Packing for your journey: Yarn
Now that you know where you’re going, you will need certain things to get there. Buying the pattern is like acquiring a map to your destination, and it will give you a list of the things you’ll need. It’s like attending an orientation session for a trip.
Rule of thumb: Use the best yarn you can afford that is appropriate for the project. You’ll be with the yarn for a long time; you want to enjoy it. It’s the difference between spending two weeks at a 4-star hotel, or spending that same time at a Motel 6.
The pattern usually names the yarn that the designer used to make the sweater you fell in love with. If the pattern is more than a year or two old, the yarn may not be available anymore, so you will need to substitute. You can get some ideas by looking at Ravelry.com to see if anyone else has made the project and what they used. (If no one else has made the project, return to step one unless you know and trust the designer or the pattern has just been posted this week.) The right yarn + your skill = a successful project. The wrong yarn will result in disappointment.
When you go to the yarn store or start browsing online, try to find the same weight (lace, fingering, sport, dk, worsted, aran, chunky, bulky, super-bulky) and fiber content as the designer used. Fiber content can be tricky. 100% wool behaves differently depending on what kind of wool it is, what grade, if it has been treated for washability, the construction of the yarn itself (singles/plied/chainette, etc.) The same goes for alpaca, llama, yak, cashmere, and all the thousands of blends in various proportions and levels of wonderfulness. Even acrylic has various grades and levels of usefulness in a blend. After many projects, you’ll gain a feeling for some of this, but if you don’t have a lot of experience, seek help. If you go to a yarn store, look for models in the yarn you’d like to use, ask what they might recommend, find out if they have a sample you can swatch with. If you’re looking online, get as close as you can to the original and order one ball to try out. Otherwise you must take a leap of faith and hope for the best – and be sure you can return it if it’s not what you want. Even if you get the exact same yarn, when it comes, the color might be off or it might feel like a Brillo pad. I am a bit biased, but buying in person is one way to ensure you’ll love the yarn.
Speaking of color, yarn comes in all colors and various amazing mixes of colors. Solids, heathers, and semi-solids are all good for most projects, but it’s hard to resist a beautiful hand-dye
or gorgeous self-striping yarn.
If your destination is a piece that has lots of cables or intricate stitchwork of some kind, a good rule to keep in mind is to choose a yarn without blaring contrasts of color that will obscure all your hard work. Save those yarns for projects that need a color boost and that will benefit from a multitude of colors. Again, checking the projects in Ravelry with that yarn, you can see which look wonderful and which give you the Mr. Yuk face.
Next time: Packing for your journey: Needles and Notions
Meanwhile, my project is proceeding, requiring lots of time and attention. I’m thinking of making a detour!
