Last week we took a road trip to Michael's Arts and Crafts on Marine Drive in Burnaby to get hands on with yarn. Sometimes when looking at a ball of yarn, it is hard to picture what it will look like knitted up or what to use it for. We had sample finished pieces to look at as we talked about different yarns. We applied the discussion on tension from week 2 to the huge selection at Michael's and discussed yarn weights, fiber and project ideas.Even better, everyone that came received a 40% discount coupon for one item and Wayne, the store manager, surprised us with a second coupon for 20% off our entire purchase! He also talked about the Vanna White design contest and the Blankets for Canada project.
Here are some categories of yarn (Note: yarn brands are mentioned for familiarity and are not an endorsement). Most of these come in different weights so be sure to check the label for tension guide:
Acrylic: Great easy care yarn. Beginners often use acrylics because it is low-cost. It is important to feel acrylics because the texture can vary between brands. Red Heart and Patons Canadiana are two examples.
Cottons: There are several types of cottons now - traditional, like those used in dishcloths, organic cottons and textured cottons. Cotton is a breathable fibre that has a nice weight, is fairly easy care and great for kids and baby items. Bernat Handicrafter is commonly used for dishcloths. Patons Grace is finer with a nice finish for ladies' tops.
Bamboo: A renewable resource that also is similar to cotton. We noticed a sheen to the bamboo which gave it a nice finish.
SWS by Patons: This soy-wool blend is very soft and has a nice drape. It is dyed in blocks so is self striping.
Sock yarn: Kroy has a basic sock yarn in a variety of colors. Patons also has a new elastic sock yarn. Be sure to use patterns that accommodate the extra stretch.
Wool: This natural fiber is highly used for it's warmth. Wool has come a long way with regards to softness. Patons Classic wool is an aran weight that is very versatile. It can be used on 4mm needles for double weight or 4.5 mm for worsted. It comes in a wide variety of colors. Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool is a a very good value and quite light and soft. It is currently on sale at $9 per 8 oz ball (reg $13). Both of these are also great for felting.
Blend: A quick mention about Shetland Chunky. This chunky weight yarn is a 25% wool, 75% acrylic wool that comes in several colors and gives some of the benefit of wool with extra softness. It knits up quickly and is great for cozy sweaters, scarves and hats.
We also talked about knitting needles, darning needles, cable needles, stitch holders, row counters and... next week's project! See you Sunday for our new meeting format:
Beginner/Intermediate: 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Intermediate/Advanced: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
A big thank you to Michael's for letting us take over their yarn section and the bonus discount!
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The road trip was fantastic - I am a beginning
ReplyDeleteknitter and found myself wanting to buy every
yarn in the place. I do not know how to knit
socks but was fascinated by the new sock yarn
that has elastic built in. It was interesting
to learn what yarns were good for what type of
project - seeing the knitted examples was great.
Shelley