Material Guide – What to Use for What?

Hello everyone,
in the thread over there, a kind of material guide was suggested, so I’ve started a thread about it here.
Here we can collect information about all materials suitable for DIY and, of course, share our experiences.
Have fun, and I hope lots of you will join in.

It would be nice if we could all contribute to it together.

Hi Josefa,

yes, great idea—it’s interesting to see what everyone uses.
Is it okay to mention sources here (or even if I write something like that on the blog)?
For example, I’m often asked where my buttons are from. Can I mention the American source?

Best wishes and have a great weekend

Nici

Oh, that’s great :) Thanks!

Good idea, then I’ll write something too.
I like using
merino yarn for sweaters, but be careful when washing it
cotton for Tolas
cotton with linen or silk for summer sweaters

I’m currently knitting with what’s called a gradient yarn.
This is a yarn made up of several strands, which means the individual strands aren’t twisted together, as is the case with most industrially produced yarns.
For knitting, and of course crocheting too, this means you have to be a little more careful to make sure you catch all the strands.
I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners, but with a little practice, it works quite well.
In gradient skeins, the individual colors are changed little by little.
My little skein, for example, is wound from 4 individual strands. First, one of these is changed to the new color, then 2, and so on. When knitting, this creates a very gradual transition from one color to the next.
At the color changes, the individual strands are knotted together with a tiny little knot and have a long tail that can simply be knitted in. The knot is invisible afterwards.



This is what the little skeins look like when you receive them. It’s best to leave them in the little bag while working with them so nothing gets tangled. The beginning of the yarn is usually marked with a small tag. Here you can clearly see the color gradient of the yarn from turquoise blue to yellow-green.
The yarn I used is made of 4 strands and has a composition of 50% cotton and 50% acrylic. I chose a light lace pattern, which makes for a cozy, soft, lightweight summer shawl that I already like a lot and will definitely be keeping for myself :-)))

Best wishes 

Nici




 

Just a quick addendum to my article:

Gradient yarn cakes come in many different sizes.
They range from 2 strands to, I think, 8 individual strands.

They’re usually listed by length, rarely by weight, as we’re used to. (For my shawl, I chose 550 meters, and it’ll be nice and big to snuggle up in.)
When working with them, you should make sure to choose something that can be made in one piece. That’s why they’re so popular for knitting and crocheting shawls.
Otherwise, if you were to knit a sweater, the front would be a different color than the back, and the sleeves would be yet another color.
However, the manufacturers of this yarn are usually happy to wind two identical cakes, or to wind yarn in a matching color for the sleeves, etc....

The shawl is turning out nicely; I like it so far.
I had traded for yarn like this and knitted with it for the first time. A top-down raglan—well, there aren’t any sleeves, otherwise they’d just turn out dark. But it wears well; I’ve already tried it on.