Sunday, August 12, 2007

Choosing Yarn

Thank you for inviting me to join the KAL. I've been thinking about Anne's patterns for a while, and I just bought Bee Fields and Wing of the Moth.

I do have a lot of stash yarn that I'd like to use for shawls (you can see some of them on my blog, primetimeknitter.typepad.com), and even though I loved the kit yarn and the recommended yarns, I decided to use some I had on hand:



A problem I have though is that this yarn has no yardage on its bands (it is so old that this wasn't a requirement when I bought it). But I can't find the yardage on the kit yarn either. If you're using the kit yarn, could you tell me about how many yards per ounce or 50g there are?

I'm finishing two sweater WIPs, and I won't actually cast on for Bee Fields until one of them is done--within two weeks, I hope.

4 comments:

Marjorie said...

Thanks, Lynne: I think the weight is going to be fine. It seems thinner than the yarn I just used (350 yards for 50g) to knit the Shetland Triangle. What worried me is the line in the pattern (p. 1)that said the yarn should have 160 to 190 yards per ounce, and this yarn has a lot more yardage. This yarn is probably between true lace weight and fingering weight. But given that statement (just 190 yards), I thought it could be too heavy. I was wondering if the Wooly Wonka merino is true lace weight.

I was planning to unwind a skein to get the approximate yards per gram. I also will probably swatch one of the patterns to see how big it is after blocking and to decide what size needles to use.

stripedsocks said...

I love your golden color! Good for you- using stash.... More room for new yarn! -Jessica

annmarie said...

I saw some of this yarn on someone else's blog. She was selling it from her stash and described it as "very fine" and for knitters who enjoy knitting lace and/or working on small needles. It truly is a "vintage" yarn. :)
Glad to have you here, Marjorie!

Marjorie said...

Thanks, Annmarie. The yarn is very old. I bought it in about 1975, and it is one of several very thin yarns I bought around then. I'm captivated by the newers shawl yarns, but I want to use up my stash yarn first.

I'm glad to know the other owner of this yarn thinks it is good for shawls, but I think I should take the time to figure out the yardage and also determine the needle size I need. I was looking at the patterns for Bee Fields and Wing of the Moth together, and not really distinguishing between the notes about yarn weight. It seems that Wing of the Moth can use a heavier weight yarn.