I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 168

[@janecatchpole6939]

My Mum used to wrap pre used yarn round a board & hold it over boiling water to steam it to straighten it. She always bought hand knitted garments from jumble sales to re-use the yarn (usually wool).

[@tapcat4516]

Love the colors & look of your new hat. I can't believe how long your hair got. Looks wonderful 😊

[@dreareneeknits]

Thank you so much!

[@a_grateful_tangle]

One thing about knitting holding yarn together as one: I've noticed that the elasticity of the yarns really affects the yardage in addition to the diameter differences. I hadn't realized it until I was knitting with a silk held with a wool that were both fingering weights and the sturdy silk yardage ended up being a decent bit different than the more elastic wool. Also: thanks for the sock yarn research! I was actually wondering that same thing the other day while meandering through a yarn shop!

[@FadiaTR]

I think another way of achieving the look that the first question was after is to crochet simple chain over the original seam in the contrast color. I think going vertically it will go much faster than duplicate stitch.

[@FortyOneNY]

I have successfully removed kinks from frogged yarn by using a niddy-noddy to get it back into a hank/skein and using a clothes steamer (low heat) on it. It worked very well, and I didn't have to wait for the soaking and the drying before I could use it again.

[@noelleparris9451]

Okay, when you started whistling, I almost lost it. That was too precious! You are a delight to listen to, Andrea. I laughed at how you kept saying this was the Andrea guesses show 😄 Thanks for the entertainment (as I worked on a sock).

[@dreareneeknits]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😙😂

[@lauralovelandlemasa4681]

I steam my wool yarn to get the kinks out. Wind into skeins and then steam. I’ll hang it and lightly weight the free hanging end. Works like a charm!

[@dreareneeknits]

Great tip! Thanks for sharing!

[@Jennie-io2pg]

The Ashford upright lazy kate works beautifully with their plastic weaving bobbins for plying.

[@egerber5428]

I usually steam kinky yarn. It’s still a pain but not as much trouble as washing.

[@JordanLeigh]

You’re right about fingering/sock weight yarn being the same. All “sock” yarn is fingering weight yarn but with enough plies and twist to be durable enough for socks and have nylon in them, but some fingering weight yarns are singles, low twist, no nylon, etc and not quite suitable for socks because they’ll wear through quickly.

[@kristinahill3708]

2nd traveler hat underway as I watched this. Such a great pattern!

[@dreareneeknits]

Wow! Great job! So happy you are enjoying the pattern ☺️

[@phyllisburke4141]

I’ve done the frogging of a large project several times. Skeining it, soak it several hours, snap it, hang it to dry. Knitting with kinky yarn is not fun. I frogged a project that had been knit, blocked and worn for several years. I love reusing yarn of projects I just don’t wear.

[@jenniferrenee5039]

So many gauge questions! I've been scouring your videos. Any chance you'll make a playlist of videos that talk about gauge? I'm a seasoned knitter who all of a sudden this year has had to rip out every sweater I've made because nothing is fitting. I've revisited swatches and I can tell it's the source of the problem, but I thought I knew what I needed to know. Apparently that has changed....What I'm finding is that it's somewhat fiber related, so the main question I have right now is how to adequately swatch for an alpaca sweater with drape to understand how it will expand after blocking a few days of wear? I've done HUGE in the round swatches, and it still feels like I'm just guessing. I've now ripped out 3 sweaters (2 were alpaca) and one of them was all over texture so it hurt my heart so much I just didn't knit for 2 weeks after. How can I make this stop?

[@dreareneeknits]

A playlist is a great idea! In the meantime- I highly recommend checking out Patty Lyon’s book- Knitters Bag Of Tricks! She covers gauge extensively!

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

Have a great knitting weekend !!!

[@dreareneeknits]

Thank you! You too!

[@AnnikaScheer]

One of the sock yarn bases that I use for my natural dyeing on is an 8-ply as well. And despite being non-superwash and 100% wool, it makes indeed for very sturdy, long lasting socks.

[@dawnriggs5686]

Your reply to the question on fingering/sockyarn, was very interesting. I live in England and have been knitting for over 60 years, and for 10 years have run a wool shop. When I opened my shop in 2011 I had never heard of fingering weight nor did I understand the concept of specific sock yarns. I gradually developed a way of describing all the different weights/thicknesses of yarn for my customers, and came to understand that what the British knitting community has always known as 4 ply (despite, confusingly, there usually, but not exclusively being 2 singles plied together rather than 4 in this yarn) is generally the same as what is referred to as fingering in America and many other countries. I have also developed ways of describing what would constitute a yarn being considered a sock yarn. There would be too much info to include here, but perhaps I will write it all up somewhere.

[@karenwhite2601]

I'm busily knitting my Traveler Hat as I watch and listen. I'm loving the challenge and have also joined in with the 100 days of knitting challenge too. Both are giving me a lot of fun. Another interesting podcast, thank you.

[@brittany_kp]

I would look at the yardage per weight when comparing sock vs fingering, and then number of plies. You can find 2ply superwash fingering, and you can find 4ply superwash fingering that a lot of people call sock yarn. If we are talking about 4ply superwash yarns, a lot of "sock" yarns fall into the Light Fingering category on Ravelry, being about 460yd/100g. Some sock yarns are only 400yd/100g, and Ravelry calls this Fingering.

[@paulafralick2905]

I had a twin set I knit about 30 years ago. This past winter I was cleaning out my closet and came across it and decided to frog it. It was a bit of a project to frog it. It was knit in pieces so seams needed to be ripped out and I really hid the ends. Took a week to frog. Was too lazy to wash. Knit a simple short sleeved tee and it came out funky even after blocking. I know have 7 more skeins that I skeined up on a niddy noddy, soaked for an hour, and hung to dry. One skein, that was a bit thicker, isn't dry yet but the others have been skeined up? And look beaut8ful. I think this yarn is cotton wool blebd but 30 years ago I didn't keep notes on ptojects.

[@jenniferkesler7934]

As for rewinding yarn to a skein to prep to wash/steam, I just wind it back on my swift! Super fast and easy (for that part, at least!)

[@mandyclark1777]

Thank you so much for answering my question about the bobbins! Going to check out the Hansen lazy Kate!

[@dreareneeknits]

You are so welcome!

[@sherriheare8425]

Thank you for asking/answering question #3. I have at least one project that I want to unravel and reuse the yarn. I have been putting it off because I didn't want to soak it if possible. Andrea's answer helps 😁

[@NinaKeilin]

I have wound my kinky yarn around a large baking sheet tray (the long way) and then sprayed it thoroughly with a hose outside and let it dry. Works great!

[@everystitchaprayer6268]

Thank you for a great start to my weekend!❤

[@dreareneeknits]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@KevinMc5564]

For the sock yarn/ fingering weight question, I always default to looking at yardage/ 100g. If it is roughly 400 yards per 100g then in my mind I just call it fingering.

[@sarahburke8955]

-For the bobbins not fitting on lazy kate question: there are two different interior diameters of bobbins, large and small. You may find that you just need to get a different set, that are the larger inner diameter. -For swatching the kinky yarn: If you have an umbrella swift, you could put your hank on and knit straight off of that, instead of winding into a cake first. -For the two yarns together: The thinner lace weight will use a little less yardage, because of the yarn diameter. Sorry I can't say how much less, but it's not significant enough to forego buying that last skein of yarn to match yardage with your other strand.

[@mosugrue]

this is just the thing i needed today my friends in their chicken glasses and a shoutout for sage ❤and all the work their mom Rebekah does for Lgbtq youth !

[@valeriehowden471]

I recently frogged a pair of mittens because they didn't fit. To get the kinks out, I wound the yarn into a ball off the project then I used my table top swift to get it ready for the soak. The kinks disappeared.

[@rebeccababb-brott3754]

Thank you for all the spinning content- I am working on supported spindle spinning and am close to feeling like my spinning is ok enough to actually spin for the spin it to knit KAL. Which Bubinga lazy kate did you purchase - the 6mm shaft or the 1/4 inch? love your weekly podcasts!! much needed joy in a crazy world...

[@StitchesandPrayersVlog-cast]

Less then a month until I head to Michigan to see my family too!

[@kimcunningham2107]

First here ... Good morning, Andrea. Wishing you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. 💖💕

[@dreareneeknits]

Good morning!

[@lavendercottagefibrearts]

i remember as a beginner knitter i purchased some single ply yarn intending to knit socks with it (because I liked the colours) because it was labelled as something like single ply sock. in retrospect I find that totally misleading, and they should have labelled it fingering weight singles. for me I think of fingering as a weight of yarn and sock as a type of yarn (ie includes some nylon).

[@dreareneeknits]

Yes- it implies a way for that yarn to be used!

[@jamie8510]

Could you also use intarsia to make the Weekender "seam" in a contrast colour? You could swatch both options and see which you like!

[@joannsteinly5325]

I'm currently working on a shawl, and I'm using three DGYarns that're labeled as lace weight silk yarns and they're all single ply. So I'm thinking single ply fingering could be possible.

[@the_busy_beaver_brooke]

I wonder if the false seams could be crocheted like surface stitch... I think that's what it's called...

[@dreareneeknits]

Ooo yes!! This is also an awesome suggestion!

[@corteofs]

I thought the expression sock yarn referred to the nylon content of a fingering weight yarn …… thanks for explaining

[@dreareneeknits]

It was so interesting to learn more about the differences! Although looking thru my stash- not all yarn makers follow these guidelines as I have a “sock” yarn that is a loosely plied 2-ply. Which I won’t ever use for socks 🤭

[@awhippersnapper]

Does anyone know when you plan to use two yarns together on a project if rather than holding two yarns together or caking up two yarns together, can you ply the two yarns?

[@allnaturalnutknitting4272]

:)

[@tinafletcher1145]

I have never washed yarn after unpicking it.