Tonia

Synthetic yarns are one of most-used yarns in the knitting world – but not without a certain amount of controversy. Many knitters, who consider themselves ‘yarn snobs’ would never touch the stuff, while others who are on a tight budget are looking for affordable yarns for knitting. And knitting with synthetic yarns definitely falls in […]

Animal fibers have a long, long textile history. Animal fibers all share some similar traits – no matter whether the animal is a sheep, a camel, or even a rabbit. But each animal also has some unique trails that make its fibers stand out from other animal fibers. In this article, we’ll look at the

Superwash wool yarn is a unique yarn that has been treated to make the wool fibers machine-washable. Wool fibers are naturally covered in scales (just like human hair) but these scales have a tendency to stick together or felt. In the process to make them machine-washable, the wool fibers are coated or removed so the

Wool yarn is the perfect yarn for knitting. Sometimes knitters refer to ‘knitting wool’ – even when they mean other fibers and yarns. But, while it can be a generic term, sheep’s wool is one specific type of yarn that is used worldwide. It’s warm, lightweight, and has wonderful elasticity and memory. But, as with

While you might think ‘leisure suit’ when you hear the term polyester, it’s actually come a long way since then and can often be found in a variety of yarns. In this article we’ll look at knitting with polyester yarn – why it’s included in various yarns and what purpose it serves. Polyester is commonly

The manufacturing of rayon for fabrics (especially yarn) has changed a great deal since its initial creation in the late 19th century. Now, biosynthetic yarns are a great choice for knitting and have many advantages. We’ll take a look at rayon and some of its other names – modal, tencel, and viscose – and when

Nylon is often found in yarns for knitting patterns and projects, but why exactly is it included? There are a few reasons you’ll find nylon added to your favorite yarns. In this article we’ll look at knitting with nylon – why it’s included in yarn and what purpose it serves. The main purpose for adding

Acrylic yarn often gets a bad rap in the knitting community. Many people love it, many people hate it (so much that they consider themselves yarn snobs that would never touch it), and many people fall in between – they know when it can actually be a great choice for a project and realize there

While you may be familiar with common knitting fibers like wool, alpaca, acrylic, or cotton (and so many more), there are some less-common specialty luxury fibers that you can sometimes find in commercially-available yarns. We’ll take a look at knitting with some of these special luxury yarn fibers – Bison, Qiviut, Angora & Possum. In