The number of plies plays a huge role in the strength of a yarn. As does whether a yarn was spun as woolen or worsted. Worsted-spun yarns are dense, smooth, and typically has more twist. Woolen yarns (from wool or other animal hair specifically) are more fluffy and airy (less desirable for woven goods because it will be sticky and that will make it difficult to open the shed.) Now in the States most knitters don't pay much attention to ply or woolen/worsted aspects of a yarn. But spinners do--that's a huge part of the decision-making tree when deciding to spin a yarn. Spinning my own yarn has been eye-opening with regards to my knitting and now as I embark on my weaving journey, that as well. I'm not interested in purchasing yarn at all. I intend to weave solely with my own handspun. So now I know I need to make it multi-plied and worsted-spun. Thank you!
Wow! I am doing the exact same thing. I knit, crochet, weave, etc. with almost exclusively my own hand dyed, handspun yarn. It has been an amazing journey!
This is another incredibly useful video of yours! I'm so happy to have found you in RU-vid! And I'm in Perth, Australia. Thank you so much for all o this 😊
Another great video! Thanks for including terminology from other countries, it really makes your videos more inclusive and helpful to more people. At the start of Covid, I over-invested in weaving yarn. My output did not match my ambitions, and I’m still trying to work through my stash. In particular, I have an abundance of 8/2 bamboo, 10/2 tencel and 5/2 and 8/2 cottons. Do you have any suggestions about how I can knit or crochet with them? I’ve had some success crocheting with two bamboo threads held double, but less so with the cotton. I’d really prefer to knit, but I’ve had less success with that. I don’t need more scarves, everyone I know has at least one, if not 2 by now! Thanks for your ideas about how to knit or crochet down my stash!
Hmm, I don't understand the term "over-invested in in weaving yarn" 😆 But seriously, that was actually a good thing to do because you likely got in before inflation really hit and probably saved quite a bit of $$. Most of the yarn sizes you have are quite thin for knitting. I would personally find it pretty hard to hand knit those sizes, but that might just be me. For crochet, mostly the thinner yarns would be used for things like doilies. Sorry, I don't have many ideas, I would just use them for weaving 😊 The cottons could be used for weaving towels.
I'm so glad you made this video. When I got my loom I wanted to start right away. Since I knew nothing I used a hand painted yarn I thought I would use for a sweater. So I got to work slayed thr Reed and began. I was dreaming of a beautiful table runner with all the beautiful colors. Every time I beat peeling began then breaking yarn. I was so sad 😞. My first go as at a project and it was a failure 😪!!
Wonderful and informative video! I just wanted to ask, if you can maybe do a comment about your thoughts about using weaving/knitting yarn for warp/weft. I made a scarf with weaving yarn for the warp (cotton) and knitting yarn (wool) for the weft. It didn't give me a balanced weave, and gives me a lot of trubles when washing, but I chose this appropach because I was interested in a bold pattern, experimenting with warp/weft effect and a warm winter scarf.
Yes, I always recommend to be careful when combining different yarn types. The failsafe way is to weave a sample using the 2 yarns first, wet finish, then observe.
This is so helpful. Yarn weights, etc are a foreign language to me. I come from music and paper/ink/painted arts. I had no idea that there was such a difference in yarns, and just bought a wool yarn on sale, which is apparently is a knitting yarn. Now I know appropriate projects to use for what I ended up buying. It also explains why I’m struggling a bit with the tension. Oh well, I’ll learn the hard way, just like everything else in life. It didn’t cost me much except for my time. Do online sellers sell sample sets to help you decide what to use on a project? Paper manufacturers do this. I can buy a sampler of different papers from a manufacturer before I decide on what I want to buy in larger quantities for a project(s). I’ll buy a sample set from a manufacturer or art supply store (with samples across manufacturers), and paint swatches to get to know the paper before I buy more for a painting project.
@@KellyCasanova Thank you! Are there any companies that sell in the US that offer them for sale that you know of? Apparently I need to purchase some to get some hands on knowledge before I start buying more yarn.
@@mendyviola I'm not too sure as all mine are from Australian suppliers. But I do know that Maurice Brassard (Canadian company) do them for their yarn. I don't know if you can buy them direct or if it has to be through a supplier.
Thank you. Terrific information - I never considered the elasticity of knitting wool, duh. If I purchase your beginner class, is there a time limit to use it? I'd like to purchase now, watch bits when I can over the next few months (busiest time of year on the homestead), and then revisit when I have gathered my materials and the harvests are done. I did your 'wash your hands towels' as my very first rigid heddle project just using the BWM 8Ply cotton I had on hand, and made every beginner mistake possible (at least that's out of the way) but they are useable and getting well used. Then I found your video on beginner mistakes, and yes, I did make every single one of them including putting the heddle in back-to-front :D I hope to one day weave something with my handspun yarn - I spin merino, corriedale, dorset, suffolk & alpaca. If I'm a lucky farmgirl, Kris Kringle is delivering the Ashford Dyeing Kit and I can then weave any colours I like (praying hard for that).
I've crocheted with pearl cotton on a cone and weaved with 'wool ease' by Lion brand, just a simple scarf. Still very much a beginner. This is very interesting, thanks for explaining this. I've wondered what would happen if I used a strong weaving yarn for my warp and knitting yarns for my weft or is my beginner status showing?
Well, it depends. Unless you want to create interesting effects (by using yarns that shrink at different rates) it is better to stick with at least the same type of yarn for warp and weft. Not a rule, feel free to experiment! You could, for example use a weaving cotton in the warp and then a knitting cotton in the weft. Or a weaving wool in the warp and knitting wool in the weft.
Im a beginning weaver myself and the master weaver who mentors me, she is also a master spinner and dyer, has encouraged me to experiment with my rigid heddle loom. I typically dress my loom according to the dent size I plan to use and I find that even my 5 dent heddle dressed out in Sugar n' Cream and wefted in the same or even my 8 dent in the CoBoo makes a wonderful fabric and my towels not only last, I cant weave fast enough to fill the orders for kitchen towels. Currently im planning a sampler using my lovely 4/8 and 8/8 cotton, mine are labeled rug warp, to see what kind of linen I get, I have a napkin draft to finally attempt
Hi Kelly, thanks very much for this video. I don't see the link to the Thread company you mentioned, and do they ship to the US? I really like using the Maurice Bressard cottons but I've only used the 8/2 cotton so far. I still have issues figuring sett but it will get better. Thanks again.
Thanks Kelly! Can you tell me if the warp needs to be a certain weight, as in the same as the weft? Should we use cotton or wool in particular to warp? Thank you 🙏
The warp and weft don't always have to be the same and there are many different yarns you can use to warp with. I have many other yarn videos here on RU-vid that you would benefit from - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NAnLb-arw8M.html
Thank you! By the time I managed to convert 8/4 into meters per 100g that is a knitting standard in my country, I was steaming a bit. Took some blog posts to read and a few calculations in Wolfram Alpha. As far as I can find there is no weaving yarn here (I found some half acrylic and it's wholesale) and lots of knitting machine yarn but mostly not cotton. But I calculated metric length for 100g and bought knitting cottons close to 8/4 and 8/2 and can't break any of them in the hands so I guess I'm good. They work well on my frame loom. Is there anything regarding the twist apart from the strength of the yarn? I heard knitters pay attention to twist because it can make their knitting to twist too, is there a 'wrong twist' for weavers?
Yes, the amount of twist can affect the weaving. Weavers who like texture, movement or some amount of collapse will often seek out particular yarns. But your everyday yarns will be fine to use in your weaving.
I am a very beginner weaver. I have just inherited a large amount of acrylic knitting yarn. Can I use this on my rigid heddle? I’ve made a few things with sugar and cream cotton, but was hoping I could use this acrylic to at least produce something successfully. Thank you!
Yes, you can definitely use acrylics, but just know that they can vary. Some will be fine to use and others will be challenging. Some stretch on the loom, shed heaps, are sticky, but not all.
Did I miss it or did you make no mention of twist direction? As a knitter, it's important. Stocking stitch with a weaving (Z twist) yarn knits crooked. This can be remedied by using a stitch pattern with both knit and purl in each row. 40 years ago I lived on the Isle of Lewis where the mill shop would sell both weaving (Harris tweed) yarn and the same yarn plied with a S twist for knitting. It was great but it smelled of oil and left a dark mark across your tension finger.
Just out of curiosity, with the weaving yarns are the terms (say 8/4 cotton) are the terms saying 8 is the size of the ply & 4 is how many? Like is a 8/8 wool the same size as an 8ply/DK knitting yarn?
No, cotton and wool have different starting standards. You cannot compare the two -- or any other fibre content. Each is different. The size refers to how many yards of the fiber it takes to make 1 pound of the yarn (as a single yarn). This is called the yarn count. Every fibre has a different count! For cotton, silk, and rayon: Size 1 means there are 840 yards of the yarn in 1 pound. (one hank) Size 3 means there are 2520 yards of the yarn in 1 pound. (3 x 840), etc.(three hanks) Basically, the larger the size number, the finer the yarn. (wool has another base count) When you see yarn labeled 3/2 that means it’s a Size 3 yarn with 2-plies. Please note: 8/2 is NOT the same as 2/8!!
My question is about the cotton weaving yarns. 8/4 and 8/2. Why do weavers double the 8/2 and not just use the 8/4 as a single warp and weft? I want to purchase this type of yarn but am confused as to which size to buy. Thanks Kelly. Your videos are wonderful and so informative.
I haven't actually used 8/4 (I do have some in my stash, just haven't gotten around to using it yet). I need to experiment with it so I can compare the two 😊
By using two yarns next to each other, they lay flatter (side by side). But a thicker yarn also makes up some width (or thickness) of the fabric! So if you want a "skinnier" fabric, use doubled yarns; a thick single also makes up a thicker fabric, which you sometimes want.
