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Tips for Knitting with Linen Yarn

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I’m sure I’ve knit with linen yarn before, but I can’t think of any projects I’ve made with it. I think I made a market bag once with a linen blend, and I have enough linen in my stash to knit a top, I just haven’t done it yet.

As an aside, if you’re wondering what linen is, it’s a natural fiber produced from flax. It’s a very labor intensive process, but it makes yarn that is strong, lightweight, durable and machine washable. It’s a great fiber to use and wear in the summer, whether you’re knitting garments with it or sewing or buying garments made from linen fabric.

There is a bit of a learning curve to working with linen yarn, though. It can be slippery and easily get tangled on itself. These tips for knitting with linen yarn from Jessica McDonald Designs are a great place to start if you’re contemplating your first linen knitting project.

The advice to not work from a center-pull ball is actually really great and not something I would have thought of as potentially causing a problem. But all her tips are great so click over there and check it out.

Her post shares a couple of her designs that are worked in linen yarn, but if you’re looking for more ideas, here are a few patterns I’ve shared recently that use linen or a linen blend yarn:

I don’t know that I’m going to get to knitting with my linen yarn this summer, but it’s definitely on my list to work with soon, and with these tips I’ll be all set for success with a lot less frustration.

Have you ever worked with linen yarn? I’d love to hear your tips.

[Photo: Jessica McDonald Designs]

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Use Your Sock Yarn Scraps to Knit a Colorful Scarf

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps

Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap

A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

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