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Solaris
Permanent Resident
Canada
4156 Posts |
 Posted - 09/18/2006 : 2:02:04 PM
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Llinn, thanks for posting the lanolin/salt recipe.
I asked you in another section of KR, but you probably didn't see - can you suggest some good and trustworthy links re. yarn manufacturing process/styles, etc. You were posting an aswer re. differences in manufacturing acrylics and why same brand of yarn (Patons Decor in this case) may feel differently from skein to skein. |
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Solaris
Permanent Resident
Canada
4156 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2006 : 2:02:04 PM
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Llinn, thanks for posting the lanolin/salt recipe.
I asked you in another section of KR, but you probably didn't see - can you suggest some good and trustworthy links re. yarn manufacturing process/styles, etc. You were posting an aswer re. differences in manufacturing acrylics and why same brand of yarn (Patons Decor in this case) may feel differently from skein to skein. |
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petitemorte
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
423 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 09:02:08 AM
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Charles I just wanted to tell you I'm not really a fan of blogs on general,but I really like yours. And I love the hat. Oh and the bunny. 
Di,the cross country knitter
http://photobucket.com/albums/f348/switchbladeknitter/
Guy walks into a shrink's office wearing nothing but seran wrap. Shrink looks at him and says "Well I can clearly see yer nuts" |
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petitemorte
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
423 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 09:02:08 AM
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Charles I just wanted to tell you I'm not really a fan of blogs on general,but I really like yours. And I love the hat. Oh and the bunny.
Di,the cross country knitter
http://photobucket.com/albums/f348/switchbladeknitter/
Guy walks into a shrink's office wearing nothing but seran wrap. Shrink looks at him and says "Well I can clearly see yer nuts" |
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gwtreece
Permanent Resident
USA
7254 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 09:11:30 AM
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Donate the yarn. This gives you an excuse to buy more.
Wanda
My Blog
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gwtreece
Permanent Resident
USA
7254 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 09:11:30 AM
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Donate the yarn. This gives you an excuse to buy more.
Wanda
My Blog
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llinn
honorary angel
USA
1650 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 5:47:46 PM
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Sorry, solaris, I did. The oproblem is that there are still dozens of plants and as far as I know, Red heart is still the only label that actually makes some or all of their own yarn.
Red Heart makes their own acrylics and processes some of their wool and cotton. They also )at least used to) do the DMC embroidery floss and perle cotton. Bernat is am old company and as long as I was in the business I couldn't track down the factory they used for acrylic. It was a good quality though and I liked it. But I hated Caron and Lion Brand. They both had all their stuff done at spinrite in Canada.
The issue is not who does it, though it's how it is done.
Tube or package dye and rail-set....usually bad
skein dye and dry bulk....usually good.
Take anyy yarn you wish to use. take a few inches looped up and rub it gently, but with some firmness across your upper lip. Does it feel coarse? It will feel moreso once you are wearing it. Does it feel smooth, but hard surface like red heart--won't prickle you, probably. You'll find a lot of yarns that feel soft to your hands are actually very prickly to your lip.
Look at the yarn, get a magnifying glass and LOOK. If there is a lot of fiber sticking out around the yarn, look at the fibers themselves. Do they look straight and floaty. Or do they look crimped, with ends that hook back. Those fibers will likely cause pilling and not wear well. With novelty yarns, there are literally hundreds being imported from dozens of factories overseas. Buy a skein of something you're interested in, knit 2 swatches and then abuse one. Stick a small swatch in your shoe to see how heavy wear will afffect it. Throw a synthetic through a few loads of wash with the towels and your kids sporting gear. And see how people on the boards like it.
Yarn from small independant producers--usually handpainted wools and such, is often very high quality. The makers are doing it mostly for love.
There are lots of tricks you can learn over the years like with chenille--a chained or doublechained center is more elastic and gives better wear than a plain locked weave--mostly. Pure fibers are almost always higher quality than blends. Mixed fibers are often poor grade--especially in wool. Mohair is generally very itchy unless it is very high quality with an equally high price.
Llinn |
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llinn
honorary angel
USA
1650 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 5:47:46 PM
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Sorry, solaris, I did. The oproblem is that there are still dozens of plants and as far as I know, Red heart is still the only label that actually makes some or all of their own yarn.
Red Heart makes their own acrylics and processes some of their wool and cotton. They also )at least used to) do the DMC embroidery floss and perle cotton. Bernat is am old company and as long as I was in the business I couldn't track down the factory they used for acrylic. It was a good quality though and I liked it. But I hated Caron and Lion Brand. They both had all their stuff done at spinrite in Canada.
The issue is not who does it, though it's how it is done.
Tube or package dye and rail-set....usually bad
skein dye and dry bulk....usually good.
Take anyy yarn you wish to use. take a few inches looped up and rub it gently, but with some firmness across your upper lip. Does it feel coarse? It will feel moreso once you are wearing it. Does it feel smooth, but hard surface like red heart--won't prickle you, probably. You'll find a lot of yarns that feel soft to your hands are actually very prickly to your lip.
Look at the yarn, get a magnifying glass and LOOK. If there is a lot of fiber sticking out around the yarn, look at the fibers themselves. Do they look straight and floaty. Or do they look crimped, with ends that hook back. Those fibers will likely cause pilling and not wear well. With novelty yarns, there are literally hundreds being imported from dozens of factories overseas. Buy a skein of something you're interested in, knit 2 swatches and then abuse one. Stick a small swatch in your shoe to see how heavy wear will afffect it. Throw a synthetic through a few loads of wash with the towels and your kids sporting gear. And see how people on the boards like it.
Yarn from small independant producers--usually handpainted wools and such, is often very high quality. The makers are doing it mostly for love.
There are lots of tricks you can learn over the years like with chenille--a chained or doublechained center is more elastic and gives better wear than a plain locked weave--mostly. Pure fibers are almost always higher quality than blends. Mixed fibers are often poor grade--especially in wool. Mohair is generally very itchy unless it is very high quality with an equally high price.
Llinn |
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Solaris
Permanent Resident
Canada
4156 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 6:01:06 PM
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Wow, Llinn, lots of useful info and advice, actually. This will definitely get me started in the right direction. Thank you. Being a relative knitting and yarn newbie, I really appreciate the practical information.
Thanks again. |
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Solaris
Permanent Resident
Canada
4156 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 6:01:06 PM
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Wow, Llinn, lots of useful info and advice, actually. This will definitely get me started in the right direction. Thank you. Being a relative knitting and yarn newbie, I really appreciate the practical information.
Thanks again. |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 6:47:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by llinn
Red Heart makes their own acrylics and processes some of their wool and cotton. They also )at least used to) do the DMC embroidery floss and perle cotton. Bernat is am old company and as long as I was in the business I couldn't track down the factory they used for acrylic. It was a good quality though and I liked it. But I hated Caron and Lion Brand. They both had all their stuff done at spinrite in Canada.
I checked the labels on my DMD floss and perle and it is all made in France - has been for ages. Perhaps US and CAD batches were made in different countries?
Bernat acrylic is done in Listowel, Ontario at the Spinrite plant, as are the Patons acrylics.
http://www.femiknits.blog-city.com/knitting_for_canadian_troops.htm
http://greenfishoutofwater.blogspot.com |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2006 : 6:47:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by llinn
Red Heart makes their own acrylics and processes some of their wool and cotton. They also )at least used to) do the DMC embroidery floss and perle cotton. Bernat is am old company and as long as I was in the business I couldn't track down the factory they used for acrylic. It was a good quality though and I liked it. But I hated Caron and Lion Brand. They both had all their stuff done at spinrite in Canada.
I checked the labels on my DMD floss and perle and it is all made in France - has been for ages. Perhaps US and CAD batches were made in different countries?
Bernat acrylic is done in Listowel, Ontario at the Spinrite plant, as are the Patons acrylics.
http://www.femiknits.blog-city.com/knitting_for_canadian_troops.htm
http://greenfishoutofwater.blogspot.com |
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llinn
honorary angel
USA
1650 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2006 : 11:51:18 AM
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As far as I know, it's only since the last corporate mating dance that Bernat's acrylics get done up at sprinrite. I know they didn't have them in the 80s and early 90s, I talked to spinrite a bunch.
The DMC cotton is manufactured in France, but is processed and put up in georgia--or it was up until at least 95 or 96, when I shut the store down. I used to buy the embroidery waste at $.90 lb and get huge orlon boxes (ave. 140 lbs) of hanks and hanks of perle and embroidery floss. Floss is wonderful to knit with, by the way. It's a little lighter than fingering yarn and works really nice on fine bed machines. Doubled it works as DK weight and produces an incredibly supple fabric for cotton with good structural integrity. Loved getting that stuff.
I'm 10 years out of date on specifics anymore. No store--no reason to spend endless hours on the phone tracking down yarns, but the basics are still the same. Sprinrite is primarily a package dye-rail set plant. Red heart was too cheap to junk their dry bulk facility and change over, so still do skein dye and dry bulk.
Carefully done, with high quality control standards, rail set can produce a good product. Done hastily and with too high heat, it produces absolute garbage. The yarn company sets the standards that spinrite must adhere to.
Llinn |
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llinn
honorary angel
USA
1650 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2006 : 11:51:18 AM
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As far as I know, it's only since the last corporate mating dance that Bernat's acrylics get done up at sprinrite. I know they didn't have them in the 80s and early 90s, I talked to spinrite a bunch.
The DMC cotton is manufactured in France, but is processed and put up in georgia--or it was up until at least 95 or 96, when I shut the store down. I used to buy the embroidery waste at $.90 lb and get huge orlon boxes (ave. 140 lbs) of hanks and hanks of perle and embroidery floss. Floss is wonderful to knit with, by the way. It's a little lighter than fingering yarn and works really nice on fine bed machines. Doubled it works as DK weight and produces an incredibly supple fabric for cotton with good structural integrity. Loved getting that stuff.
I'm 10 years out of date on specifics anymore. No store--no reason to spend endless hours on the phone tracking down yarns, but the basics are still the same. Sprinrite is primarily a package dye-rail set plant. Red heart was too cheap to junk their dry bulk facility and change over, so still do skein dye and dry bulk.
Carefully done, with high quality control standards, rail set can produce a good product. Done hastily and with too high heat, it produces absolute garbage. The yarn company sets the standards that spinrite must adhere to.
Llinn |
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