another one on the circular

Are they expecting NEW threads ? mirjam

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mirjam
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The Bernat Alpaca is a new item for them.

sue

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suzee

Christy

Cotton is an organic fiber, readily available, and usually inexpensive. The only thing it's really bad for is knit ribbing. There are variations you can use to make a good cotton rib, but for the most part, I don't like it for sweaters. I do have some really thin cotton that is naturally colored and changes colors as it gets washed (either brown to green or lighter brown to darker brown). The cone is tucked away in my stash right now, so I can't tell you the name, but it was quite reasonable when I bought it.

For branching out into wool, you can get a wool blend like Lion Brand's Woolease. I have a hat in Woolease (20% wool content in their black yarn) for when the weather is colder and I want a touch of wool, but not 100%.

As for cost, you can shop around and find good deals on the more exotic yarns, or just save up by not purchasing acrylic and then spend that money on the exotic yarn. I have fingering weight yarns that cost $5 a skein that I'm making socks out of (need 3 skeins since they are only 50 grams and I'm crocheting these socks, would only need 2 if I was knitting them), and fingering weight yarn that costs $20 a skein that I'll probably also make knit socks out of, so there is a variety of prices out there. You just need to shop around your local LYS or online. I'd avoid the really exotic sequinned yarns at first, since they can be really difficult to work with. You could also combine yarns, like a strand of lace weight mohair blend, with your acrylic to add a bit of the exotic to your project w/out breaking the bank, or use something like angora as an accent on cuffs and the like.

Leah

Reply to
Leah

Leah,

I don't think I've really thought about cotton on a large scale. I usually only use cotton in the form of crochet cotton, for wall hangings and dollies and such. The local craft shop, I believe, does have the sugar 'n' cream cotton yarn. I'll have to check the price on it. A cotton tank top or light sweater would probably be nice. : )

Christy

Reply to
vanmier

I knit and crochet a lot with cottons , you can get them here in many colors and also a sort that is machine washable [not that i do wash it in the machine , but it means they wash well] mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

Christy

I have the Threads Magazine article book on hand knitting. They recommend knitting cotton ribs with crossed sts to help them keep their shape.

They also suggest in the body of a stockinette sweater that you knit into the back of each st and purl regular to help the fabric keep it's shape. You can also do a plaited stockinette by doing a row 1 K regular, row 2 P all sts b "with yarn looped under the needle" and then repeating those 2 rows.

They also recommend casting on with the size needle recommended for the project, but then immediately switching to a needle 3-5 sizes smaller; if the pattern calls for size 8 needles, they recommend you knit the rib using a 3, 4, or 5 needle so the rib is nice and tight to begin with.

Another trick mentioned is to knit a regular rib using a strand of elastic along with a strand of yarn to help keep it from flopping about, the same way I've seen it recommended to use a strand of elastic when doing sock ribbing in cotton to help it keep it's shape. My concern is that the elastic will probably eventually break or stretch out of shape, so if I did a sweater in cotton, I'd probably use a crossed rib, which won't come undone unless the sweater gets cut.

Leah

Reply to
Leah

Leah,

I'm not a knitter. I can't quite get the hang of it. *lol*

Christy

Reply to
vanmier

it is aloso very practical to knit all rows =3D ribbesls .. mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

Cotton is Wonderful for crochet ,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

Christy

Sorry I missed that you were a crocheter! I also crochet. I've used Sugar & Cream to crochet. It was a lacy pattern and looked a little floppy until I used a smaller hook to tighten up the sts. I think the thickness of crochet rib should be OK in cotton if you use a little smaller hook, say 1-2 sizes, unless you crochet loosely, and then I'd go down 3-4 hook sizes to make the rib tight, assuming your sweater would have ribs on it somewhere.

Leah

Reply to
Leah

Leah,

Thanks. : ) I'll have to keep that in mind.

Reply to
vanmier

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