# Different Yarns?



## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

> The 'paca has no memory,


Hercsmama,
I've learned something new today. So.....you don't ever use 100% alpaca to make anything? 

If you and others on here don't mind....would you share some of your 
1. favorite blends? 
2. Not so favorite? 
3. Absolute "in Love with" yarn?


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Oh, FUN !!!

Wool/mohair is awesome. There are all manner of blends, from 10/90-90/10%.

The wool gives strength and body while the mohair gives loft and crazy textures.

The same can be said for wool/angora or wool/alpaca.

Wool/alpaca/camel is, well......almost naughty...... :huh:

Since most light knits are such that you'd have to find the perfect combination all made up for you in one or two strands (and for other reasons), I have made a career choice of knitting with multiple strands of varying combinations of all of the above !!!

:bouncy:

Oh, yeah....... the in-love-with stuff.....

Welcomme mohair......a French blend.....
Unger's "OmbrÃ©" mohair, if you can find it......best ever IMO.....
Thorobred Scheepjeswol "Kashmir Mohair"
Plymouth "Yukon" 
Tahki Imports "Jumbo Tweed"
Sirdar "Soft" mohair blend

Good combos are Lamb's Pride, bulky and about any mohair.....and....
Lopi with the same.

There are many others, but that should bury you in scrumptious options to start.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I have to agree with FR on this one.

Anything is better with a strand of mohair added to it.
It really is.

It adds a bit of halo and fullness, a bit of silkiness and, oddly, a little heft to the piece that you just wouldn't have without the mohair.

Just about everything I make has a little mohair added.. even my Secret Swap had a red mohair strand added. 

But my favorite, in love with, is brushed baby alpaca.
omg.
Softer than a kitty's tummy.
Unbelievable.
Unimaginable softness.

But alpaca, in general, is my favorite yarn to work with.

Oh wait.. 100% cashmere is my favorite thing on earth, but who can afford that?
So I am content with buying it at the thrift in sweater form for mere pennies.
I am wearing 100% cashmere right now.


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

I love all the natural fibers and have transitioned away from acrylic unless it is asked for. To get certain yarns like Cashmere, it is possible to find sweaters here I can unravel. The 99 cent sale resulted in me finding a 100% Cashmere sweater but I decided to keep that one. I got 3 skeins of 100% jet black mohair from an unravel of trim only with the body of the sweater left to do still in greens. Last year I bought a variegated wild purple mohair sweater and unraveled it to make several things. A thrift store had a $6 very wide knit cowl which I really liked but I will unravel it for the 100% angora yarn as it is too wide on me. It is always hard to decide now to keep or unravel. Spinning yarn creates very special results but a hand spindle takes a while which means I have to supplement my supply.
I want to find merino wool with silk but that is another yarn to get from an unravel. I have made some 100% angora items from yarn trading. Alpaca is divine, I made a little hand spun yarn but did get a nice inventory a few years back, nearly gone now. I also love blending mohair, merino wool, angora and other softies to add with wool. Cotton is a great yarn for wash cloths and I have made some knee high socks with it that I like. Most of my socks are wools. I did enjoy making some Llama, alpaca and mohair knee high socks. I am considering an afghan with the Icelandic yarn I am nearly done spinning.

I have made hats and scarves with 100% Alpaca.

This is funny Chickenista, I am wearing my thrift store thick Cashmere sweater today.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

GeorgaGirl I'm not sure if you are asking if people really don't use Alpaca or not. What Hercsmama means is that sheep's wool is just about the only fiber that has memory, stretch, give whatever you want to call it. All the other fibers are wonderful but even better if you add either a bit of wool to them or them to wool. 

You would use 100% (or other high percentage) Alpaca or other non-wool fiber if you want drape. Sheeps wool is very forgiving that's one of the reasons it is so highly recommended for people just starting out learning to knit, crochet, or to spin. Cotton is one of the worst and maybe you have noticed if you have a cotton sweater how it seems to grow as it is warn. Usually if you toss it into the dryer after washing that will help it to regain its shape. I don't think any fiber stretches out of shape as much as cotton does. But they all drape.

So you blend or not the fibers you want depending on what you are making and the look you are after. I'm not sure if this helps you or just confuses you more.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I have knit with 100% alpaca. It was from my friend&#8217;s herd. She carded it by hand and I spun it. It was wonderful and I made a scarf for my friend and a hat for me. I would not knit a larger item from it and I would not knit socks from it.


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

Marchwind, sorry that I didn't explain myself better. Maura came along and gave the answer I was looking for. That helps a lot seeing I just purchased some 100% alpaca off of Ravelry. I'll know now just to make something small like a scarf or hat and not a baby blanket or such.


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

So.........what would your choice of fiber be if you were going to make a baby blanket?
Superwash Merino? I thought about the Baah Sonoma that I used for granddaughter's scarf or the Baah Shasta......just a different color. Looking for some suggestions


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

I've never knit a baby blanket before... ..only made quilted ones with cotton fabric. So I want to make sure before I make a yarn purchase. I noticed at the LYS that they have an organic cotton .....maybe called Seedling? Would that be a choice? Or would it stretch to much?


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

A cotton baby blanket would be pretty heavy, IMHO. Cotton is a fairly heavy fiber for it's size. Cotton also doesn't stretch, but you don't really need a stretchy blanket. You can knit it so it has a little stretch built in from the knitting, but a pure 100% cotton yarn won't have much stretch at all.

Superwash wool might make a nice blanket. Wool doesn't absorb odors and it can soak up to 30% of it's weight in water before it feels wet.

Pure alpaca yarn is used when you don't want very much stretch in an item or when stretch isn't necessary. Shawls, scarves, etc., are perfect from 100% alpaca. It can also be woven into cloth. 

Among the fibers with little or no stretch are alpaca, angora, silk and cotton. For stretch and resiliency a fine wool such as Merino is added to other fibers to add "bounce" to the yarn. Different breeds of sheep have different types of fiber on them so the wool from one breed of sheep will be different than the wool from another breed of sheep. Which is why I'm surprised knitters let yarn manufacturers get away with just calling something "100% wool" as if that would tell us anything. It's a lot like calling a vehicle "100% car".


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

I've used 100% Alpaca for blankets, it's wonderful!!!
But I don't really care if they stretch out and stay that way, lol!

Alpaca is my personal fiber of choice, but it should always be blended with something, preferably wool, if you want the item to hold it's shape.
For shear drape, and warmth, it's tough to beat.
Scarves, blankets, wraps, things that can stretch, and still be functional, are great for 100%. But sweaters, shawls that need to hold their blocking, socks, hats, gloves and such, use a blend.
Also, Alpaca felts like nobodies business, so whatever you make, you'll need to hand wash, GENTLY, and lay flat to dry.:happy2:

For a baby blanket that will most likely see alot of washing machine time, go for a nice superwash wool. It's really the easiest care for baby and child things.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I knit my brother a sweater vest of 100% alpaca this Christmas. The pattern had such a stitch structure that it actually had stretch and memory. (It was like a waffle.)
But in general, it is better for things that are good drapey.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I bought in to the 'paca has no memory, use it at 100% for only drapey things for over 10 years. Now I'm hearing from spinners/knitters that are using 100% alpaca for sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, et al, that they are having great success with their garments not stretching if you use the correct pattern.

Nothing is absolute when it comes to the fiber arts. With the right combination of things, everything is possible.

The one thing to remember about alpaca is that it is warmer than wool because of the hollow hair shafts.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

What characteristics might the right alpaca pattern have that would give the advantage over the wrong pattern ?
Would it be a tighter knit ? Other ?


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Just more balanced structure with the purls supporting the knit stitches, as in a waffle, basket weave or pennant pattern.

At least that is what I've been able to deduce from the comments I've seen.

Also, with your sweaters, Cables are heavier than plain stockinette. Garments that hang and have cables will sag where the cables are more so than where the stockinette.

Having rows of moss or garter stitch at the bottom of cabled garments gives support to the cabled sections.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

If you want something to be clingy such as cuffs, hats, socks, etc., and you have a yarn made with a non-stretchy fiber, you can use a pattern with a lot of ribbing in it to overcome - at least part way - the lack of stretch in the fiber. Making a ribby pattern with stretchy yarn makes for some really clingy finished projects.

I dunno if it matters with your projects, FR, they are gorgeous but they don't usually seem to be clingy patterns. Yours always seem lush and drapey to me, oversized and sorta almost engulfing. Maybe we should do some knitting tours over here and you can teach a group how to knit with size, uh - what size *are* your needles?


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## KansasFarmgirl (Jan 1, 2008)

Wow! I love this thread. I've learned a lot of useful info!


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Alpaca knits up like cotton for me - but much depends on the spinning and final weight of the yarn. 

As for "memory", I think of it like elasticity. There's a big change when the finished pieces are wet with water. Alpaca will "hold a fold" in a stitch, unlike silk that will go completely flat. A fat lofty alpaca yarn will have great stitch definition - lace edging patterns with leaf elements have been particularly effective. Gloves are a treat. I think socks would be a challenge. There's just no spring back.

Mullers Lane Farm says it best. When it comes to garments, you have to start thinking of it in terms of fabrics and construction. You can take the same wool yardage and cut a perfectly fitting jacket, but a cape or skirt will have to "hang" (and grow) for the final structure and size of the fabric to manifest.

So yes, stitch patterns that make a tight fabric work best, like knitting into the back of the stitch in ribbing - the Fisherman's Rib pattern. Moss stitch and linen stitch. Cotton knitting patterns.


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## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

Would 100% alpaca work in a honeycomb stitch?


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

Y'all are wonderful with your comments! Such a great group of folks here. Alpaca can be very warm, and heavy. I had thought of sending Forerunner a bunch of alpaca for him to make me a sweater but then figured it would weigh 10 pounds!! LOL. I have a lace poncho type top that I wear to the alpaca shows and it's surprisingly warm, even with the lace.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Alpaca would give good stitch definition, so it would work well for honeycomb stitch I think. Make a bunch of samples with different stitches to see what you think.


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