1: Choosing Patterns,
Yarns & Size (cont.)
Will it look good with wear?
Scrunch a bit of yarn tightly. If it is still kinked up after a few
minutes, it means there is a problem with recovery, and as you wear
the garment it could crease and even sag. Quite often, these yarns
can’t be ironed successfully, so you will have to appreciate a
creased effect.
---
Will it fluff?
Loosely wound wool or cotton yarn will be more likely to fluff, fuzz
or pill. This is the result of the fibres being too short to be held
by the twist, and they will work their way out of the yarn. A quick
test is to rub the yarn with your finger, or rub some strands
together. If it fluffs quickly, find another yarn.
Short fibres are less valuable, and usually used in lower quality
yarns. Good quality
yarn is made from more
expensive, long fibre
wool or cotton and so the
price of the yarn points to a better product. If you buy a better
quality yarn, any garment you make will look and wear better for a
longer time.
A
garment made from good yarn or one made with a shoddy yarn takes
exactly the same time to knit and finish. Don’t waste your time and
effort with a yarn that is not going to stand up to any wear.
---
Making sense of the symbols on ball bands
Read all the information on the ball bands. Sometimes the
information is in words, sometimes in symbols. As I write this, I
have been told that there are moves to standardise the symbols and
advice, but at the moment, it is a grab-bag. It’s all there, you
just have to be able to understand it. Use your common sense, and
most of the instructions will be clear. (However, I have to admit
defeat. There is one symbol I cannot understand. It’s a table with
something on it. I simply have no idea what on earth it is supposed
to be telling me. I’ve searched the Internet, jumped on people in
yarn shops, looked in knitting books and I’m still waiting for a
revelation!)
There is a large variation of
symbols in just a few ball band samples.
Most ball bands use symbols to convey the
information you will need. Although they vary slightly from company
to company, they are divided into five different shapes, and on or
around the shape will be the relevant information for the yarn you
have chosen.
A crossed shape means JUST DON’T DO IT (whatever “it” is)!
The basic symbols follow:
|
Washing
instructions |
|
Bleaching
instructions |
|
Drying
instructions |
|
Ironing or
pressing instructions |
|
Dry cleaning
instructions |
It is easy to understand what you have to do
when you can decode the shapes.
NEXT PAGE>>
chapter page: 1 |
2 | 3 | 4 |
5 | 6 |