Choosing yarn for a new project is not as simple as just going to a yarn shop. Walking into the Mecca of available yarns could lead to option paralysis: not being able to decide what to pick. Or it could even see you skipping home with a dozen different yarns and no idea what to make!
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| Lighthouse Yarns, Whitehead |
My first step is usually to select the stitch pattern itself. For this, I consult one of the various "stitch bibles" I own, such as "The Finer Edge" by Kristin Omdahl.
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| The Finer Edge by Kristin Omdahl |
My current favourite is "Handbook of Crochet Stitches" by Betty Barnden. It has over 200 various stitches to choose from with great colour images, written instructions and charts. I happen to love charts and find them incredibly easy to follow. Worth a whole blog in itself!
It's important to select the right type of stitch. More often than not, it's the stitch which determines what I make. If I'm making a quick and colourful project, I'll choose a fairly dense and close stitch, such as Woven Stitch (page 66) or Starburst Stitch (page 85). Because there are no gaps between the stitches, they produce a perfect fabric for sturdier projects like a handbag, pillow cover or hat.
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| "Winter Picnic" crocheted handbag by Nancy Said |
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| "Woodland Beret" by Nancy Said |
Alternatively, if I've had a good day teaching and fancy challenging myself - as I'm always recommending my students! - I'll look for a more complicated, lacier stitch such as Boxes and Bows (page 110), Sea Stitch (page 112) or my new favourite Daisy Lace (page 120). These lacy stitches are created with lots of spaces, making them better suited to light and loose fabrics such as scarves, shawls and small blankets.
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| "A Romantic Affair" crocheted shawl by Nancy Said |
So, stitch decided, I head up to my yarn room and search for the ideal yarn. Colour and weight are vitally important. There's no point in making lace in a chunky yarn. As fun as it sounds, it doesn't work, doesn't sell. That's my experience. Maybe it's because the work remains stiff, I'm not sure. Try it if you don't agree and please share your results. I'm happy to stand corrected, especially since at the time I thought I was the one who invented chunky lace!
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| "Scarlet" knitted wrap by Nancy Said |
Choosing the yarn, by now I probably have a good idea what colour I want to use. I'll have seen something in a magazine, or spotted someone on the street that's inspired me. In the case of the dense stitches, I'll be able to work different coloured motifs or stripes, for example. Potentially then I'm hoping to find a few balls of similar weight yarn in complementary or contrasting colours.
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| "Pansies" crocheted handbag by Nancy Said |
If I've chosen to run with lacework, then I'm searching for a larger quantity of a finer yarn, double knitting or finer. Lacework is best expressed in a single colour to show off the stitches, although some lovely results can be achieved in variegated yarns.
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| "Angel Delight" crocheted scarf by Nancy Said |
This is where husbands and boyfriends get a bit confused. Because no matter how plenteous and luxuriant the stash, it may yet fail to yield just the right colours or quantity. Now this is where the yarn shop comes in. You've seen what you've got, you know what you have not, and you definitely
need to get started!
Therefore the
next logical step is to splash a bit of cash down at your local. (Oh, shucks.)
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| Nancy Said |
It's all right to travel out of town if you've heard of a new wool shop just opened. Or if you know the one two hours' drive away is a premier stockiest of a designer yarn. Perfectly acceptable. This is what we do. We get the right thing. Once inside the wool shop, all doubt will be allayed. We feel swaddled by the soft cocoons of colour, the soothing tones of the shop assistant, other customers with whom we share the plight. And we might even buy a few balls of the wrong thing to extend our obviously wanting stash. After all, we don't ever want to run out, do we?
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| Nancy Said |
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