Copyright © 2007 by Clara Parkes Photography copyright © 2007 by Potter Craft All r ights reserved. Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.crownpublishing.com www.pottercraft.com POTTER CRA FT and colophon, colophon, and POTTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Parkes, Clara. The knitter’s book of yarn : the ultimate guide to choosing, using, and enjoying yarn / by Clara Parkes. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-307-35216-3 1. Knitt Knitting. ing. 2. Yarn. I. Title. TT820.P28 2007 677’.028245—dc22 2007009363 Printed in China Graphic design by Goodesign Photography by Alexandra Grablewski Illustrations by Kate McKeon Thanks to t he Craft Yarn Council of America (www.yarnstandards.com) for their Standard Yarn Weight System Chart, which appears on page 236 10
9
8
7
First Edition
6
5
4
3
2
1
THE KNITTER’S BOOK OF YARN
Introduction
A
LL KNITTERLY CREATION STEMS FROM ONE SIMPLE ELEMENT: YARN. IT IS THE BAKER’S FLOUR, THE JEWELER’S GOLD, THE GARDENER’S SOIL.
YA RN IS CR CREA EA TI ON ON,, CO CONS NS OL OLAT AT IO ION, N, AN D CH AO AOS S AL L SP UN TO TOGE GE TH THER ER IN TO ONE PERFECT BALL. IT’S A SIMPLE CONCEPT, TWISTING FIBERS TOGETHER INTO A CONT CONTINU INUOUS OUS THR THREAD EAD OF YAR YARN. N. BUT THE VARI VARIETY ETY OF FIB FIBERS ERS,, BLE BLENDS NDS,, AND SPINS IS TRULY INFINITE. SO IS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YARN. WE LOVE IT, WE COVET IT, WE ARE KNOCKED SENSELESS BY IT, YET SOMETIMES WE ARE BAFFLED, THWARTED, AND BETRAYED BY IT. Few materials undergo so many transformations
In an ideal world, we’d fall in love with a yarn,
during their lifetime. From the plant or animal
find the perfect pattern that calls for this yarn,
where where it originates originates,, it it gets gets clipped clipped and and fluffed fluffed and and
and knit our way into the sunset. Or we’d fall in
dipped and blended and twisted and dyed, dis-
love with a pattern and the yarn it calls for, both
played as a skein in your local yarn shop (LYS),
of which would be easily e asily available, and we’d all
wound into a ball and worked into just the right
live happily ever after. af ter.
garment, washed and blocked, and finally worn. Sadly, this is rarely how it works. We fall in love With so many steps and choices along the way,
with a yarn and simply must have have it, giving little
it’s inevitable that one or two things will go
thought to what it will become. We collect pat-
wrong. I’m not not talking about about the dropped stitches stitches
terns, books, and magazines for projects we may
and funky decreases. I’m talking about the big-
never complete. And we struggle to bring the
ger mistakes we usually don’t discover until it’s
two together.
too late: The socks that grow twice as long in the first wash, the cardigan that droops and sways
Some yarns have little if any pattern support
like a church bell when you wear it, t he gorgeous
from their manufacturer—especially the smaller-
scarf that feels like sandpaper against your delicate neck.
scale farms and hand-dyers. But even when the company does provide patterns for its yarns, sometimes we just don’t like them. Perhaps we
These are what I call yarn-related errors. Some-
like the aesthetics of a designer who works with
times they’re caused by eager yarn manufac-
one yarn company but we love the yarns of
turers who need to sell more of a yarn, even if it
another. Maybe we need to find lower-cost yarn
isn’t entirely right for the pattern. But more often
alternatives. Or we’re seeking patterns for a yar n
they stem from a deeper knitterly dilemma we
in our stash that has long since been discontin-
all face at one point or another: matching the
ued, or trying to find yarn for a pattern written
right yarn to the r ight project. project.
ages ago for a yarn long gone.
Discontinued yarns are one of the biggest head-
Because the best way to learn is by doing, within
aches for knitters. By the time this book reaches you,
each chapter in Section 3: Ply Me a River you’ll find
chances are that several of the yarn s mentioned in
several patterns designed expressly for that yarn’s
these pages will no longer be available. No matter
specific spin, ply, and/or fiber type. You’re not only
how hard we try, we’ll never be able to escape this
reading about yarn, but you get to pull out a skein,
reality. We must learn to work around it .
cast on, and feel its precise design potential for yourself.
And that’s why this book exists. I believe each each of us has the potential to be a yarn whisperer, whisperer, to hold a
The patterns come to us from some of the most
skein in our hands, look at it, touch it, listen to it,
inquisitive design minds in the knitting world—
even smell it, and instinctively know what the yarn
people I admire not only for their work but for their
wants to become. With this innate understanding,
instinctive love and understanding of yarn. They
we’d we’d never never need to to rely rely on a specific pattern again. again.
also share insight about what, in those yarns, led them to design what they did.
Some of us are relatively new to knitting and approach impromptu pairings with anxiety and
By the time we reach the end of our journey, you
uncertainty. Others, having gone it alone for years,
will have a much better understanding of yarn,
have developed their own instinct—yet they still
how it’s made, who makes it, how it gets to you, and
may have occasional doubts.
what it longs to become in your hands. The next time you pick up a skein and someone asks, “What
I want to give a formal vocabulary to that instinct
are you going to do with it?,” you’ll be able to
and help you refine it furt her.
respond with inspired confidence.
While I’ve assembled a vast selection of yarns in these pages, it is by no means intended as a compendium of every yarn available. Considering the frequency with which yarns enter and leave the market today, today, such an effort would be futile. Instead, the yarns in this book serve as examples of the most common fiber types, preparations, spins, and ply combinations that you’ll likely find in your local yarn shop and unearth in your stash. They come from large-scale manufacturers and importers, medium-sized companies, boutique dye shops, community spinneries, and old-fashioned sheep farms. Some are ironclad standards, while others are smaller, magical blends from noteworthy people whose story I felt needed to be told.
Four-Ply
Project #8
P R IN I N CE CE S S M I T T S
173
P R IN I N CE CE S S M I T T S details
SIZE
NEEDLES
STITCH GUIDE
To fit a woman’s hand, size Medium
One set of size 6 (4mm) dpns, or size to
M1R M1 R
obtain gauge
Make a right-leaning increase by picking
Two pairs of 16" (40cm) circular
up the bar between sts from back to
needles size 6 (4mm), or size to obtain
front and knitting into the front of the
gauge
picked-up st.
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS Circumference: Circumfere nce: 8" (20.5cm) Length: 71 ⁄ 2" (18.5cm)
YARN
NOTIONS
M1L M1 L
Cable needle, stitch markers, a darning needle
Make a left-leaning increase by picking up the bar between sts from front to back and knitting into the back of the
Classic Elite Yarns Yarns Princess (40% (40 %
GAUGE
Merino, 28% viscose, 15% nylon, 10% 10%
24 sts + 32 rows = 4" (10cm) in cable
cashmere, 7% angora; 150 yds [137m]/ [137m]/
pattern
50g) 1 skein Milord’s Milord’s Madder #3485. If
22 sts + 30 rows = 4" (10cm) in St st
picked-up st.
substituting, use 150 yds (137m) of 4ply DK-weight yarn.
instructions
When you find a luxurious four-ply yarn and want to t ake a small amount out for a test-knit, give these elegant fingerless mit ts a try. They require only one skein of Classic Elite Princess, and the yarn’s full-bodied, four-ply formation renders t he cabled braid and ribbing beautifully. Notes: In the first cable in the Four-Rib Braid Cable
pattern on the second 24 sts. For the left-hand mitt,
Pattern (Row 1), decrease by p2tog in the center of this
you'll work the Four-Rib Braid cable pattern on the
stitch. In Row 33, M1 in the center purl stitch by purling
first 24 sts and the ribbing/gusset on the second set of
into the front and back of the stitch. This will add the p2
24 sts. Finish thumb on 3 dpns.
for the rib.
Begin Four-Rib Braid cable chart. Always k2 before the patt and (k2, p2) after the
CUFF
patt sts.
CO 48 sts and join in round, being careful not to twist.
At the same time, on time, on Row 3 of Four-Rib Braid Cable
Work 14 rows in (k2, p2) ribbing for cuff. Place marker
chart, begin to shape the thumb gusset in the ribbing
at beginning of round and after st 24 to help distin-
sts. Follow the Thumb Gusset Charts to incorporate
guish cable section from ribbing section.
the increases into the (k2, p2) rib. The increase sts for the gusset will be worked before and after the third st
FOUR-RIB BRAID CAB LE
for the right-hand mitt, and before and aft er the third
For the right-hand mitt, you'll work the ribbing/thumb
to the last st for the left-hand mitt. To help you see
gusset on the first 24 sts and the Four-Rib Braid cable
where to make your increases, place a marker before
designed by Jennifer Hagan
174
T H E K N I T T E R ’ S B O O K O F Y A R N • Ply Me a River
173
174
T H E K N I T T E R ’ S B O O K O F Y A R N • Ply Me a River
instructions continued
and after the M1 in the thumb gusset chart. As you increase, you w ill always slip the marker, M1, cont as established, and M1 before next marker. Note: Work the first increase st by M1R and the second increase by M1L to create right- and left-slanting
On the cable section, cont Cable Pattern through Row
increases on either side of the gusset.
34. Then work (k2, p2) rib for 6 rows or until desired
Once you have 13 sts between markers for gusset, work
length. Try on the mitt periodically to ensure a good
3 more rows even and then place the gusset sts on a
fit. BO all sts evenly.
holder. Next row, CO 7 sts across the gap, and cont to end of round. Next round, begin decreases acr oss top of
THUMB
thumb opening as follows.
Place the first 6 sts from the holder on 1 dpn, the next 7 sts on a second dpn and pick up 7 sts from across the
FOR THE 7 CO STS:
thumb opening on the third dpn. Work these 20 sts in
Row 1: Ssk, 1: Ssk, k3, k2tog.
(k2, p2) rib. Work thumb for 8 rows, or desired length.
Row 2: Ssk, 2: Ssk, k1, k2tog.
Again, Again , try on the mitt to make sure sur e of the f it. Bind off
Row 3: No 3: No decreases.
all sts evenly, leaving the thumb tip free. Weave in all
Row 4: S1 4: S1 k2tog psso.
ends, using the ends to close any remaining holes.
Cont the ribbing as established for rest of mitt.
Block to size.
SINGLE • TWO-PLY • THREE-PLY • FOUR-PLY AND MORE • CABLED YARN • TEXTURED YARN • FELT FACTOR
175
SINGLE • TWO-PLY • THREE-PLY • FOUR-PLY AND MORE • CABLED YARN • TEXTURED YARN • FELT FACTOR
Four-Rib Braid Cable Chart
FOUR-RIB BRAID CABLE = K on RS 33 = P on RS 31 = Slip next st onto cn and hold in back, k2, 29
p1 from cn = Slip next 2 sts onto cn and hold in front, p1,
27
k2 from cn 25
= Slip 2 sts onto cn and hold in back, k2, k2 from cn
23
= Slip 2 sts onto cn and hold in front, k2,
21
k2 from cn
19
= Slip 3 sts onto cn and hold in front, k2, slip purl stitch from cn back to left-hand
17
needle and p, k2 from cn
15
= Slip 3 sts onto cn and hold in back, k2, slip purl stitch from cn back to left-hand
13
needle and p, k2 from cn
11 9 7 5 3 1 17 Stitches
176
K N I T T E R ’ S B I G B O O K O F Y A R N • Ply Me A River
175
176
K N I T T E R ’ S B I G B O O K O F Y A R N • Ply Me A River
Thumb Charts
= K on RS = P on RS = Make 1 stitch
PRINCESS MITTS RIGHT THUMB GUSSET
13 Stitches
PRINCESS MITTS LEFT THUMB GUSSET
13 Stitches
23
23
21
21
19
19
17
17
15
15
13
13
11
11
9
9
7
7
5
5
3
3
1
1
