The One Yarn Every Knitter Should Have in Their Stash
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- Опубліковано 3 лют 2021
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I am 99% sure that the yarn I have is Patons Grace and you can find it here: www.yarnspirations.com/patons...
There are all kinds of mercerized cotton out there and for the purpose of waste yarn you don't need to worry about getting really expensive yarn LOL! - Навчання та стиль
I read somewhere you can thread a piece of dental floss through the pinhole an interchangeable needle and if you just knit it will give you a lifeline automatically...and potentially leave it smelling minty fresh
Yep, if you have interchangeables many of them have a lifeline hole!
I'm cracking up at the "minty fresh" bit
I crochet, so luckily I don't have to worry about lifelines and such... but I still have a small ball of acrylic I use to seam things to try on. For the real seam I use the same yarn as the peices, of course, but I use the acrylic when I'm not yet 100% sure the thing is going to fit. I seam with the acrylic, check fit, and then it's really easy to pull out (it's variegated in a way that contrasts with pretty much everything) if I need to make adjustments.
You're such a good teacher, thank you for the information. Your hair looks lovely and it's gotten soo long.
Thank you so much! I really need a haircut - the ends are getting quite scraggly.
Great sound advice, thank you for sharing ☺️
Thanks for watching!
You are always great and full of information!
Yay! I try but sometimes I feel silly talking to myself LOL.
Great tip! Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you fir the information about life lines! Never had heard of it☺️
Glad it was helpful!
Barbara I love watching your videos, you’re so funny and so knowledgeable
Well, I try my best LOL. Thanks so much.
Thanks for sharing 🙂 great tip.
You are so welcome!
Forgot some of this..thanks so much.
That's why I love talking about knitting.
Thank you,, Barbara.. I have a few stitch things holders but a lifeline, as you explain is an excellent idea. My lesson of the day. Thank you.
You are so welcome!
Great tip as always!
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much. I have wondered what I should use for a life line and waist yarn. I really like you podcast. Your since of humor is delightful! THANKS AGAIN!!! HAPPY KNITTING!
Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed!
I may have to go online shopping! Thanks for the tip!
Online shopping is so convenient LOL.
Yes! Love to do the same, and even bettr when ya find it at the thrift store. 😉
Totally. But when I get yarn second hand it always comes home and goes directly to the freezer for a few days ... just in case.
This is so great! Why haven't I thought of this, lol. I have been using any used skeins that I didn't favor as much as others.
Sometimes the obvious is not so obvious LOL.
:) I knew exactly where you were headed. I really like the idea and do save my silky cotton scraps for such things.
Scraps are awesome for this!
Great idea about the mercerized yarn for all the reasons you mentioned! I use lifelines and usually just use scraps, but I can definitely see the reason for using the mercerized cotton and will. Thank you for another great tip Barbara!
I am just inherently lazy and try to make things easy LOL.
Once again, your podcast made me think about my yarn stash. I don't use cotton often, but now I have more reasons to have a small variety of cotton yarns in my stash. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and tips.
The first taste is free LOL. But seriously, there are so many beautiful cotton yarns out there. You should give them a chance.
I agree with you. I always keep in my knitting bag/shelves, COTTON stash for many purposes such temporary CO, lifeline, tying my plant and tree branches ..... Love you♥️God bless and stay safe with your family
If you get the natural/undyed colors you could probably use it to truss a chicken LOL.
Yes very pretty hair.!
Aww, thanks.
I keep Hemp cord in mine for much the same reason - quick ties, holding things, etc. Smooth and you'd NEVER confuse it with a yarn.
Perfect!
You have convinced me Barbara! I will get a light and a dark color of mercerized cotton for my life lines. GREAT topic!
Yay!
Great idea. I only started using lifelines last year. I never heard of it until then, I must have had my head under a rock 🤣🤣
No way, there is so much to learn. I learn something new every day.
Thank you Barbara. I found this very informative. I have not used waste yarn as yet, but I will need to start. #Mercerized cotton add to shopping list.
It's good to have on hand.
Thank you Barbara, great information, and I’d bet not a lot of people have about it, your tips are always very welcome, kind regards Carol from Scotland x
You are so welcome! I sometimes feel the things I want to talk about are sort of inconsequential, but I figure if I'm thinking about them maybe others are?
thank you so much, I use embroidery thread(knitting lace) but I like this much better
Embroidery thread is awfully fine but I am sure it works.
Oooh, I use this patons baby cotton - in in the pistachio green, too! Also have it in a bright pink for when I'm knitting green things. 😆
It's so smooth, sturdy, and doesn't bind with sticky yarns like mohair. Love it for lifelines and holding stitches just as you described. 😁
It is a great yarn! I love all kinds of yarn LOL.
I have this, and use this for lifelines all the time.
It's awesome to hear that I'm not alone!
I have 12 weight cotton thread used for sewing and it makes great lifelines. I have 2 spools of different colors in my knitting bag to use when needed. I really enjoy your you tube videos and have purchased several of your patterns that I am looking forward to trying.
Thank you so much! I hope you have fun.
What a great tip! Thank you so much. FYI- I just subscribed because of this video 🤗👍🏾
Awesome! Thank you!
New subscriber here.
Just want to say I love the way you explain things and how much fun you make everything sound. Even the lowly waste yarn. I learned about lifelines last year when I took up knitting after a decades-long pause, having decided to teach myself how to knit socks. I didn't know you could use a lifeline. I must have ripped out my first four socks about ten times each before I stopped dropping stitches so much. A kind friend told me about them.
I use white mercerized cotton because it is what I have in a box of stuff I haven't used in a long time: 1-weight cotton for lacemaking. It's thin, so when I am knitting with size 1 or 2 needles I can take out the lifeline and it doesn't leave a telltale ridge. I am a prolific crocheter. Am hoping with your help to finally understand some of the more complex patterns and ways of knitting. Thanks for all you do!
LOL, thank you! I do have a tendency to get weirdly excited about things that most don't find particularly exciting! I hope that my videos continue to entertain and inform you.
I found two skeins of traffic cone orange sock yarn at our local Goodwill a few years ago and have been using them for all set-aside-stitch needs ever since. But the point you make about the stickiness of wool is exactly right. I'll be looking for mercerized cotton next time it feels safe to go thrifting. One item I hold in reserve for complex intarsia patterns is a box of plastic-coated paperclips. The bright colors make them easy to see, and they work well as stitch markers in a situation where I'm likely to run out of conventional markers.
Traffic cone orange sounds perfect!
when knitting on circs /to bind off I like using a double pointed needles the same size to bind off /. it's much easier than binding on the circulars my little tip and I love you Barbara💕💕💕💕
Great tip!
My skein is glow in black light lemon lime green. Works for my lifelines too.
Perfect!
Great tip. I do have a small spool of a nylon woven ribbon that I keep on hand for life lines, but will expand the choices with MC. My handy TIP is using bobby pins for catching a missed stitch, pinning yarn ends on balls or cakes to keep from tangling and numerous other task that need a temporary hold. They are particularly handy in crochet work. Cheap & frees up other accessories for active projects.
Oooh, I never thought of bobby pins. I bet they work great!
I've been using some linen yarn I have put aside for another project for lifelines because it doesn't stick, but the mercerised cotton is a much better idea - I'll add some to my next order. Great tip!
I can see linen working great for this.
I have cotton yarn for lifelines and provisional cast ons too, but will need to change my skeins to mercerized cotton! Great tip! My tip is to put a pompom on the scissors and needle gauge.... now I find my scissors and if I put it down absentmindedly - the pompom is hard to miss :-)
If what you have is working for you keep using it until it's gone. This just reflects my experience on what has worked for me. I love the pom pom idea and might have to start making some!
Never thought of mercerized cotton! I usually try to use acrylic like Caron Simply Soft, always seemed the “smoothest” for this reason...Thanks for this, guess it’s off to go get some scrap cotton!
Excellent!
Such a good idea! I'm always rummaging through looking for yarn to be a lifeline or provisional cast on, etc. A dedicated ball/s is so smart! Barbara you missed a good SALE in you reasons for stash. lol
Glad it was helpful!
I bought some mercerised cotton a couple of years ago with a project in mind, but when I came to use it I realised I didn't really like it that much and it was thrown in a stash bag. Lifelines and stitch holders are the perfect uses for this so thank you for the tips!
Yay for making yarn useful!
I love collecting things that aren’t necessarily purposed for knitting, that can be used as knitting tools. One of my favorites is a sports tally counter used for a row counter. On Amazon they usually come in boxes of 3 for about 10 bucks, so they’re cheap. And they are fairly sturdy. They usually have a metal ring on them so I attach them to my knitting bag with a carabiner, or they come with a lanyard to hang around my neck (which is what I usually do).
I use a "tally counter" that is worn on a finger, I wear it on my thumb. But one to attach to your bag sounds awesome.
so true. i've been using the same gold mercerized cotton yarn for like 20 years now. not even sure where i got it. that's how old the stuff is.
Yeah, I have no idea where I got this green stuff
I always had a ball of "mercerised cotton" in a bright pink shade in my knitting basket for exactly these purposes🙂. I knit my first stitches in 1974 and did my first larger project a couple of years later
It's great to have confirmation that this actually works!
I use crochet thread for lifelines because it is really easy to ignore and is smooth as well. I got a ton gifted to me because I do ornaments and things but I will never use as much as I got. I use cotton for provisional cast on. May end up using thread held multiple I have so much of it. (Think a whole tote of just thread).
You're using mercerized cotton without realizing it. Crochet thread is commonly made out of mercerized cotton. I can totally envision how much thread you have. I inherited my Grandma & Mom's embroidery stashes.
I like to use crochet thread for lifelines and holding stitches. It's cheap when on sale, thin enough to use with fingering weight yarn, and there's a lot of it on the ball.
I think that a lot of crochet thread is mercerized cotton! It works great.
The provisional cast-on tip with a few rows of knitting using the cotton, before using the actual project yarn is a fantastic idea! I use cotton too but I really need to buy several different yarn weights. Thank you for this video! Lots of helpful tips here, as always. 😀 Radha x
I'm thinking I should probably make a video on that. So many people are afraid of provisional cast ons and they don't have to be hard.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit I would love such a tutorial! You are an excellent teacher and I am sure that provisional cast-on would no longer be so frightening to lots of us!
Never really thought about this as my knitted objects are usually small...still in knitting-training (LOL), but will take this into consideration as I continue learning. Thanks so much.
Fingerless mitts are a great stepping stone project. They aren't too big to tackle but teach a lot of skills.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit I will certainly give them a try (add to my list)...esp to increase my knitting skills. Thanks so much..
I love the interchangeable needle cables, that way I can rip back and just attach the needles to the new xable without having to pick up all the stitches.
Side question, will you be having another blocking class in the near future, I couldn't make the last one
That is an awesome plus to interchangeable! I teach the blocking class about every other month so one should come up in March or April, I'd love to have you in class.
i've been putting my stitches on hold on interchangeable needle cables since i've started knitting (granted it's only been 2 years) bc i always thought it made a lot more sense and took a lot less time than moving everything to waste yarn, especially when it's for sleeves or even a full sweater circumference lmao.
mercerised cotton makes a lot more sense for lifelines though because i've been struggling with stickier yarns or basic sewing thread and they're both not very great options x)
If you have interchangeables the cable works perfect!
I keep a nail file in all my knitting bags!
You and me both!
You asked what other kinds of yarn do we have or wished we kept in our stash? My wish is easy to care for yarn for baby gifts or for people who have no clue how to take care of wool. I love this tip of merc. Cotton. Very helpful.
Honestly, your best bet is high quality acrylic and acrylic blends. Berroco Comfort is a 50/50 acrylic/nylon blend that is great for baby stuff. Hmmm, maybe I should make a video LOL?
I also, as you mention, use it to hold stitches.
Great minds think alike!
I use a slippery yarn for pinning crochet work down, Barbara, your crochet extra sides with the slippery yarn that make that the work won't stretch too much, and after blocking you just pull the sliding yarn out (frogging). As the pinning down can give loops that stay visible after blocking. This way it won't happen.
Good tip!
As soon as you said in a color you wouldn't knit with, I had a pretty good idea where you were going with this. I had to grab my skein of cotton from the Dollar Tree to see if it's mercerized. It's not.
If it is relatively smooth it will probably work. I just use mercerized because it is slick!
Always have a little miniskein in your project bag that goes with the yarn used for the socks in it if you knit socks..if you finish your pair you can start a second pair (i get 2 pairs out of 120 Grams). And you Will never be out of something to knit.
Good tip! Thanks!
It's really a good work horse yarn useful for a whole plethora of things.
Good idea for a video.
Are you going to make any more fav fives? Have watched a few again lately for new ideas.
Take care and keep safe. xxJane
I'm glad you liked the video. I have been holding off on Fav 5s because the entire concept is sort of based around the Ravelry search function, and Ravelry is still a significant accessibility problem to some people. I haven't figured out a good way to make sure that my picks are only from designers who offer their patterns not only on Ravelry but from other interfaces. It just adds another layer of work to a video style that was already one of the most time consuming videos I make.
Huh. I use scraps but hadn’t realized the mercerized cotton wouldn’t stick! Thanks!
The stickiness is the sticking point LOL!
@@WatchBarbaraKnit LOL. I promptly rooted through and found my remaining ball. It’s white, but it’ll do for the mittens I’m about to start, using mohair/wool! I appreciate all you do!
I have been using cotton, but don't know if it's mercerized. Now I will compare and see. What I have is leftover from old projects, so I don't have any labels!
If it works, it works. This was more for people looking to go out and buy something.
Do you have a recommendation on fingering cotton? Is it hard to find in that weight?
What about using that to attach Pom Poms! Thanks. Love your channel.
Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that. Cotton tends to stretch out some and I would worry about that a wee bit. Unless of course it is a cotton hat LOL.
Excellent tip! That would be a much better lifeline than the dental floss I've been using. Thanks! I often use yarn for stitch markers. This might be the perfect SM yarn as well😁
I can totally see it for stitch markers!
Thank you for that tip, I’m verymuch gonna use that
Why did I think it was called mesmerised cotton
Also I’m slightly colourblind and thought that yarn was a cream colours.
It was horribly overexposed so it may not just be your eyes LOL. And mesmerized yarn is a much better name.
As soon as I saw the yarn, I knew it was mercerized cotton because I have a few skeins of it to hold stitches. Great minds think alike XD
I have yarns like that. But I have also found that waxed dental tape, the stuff you used to flush your teeth, works wonderful as well. It’s a little bit more expensive but should somebody run out of that “one yarn”, A waxed dental floss of some type will work just as well. I don’t know why I do it. I have a massive ball that sometimes I will call from. But if I am feeling lazy and I am sitting at my desk while working from home, I always go for the dental floss. But I do agree with you. Everybody should have a ball of yarn like that for lifelines and other uses.
There are so many ways to do this and all of them work if they work for you.
Ha! Yes it was clickbaity but it did work. I have been a knitter on and off since I was a child, and appreciate the explanation of waste 🧶
I hope that maybe I flipped the knitting switch to on for a while!
Ah ha! I knew it when I clicked this video you would be talking about scrap yarn. I use the cheap acrylic I bought before I learned just why someone would pay what we pay for the other stuff 😊
Well, I wouldn't say it is scrap yarn. I buy this yarn specifically for the uses I talked about. But if you've got scraps, use them! I find that acrylics are hit or miss with regards to how grabby they are and then can get caught up in stitches.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit yea, I mean it wasn't so click baity lol.
This made me giggle because I have a a lime green cotton yarn I use just for this.
Sweet!
Dying of curiosity about the nodding kitten on the shelf....
LOL. It is solar powered lucky cats. It was a gift from my son who picked it out specially for me when we went to the Japan department store in Epcot and smuggled it home without me seeing.
Different topic, but something I do with wool scraps is to use them as stitch markers. BUT I felt them into small tiny rings, since the ends at the knot irritates me. Metal stitch markers are pretty but stiff, some of the rings have edges that scratch my wooden needles, and that is a no go for me. So, felted stitch marker are the best in my opinion.
That is a really interesting idea, one I'd never thought of. Now I'm curious how you felt them into rings.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit It's easy. You take a thin wool yarn and wrap it loosely two times around a pencil, then you take the end of your yarn and wind it around and around these two rings all the way around (tear of the yarn). Dip it in water, transfer back to the pencil ( The pencil should not be a round type but the ones with a hexagonal shape) and rub your hands fast over the pencil and yarn ring. And woala! a felted stitch marker :D You might need to take it off and add more water and rub it in your hands before repeating the pencil process. You could also just work with the yarn ring between your fingers. It is done when it holds together and you are happy with it.
I like No. 1's shawl. That is a Riker doll, isn't it?
It is indeed, isn't he stylish.
This is never covered in books, just say 'use scrap yarn ' which doesn't work, as mine is always fluffy. So, great tip, thanks. Wish people would explain and not assume you know.
There are so many little things that you just have to learn!
Are you going to be hosting another blocking class or is the class available for purchase to watch? 🙏🏾
I teach the class about every other month via Zoom. The best way to find out when they happen is to join the WBK Facebook group. They are not recorded.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit i dont have Facebook 😓 but i can look on same website posted from the first class?
@@StrongSinger Of course! A Good Yarn also has a newsletter you can sign up for and Susan (the owner) sends out info on classes when they are scheduled.
You did snare me with the click bait title, but thanks for the really useful tip.
I'm so glad it was worth it for you LOL!
Barbara I like your little doll with black short hair wearing a Tan shawl. on he shelve.
Thank you!
@@WatchBarbaraKnit You are welcome I know how painful it can be,
Interesting fact that mercerised cotton doesn't stick. I've been using a bamboo cotton blend which was leftover from another project which works just as well.
Oh yeah! Bamboo is perfect for this application it is crazy smooth. But it is usually on the pricier side, leftovers - not so much!
🥰🥰
Back atcha!
The best yarn is your favorite yarn. Lol.
LOL, agreed.
Yeah, but what about us that knit with really bright colors that no one else knits with? Just kidding. Do you like pearl cotton? That's what I've used. But it doesn't come in all those weights.
I think pearl cotton is mercerized so yeah - I like it.
is anyone else having trouble with the sound?
haha it's only click bait if you don't actually mean it and include what you put in the title, in the video. =]
That makes me feel better LOL.
By any chance that is suppose to be a priest ?
LOL, it's Commander William Riker of the Starship Enterprise!
@@WatchBarbaraKnit Thanks so much for your quick response.and a green teacher.Thanks