Then all of your tests will give mixed results. Then its animal hair of some kind. The difference is subtle but you may be able to tell. Thanks. I actually *prefer* washing and drying linen-based yarns. rating of 4.8 from 45 votes Page created: September 27, 2010 Last updated: September 28, 2010 … popular colorways Boardwalk 8 stashed. Required fields are marked *. I’m not going to put a copy up here becasue that was a lot of work. If the yarn matted up, its not superwash. Please try not to do that. Superwash Yarn. Knits Gallery. We all have them. This might sound like a negative, but in many cases it’s actually a positive. We’ve all heard stories of an adult sweater coming out of the washer small enough for a child. Next ball up ten grams of your yarn. lololol I need both. I know of a blend that’s part silk and part alpaca (making it both soft and lighter-weight), and another that’s both cotton and wool (making it better for warmer weather but still breathable). Again, its nice to have a second source of information. Take your mystery yarn and wrap it around a ruler like this: Don’t pull it tight and don’t leave it loose. Hope it comes in handy some day. That’s the end of all my tips and tricks. These fibers don’t reflect light very well. The yarn remains as single strands. Unravel some of your mystery yarn. The touch test is not very reliable. Thttp://fashionbi.com/newspaper/made-in-china-cashmere-the-cost-of-warming-the-world. Animal fibers, like wool, will dissolve within 12 to 24 hours. This yarn is also made from machine-washable wool. If I’m working with wool, I want to be able to tell that it’s wool right away! If you have access to a postal scale, like for weighing packages, those are better. Burn tests are great for figuring out what a mystery fiber is made from. Ditzy Prints has put together the most awesome flowchart for your burn tests. Weight Aran (8 wpi) ? If that lovely person had not given me more yak, I’d still be wondering about it. If you twisted up four strands of the standard thread it would be equivalently thick to fingering weight yarn. Most superwash yarns are created by eroding the scales with acids and then coating the fibers with a synthetic resin. Cotton, linen, bamboo, and silk are straight. If you checked your bleach jar obsessively regularly, then you should have a general idea of what types of fiber and what percentages are in your mystery yarn. Info + Contact. Working a stitch that relies on that property. Here is the place to do that. Having some or all of the scales altered decreases the elasticity a bit, so it’s got extra drape. The lack of barbs can make your item stretch out – especially when wet or after long use. In other cases, they might add a small amount of an expensive fiber (often, cashmere) to others in order to increase its softness. Cascade 220 Superwash Yarn - If you love Cascade 220, you may have wished for the same yarn in a Superwash -well here it is! This is just one of the posts in our Knitting 101 PDF! Cart (0) 0. Maybe even push and prod to get it to the right shape. While I do tend to advise people to follow the laundering instructions on the ball band, I’ve found that many plant-based yarns tell you to either not use a dryer or to dry clean only, but they do just fine when laundered. 100% Wool 114 grams 155 projects. Cascade 220 Superwash Yarn is available now at Jimmy Beans Wool with Free U.S. Flat Rate shipping for orders … If you’re using a Superwash wool, I suggest you dry it flat because of that, and even to push it together a bit to help combat the stretched-out nature. Things appear in my stash that I did not put there.) (Image used with permission.) Wait. Your email address will not be published. This bouncy, superwash yarn is the perfect blend of merino and nylon, but in a quick-knit bulky weight that can be machine washed with cold water, machine dried until just damp, and laid flat to dry. Sorry I’ve spent a decade teaching the metric system to the very reluctant. Blending superwash treated Merino with Silk creates smooth and silky yarns with a unique lustre. Its my only excuse. Each hair of wool is made up of scales. I’ve read guides for conducting the dissolve-fiber test with lye and I hope you will pass on that. They are the humble, overlooked balls of yarn waiting to become the beautiful star in our next crafting adventure. But, there’s a lot more to consider than just this, so read on to get a lot of info on yarn and its care. I really want and have wanted to knit with non-superwash wool for years now, but what has stopped me are the colours. ER trips ruin everyone’s day. If your yarn label indicates the yarn is machine washable, and you are not attempting to wash a hank of yarn, put the acrylic item in the washing machine on the gentle cycle, using cold water. Don’t answer that. Don’t burn or melt yourself. 2 projects. So if your mystery yarn is yak or camel or opossum, then we can get your weight and yardage and that its an animal fiber of some kind but that maybe all. Let’s figure out what they actually are and then we can figure out what they can be used for and then we you can get around to working them up. Sport Yarn Knotions Magazine. Worsted Yarn Take your hot, wet, stinky length of yarn and put it in an old sock, then stick the sock your washing machine with a load of whites and then into the dryer. And, if you find that the swatch looks good but it’s a bit smaller, that can be fine as long as you account for that shrinkage when making the item. Spread a large towel over a surface into which you can stick pins, such as a bed, ironing board or carpet. Want to send me a private message? plied. Animal fibers usually have some kink. I guess that nothing is absolutely ruled out, but you’re going to have to think long and hard about how much reinforcement your stitches will need if you’re using an ultra-smooth synthetic or cotton yarn. Anyway, an astute Fake Plastic Fish reader Rebecca left a comment on that post just a few weeks ago letting me know that Superwash wool is actually coated with a polymer to prevent the wool from shrinking. We all know that metric system is evil. And that phone has a calculator right? Dry clean or hand wash. OMG! Our Valley Yarns Valley Superwash is made from 100% extra fine Merino wool, and it's machine-washable in cold water with a mild detergent or Eucalan. Being a wool processor, I prefer to keep wool as is. Yarn Bases . Spoken like a true American! Do you walk around yarn stores with your nose buried in a skein of yarn? It just appeared one day in my fiber stash drawer. yes About this yarn Superwash Merino. Superwash Merino from Two If By Hand. It is unpatriotic of me to be relying on the dreaded metric system. No idea what that was or how I came to own it. Some people love the feel of a “wooly-wool” and others can despise them (and the way they smell when wet). That’s always good for a fun time. I’ve made to feel dorky for this many a time. // ]]> Whatever. You are going to need a scale. What is helpful is wraps per inch. Open up the sock. But burning small samples are known yarn to see what that does will help you identify your mystery fiber. lol. But, there’s a lot more to consider than just this, so read on to get a lot of info on yarn and its care. Hopefully you now have some idea what your mystery yarn is, how thick it is, how long, and what its made from. A garment made from a superwash wool, on the other hand, can often cope with being thrown in the machine as part of the normal wash. Deluxe Worsted Superwash from Universal Yarn. But (butbutbut) that metric system makes the math so much easier. Touch the yarn and feel how soft or coarse it is. There is only one issue with buying Chinese cashmere. Instead, you should gingerly (without agitation) wash it by hand and lay it flat to dry. 100 grams (3.53 ounces) Gauge. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a460b1c8c80052deda62e58b43889df2" );document.getElementById("aed5d6e507").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So weigh your yarn in grams and write that number down. Thank you!!! If the yarn matted up, its not superwash. Yarn Bases. This worsted weight yarn is incredibly soft, a great choice for everything from afghans to baby projects, and comes in a wide range of fabulous colors, including shades specially chosen by author, designer, instructor and D.I.Y. The superwash process prevents the scales from binding in one of two ways. Silk Road Textiles explains that energy-efficient washing machines sometimes use low water, which creates too much friction, and can cause some of the felting that you’d typically like to avoid with a superwash … Lastly, do your pyromaniac thing fire test over a non-combustible surface, like your kitchen sink. It feels heavy for merino yarn, but it’s a languorous heft. Softest super fine yarn. Its not difeinative but it may help. This is a personal preference, but I find that you can gain a lot of softness by washing and drying a linen-based yarn. For example, when you soak wool fibre in hot water, the scales of the surface lift up a little. But evil! 100% Wool. 18.0 sts = 4 inches Needle size. This yarn knits up on 4mm needles, so it's perfect for all your DK patterns, and as an easy care yarn too, perfect for every day knits and homeware. But for those who enjoy superwash yarns, we have good news. You can have fun with this. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. She deserves all the credit. A soft and silky texture can also indicate silk or rayon, instead of … Mulberry silk is very fine and long and produces merino/silk yarns thar shimmer in the light. With a gradual decrease in temperature, these scales will slowly return to their relaxed state. These yarns dye up beautifully to produce intense, clear colours. Some common blends will add a manufactured fiber to a natural fiber as a way to make it easier to both wear and launder. Acrylic yarn tends to feel a little coarse. Buy our Knitting 101 PDF! So everything you make with these yarns is family-friendly and easy going, made for your REAL life. Wool will tend to grab onto itself. I don’t do any of that, I use my nose! In strong light most acrylic fiber will sparkle like grains of sand. And be sure to tell them exactly how to care for it, or even include the ball band. Your post has really confirmed for me that my gut instinct was correct. … Not really. Imported. Regular wools have little barbs on them, and these barbs can grab other pieces of the yarn. Jacquard Acid Dyes are concentrated, powdered, hot water dyes that produce the most vibrant possible results on protein fibers including silk, wool, cashmere, alpaca, feathers, and most nylons. Otherwise, animal fibers bend, twist, and curl. It feels dense and squishy. Wool yarn tends to be much softer than acrylic yarn. Put as much tension on as you do when you stitch and snug the wraps up against each other. But don’t give up yet. Then smell it. You’ll be burning/melting some yarn here and only yarn. Okay. Put all curious four legged creatures in the bedroom and shut the door. Acrylic sparkles. Then I had someone give me a bag of yak down to spin and it was exactly like the mystery fiber that I had been wondering about. The humanity! Insert straight T-pins all the way around the edge of the item, stretching it into shape as you go. I find wool has a distinct smell, I very rarely use silks Though had a phase of everything I made was silks, I’m over that now The texture of this yarn is also plied (3 or more plies). Fold them instead. But please do the measurements any way you like. Can they be lined up to go in one direction? Take your hot, wet, stinky length of yarn and put it in an old sock, then stick the sock your washing machine with a load of whites and then into the dryer. Take the first number, multiply by the second number, and divide it all by 10. The softer, nicer acrylics are usually made from fibers that have been stretched out to be thinner than wool and then molded to mimic the twist and curl of animal fiber. A perennial favorite of hand-dyers for the ability to capture color, and an easy-care regimen means that many of our knitters and crocheters prefer to work with superwash fibers over non-treated ones. The more slippery the yarn, the more unsuitable it is. The more accurate your scale is the better your answer here will be. They are like the Cinderellas of our yarn stash. You should have a better idea how to use it. (Hint: use the print/save-to-pdf feature from printfriendly.com. 5mm (H) - 5.5mm (I) Fibers. For a 50g ball. I deserve it. Superwash wool is easy to care for and who wouldn’t want that?! Plus look at machine washable Merino yarn from Tosh and check out Malabrigo's new Superwash Merino "Washted"! Similarly, a medium-high wool content and an admonition to handwash only in cool water means that yarn will probably felt if you encourage it. Machine wash? Anytime! It is got battered and fuzzy but is still a single length of yarn, it is superwash. Sign In My Account. Most of the time it's hard to tell the difference in the knitting between superwash and conventional wool yarn, but author Clara Parkes (the wool whisperer) notes that superwash wools tend to feel a little denser than traditional wool. Ironing board straight. They absorb light (and heat) and will look rough and dark. Yardage Unit weight. Keep at it until you have a sample of the raw fibers that were used to spin it. Open up the sock. But even if you don’t you should be able to decide if your mystery yarn will make a good baby blanket or a nice pair of gloves. You must be a yarn sniffer. Truly a machine-wash and machine-dry yarn, the 220 Superwash from Cascade is 220 yards of the softest Peruvian Highland wool for all your washable projects. With the plethora of beautiful yarns crossing the oceans every day, more knitters are getting in a tangle, particularly when substituting yarns. Bulky Yarn, Copyright © Knotions Magazine. ... To join us you’ll need 4 skeins of Valley Yarns Superwash Bulky (2 skeins of Natural, one of Red and one of Black), US size 8 (5.00mm) double-pointed needles, polyfil stuffing, stitch markers, a tapestry needle, scissors, and a copy of the pattern. 100% Wool. 21 Comments on "How to Identify Mystery Yarn". I assumed that Superwash meant the yarn had already been washed and wouldn’t shrink anymore. For this reason, you won't find superwash yarns used in any of our patterns or kits. Grams measure smaller increments than ounces, & most postal scales use both, you can switch between the two. yes. Now that we know the thickness of your yarn, we need to know how much of it you have. Now, how many wraps does it take to cover one inch on your ruler? If the yarn doesn’t melt or burn with its own flame at the time, but instead smolders like a lit cigarette, it’s animal wool. Now you know how many yards are in your mystery fiber. Interesting, informative and fun! And very, very fine. It will let you grab a copy of any web page.). Higher quality silk will glow almost as if the light is inside the yarn. Your label will tell you whether you can both wash and dry the yarn and any particular temperature settings that you should adhere to for the best results. Grab some bleach* and a clear jar with a lid. Yarn weights are confusing enough when you stick to one system. 5th Avenue Superwash Merino Wool. lol I can usually tell animal versus non-animal from sniffing but that’s as far as it takes me. If you want to read more about wraps per inch and yarn weights, and its nice to get a second source on a subject, check out the free guide at Craftsy. Events. A few times when a grabby wool can help are when: Some care does need to be taken with non-superwash wools. You got to play mad scientist with your stash! I am a knitter not a spinner though I am thinking of having a go. Back in the midst of time, I somehow acquired a bag of very soft, kind of short, mystery fiber in a a downy grayish brown. An ounce is kind of big. Jacquard Acid Dyes. Wow. I guess I was thinking of cotton. On the flip side, I’d suggest going with a non-Superwash yarn for a garment because the stretching-out factor can make a big impact. This is easier if you have another yarn that you know is wool or acrylic to use as comparison. In the end, all you will have is acrylic or nylon. The bases below are listed in yardage order, starting with the most yardage per 100g, and therefore the lightest weight yarn, through to the shortest yardage, and therefore the thickest, heaviest weight yarn. Try not to have so much fun that you burn up your stash. These yarns can also be a bit shinier. No matter how much its been cleaned, wool and alpaca will always smell a little when its hot and wet. Telling Yarns Yarn Shop. Superwash yarns seem to be everywhere these days. (It’s nice to know my posts hold up over time.) People use this yarn weight to test new techniques or stitches, as the beauty of this yarn is how it shows stitch definition.. Superwash wool is a wool yarn that is machine washable and, therefore, will not felt. And there wasn’t any math. (That happens to me. How the yarn look sin teh light can give you some clues. Its not quite the same as yarn but there is a lot of cross-over of course. That can be kind of confusing. A wool may or may not note that it's superwash, but if it says it's machine washable, you know that it must be! That is not very helpful for us today. You can’t just toss them in a washing machine. On the flip side, you can often get several wears in between washes if your item is made of wool. Nu-huh. Yarn Bases . 114 grams (4.02 ounces) Gauge. Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on pinterest Share on email So, why would you want to use non-superwash yarn? I need the sweet encouragement and the reality check. Superwash yarn feels delightful; it’s smooth and supple. Silk hangs on a bit longer but it should all be gone with 2 days. Animal fibers, regular cotton, linen, and lower quality silk tend to be dull. The fiber content matches exactly. Sorry. So nice of you! Consult the ball band for drying instructions. Don’t set fire to your home. I never would have guessed yak down. stashed 458 times. Does it have a wet-dog-type odor? US 7 - 8 or 4.5 - 5mm. You have a phone right? Aran Yarn Lye is very corrosive and I think its too dangerous to have in the home. Artificial fibres ain’t great for this technique. Get over 10 tutorials and a pattern, all in one downloadable PDF! They go into more detail on acetates versus rayon and such and you might find that useful. As with most things, I’d say you should check them out to see what you like. Lay the superwash wool item on the towel. There is a newly emerging line of natural superwash yarns, originally created in Germany by the Schoeller Spinning Group. Handle lye with extreme care or, better yet, just don’t use it at all. Some people love the feel of a “wooly-wool” and others can despise them (and the way they smell when wet). If you love Cascade Yarns 220, 220 Superwash another fabulous option that's easy to care for! If you have something really exotic, then maybe I can’t help you. Superwash wool is stretchier than untreated wool, making it ideal for blocking into shape. And if you like those you better see our less known Superwash Merino gems from Hedgehog Fibers and Meadowcroft Yarns. The one exception I can think off is Suri alpaca which is very straight and up to 6 inches long (and usually brown). Fibers. First let’s figure out the weight, the thickness, of your yarn. Maybe what you have is 50% wool and 50% acrylic. by Two If By Hand. shrsl_ShareASale_liveWid_Init(13573, 1197116, 'shrsl_ShareASale_liveWid_product12_populate'); A gram, or even ten, is small. And every once in a while yak (or something) appears in your stash! Fingering Yarn Superwash is probably your best pick for a fall jacket, assuming you live somewhere pretty cold; acrylics and cottons won't hold heat like you want. What are the chances your mystery yarn/fiber is yak down? My mind is totally boggled not only at the depths you went to in order to unravel -sorry, couldn’t resist -these issues, but also how incredibly articulate you are in being able to actually be able to explain them to others…skills which do not often (unfortunately) go hand in hand. It's great for all of your worsted weight projects that need to be washable—blankets, tough-wearing kid clothes and more! With all that being said. My reading tells me that people feel this way because industrial grade chemicals and large equipment are used to create the Superwash wool. So you don’t really have to do math. * I highly recommend that you use household bleach for this and nothing else. Wraps per inch Yardage 220 yards (201 meters) Unit weight. Follow @kalamandah for more yarn goodness. I’m talking about the balls of mystery yarn you have kicking around in your stash. Texture. I love the way my knitting feels after washing it, and it only gets softer as I wash it. a guide from Craftsy on burn-testing fabrics. Pinning it to stretch it out and open up areas (think lace here) can be helpful too. Many other countries produce Superwash wool, and have higher standards than the US for protecting the health and wellness of their people (Germany is probably the … Again with the safety warnings: Bleach can ruin your cloths if you splash it around and send you to the ER if you pour it in your mouth or eyes. by Universal Yarn. The gauge is an exact match, but you should always swatch. Now (and this can be a pain) get out a tape measure and figure out how many yards that is. [CDATA[ Author. On noes! Then fill up your jar with bleach, toss in a 6 inch sample of your mystery yarn, and seal up the jar. A fabulous 100% merino DK yarn, Plymouth Yarn DK Merino Superwash has a gorgeous colour palette that encompasses all the classics you will ever need, with some stunning new shades - we love 1123! If you get an animal smell, then the next step is to figure out is its superwash or not. We want to know if its wool or cotton or acrylic. Machine wash? Very straight. Most commercial yarn is superwash now-a-days. I think it's best to be aware of what superwash is, there's nothing wrong with being an informed buyer. Weigh it to be sure you have 10 grams. So test # 2 is to hold an end over a flame. 100% soft wool that is machine-washable and dryable, 220 Superwash is just a bit thinner than regular 220. Reply Anne February 12, 2015 at 1:41 am. It's good to be able to make an educated decision. Sunday Stitch – Making Irish Clones Knots, the most awesome flowchart for your burn tests. Tell us about your favorite Valley Yarn, is there a Valley Yarn you are excited to work with? So I’ll just link it (again) and you can go grab a copy for yourself. Message: First I would like to thank … Many acrylic yarns can feel soft and silky. However, if it’s superwash wool, it won’t felt. A perfect choice for cowls, hats, and mitts, this yarn gives you excellent stitch definition and will wear well over time. Then its not mohair. Cotton, bamboo and any other plant-based fibers can last for days, maybe even a week, in bleach but eventually they dissolve too. If you’re a beginner knitter, using a light shaded yarn is a good idea.It’s easier to see mistakes. It lets light pass through it. The fastest test you can run is this: Cut off an length of yarn and soak it in hot, really hot water. I love it when I learn something new. DK Yarn Now all you have to is take TOTAL WEIGHT, multiply by LENGTH of 10 GRAMS, divide by 10. Your phone does. About this yarn Deluxe Worsted Superwash. Its an old system that (I think) is based on “standard” thread weight. This can be a touchy topic, and in the end, only you will be able to decide if the recipient will take care of the item. Warning. Let’s take a moment to discuss safety. Yeah, those grams are handy. Its either laugh or cry. Soak those fibers in luke-warm water and let them air dry. All Rights Reserved |. Cotton, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo and others fall into the Plant-based yarns category. Then get a candle, or a lighter, and start setting your yarn on fire. Wouldn’t it work the same with any other unit of measure? Your email address will not be published. Do they go mostly in one directions? Keep the furballs locked up in the bedroom. 100% Merino superwash wool. Mom called to let me know that I had 2 typos and a misspelled word. Laceweight Yarn And blends may give you the good aspects of several fibers. It’s a valid question and one I’ve seen come up more than once in knitting groups– especially among newer knitters. That’s becasue high quality silk is semi-translucent. Acrylics can be anything since they are manufactured but most often they are wavy. //