Knitting

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Lies Your Yarn Ball Band is Telling You

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ball band liesI absolutely love this post from Gwen Bortner at Two Sides of the Same Stitch about the top five yarn label lies. Go read it, right now, I’ll wait for you.

These are things that I already know after years in the industry but I think a lot of knitters take the ball band as gospel and they need to know that they may never achieve the gauge that that little band calls for (I think I’ve done it once in all the yarn reviews I’ve ever done at About; it was Vanna’s Choice) and they may not even like the fabric that results when using the recommended needle. I had that issue over the weekend when I was swatching for a cardigan and felt like the suggested needle was too big to make the kind of fabric I wanted.

Ball bands mean well, but they lie because of a lack of standards, or because no one is going to take the time to actually measure the yardage of every ball of yarn as its produced. That’s just the way it is. And that’s not to say you should ignore the ball band entirely, just know that it isn’t always as simple as those little words and symbols would have you believe.

Have you run into any of these yarn label lies in your life? I’d love to hear about it.

Comments

  1. I ran into this problem shortly after I started knitting. I bought some Naturally Caron Country for a pattern that required bulky yarn. The label on the yarn matched the gauge my pattern needed and suggested a #10 needle. I started out with the needle suggested – ugh, what a mess! My stitches were so loose you could barely see the design in what I was knitting. Later, I was comforted to see that Ravelry had listed this yarn as more of a dk/worsted weight and a #7 needle is a better choice 🙂 Now, I don’t assume the label is correct.

  2. Woah, I wonder if that was a mistake on the ball band, because there’s no way that stuff is bulky. I can imagine the strange fabric it made…thanks for sharing!

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.