another one on the circular

On Feb 8, 4:50*am, suzee wrote:
wrote:
On Feb 7, 9:37 pm, suzee wrote:
vanmier wrote:
wrote in message
....
ps i can`t touch acrylic *brrrrr
mirjam
Acrylic is, unfortunately, the most affordable and most available in my
area. *I would love to try some of the more organic fibers. *Bamboo, as I
have mentioned, and I would also like to try some alpaca. *I may get
adventurous one day and just buy something not acrylic. : )
I was cruising Hobby Lobby yesterday and they seem to be closing out
quite a few of their yarn lines leaving a lot of empty shelf space. I
found some Bernat Alpaca that hadn't been there before next to one of
the close out yarns. I hope they get in more of the Bernat `good stuff'
like the cashmere, bamboo, soy, and maybe some of Paton's better yarns
too. sigh

sue

Strange that this shop does it now that Knitting is still gaining more
and more popularity ,,
mirjam

Possibly, they're basically a chain all purpose hobby store with fabrics
and yarn. The yarns they're closing out are mostly the fuzzy, furry type
ones, so hopefully that means they understand no one wants to use that
stuff anymore, and wants nicer yarns.

sue- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Are they expecting NEW threads ?
mirjam

wrote:
On Feb 8, 4:50 am, suzee wrote:
wrote:
On Feb 7, 9:37 pm, suzee wrote:
vanmier wrote:
wrote in message
...
ps i can`t touch acrylic brrrrr
mirjam
Acrylic is, unfortunately, the most affordable and most available in my
area. I would love to try some of the more organic fibers. Bamboo, as I
have mentioned, and I would also like to try some alpaca. I may get
adventurous one day and just buy something not acrylic. : )
I was cruising Hobby Lobby yesterday and they seem to be closing out
quite a few of their yarn lines leaving a lot of empty shelf space. I
found some Bernat Alpaca that hadn't been there before next to one of
the close out yarns. I hope they get in more of the Bernat `good stuff'
like the cashmere, bamboo, soy, and maybe some of Paton's better yarns
too. sigh
sue
Strange that this shop does it now that Knitting is still gaining more
and more popularity ,,
mirjam
Possibly, they're basically a chain all purpose hobby store with fabrics
and yarn. The yarns they're closing out are mostly the fuzzy, furry type
ones, so hopefully that means they understand no one wants to use that
stuff anymore, and wants nicer yarns.

sue- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Are they expecting NEW threads ?
mirjam

The Bernat Alpaca is a new item for them.

sue

On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 13:18:48 -0500, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT
com wrote:

Acrylic is, unfortunately, the most affordable and most available in my
area. I would love to try some of the more organic fibers. Bamboo, as I
have mentioned, and I would also like to try some alpaca. I may get
adventurous one day and just buy something not acrylic. : )

Christy

Cotton is an organic fiber, readily available, and usually
inexpensive. The only thing it's really bad for is knit ribbing.
There are variations you can use to make a good cotton rib, but for
the most part, I don't like it for sweaters. I do have some really
thin cotton that is naturally colored and changes colors as it gets
washed (either brown to green or lighter brown to darker brown). The
cone is tucked away in my stash right now, so I can't tell you the
name, but it was quite reasonable when I bought it.

For branching out into wool, you can get a wool blend like Lion
Brand's Woolease. I have a hat in Woolease (20% wool content in their
black yarn) for when the weather is colder and I want a touch of wool,
but not 100%.

As for cost, you can shop around and find good deals on the more
exotic yarns, or just save up by not purchasing acrylic and then spend
that money on the exotic yarn. I have fingering weight yarns that
cost $5 a skein that I'm making socks out of (need 3 skeins since they
are only 50 grams and I'm crocheting these socks, would only need 2 if
I was knitting them), and fingering weight yarn that costs $20 a skein
that I'll probably also make knit socks out of, so there is a variety
of prices out there. You just need to shop around your local LYS or
online. I'd avoid the really exotic sequinned yarns at first, since
they can be really difficult to work with. You could also combine
yarns, like a strand of lace weight mohair blend, with your acrylic to
add a bit of the exotic to your project w/out breaking the bank, or
use something like angora as an accent on cuffs and the like.

Leah

Leah,

I don't think I've really thought about cotton on a large scale. I
usually only use cotton in the form of crochet cotton, for wall hangings and
dollies and such. The local craft shop, I believe, does have the sugar 'n'
cream cotton yarn. I'll have to check the price on it. A cotton tank top
or light sweater would probably be nice. : )

Christy

"Leah" wrote in message
...
Cotton is an organic fiber, readily available, and usually
inexpensive. The only thing it's really bad for is knit ribbing.
There are variations you can use to make a good cotton rib, but for
the most part, I don't like it for sweaters. I do have some really
thin cotton that is naturally colored and changes colors as it gets
washed (either brown to green or lighter brown to darker brown). The
cone is tucked away in my stash right now, so I can't tell you the
name, but it was quite reasonable when I bought it.

On Feb 11, 5:09*pm, Leah wrote:
On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 13:18:48 -0500, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT

com wrote:
Acrylic is, unfortunately, the most affordable and most available in my
area. *I would love to try some of the more organic fibers. *Bamboo, as I
have mentioned, and I would also like to try some alpaca. *I may get
adventurous one day and just buy something not acrylic. : )

Christy

Cotton is an organic fiber, readily available, and usually
inexpensive. *The only thing it's really bad for is knit ribbing.
There are variations you can use to make a good cotton rib, but for
the most part, I don't like it for sweaters. *I do have some really
thin cotton that is naturally colored and changes colors as it gets
washed (either brown to green or lighter brown to darker brown). *The
cone is tucked away in my stash right now, so I can't tell you the
name, but it was quite reasonable when I bought it. *

For branching out into wool, you can get a wool blend like Lion
Brand's Woolease. *I have a hat in Woolease (20% wool content in their
black yarn) for when the weather is colder and I want a touch of wool,
but not 100%. *

As for cost, you can shop around and find good deals on the more
exotic yarns, or just save up by not purchasing acrylic and then spend
that money on the exotic yarn. *I have fingering weight yarns that
cost $5 a skein that I'm making socks out of (need 3 skeins since they
are only 50 grams and I'm crocheting these socks, would only need 2 if
I was knitting them), and fingering weight yarn that costs $20 a skein
that I'll probably also make knit socks out of, so there is a variety
of prices out there. *You just need to shop around your local LYS or
online. *I'd avoid the really exotic sequinned yarns at first, since
they can be really difficult to work with. *You could also combine
yarns, like a strand of lace weight mohair blend, with your acrylic to
add a bit of the exotic to your project w/out breaking the bank, or
use something like angora as an accent on cuffs and the like. *

Leah *

I knit and crochet a lot with cottons , you can get them here in many
colors and also a sort that is machine washable [not that i do wash it
in the machine , but it means they wash well] mirjam

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:04:09 -0500, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT
com wrote:

I don't think I've really thought about cotton on a large scale. I
usually only use cotton in the form of crochet cotton, for wall hangings and
dollies and such. The local craft shop, I believe, does have the sugar 'n'
cream cotton yarn. I'll have to check the price on it. A cotton tank top
or light sweater would probably be nice. : )

Christy

I have the Threads Magazine article book on hand knitting. They
recommend knitting cotton ribs with crossed sts to help them keep
their shape.

They also suggest in the body of a stockinette sweater that you knit
into the back of each st and purl regular to help the fabric keep it's
shape. You can also do a plaited stockinette by doing a row 1 K
regular, row 2 P all sts b "with yarn looped under the needle" and
then repeating those 2 rows.

They also recommend casting on with the size needle recommended for
the project, but then immediately switching to a needle 3-5 sizes
smaller; if the pattern calls for size 8 needles, they recommend you
knit the rib using a 3, 4, or 5 needle so the rib is nice and tight to
begin with.

Another trick mentioned is to knit a regular rib using a strand of
elastic along with a strand of yarn to help keep it from flopping
about, the same way I've seen it recommended to use a strand of
elastic when doing sock ribbing in cotton to help it keep it's shape.
My concern is that the elastic will probably eventually break or
stretch out of shape, so if I did a sweater in cotton, I'd probably
use a crossed rib, which won't come undone unless the sweater gets
cut.

Leah

Leah,

I'm not a knitter. I can't quite get the hang of it. *lol*

Christy


"Leah" wrote in message
news
Christy

I have the Threads Magazine article book on hand knitting. They
recommend knitting cotton ribs with crossed sts to help them keep
their shape.

They also suggest in the body of a stockinette sweater that you knit
into the back of each st and purl regular to help the fabric keep it's
shape. You can also do a plaited stockinette by doing a row 1 K
regular, row 2 P all sts b "with yarn looped under the needle" and
then repeating those 2 rows.

They also recommend casting on with the size needle recommended for
the project, but then immediately switching to a needle 3-5 sizes
smaller; if the pattern calls for size 8 needles, they recommend you
knit the rib using a 3, 4, or 5 needle so the rib is nice and tight to
begin with.

Another trick mentioned is to knit a regular rib using a strand of
elastic along with a strand of yarn to help keep it from flopping
about, the same way I've seen it recommended to use a strand of
elastic when doing sock ribbing in cotton to help it keep it's shape.
My concern is that the elastic will probably eventually break or
stretch out of shape, so if I did a sweater in cotton, I'd probably
use a crossed rib, which won't come undone unless the sweater gets
cut.

Leah

On Feb 12, 5:57*pm, Leah wrote:
On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:04:09 -0500, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT

com wrote:
* * I don't think I've really thought about cotton on a large scale. *I
usually only use cotton in the form of crochet cotton, for wall hangings and
dollies and such. *The local craft shop, I believe, does have the sugar 'n'
cream cotton yarn. *I'll have to check the price on it. *A cotton tank top
or light sweater would probably be nice. : )

Christy

I have the Threads Magazine article book on hand knitting. *They
recommend knitting cotton ribs with crossed sts to help them keep
their shape. *

They also suggest in the body of a stockinette sweater that you knit
into the back of each st and purl regular to help the fabric keep it's
shape. *You can also do a plaited stockinette by doing a row 1 K
regular, row 2 P all sts b "with yarn looped under the needle" and
then repeating those 2 rows. *

They also recommend casting on with the size needle recommended for
the project, but then immediately switching to a needle 3-5 sizes
smaller; if the pattern calls for size 8 needles, they recommend you
knit the rib using a 3, 4, or 5 needle so the rib is nice and tight to
begin with. *

Another trick mentioned is to knit a regular rib using a strand of
elastic along with a strand of yarn to help keep it from flopping
about, the same way I've seen it recommended to use a strand of
elastic when doing sock ribbing in cotton to help it keep it's shape.
My concern is that the elastic will probably eventually break or
stretch out of shape, so if I did a sweater in cotton, I'd probably
use a crossed rib, which won't come undone unless the sweater gets
cut. *

Leah *

it is aloso very practical to knit all rows = ribbesls ..
mirjam

On Feb 12, 8:31*pm, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT com wrote:
Leah,

* * *I'm not a knitter. *I can't quite get the hang of it. *lol*

Christy

"Leah" wrote in message

news


Christy

I have the Threads Magazine article book on hand knitting. *They
recommend knitting cotton ribs with crossed sts to help them keep
their shape.

They also suggest in the body of a stockinette sweater that you knit
into the back of each st and purl regular to help the fabric keep it's
shape. *You can also do a plaited stockinette by doing a row 1 K
regular, row 2 P all sts b "with yarn looped under the needle" and
then repeating those 2 rows.

They also recommend casting on with the size needle recommended for
the project, but then immediately switching to a needle 3-5 sizes
smaller; if the pattern calls for size 8 needles, they recommend you
knit the rib using a 3, 4, or 5 needle so the rib is nice and tight to
begin with.

Another trick mentioned is to knit a regular rib using a strand of
elastic along with a strand of yarn to help keep it from flopping
about, the same way I've seen it recommended to use a strand of
elastic when doing sock ribbing in cotton to help it keep it's shape.
My concern is that the elastic will probably eventually break or
stretch out of shape, so if I did a sweater in cotton, I'd probably
use a crossed rib, which won't come undone unless the sweater gets
cut.

Leah- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cotton is Wonderful for crochet ,, mirjam

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:31:08 -0500, "vanmier" vanmier AT peoplepc DOT
com wrote:

I'm not a knitter. I can't quite get the hang of it. *lol*

Christy

Sorry I missed that you were a crocheter! I also crochet. I've used
Sugar & Cream to crochet. It was a lacy pattern and looked a little
floppy until I used a smaller hook to tighten up the sts. I think the
thickness of crochet rib should be OK in cotton if you use a little
smaller hook, say 1-2 sizes, unless you crochet loosely, and then I'd
go down 3-4 hook sizes to make the rib tight, assuming your sweater
would have ribs on it somewhere.

Leah