Category Archives: Knitting

Knitting, Spinning, Weaving

Known Unknowns – Learning what we can from unlabelled skeins of yarn with a little math

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A couple of months ago, I attended a Fibre Mart at the local weaver’s guild.  As always seems to happen, I came home with way more than I’d planned on but I also came home with a couple of unlabelled skeins of things.

A basket full of Spinning and weaving books, weaving cottons, linen, silk brick, quivit, cashgora and other fibres
A basket full of goodies! Spinning and weaving books, weaving cottons, linen yarn, silk brick, qiviut (Muskox down), cashmere, cashgora and other fibres. All of it – including the basket – cost me less than the price of 7 cones of 8/2 weaving cotton and I came home with way more than 7 cones worth!

Like these ones.

I can tell based on the feel, shininess,  drape, “squeakiness” and how it sticks to my dry hands that it’s likely a silk yarn but I can’t use it before I know how much yardage I have. In general, a wraps per inch (WPI) measurement and more specifically maybe even a grist would also be helpful.

A friend has started referring to me as a technical spinner and a technical knitter, so what the heck – let’s embrace this just for a moment.

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