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ElizabethMM
Warming Up
United Kingdom
95 Posts |
 Posted - 08/17/2005 : 05:15:48 AM
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Hello,
So what do you think of ribbon yarns? I've just finished a shrug in LB's Incredible (variegated colors, 100% nylon) (my first ribbon yarn) and while I don't wish to condemn it, as it is very pretty especially in the light, and it's not technically difficult to knit up; however, at times on the ball the yarn had folded in on itself and I had to straighten it with a wet finger and nail.
The shrug was in garter stitch and I found the finished pieces too floppy with no hold - this might be do to loose knitting so I'm going go down a needle size after I've ripped the shrug to pieces (see my post on the General Technique board)[:((])
So what is your verdict on ribbons?- I won't be going back to them soon! |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2005 : 07:29:11 AM
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Ribbon yarns are as different from each other as wool yarns are. Some ribbons are lovely to work with, and some are not. I wouldn't expect anything from Lion Brand to be any good...
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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Ditzy Girl
Permanent Resident
USA
4718 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2005 : 08:15:50 AM
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I think they knit up beautifully, but they are not my favorite. For me personally I am not much on the novelty yarns.
Zola, Seattle, Wash.
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ElizabethMM
Warming Up
United Kingdom
95 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2005 : 10:07:03 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Lissa
I wouldn't expect anything from Lion Brand to be any good...
No really it's not bad - made in Italy and obviously a notch above what they normally put out. It's just that it is very much like normal nylon ribbon, and therefore slinky.
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Carie
Chatty Knitter
249 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2005 : 12:28:45 PM
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I like ribbon yarns that are "dry" (I can't think of another word to describe their feel). So I love the Austermann Gigi from Elann, and some of the ribbon yarns I bought from Artfibers in San Francisco. But I find the ones that are sheeney and slippery (and they always look gorgeous) are impossible to work with. They snag and heaven help you if you drop a stitch. Egh. I tried Valley Casablaca (one of Webs closeouts, now I think in their garage sale section) and Cherry Tree Hill Baby Sachet. You have to keep each open ball in a zip lock bag because they fall apart immediately. I had to use the Casablanca as a carry-along with a wool yarn b/c it fell apart by itself. The Ch Tr Hi came in a hank, and it was so hard to wind I returned it. Life's too short. Less time winding, more time knitting!
My $0.02.
Carie
My name is Carie and I'm a yarnaholic.
(***hi carie***) |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2005 : 3:10:27 PM
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I knit(ted?) my super-slippery ribbon tank directly off the swift - no tangles, no mess. Perfect solution!
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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beh2g
Chatty Knitter
USA
244 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 07:35:46 AM
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I haven't found a ribbon yarn that I absolutely loved (yet, anyway). I do like Colinette Giotto, but I dislike how it looks knit up. I think the idea is nice, and looks good in the skein, but I don't enjoy the finished project.
It does look lovely as fringe, if you're a fringe person. (Again, not me. :) |
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griffsmom
Gabber Extraordinaire
457 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 08:01:19 AM
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I've been toying with making a poncho out of a ribbon yarn, but do you think it wold be too droopy? The pattern I was thinking of is from Crystal Palace: http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/deco_ribbon_poncho.html Would Crystal Palace's ribbon yarn be less droopy?
*~*Lori*~*
"Measure wealth, not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money." ~ Unknown
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ElizabethMM
Warming Up
United Kingdom
95 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 10:21:21 AM
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beh2g - it's interesting you say that about Giotto - there's a camisole on the cover of April Knitting magazine (UK) in Giotto that I thought of making - but from the photos it doesn't look all that. I thought it might be the color so I had a look at the other colorways on the Colinette site, which look lovely. But at £6.50 that would be an expensive cami - I'll bear in mind what you're saying if I do go ahead!
Lori - that's a cute poncho. I could imagine that if you went down a needle size it would come out less floppy - sizing doesn't seem like such a problem with a poncho like that.
Elizabeth
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Carie
Chatty Knitter
249 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 12:04:32 PM
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Right off the swift! That's a great idea.
My slippery ribbon yarn already came in balls, so that wouldn't work, but maybe if it ever happens again....
Carie
My name is Carie and I'm a yarnaholic.
(***hi carie***) |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 12:23:17 PM
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It was a miracle, I tell ya!
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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NastiJ
Permanent Resident
1270 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 12:34:15 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Carie
My slippery ribbon yarn already came in balls, so that wouldn't work, but maybe if it ever happens again....
If it's a ball, you can stop every so often, put a rubber band around the ball, and let it untwist. I found that to be the easiest way to work with the CPY Shimmer I recently used.
Nancy J.
"Learning how to knit was a snap.It was learning how to stop that nearly destroyed me." Erma Bombeck |
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griffsmom
Gabber Extraordinaire
457 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2005 : 12:45:19 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by ElizabethMM
Lori - that's a cute poncho. I could imagine that if you went down a needle size it would come out less floppy - sizing doesn't seem like such a problem with a poncho like that.
Elizabeth
Thanks for the suggestion Elizabeth! I'm going to write it down on the pattern right now, before I forget!! 
*~*Lori*~*
"Measure wealth, not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money." ~ Unknown
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terpsfan
Warming Up
64 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2005 : 4:49:24 PM
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Elizabeth,
Ribbon yarns twist a lot, especially for Continental knitters (we wrap the yarn around the left forefinger). I find it helps a lot if you keep the ball in your lap with just a little coming off at a time. The longer the yarn, the more it seems to twist.
It is worth the trouble, though. I recently finished two capelets, one in an Artful Yarns ribbon called Cinema, and one in an FFF yarn called Isis. Both are nice and shimmery but have a fair bit of cotton so they feel soft.
quote:
Originally posted by ElizabethMM
Hello,
So what do you think of ribbon yarns? I've just finished a shrug in LB's Incredible (variegated colors, 100% nylon) (my first ribbon yarn) and while I don't wish to condemn it, as it is very pretty especially in the light, and it's not technically difficult to knit up; however, at times on the ball the yarn had folded in on itself and I had to straighten it with a wet finger and nail.
The shrug was in garter stitch and I found the finished pieces too floppy with no hold - this might be do to loose knitting so I'm going go down a needle size after I've ripped the shrug to pieces (see my post on the General Technique board)[:((])
So what is your verdict on ribbons?- I won't be going back to them soon!
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ElizabethMM
Warming Up
United Kingdom
95 Posts |
Posted - 08/23/2005 : 04:38:17 AM
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Thanks terpsfan for the suggestion - I'll try it now that I've almost finished ripping up the shrug to reknit!
The ribbon yarns you and Carie mention sound lovely - just hard to find in the UK - good thing I'm off to the States tomorrow!
Elizabeth |
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nocturnelle
New Pal
Canada
30 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2005 : 09:40:00 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by NastiJ
If it's a ball, you can stop every so often, put a rubber band around the ball, and let it untwist. I found that to be the easiest way to work with the CPY Shimmer I recently used.
Oh, that's a great idea! I keep feeling foolish turning the ball of yarn to unwind it. I love the ribbon yarn that I'm working with (Estelle 68% cotton/ 32% nylon), but the twisting is slowing down the knitting! Thanks! |
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dacprof
New Pal
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2005 : 7:58:23 PM
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I had a reasonably good experience with Tahki Capri, which is more of a cotton tape, than a ribbon. However, don't get me started on how many times I have untangled the Lion Brand ribbon yarn my DD insisted upon for a project that remains to be started. She has moved on from novelty yarns to worsted weight on a sweater. Meanwhile, what to do with those 5 balls of ribbon yarn?
Deb |
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Dehbi
New Pal
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2005 : 8:31:27 PM
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It has been couple of weeks since the last post on this topic, but it might benefit somebody who stumbles across it...
When working with ribbon yarn from a ball, I put it into a zip locking sandwich bag (the ones with the pull tabs are easier to deal with for this purpose), and leave just a small opening through which I feed the yarn.
After it starts to get a little bit tight with the twisting, I just hold the bag up, let the weight of the knitting untwist the strand. You might have to stand up for this.
If your project is large, just put a safety pin through the ball and the bag, both, hold the project and let the bag with the ball of yarn in it hang down. It will untwist itself.
Another way you can do this is to undo a couple of feet of the yarn, put a pin in the ball of yarn, right where the yarn is feeding, and then hold either the ball or the project up when your twist gets too tight to continue, and then, with the yarn under control on both ends, let the twist out as above.
I usually ball up ribbon yarn in hanks, and do the above. But I like that suggestion about knitting from the swift.
Last year I helped a friend with a railroad ribbon tangle. The yarn had come in a hank that only had two ties in it. As a hand dyer of yarn, I had to learn the hard way that there need to be more ties if slippery yarns are going to be kept under control. My friend had taken out the two ties that were there and things quickly got OUT of control. What a mess! We spent 4 hours fighting with that hank. We got it balled up, but I was practically suicidal at the end of the nightmare. I told my friend, whom I love very much, that the next time this happens, she is on her own if she so much as THINKS about touching the ties!
Railroad yarn, now that I have mentioned it, is often scratchy, and needs to be stranded with something else. That can be a saving grace!
Ribbon is great for certain looks, but it can be pretty uncooperative. Not for the squeamish! |
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RobA
Permanent Resident
2373 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2005 : 1:23:02 PM
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I have swatched two different ribbon yarns: Filatura di Crosa's Elena and Berroco's Denim Silk and they felt VERY different. Elena felt like it was sticking to the needles (Addi Turbos!), while working with the Denim Silk has been a very nice experience. Now all I have to do is decide what to make with it...
Rob http://roberta.typepad.com/robknits/ |
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Dicksie
Permanent Resident
USA
1995 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2005 : 09:43:24 AM
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I knit a jacket with Prism ribbon in a slip stitch pattern, using their boucle as the second yarn. It turned out beautifully and is one of my favorite pieces. I kept the ribbon in a ziploc, which kept it under control.
Dicksie
http://tourdirector.smugmug.com/gallery/529635 |
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PatriciaG
Chatty Knitter
USA
290 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2005 : 10:15:52 AM
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Dicksie,
Do you have a picture of the project? I looked at your photos but didn't see it.
Patricia in West Sac., CA.
"How did I get over the hill without getting up to the top" |
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