Course Overview:

The yarn you choose will affect the look, feel and longevity of your sweater so it is important to choose a yarn that is suitable for the project and the person you are knitting for. However, when you are faced with seemingly unlimited varieties and colors of yarn it can be difficult to choose just one! In this module we’ll take a look at fiber choice, yarn weight and texture and how to choose the best combination of these factors for your sweater project.

Fiber

Yarn fiber simply refers to the substance or substances that your yarn is made out of. You may be surprised to find how many different varieties there are to choose from! Usually fiber is grouped into three main categories – protein, cellulose and synthetic. To make things simpler you can think of them as animal fibers, plant fibers and synthetic fibers. Below are some general characteristics for each type of fiber. There are some exceptions to the generalizations but overall they hold true for the majority of the category.

Protein Fibers

You may have guessed it from the name but protein fibers are fibers that come from animals. The most common types of animal fibers to use for sweaters are sheep’s wool, alpaca and cashmere. If you’re feeling a little bit more adventurous you could try one of the more exotic animal fibers like llama, bison, camel, silk, mohair, angora, possum, qiviut or vicuna.

If you decide to use an animal fiber for your sweater here’s what you can expect from your yarn and consequently your finished garment.

Naturally flame retardant
Holds color well
High quality fiber will drape nicely
Feels warm to the touch
Generally tends to be soft
Not machine washable
Tend to be durable
Excellent at moisture wicking
Excellent breathability
Great insulators
Good elasticity
Depending on the spinning, will naturally tend to pill
Most help regulate body temperature

Cellulose Fibers

Cellulose fibers are those that come from plants and are then processed (sometimes very heavily) to become yarn. The most common plant fibers to use for making sweaters are cotton, bamboo and linen. You may also be able to find yarns made from hemp, soy, lenpur, sea cell, tencel, rayon or ramie but generally these fibers are not used for sweaters.

If you choose to use a plant fiber here are some things you can expect from your sweater project.

Flammable
Hard wearing
Excellent color retention
Feels cool to the touch
Good breathability
Low moisture resistance
Hypoallergenic
Poor elasticity – tends to stretch or sag when knit
Easy to care for
Most are machine washable
Yarn prone to splitting
Get softer with wear
Excellent drape

Synthetic Fibers

Synthetic fibers are essentially different forms of plastic that are made into tiny strings and spun together to create yarn. Synthetic fibers have come a long way in the past 20 years or so and you may be surprised by how nice some of them feel to the touch. The most common synthetic fiber used for sweaters is by far acrylic as it tends to be most readily available. Occasionally you may also see nylon, polyester and lycra.

If you choose to work with a synthetic yarn here are some characteristics you can expect from it.

Highly flammable
Low dye absorption, good color retention
Pills readily
Low breathability
Good heat retention
Feels warm to the touch
Good moisture resistance
Can irritate sensitive skin
Easy to care for
Machine washable
Cheaper alternative to animal fibers
Fairly durable
Moderate drape

Fiber Blends

One of the great things about having so many fibers to choose from is that you can also create a ton of different fiber blends! By spinning two types of fiber together the resulting blend can show of the characteristics of each fiber type. If you like the characteristics of both animal and plant fibers chances are good that you’ll be able to find a blend of the two. Perhaps you like to feel of wool but the price point of acrylic, there is a blend out there for you! Common reasons to choose a blend are affordability, easier care or desirable fabric characteristics.

Yarn Weight

As you’re choosing yarn you’ll want to keep in mind the yarn weight. How light or heavy your yarn is will determine how quickly you’ll be able to make your sweater and how thick your finished sweater will be. For instance if you use a heavy weight of yarn to make a quick project you will end up with a thicker, bulkier sweater.

The weight of each yarn used to be determined by the number of plies to create it. Now we use the number of stitches per 4 inches to determine weight. Yarn weights that are commonly used for sweaters are fingering (27-32 sts), worsted (16-20 sts), chunky (12-14 sts) and bulky (6-11 sts).

The lighter the yarn, the lighter the sweater and vice versa.
Fingering weight is often used to knit for babies.
A medium weight like worsted is a very versatile weight in terms of warmth and lightness. It can be used to knit garments for most seasons and climates.

When you use chunky and bulky yarn the garment will be very warm and heavy – more like a knit coat.
One thing you’ll want to keep in mind as you are choosing your yarn weight is where your sweater will be worn. If you live in a warm climate you may find that you wear lighter sweaters more often. If you live in the arctic circle something much heavier might be more practical. Additionally, if your sweater will be worn primarily indoors you’ll want a lighter weight sweater than if you’ll be using your sweater to ski in.

Yarn Texture

The texture of the yarn itself will greatly affect the overall look and feel of your garment. In general the best yarn for sweaters is a smooth yarn or a yarn that you will be able to get an even gauge with.

The biggest determining factor of what sort of texture a yarn will have is the way the yarn is spun and plied. This will determine how durable the yarn is, how warm your garment will be and what overall texture the fabric will have after you knit with it.

Of the smooth yarns, plied yarns tend to be sturdiest. Single ply and roving style yarns feel very soft and tend to be good insulators.

If you have a very textured yarn that you would like to use, they tend to be best suited for small details like cuffs or edgings.

Moving On

Now that you have a good idea about fibers, yarn weight and texture lets focus on the most noticeable feature of your new sweater, color. In the next section we will be using seasonal color analysis to find the colors that will make you look your very best!