So you wanna knit? Part three: yarn

My all-time favorite teacher, Mrs. G., told me once that she became an art teacher because she loved paper.  She explained this one day as she walked across the classroom - a spring in her step and a twinkle in her eye - carrying a stack of oversized construction paper; I think it was red.  She loved the variety, the smoothness, the colors...the possibilities.  I feel the same way about yarn.  I think most knitters do.  Walking into a yarn shop is like being a kid in a candy store (or an adult in a candy store if you eat as much chocolate as I do...).  The skeins are arranged in bins like oversized jellybeans, with as many colors and flavors, and ignite a childlike excitement that makes you want to touch (and buy...and eat?) everything in sight.

Despite the seduction, buying yarn early-on in a knitting career can seem a bit overwhelming.  The options are endless...and all so enticing.  Most beginner knitters make the mistake of buying something totally exotic and gorgeous, to later find out that it's a mismatch to the project at hand.  A word to the wise: one should not buy yarn out of infatuation.  Instead, a carefully planned relationship is encouraged.  This way, no one gets hurt.

There is a lot to learn about yarn.  I'll cover some basics here, the rest you will discover with time and lots of knitting.  Your LYS owner is a great resource.

Texture

To most people, yarn is a four letter word: W-O-O-L.  Wool is certainly a lovely fiber, but there are many others out there, and many blends, which knit up to be really spectacular.  Basically, yarn can be broken down into three categories: Animal, Vegetable, and Artificial. Another way to categorize is protein (animal), cellulose/cellulosic (vegetable), and synthetic (artificial, or man-made).

Animal fibers come from a variety of critters.  "Wool" refers to the hair of a sheep or lamb, and is the oldest protein fiber around.  There are zillions of varieties of wool because there are zillions of varieties of sheep - who knew?  Wools differ by things like the type of sheep they come from or the farm the sheep grow up on.  In general, sheep and lambs are the only animals who produce "wool."   However, the Federal Trade Commission expands this definition and allows yarn spun from the hair of  the angora and cashmere goat, camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna to be called "wool", too.  Wool from any source is known for its warmth - it keeps heat close to the body and absorbs moisture, just like it was intended. Here's a quick list of where other animal fibers originate, just in case you were wonderin'!

Fiber/yarn                Source

mohair.......................angora goat

cashmere...................cashmere goat
angora.......................angora rabbit
camel.........................camel
alpaca........................alpaca (a relative of the llama)

Some yarns are made from less commonly shorn animals like llama, yak, opossum, and musk ox.

Silk is in a league of its own and falls somewhere between animal and vegetable.  It is produced (extruded, really) by silkworms after they have gone on a 30-day binge of plant leaves - mulberry, cherry, oak, to name a few.  Silk does not contain cellulose, per se, since it is not grown like a plant, but it does contain a protein fluid which is made up of digested leaves.  Yum!  Hence the animal-vegetable confusion.  Either way, silk is luscious and - well, silky - and has been coveted for centuries for its elegance and strength.

Veggie fibers are things like cotton, linen, and hemp - all come from the cellulose found in their respective plants. They differ from the animal fibers in that they pull heat away from the body, so are great for light-weight, warm weather garments.  Many are machine washable, so are a good choice for baby clothes or hand towels.  Cotton comes from the cotton plant, linen from the flax plant, and hemp from the Cannabis sativa (yes, THAT cannabis plant!).

"Cellulosic" fibers are those that are produced using the same principles as cellulose fibers, but are created by man through manipulation, chemical intervention, or genetic modification.  Rayon is the primary cellulosic fiber, and includes close cousins Modal, acetate, and lyocell. Newer, more "green" cellulosic fibers are made with soy, bamboo, and corn fiber.

Synthetic fibers include everything else!!  Nylon, polyester, and acrylic are man-made fibers which are inexpensive, easy to care for, and highly resilient.  They are often mixed with an animal or vegetable fiber to improve wearability or increase strength.

Most of these facts were found in a really interesting book that I highly recommend.  It's called "The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn" and was written by the very brilliant Clara Parkes.  It is a must-have for the spinner or knitter and has helped me to make sense of the fibers I use.  It is full of great patterns as well; each is designed to take advantage of the unique characteristics of each fiber.  Really cool.

Up next: Gauge - don't be a hater!