June 30, 2005
Just say no to silk
Actually, only say no to laceweight silk.
Really, just say no to the idea of winding your own center-pull ball from 840 yards of the above without the help of machines.
Most importantly, just say to no knitting from both ends of said center-pull ball. Logic suggests that this would be a great way to knit with two strands, but its wrong. very wrong.
I know. Because I tried, and here's what happened:
A huge tangled mess! ack! This silk nearly cost me my sanity.
After a great deal of time spent untangling, a fair amount of cutting, and some sacrifices to the silk gods, I now own two non-center-pull skeins of indeterminate length.
Is there still enough left? Who knows! I will knit with it, and if I run out, I will return to Habu Textiles, purchase more, and absolutely request that they wind it into a ball.
The good news is that I like the way it works with the worsted wool.
The swatch below shows, from the top down: Worsted+Silk(two strands), Worsted alone, and Worsted+Mohair.
The silk is barely noticeable, but adds a little bit of shine, and changes the feel of the wool. On the reverse stockinette side, the two strands of silk end up right on the purl bump. Which means that it should be nicer next to skin! yesssss. Mission accomplished.
phew. all this, and I haven't even started knitting yet.
Comments (22)
Oy, yes, that's what happens with silk. It grabs on to itself like nothing I've ever seen before. I tried plying from 2 ends of a center pull ball, and I had much cursing, cutting, and crying. You did save a lot of it, though, and that's good! The swatch is looking nice - sounds like it was worth it.
Posted by June | June 30, 2005 10:41 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 10:41
Ah, yes, love that swatch! I think it will be more cozy than the mohair, hehe!
IMO, it doesn't matter if it's machine-wound or human-wound - slipperly, laceweight yarn is not meant to be used from the center! Then eventually the ball collapses and it's too easy for this kind of yarn to tangle up on itself! If/When you get more, try using it from the outside, I think you'll be happier!
Posted by grumperina | June 30, 2005 10:53 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 10:53
I tried knitting from both ends once... very bad, very bad... THough I did it with Cascade 220 which is not nearly as bad. I love that color and glad you got it all sorted out... I love the way the wosted and silk looks... Its beautiful!
Posted by Dani | June 30, 2005 10:57 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 10:57
the same thing happened to me, with habu laceweight bamboo. I only wanted one ounce but all they had was a 4 ounce cone. Silly me buys it without thinking how I was going to get it into a skein so that I could dye it. It took me hours to wind it! My shoulder still hurts from just thinking about it. All that pain for one ounce ugh.
The swatch looks great,way better than with the mohair. Maybe I'll try the same thing with my wool and the bamboo (if I can get someone to wind it for me). I think it will lighten the wool up a bit.
Posted by yahaira | June 30, 2005 11:01 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 11:01
Yummy brown silk! I'm sure it's very sorry for being difficult and is proving it by working up beautifully - I love the portion with the silk. I can't wait to see more.
Posted by Stephanie | June 30, 2005 11:06 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 11:06
I'm so glad you were able to save *most* of it b/c it looks great with the wool!
Posted by Tara | June 30, 2005 11:24 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 11:24
oh i feel your pain, you have no idea! what i hate the most about knitting is "tangling yarn"! there are times i can not find the yarn ends even from center pulled yarn, and had to rip the guts out and then the whole ball just collapses. this ends up as a mess of tangled yarn, might as well be from your cats.
chocolate swatch looks delicous! so, are you going to go with worsted with 2X silk? that combo looks the best!
Posted by blossom | June 30, 2005 11:31 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 11:31
Yeah, I love the silk, and I'll bet it will improve the feel of the fabric by leaps and bounds.
Posted by Colleen | June 30, 2005 11:33 AM
Posted on June 30, 2005 11:33
Oh that tangled mess! I would have been crazy too!
Posted by Christie | June 30, 2005 12:16 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 12:16
What a pain! I'm glad you got it sorted out though. Can't wait to see the minisweater when it's done!
Posted by Angela | June 30, 2005 12:47 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 12:47
Oh, I feel your pain with that center pull ball. I seem to have that happen to me more times than not. It is so frustrating! But! The silk looks great with the wool. It definitely shines it up and gives it some elegance. I hope it feels nice.
Posted by Purly Whites | June 30, 2005 1:21 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 13:21
Wow, that was a mess... I have been tere too... and it is not fun. Glad you were able to get the center-pull though, even if some was sacrificed! It looks beautiful with the worsted weight wool.
Posted by Lolly | June 30, 2005 1:45 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 13:45
Best option, hands down.
Posted by Sarah | June 30, 2005 5:16 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 17:16
Not that I'm glad to see another knitter in tangles, but it's comforting to see that other people make some of the same errors that I do with skeins. (Guilty.) The result looks like it will be worth all the blood, sweat and tears, though: I love the subtle touches that the silk adds to the worsted ... I would never have thought of that.
Good luck with this project --
Posted by Carolyn B. | June 30, 2005 5:33 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 17:33
you know you can't say no!!
It looks divine, but then, I've always had a thing for dark chocolate. :)
Posted by Di | June 30, 2005 6:19 PM
Posted on June 30, 2005 18:19
I've been in tangles so many times that I can defintely sympathize with this post. But I love the color and the way the silk looks. I like it better than the mohair.
Posted by marichan | July 1, 2005 11:43 AM
Posted on July 1, 2005 11:43
Ack!! Silk knots! That will make for a frustrating day... What a gorgeous color though. I could really see the sheen of the silk at the top of the swatch - definitely worth all the trouble. :-)
Posted by Vicki | July 2, 2005 11:01 AM
Posted on July 2, 2005 11:01
Good for you for tackling those knots...I have been known to toss...I have no patience for that...and it takes up valuable knitting time! But it's silk...so you had to! Looks great in the swatch.
Posted by carolyn | July 2, 2005 8:45 PM
Posted on July 2, 2005 20:45
been there done that with lace yarn. I have a great nostepinne, but I need a ball winder for use w/lace weight yarn. Looks good w/the wool, I can see the "sheen", and it stablizes the wool too, if that makes sense. Lookin' good....
Posted by Renada | July 3, 2005 10:45 PM
Posted on July 3, 2005 22:45
oh I had the same problem too when I bought some 100%silk yarn in China. Tried winding them in a ball but can't hold itself. My friend suggested collecting leftover toilet paper cones to wind them....still haven't wind them and left them at my friend's home :(
Posted by marjorie | July 4, 2005 3:19 AM
Posted on July 4, 2005 03:19
It hurts to look at that mess - so glad you were able to untangle it. ;-) Very pretty browns...
Posted by Jenny | July 4, 2005 11:13 PM
Posted on July 4, 2005 23:13
I LOVE that silk. THey look so amazing together.
Great job on Stephanie's site. It looks great! once I get settled with my move I may be hitting you up for your services. :)
Posted by Jenn | July 6, 2005 4:24 PM
Posted on July 6, 2005 16:24