Learning about Yarn Texture

The Craftsy blog is always full of great, useful tips and information that will make knitting easier for you, and this post about yarn texture is no exception.

Ashley looks at different plies of yarn and shares the general rule that the more plies a yarn has, the more stitch definition you will get. So a yarn with more plies would be better for cables and other textured stitch patterns that you really want to pop, while a singles (the proper term for a yarn made from a single strand of yarn, since you can’t really have a 1-ply) is better for plain stockinette or other stitch patterns where distinct stitches are not that important (it’s fine for felting, too).

In addition to ply, there are a whole lot of different textures you can find in yarn these days, from slubby thick and thin yarns to eyelash yarns and all sorts of textured novelty yarns. Of course when using those yarns you won’t get much stitch definition at all, but they can be a lot of fun as an accent or for an accessory like a scarf.

Do you pay much attention to the texture of a yarn when choosing what to knit with? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Craftsy.]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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