Monday 27 January 2014

Needles and Yarn.

I think most of you know by now that I am challenging myself in January to learn how to knit.  Wow, it is one big learning curve isn't it.   Before you even begin to knit you have to get your head round the needles and all the different kinds of wool.

Thought the needle bit would be easy. I had some old needles, don't know where I acquired them from.   I have 5 needles that say 7 on them, 3 needles with an 8 and 1 each of size 2 and 3. OK.  I kind of thought something was going on here.  Good job I checked.  It seems the needles that I have are numbered on some old, antiquated British system.  Seems that we are now in metric. So, my number 7 needles were fine as they are 4.5mm and just what I needed.   The needle situation is complicated further because the Merikans across  the pond use a different numbering system.

Knitting Reference – Needle Sizes

Knitting needles in the UK are now sold in metric measurements. However, if you’ve inherited your great-grandmother’s knitting bag you may have needles with the old UK ratings so these have been included for your information. Where there is a gap in the table this is where there is no direct equivalent size.
US    Metric Old UK 
02mm14
12.25mm13
22.75mm12
3mm11
33.25mm10
43.5mm
53.75mm9
64mm8
74.5mm7
85mm6
95.5mm5
106mm4
10½6.5mm3
7mm2
118mm1
139mm0
1510mm
So with my needles sorted it was time to turn my attention to yarn.  I will call it yarn as wool is a misnomer because half the time it isn't actually wool.  My limited knowledge was such that I thought pretty much everything was knitted in double knitting wool which I actually know is 8 ply and yes thank you, I do know what ply means. I was aware (vaguely) that there was something called 3ply which was for things like shawls and something called chunky which I wouldn't have a clue what to do with.

Seems that there is way more to yarn than I ever could have guessed. First comes the weight, which means the number of ply. I think there are about 7 to choose from and they would be used for different things. Of course it is complicated again by those Merikans who have totally different names to us.  

Once you know what your pattern requires and so far I have been using DK, then you need to actually choose the yarn.  Cheapest seems to be acrylic, then there is pure wool or how about cotton or any number of mixes in between,  The mixes can use alpaca, silk, mohair, merino (isn't that wool?) angora and I am sure there are others. 

Angora?  That opens a whole can of ethical wormies.  I personally wouldn't touch anything with angora in it. Do you know how that is obtained?  Want to see a bunny skinned alive?  Google it.  Sick, sick, sick. If you have any shred of decency then I urge you to boycott anything that contains angora. Sorry, off my soap box now. **

Yarn Conversion Chart


USAUKAustralia - NZ
Lace2 ply2 ply
Sock or Fingering3 ply3 ply
Fingering4 ply4 ply
SportSome double knitting yarns5 ply
Light WorstedDouble knitting8 ply
WorstedAran10ply
ChunkyBulky16 ply
BulkyChunky20 ply

To think all of these considerations for needles and wool have to be made before you can cast on the first stitch.  It's a minefield. 

Having completed a pair of mitts and a little keyhole scarf, I am now going on to the next stage.  A whole complete set of scarf, cowl, mitts and headband.  I have purchased this pattern from fellow Etsy teamie MADMUM.  

Isn't it lovely?  It does have some new techniques in there for me. It also requires that I branch out into chunky wool  and I need some new needles as I do not have the required 5mm ones.  Now I thought I had needles sussed out, but when I went to purchase some I found there was a whole new conundrum....... do I get plastic, bamboo or metal???  

Long story short I have opted for bamboo.  My old needles are metal so I thought I would try something different to see if it actually does make any difference. I suspect not but I am sure that there are peeps out there who swear by one or the other.  I think I might just be swearing about the whole thing!  In the course of my research for my purchase it has come to my attention that there are also needles that are pointed at both ends and short needles joined together by plastic tubing.  The mind boggles, well my mind does!  Who wants needles with points at both ends?  The stitches would all fall off. 

My chosen wool after many hours of deliberation is this one.


James C Brett Marble Chunky in pink mix. 

So, I have my chunky wool on order and my bamboo needles.  Hopefully they will arrive in the next few days and I will make a start.  I will keep you updated on the process.

** Actually, I am not sorry at all it is the most horrific process and should be banned.






3 comments:

  1. I had to look it up. Seems like most of the torture is done in China. The USA seems to be more humane and the rabbits moult naturally, which is what is collected. Still I would probably not purchase angora yarn. The information I got does say that the angora rabbits need to be groomed and cannot handle the fur that moults. If they groom themselves and ingest it, it can kill them, so grooming and collection of the moulting fur is essential. Thanks for spurring me to learn something new today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That ingest thing, Terri, that sounds as if the bunnies *need* help grooming. I think you're right, China is a problem but they usually are... lead pain in toys is an example.

    Killing you bunny would be counter productive. They're raised for their fur and it would be far to expensive to keep replacing them. You have to feed and care for them. It is an expensive fiber because of the work that goes into it.. this is still primarily a hand process here, one place called it a "cottage industry" because it is generally individuals raising the animals.
    This is from a site here in America that talks about these animals and is very positive. The photos of the rabbits are beautiful:

    "Angora wool can be harvested year round, and most fiber enthusiasts do this by holding the rabbit on their lap and either combing out the fiber, or (careful) scissor harvesting. The Angoras notoriously seem to enjoy this frequent attention, and the harvesting process causes them no stress or pain whatsoever. Angora wool harvesting is said to be a calming process for both the groomer and the “groomee”. " http://homestead.org/VictoriaVarga/AngoraRabbits/FuzzyBunny.htm

    I don't buy angora because I'm allergic. Makes me itch like mad, worse than wool. But it makes beautiful garments.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is terrible about the yarn! I can't go into a store now where they sell it without looking and there are so many types and colors and so many things to make that it drives me crazy. There are so many free patterns online and I am constantly printing them or saving things I want to do! I'll never do them all unless I quit my job!

    Regarding needles: I know that many needles (at least crochet needles) here have both letters (what we use) and metric (other people use) particularly the steel needles. But we use both because patterns generally have one or the other and it makes it easier to have both on the needle. I think the trend is toward metric. I don't care because I just look at the pattern, find the needle and if I can't tell, I use a chart. I learned to crochet with an English book and so had to relearn American. Now, I have no trouble converting. I just have to think about it when reading patterns.

    The needle with a point at both ends? There is an afghan needle with a point at one end and a hook at the other. I have one but have not used it yet. Those with the plastic "string" are for knitting in the round. Crochet has no such needle... we crochet in the round with one needle.

    ReplyDelete