Alpaca Hailing from South America, the alpaca belongs to the camelid family that also includes camels, llamas, guanacos and vicunas. They are a docile breed whose fleece spins into luxurious yarns. More than three quarters of the world’s alpaca population …
COTTON Cotton is used in a vast amount of products. You will find it in everything; clothing, home goods, linens, towels, toys and more. We’ve all seen the commercials for cotton and recognize it has a reputation as representing the …
Modal® is a fine, smooth fiber made from beech trees. An Austrian company, Lenzing, creates Modal® by turning beech wood into pulp, extracting the fiber, and then reconstituting the fiber so that it can be spun into yarn. Modal® is …
Silk Historically, silk was often used for rich tapestries and royal garments. During the Renaissance, the processing of silk was incredibly secretive and many countries were competing to find better, faster ways of throwing and twisting the threads (although Italy …
Wool — the most versatile of fibers. It is the little black dress of the knitting yarn world. Whatever the occasion, be it formal or completely casual, there is always a type of wool to complement your look. Wool is …
Selecting the Best Fiber for Your Garment Have you ever wondered if you could substitute yarn in a pattern? Perhaps you have finally found a pattern for that gorgeous yarn you bought on vacation but are curious to know if …
Perhaps one of the most confusing things for new knitters (and some not-so-new knitters!) to grasp is the concept of yarn weights. Oftentimes, the problem lies in the fact that different companies and references use slightly different weight definitions or …
About Gauge For the best introduction to this topic, let’s start out by defining what gauge is in relation to knitting. Gauge is a measure of the number of stitches in one inch of fabric. Gauge is essential in knitting …
To review what is stated in the Gauge tutorial, just because you are using the same yarn and needle size suggested by the pattern doesn’t mean you are going to achieve the desired results. When you’re rearing to go on …
Linen Linen yarn and fabric originate in the stem of a flowering plant. Before they become linen, however, the raw fibers are identified as flax. Bast fibers are those that come from plant stems and, consequently, flax is one of …