetherCare and Feeding 232Knowing What You Have: WPI 235CYCA Numbers Explained 236Abbreviations and Techniques 236Resources 239Recommended Reading 242About the Designers 243Acknowledgments 245Glossary 247Aboutthe Author 253Index 254
\ Library JournalMany longtime knitters are not all that knowledgeable about the yarns they use in their craft and would be hard-pressed to distinguish a cellulose from a synthetic yarn, let alone expound on fiber characteristics. Parkes, publisher of the wildly popular KnittersReview.com weekly, has made it her mission to explore the potential uses and quirks of yarns, from simple two-ply yarn to chenille and bouclés. She has visited large manufacturers, importers, small dye shops, and sheep farms and learned how fibers are prepared, spun, and plied and what types of projects might best bring out the assets of a particular yarn. She tells all in this readable book that also includes a variety of projects suitable for each type of yarn. This marvelous resource belongs in every knitting collection.\ \ —Jan Zlendich\ \
