#non wool yarn

[parkerkittycreations]

Old gay stock from a few years back. We make them on request now but these are bees we gave out at a convention so we just made random ones.

The bees go non binary, bisexual, the old poly flag, pan, transgender, aromatic, asexual.

Made by M, posted by S

[space-hair]

Reading through unpopular knitting/crochet opinions has only solidified the fact that people who call anyone who don’t use acrylic yarn ‘yarn snobs’ know nothing about yarn and truly think acrylic is extremely cheap and everything else is expensive perfection that’s a waste of money just for luxury. Like the only ‘yarn snobs’ I ever see are just people being snobby about buying anything other than acrylic. I’m so embarrassed for them...

[misfits-den]

Started learning how to crochet this year, and decided to make myself a hat as a first bigger project. The progress so far.

This was the biggest yarn they had at my local store for a hook that I owned, but I figured out it's good enough to practice, and I can always get a bigger (and different colored) one later.

[six-of-ravens]

hm one other thing I should maybe do this week is actually choose a shawl pattern and try and find some non-itchy yarn for it. it's too late to have it done for this winter I think, but I can still try and make one for next year.

[dapurinthos]

forever annoyed at the lack of non-woven jedi garments. excuse you, fibrecraft is the basis of society. where are they getting their cloth from? are they weaving it themselves? are they spinning it themselves? where is the knitwear. you cannot tell me that there are no sweaters in the jedi order. there are probably hideous sweaters made from fourteen different colours of yarn because they're made from the wool leftover from other projects. all of the colours manage to clash. and embroidery is just too good for teaching patience. hand-sewing in general is good and meditative.

these people are going to be darning their own socks, patching holes in their robes. they are going to have needles and thread in their survival kits and know how to hold the cloth tension just right with the force so they can re-weave the bigger holes by using tiny, straight sticks to hold the warp in place.

[garaksapprentice]

The internet: You must never machine wash your knits. Never. Ever. They will be destroyed the moment they are touched by the caress of a machine's heated water supply. Hand wash only, or You Shall Be Sorry.

Me:

That photo contains ~13 pairs of 70/30 wool/nylon socks, a 100% wool shawl, an acrylic shawl, an acrylic kid's jumper, an acrylic beanie, a vest knit of "handwash only" wool, and a few other things I've forgotten.

This is one of the reasons to swatch, people. Knit a swatch. A big one. Even better, knit a hat out of the thing you want to use. Chuck it in the wash. See how it comes out. Make decisions from there.

I've knitted somewhere above 50 non-sock things in the decade or so since my first kid came along. I have machine washed them all. Only two - TWO - things have gotten eaten by the wash in that time. (a purple toddler dress and half a sock). And both of those were accidentally put through with the regular clothes wash.

Obligatory caveats: Probably don't do this if your machine doesn't have a gentle/delicate setting. I made sure mine came with a wool cycle when I had to buy a new one. It takes 38 minutes, spins at 800 RPM, and refuses to go hotter than 30ºC.

Also if you tend to use loosely spun yarns or very large gauges (both seem to be popular nowadays), or like to knit Extremely Delicate Lace, use caution. (My knitting preferences are basically the opposite of those things - I like things that last.)

[freshstitches]

Truchet's Cowl is an interactive colorwork pattern based on the work of Designer and mathematician Sébastien Truchet. Each knitter can knit the pattern shown in the photo, or arrange and create their own unique pattern based on the provided colorwork tiles.

The possibilities are nearly infinite.

Finished Size: 22” (56 cm) around the top, 34” (86 cm) around the bottom and 13” (33 cm) tall.

Yarn: Baa Ram Ewe Titus, 350 yards (320 m) per 100g; 50% Wensleydale Wool, 30% Alpaca, 20% Bluefaced Leicester Wool.

 ▪️Color A: 30g, 105 yards (96 m) Parkin.

 ▪️Color B: 50g, 175 yards (160 m)  Yorkstone. 

 ▪️Color C: 50g, 175 yards (160 m) Eccup.

Needles: Size: 1, 2, 3 (2.25, 2.75, 3.25 mm) 16” (40 cm) circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 20 sts x 40 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm) square on size 2 (2.75mm) needles in stranded colorwork pattern.

Other Materials: Stitch markers in various colors, graph paper, scissors, tape, steamer, surface for blocking, tapestry needle.

History

Truchet Tiles are a symmetry game, first recorded in 1704 by Sébastien Truchet. His original tile game consisted of squares split along the diagonal into two triangles of contrasting colors. In quilting this shape is known as a “Half-Square Triangle”

Visit https://dmackinnon1.github.io/truchet/ to see an online version of his tiles.

More Yarn Info

This cowl works well with any fingering weight yarn. Thesample was knit from a set of leftovers from the Corner  Point Scarf and the yarn is unfortunately discontinued.

The fuzzy, wooly qualities of this non-superwash yarn are similar to John Arbon Devonia 4-Ply. 

The pattern is fully adjustable for any gauge. You can find it on Ravelry and on my website.

[thecoloroftheyarn]

The time has come to choose my yarn/colors. I've decided to go with Cascade 220, which an aran weight 100% non-superwash wool yarn. It comes in a lot of colors, which will be really helpful for making the gradient, and it's fairly affordable for wool (which is important because I'll be needing a LOT of it).

Some reviews I've read have said that the colors can bleed into the white during blocking, which makes me a bit nervous, so I might have to mitigate that by washing the darker colors in vinegar beforehand. Oh well, I'm sure I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

In the meantime, I think my next step is to order a hank of this stuff so I can confirm that this is the yarn I want to proceed with, do a gauge swatch, and figure out how many yards I'll need before I buy the rest of the yarn.

[koniknits]

So has anyone spun with pig hair yet

If you don't feel like DIY, you can buy the yarn here:

Translating the description for your pleasure:

OinkyStinky Hungarian Pig this is a VERY VEEEEEEERY rare combo first of all you have to find this breed of pig with long hair and then you need to have the skills to process it we were asked to research the feasibility of producing an "economical" yarn from a difficult fibre (and believe me pig is difficult in many technical regards, spinning and carding) this is the result 55% hungarian pig hair this is the fibre we are talking about and I know many of you wil say what the fuck do I need pig for I already have one here at home well... birds of a feather... 30% raw wool what that means in the industry is all wool thicker than 23 micron here we've got a mix of 23-27 micron so if you want soft this ain't it 15% other animal fibres this is basically a mix of mohair leftovers and rough thick micronage cashmere please never forget that those cashmere goats don't only have cuddly soft hair there's also quite some hard trash to be found on that goat it's still a goat, you know one more thing the hair of the pig has a typical odor a smell you can NEVER get rid of so if you have a sensitive nose STAY AWAY because non-castrated pigs just smell to the high heavens the boar (for those who failed bio that's what we call a male pig) emits this extreme musk and it's in its flesh and its hair not that you will faint or anything it's not the end of the world but let's say it smells like a gym full of teenagers jacked up on hormones

[milkweedman]

hey so like sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your boyfriend fell into the wool and we carded him. yeah he’s now in multiple rolags and we are spinning him into yarn. oof yeah and we were gonna weave that yarn into a bolt of cloth and fell it so uh.... he’s gonna be boiled. yeah sorry. look it could be worse, he’ll be part of a very dense and non-fraying cloth. it’s not that bad

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

this prob just me be overprotective of special interest the whole “say anything bad abt my special interest = insult me” type thing but really hate people who negative about fiber arts & wool & yarn & stuff

like people on birth country social media talk about how shetland yarn just spiky useless “what’s the purpose. shetland shouldn’t exist” n like am not biggest fan of shetland wool bc spiky but as someone who actually have experience with different sheep breed know what shetland wool is know importance of primitive breed know that non-fine wool have use n purpose n feel deserved fan club, think shetland wool have more purpose than you who confidently have no fucking idea what you talk about thank you very much

also as someone who lucky enough know different sheep breed exist with different wool properties then forced be in place where only options “(mystery) wool” or merino wool, merino this merino that, have shetland feel like breath of fresh hair savior even though don’t enjoy primitive and rough wool as much. listen do like merino wool they very good use it lots but my god shut up about merino wool shut up about superwash merino wool

“mohair yarn you only feel mohair anyway nylon silk who care what core made of.” if you not care then great good for you leave silk mohair to me then. but follow with “silk mohair purposeless shouldn’t exist” think you purposeless in life shouldn’t exist. (also sound like someone do care about core huh)

like it always ignorant people who say most ignorant and extreme and generalizing thing & get me angry n in head return same extreme “wtf no need be this intense insulting” energy back

[mothyandthesquid]

“Sunflower” on eco sock is the perfect warm weather eye candy. Eco sock is a more environmentally conscious non-superwash non-nylon option spun from 80% merino wool and 80% linen. This colourway is also available on other yarn bases.

[escaping-samsara]

No-Nylon Sock Yarn

This might be the hardest task for knitting without plastic. I’ve gone to some local stores and snooped around online looking for sock yarn and every time I do I get the same canned response.

“You know those will wear out, right?”

It’s easy to find 100% wool yarn, even non-superwash (yes superwash yarn contains plastic), but you’ll be darning them often if you wear them very much.

So is it fruitless? Well no, there are non-plastic alternatives to nylon that can give a yarn strength, such as mohair and silk. There are construction techniques too that a good sock yarn should have regardless. High ply-count and longer fiber strands, for example. BFL wool is notorious for its longer staple length, so does corriedale and targhee. And if the ply is 4 or more it will make for a better sock yarn foundation.

The most trouble I’ve run into now has been finding yarns that can fit this bill.

I’ve spent the past week trawling through Ravelry’s advance search for yarn, and the process has been slow and insightful. The more particular I search, “silk OR mohair, AND wool, AND NO manufactured fibers, 4-ply OR 5-ply+, AND NO superwash, AND not discontinued”, the less results I get. But still, there are results.

One would expect, with a search this tailored, you’d have at least a list of options, but I’ve still hit roadblocks. These come in two main forms: insufficient tagging or unavailable for purchase.

I cannot count how many times I’ve found a yarn that got me excited, only to click on the about page and read “80% SW Wool”. ‘SW’ meaning superwash. Or even worse, no mention of superwash on the about page, and then finding out the yarn is in fact superwash when I went to a retail listing. It makes me ask, if you’re using superwash wool, why not tag that as part of the care instructions so it can be searched through Ravelry? Why use superwash wool at all if you’re just going to recommend people handwash only?

The other pitfall is that these small dyers (as the majority of them are) don’t have the stock or have all together discontinued dying, yet haven’t updated their yarn’s about page to show it’s no longer available. Or, equally sad, when there’s simply no buying option available at all. Ravelry doesn’t always find every online store, so I try to look up the producer by name, and this sometimes gets me to an Etsy shop--But still, some yarns just seem to exist on their about page but nowhere else.

Still, I’ve managed to make a short list of yarns that pass the inspection and have some method for purchase. And honestly, all you need is one good product line for a lifetime of knitting if it fits all the bills. But I look at the number of yarns I could otherwise choose but are now discontinued (1/4th of them!) and wonder how long my current list will last.

So remember to support small dyers and yarn makers, and do your due diligence to make sure you’re getting the right product.

[rannadylin]

So...who wants to knit some gloves? :-D

I started working on writing up a more user-friendly pattern for the Gloves of the Reunited Kingdom (and look how pretty it is!...desktop publishing my beloved; it's possible the real reason I wanted to publish the pattern was just to play around with designing the pages now that I'm done designing the gloves XD)

Then I thought I'd better try to figure out the math for sizing it up, so I went looking through other glove patterns in my library, only to find...most of them just have one size anyway? And most of them are women's S/M, 7-7.5" hand circumference, right about the same size as these gloves. So. Well. I guess I might not need to do that math after all? You could, I suppose, still knit them in a larger size by using a heavier yarn (sport-weight or DK instead of fingering) and larger needles; and I, with my rather short fingers, did add instructions to the pattern for how to use your own hand measurements to knit the fingers to fit you, however long your fingers may be, so that would work with the scaling-up-yarn-and-needles process too. :-D

That said, if anyone wants to test knit some double knit gloves, email me at rannaknits@gmail.com and I'll send you the pattern draft as soon as it's ready. If you're on Ravelry, I have a project tester code you can use when adding your project there.

Pattern details behind the cut:

The pattern includes written instructions for the cuff, fingers, and general procedure for the hand, but the double knitting colorwork on the hand is included only as a chart.

Size Women’s S/M: 7-7.5" around the hand, height 9.25" from cuff to tallest fingertip

The pattern is written for a 7-7.5" hand circumference, to fit a women's size small/medium. Larger gloves may be knit by working in a heavier yarn, e.g. sport or DK weight, on larger needles. While the hand size is determined by the double knitting chart, written instructions for the fingers include how to adjust the length for a custom fit.

Gauge The gauge is measured over the double knitted fabric on the palm/hand.

Materials Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Fingering (70% Merino Wool, 30% Silk): 1 skein (220 yd/50 g for dyed yarns, 440 yd/100 g for Bare) each of Harvest (MC), Bare (CC1), and Cranberry (CC2); or other fingering weight yarn: about 35g/155yd of MC; 35g/155yd of CC1; and 15g/66yd of CC2. Any sturdy fingering-weight sock yarn should produce durable gloves; those with some nylon fiber will add to the durability. Consider also the comfort of the fiber content next to your skin; e.g. use a non-wool yarn if you are allergic or find it itchy.

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch markers, measuring tape, cable needle or spare DPN for rearranging stitches, waste yarn for a stitch holder

Difficulty level

Advanced. Skills required: Knitting in the round (DPNs, magic loop, etc.) for small circumferences; corrugated ribbing; Latvian braid; double knitting including increases and decreases

[stormy-river]

Transcripts from the Humanity Hotline

If someone else has done something similar to this, I haven't seen it and I apologize. Otherwise, this is something I thought would be funny, and writing allows me to procrastinate on other things. Without further ado,

As an effort to foster trust and good will in the wake of the intergalactic treaty convention, many ships from the allied planets began to integrate other species into their crews. The need for experts and mediators to handle interspecies conflicts became quickly apparent. Of all the species, humans were reported to cause the most problems and misunderstandings, leading to the creation of the Humanity Hotline.

-------

Thank you for calling the humanity hotline. You will be connected with an operator shortly to answer any questions you may have regarding humans. This call may be recorded for training purposes.

Operator: "Hi, thank you for holding. My name is Mindy. What can I call you, and how may I help you today?"

Caller: "Yes, hello. I am Krryssk, the Personnel Officer of my ship. We recently hired a human, and she has been exhibiting strange behaviors. I am unsure how to handle this, or if I should worry for the safety of the crew."

O: "Alright, could you describe the behaviors? When did they start?"

C: "Yes, when we first hired her approximately six days ago, she was very quiet and kept to herself, fitting perfectly with the usual dynamic of the crew. But today, multiple crewmembers have reported that she has been making gestures at them and gave them things she calls, 'crochet', that she claims to have made. The crew is unsure of their purpose, and why she seems to be targeting only some of them with these actions. I searched our archives for this 'crochet', and found that is is made of yarn from an Earth animal's skin? What should I do to stop this? Is it some kind of code or signal of predatory intent?"

O: "Ah, I see. First, the yarn used for knitting and crocheting is not made from skin. Some yarns are made from the wool, or hair, of an animal, but yarn can also be made from sources other than animals. I believe I know why your human is acting this way, but to confirm my theory, are the crewmates she is... 'targeting'... the ones she works with the closest, or interacts with the most? And do the gestures involve moving an open hand back and forth in the air?"

C: "Yes! Yes, how did you know?"

O: "Alright. It is most likely that she is trying to befriend her crewmates. Hand-waving is a non-vocal greeting, acknowledgement, or goodbye, and some humans give gifts, such as handmade crochet, to people they care about or want to get to know better."

C: "So there is no predatory intent? I had heard that humans needed to socialize, but the captain said they hired the least social human they could find."

O: "Yes, many of the asocial or low-social species have done that, only to find that the human wasn't actually asocial, just shy or introverted. If possible, the crew can make their own gestures of acknowledgement in response to a wave, and just say, 'thank you,' for the gifts. That will likely keep her happy. For the long term, if the rest of the crew are asocial and uncomfortable socializing with her, you may want to hire another human or other social species. It's never good to have only one social crewmember."

C: "I will speak to the captain. Thank you."

End Transmission

[sethmacfarlanedeathpose]

Engineer x Pyro preg fic!!!

The RED team's base was never that warm in winter. Especially the base located in Snowplow which was already cold enough, it didn't help that it was the dead of December and all the mercs had to find some alternative way to keep warm. For the team's resident Engineer that meant sitting in his little workshop, being kept heated by some overworked machine that he was using as a heater. He did take the time to tinker with a few little gadgets and gizmos, and figure out why his teleporters weren't working right. The Texan wasn't alone. There sat beside him in a rather comfy recliner chair was Pyro.

The masked mercenary also seemingly working on something, not as advanced as Del's own machines, but hard enough for them that they seemed to be struggling and starting over again a couple of times.

Engineer had let his concentration break a few times, allowing his eyes to wander in Pyro's direction to see what they were working on. Their hands still protected with those near two inch thick gloves, attempting to knit some sort of blanket. The Pyro wasn't particularly skilled it seemed, as they were constantly stopping half-way through every blanket to start a new one, all because of one mistake. Although after some time Engineer had once again decided to peer over to Pyro, viewing a far more completed, now scarf length piece of wool. It was a lot better compared to all the serviette sized blankets that Pyro had so carelessly tossed aside.

Red and yellow in colour and now long enough that it was draping over Pyro's belly, which had grown a large amount in size.

"For the baby, Pyro?"

"Mmr phe mmby!"

If Engineer was correct, Pyro's mumbles indicated that the blanket was indeed for the baby, the baby that had been growing in Pyro's belly for the past six months and even through the asbestos suit, was now becoming more prominent.

Pyro found some comfort in lazing back in Engineer's well heated workshop, and not being disturbed by the other mercs. Beside them was a small table hosting a basket full of yarn balls that Pyro was subjecting to below mediocre knitting, a plate of little sandwich looking cookies that Spy had baked out of boredom (Which he called Macarons) and a cup of hot cocoa in a giant Mann. Co mug, adorned with whipped cream and marshmallows.

Pyro couldn't be enjoying themselves more, although sitting by the fireplace in the Rec Room, needlessly burning whatever random things they could find would be better.

Pyro had stopped for a moment, the sudden change in activity once again garnering Engineer's attention. Gloved hands now gently running in circles around their swollen middle and a gentle mumble could be heard from behind the mask. One couldn't see the fire wielding merc's face from behind the gasmask, but Engie would tell when something was up with them.

Quickly, Engineer turned his chair in Pyro's direction, seeing them now place their hand underneath their rather bloated middle.

Suddenly Engineer felt Pyro's hands grab his own non-robotic arm and was being pulled in their direction and having his palm forced against Pyro's belly.

Another moment of silence as Pyro moved Engie's hand across the expanse of their stomach in hopes he could feel what they felt.

Engineer's eyes, hidden behind goggles, pierced upwards from Pyro's belly to their own shadowed eyes.

"Is it the baby? Is it kicking?"

"Mhmm!"

Pyro shook their head, still attempting to move Engineer's hand around, but not much could be felt on Engineer's part, seeing as Pyro was still wearing that thick, protective suit. And well something had to be said.

"Darlin', I can't feel a thing, you're gonna have to take the suit off."

Pyro didn't hesitate in the slightest, and although it was a major struggle for them to lift their overburdened body up from the chair, they still managed. Unzipping the suit from the back and removing all the belts and straps to reveal their heavily pregnant figure.

Pyro had always been chubby, but their now six month pregnant belly only stood to make them look rounder. They were wearing a lightly burnt up, pink coloured vest, which stood to hide Pyro's very scarred and burned body.

Once again they grabbed Engie's still intact arm and pressed it against their vast belly. A thick layer of fat covered their womb, but Engineer could just feel the tightness of their pregnant womb. The minor disturbance had again awoken the baby inside and kicks and movement could be felt again. The feeling of a little kick against Engie's hand had him almost in tears, a sudden rush of happiness and joy shooting through Engineer's brain, having him suddenly press his noggin against Pyro's belly and placing a gentle kiss near the naval.

"Sweetheart? Is this the first time you've felt the baby properly kick?"

Pyro just shook their head, and Engie could tell their were smiling behind the mask. There had been some worry about the pregnancy early on. With all the stress Pyro's body had gone through in their life and what it would continue to go through as a mercenary, Medic had classified it as a "high risk pregnancy", which worried Engie. Worrying that the baby wouldn't even live till birth, but here he could feel a rather lively baby kicking about.

Engie continued to rub and place kisses all over Pyro's belly, until he could hear some low groans and heavy breathing from Pyro, to which he shot up out of his own chair to help Pyro sit back down in theirs.

Despite always carrying around a tank of gas and a giant, homemade flamethrower, Pyro had found being knocked up to be extremely exhausting. Although they seemed fine once they were back down in the chair.

Engie's hand lay on Pyro's hip, massaging the bone and up by their lovehandles.

"Hold on, sugar. I'm gonna go get you something."

Engineer left Pyro to go search for the merc's sweater, which would be a far better option for them to wear instead of that heavy suit.

Pyro sat, half nude, only their tank top and underwear to cover their shame. Since they were already missing their suit they might as well take off their gloves to feel around their belly a little better. The baby had since found a comfy spot and went right back to snuggling up in Pyro's womb, so not much kicking or moving could be felt.

The hard hatted merc returned with Pyro's pajama bottoms and Company issued Mann. Co sweater. One being provided to all the mercs when being forced into such cold bases.

"Really gotta keep warm in this place, right Py?"

Pyro was happy to receive the clothes, letting Engie help put them on all while still sitting down.

"Mhhmm!"

Pyro muttered in agreement. Neither they nor Engineer were used to such cold conditions, but the sweater and pants seemed to be comforting to the little firebug.

Once Engineer was done dressing Pyro, he sat his body close to his partner, placing his hand once again atop their belly.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were ready to pop!"

A sigh escaped Pyro's mask. Didn't they know it? Six months in and having only one baby? And yet they were rather large. Scout had made some backhanded comment the other day about how Medic definitely had a baboon uterus put in Pyro, and that wasn't Del's baby but some dumb Baboon, which earned the youngest merc a slap in the face. Maybe it could be chocked up to Pyro's weight or all those vitamins and crazy experimental drugs given to the mercs. Needless to say Pyro was huge.

"I think you look cute all round like this!"

"Mhmrr mrst mrming mrt mpho mme mmece!"

If Engineer could translate correctly that was a "You're just saying that to be nice." but truthfully he meant it. Something about Pyro's rotund figure and how they had since developed a little waddle was extremely cute to him. Of course Pyro had not been on the battlefield since they discovered that they were pregnant, but Engie could only imagine them not being able to keep up with anyone, so it be best they stay here.

"No, I'm serious. Although I think everything about you is just adorable."

Maybe there was a little blushing behind the mask, but Pyro wouldn't tell.

Engineer now placing an ear against Pyro's belly and hearing a low rumble, indicating hunger, which didn't seem go be satisfied by the little sandwich cookies.

"How's about I go see if someone made dinner? You sound famished!"

No words escaped Pyro's mouth, but a nod of agreement was all Engie needed to go by.