{"id":843,"date":"2012-04-21T12:08:55","date_gmt":"2012-04-21T16:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/?p=843"},"modified":"2015-05-06T21:43:51","modified_gmt":"2015-05-07T01:43:51","slug":"science-of-knitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/science-of-knitting\/","title":{"rendered":"Science of Knitting"},"content":{"rendered":"

As those of you who know me, or who read me on any kind of regular basis know, my professional training is in science.\u00a0 So when faced with a problem, in this case, my less than enthusiastic feeling for my last knitting project<\/a>, my immediate approach to figuring out what went wrong, is to experiment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So here’s the problem.\u00a0 The lace I knit for my cowl did not show the pattern as well as I would like.\u00a0 I suspect that it is due to a problem with the weight of the yarn I used.\u00a0 I tried to spin the yarn to match the characteristics of the yarn recommended in the project.\u00a0 Since all I have are the weight and the length of the skein, the best I can do without ponying up the cash for a sample is approximate.\u00a0 Different spinning techniques can end up with different diameters of yarn\u00a0 that are the same weight and length.\u00a0 It all depends on<\/p>\n

how much air you trap between the fibers.\u00a0 So anyway, my feeling was that the way lace looks is related to the ratio between the yarn diameter and the size of the knitting needle.\u00a0 To examine this, I took some blechy acrylic yarn that has been hanging out in my craft room and worked up a series of swatches with 5 different needle sizes.\u00a0 I chose a simple lace pattern that I got out of a new Kindle book Lace Knitting to Go (Pattern Cards)<\/a> by<\/p>\n

Andrea Tung<\/a>.\u00a0 I wasn’t wowed by the book, but it has some nice lace patterns both written out and charted.\u00a0 It is more valuable to me as a reference in my quest to learn to design lace patterns than as a source of patterns to use. (More on that later.)<\/p>\n

So you can see the tags on this that have the needle sizes written on them.\u00a0 Definitely, different needle sizes give a different look.\u00a0 For this one, I like the 10 and the 13.\u00a0 The yarn I was using is about 2.5 mm.<\/p>\n

Needle Gauge US\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (mm)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ratio of Needle to Yarn<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3 .25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1.3<\/p>\n

5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3.75 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1.5<\/p>\n

10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5.00 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2.4<\/p>\n

13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9.00 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3.6<\/p>\n

15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10.00 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4.0<\/p>\n

Now there is not guarantee that every lace pattern is going to look best with the same ratio.\u00a0 So I guess that leads me back to my old Nemesis… swatching.\u00a0 Swatching goes very much against the slap-dash way that I like to approach knitting, but as I spend more time and user better materials I am feeling more and more of a need to make sure the product is going to come out as I imagine it.\u00a0\u00a0 Sigh….<\/p>\n

Here is another experiment that I did.\u00a0 Some of you may remember that I recently worked up some Finnland sheep fleece that turned out to felt very well.\u00a0 Read about that here<\/a>, if you haven’t already.\u00a0 So I am planning a felted project for that fleece, but I wanted to know if plying would have an effect on how the knitted fabric felted.\u00a0 I also varied the stitch.\u00a0 The tops are stockinette stitch and the bottoms are garter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On the left, single ply; On the right, double<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Same orientation as above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s hard to tell from these photos, but the plied wool felted much more evenly, and more densely than the singles.\u00a0 I also prefer the stockinette stitch to the garter for a smooth looking felt.<\/p>\n

I want to do a felted bag, but I am having trouble finding a pattern that I like for this project.\u00a0 I will probably end up designing it myself, and I am thinking about doing entrelac or modular.\u00a0 I keep coming back to colors similar to what I did my slippers in… Here are the some pieces who’s color inspires me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Or this one from nature.\u00a0 I’ve reduced the color count to start getting at a palette.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Any thoughts?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As those of you who know me, or who read me on any kind of regular basis know, my professional training is in science.\u00a0 So when faced with a problem, in this case, my less than enthusiastic feeling for my last knitting project, my immediate approach to figuring out what went wrong, is to experiment. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fibers","category-knitting"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/swatches.jpg?fit=640%2C490&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/author\/admin\/"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/swatches.jpg?fit=640%2C490&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2gp05-dB","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1075,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/novel-basket\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":0},"title":"Novel Basket","author":"admin","date":"January 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In my post last Spring, \"The Problem with Knitting\", I mentioned my very first attempt at a cowl or smoke ring.\u00a0 It was made with Noro yarn.\u00a0 Beautiful colors, but anyone who has worked with Noro knows that it's texture leaves something to be desired.\u00a0 Since both of my new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baskets"","block_context":{"text":"Baskets","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/category\/baskets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/norobasket4.jpg?fit=700%2C550&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/norobasket4.jpg?fit=700%2C550&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/norobasket4.jpg?fit=700%2C550&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/norobasket4.jpg?fit=700%2C550&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2117,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/what-to-do-with-art-yarns\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":1},"title":"What to do with Art Yarns","author":"admin","date":"November 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I love a good art yarn. 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