Meet the Yarn: Meridian

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

I have been waiting for my chance to work with Meridian.  I like smooth-ish lace weight for shawls, and this one featuring Tencel and alpaca couldn’t be prettier.  It has sheen and matte combined and a fine halo of delicate fibers rising from its surface.

Anzula Meridian by Jill Wolcott

One of the problems with a true lace weight is that it is almost weightless, which can make getting traction on a project a little difficult.  There is no weight to hang off the needle and the fabric ends up looking like a mess.  It is really hard to see where things are going to end up.  In fact, my exploration swatch looked so miserable that I didn’t bother taking gauge before I blocked it because I just assumed it was going to be unworkable.

Jill Wolcott

But this was the result of my swatching on US size 3(3.25mm) needles.  The garter stitch is still pretty meh, but the Stockinette couldn’t be prettier.  Arguably the Seed stitch might not be worth the trouble if you are a thrower, but the texture is perfect.  Before I blocked this swatch I started a swatch in a couple of lace patterns I had adjusted to be worked together.  

Jill Wolcott

I first used Garter for the border pattern, but changed to Seed because it looked horrible. Although the Seed made it a little harder to keep track of the pattern, the resulting border is quite nice really showcases the yarn.  The first 20 rows of the eyelet pattern were hard to keep track of as the stitches curled around each other.  A lot of markers kept the pattern on track, although again it felt like it might be nothing.  Every time I looked at it I thought "scrubby”.  I did this swatch on a US size 4(3.5mm) needle.  

Jill Wolcott

The end result of both swatches, after blocking, are completely worthwhile and I’m glad I didn’t completely abandon hope too early.  Although I went ahead with blocking my exploration swatch, I really didn’t think it would be a success, so I didn’t take the pre-blocking gauge.  I was so happy with it that I am redoing a swatch on wood needles to see if it is easier.

Meridian Exploration Swatch, Unblocked and Blocked, Jill Wolcott

Whatever stitch pattern is worked, there is a marvelous halo around each stitch after blocking. I will be quite honest in saying that this is a more challenging yarn to knit.  At one point my needle kept slipping out while I was counting, which was vexing.  So it is slippery; there are some comments on Ravelry about it being split-y, but I didn’t have a problem with that.  My main issue was that it was entirely impossible to tell what the end result was going to be.  It seemed quite slow going (but look at the changes in blocked gauge), and I expect it will go more smoothly using  a non-metal needle.

Eyelet Pattern Blocked, Jill Wolcott

I love poking around the projects posted for a yarn on Ravelry.  Here are a selection of favorites.  

1.  Used with Shibui Knit Pebble in stripes.  https://www.ravelry.com/projects/lismete/textured-stripes
2. A beautiful (if small bit of it) crocheted lace https://www.ravelry.com/projects/clare6/oswin
3. Another crochet.  Lace, sleeveless duster  https://www.ravelry.com/projects/opportunityknits/crochet-duster-coat
4. A good representative example of the many Meek’s Bay shawls.  https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sabews/meeks-bay
5. A gorgeous shawl from Mindy Wilkes  https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mindy/brunswick
6. A nice version of a Stockinette cardigan  https://www.ravelry.com/projects/knitandmiss/featherweight-cardigan

I had lots of ideas while making my swatches, which tells me Meridian was nudging me in a creative way which I love.  I am more excited about my ideas now that I have beautiful blocked swatches to look at.  I am going to redo the lace swatch too.

My initial idea was to work a wingspan shawl.  I like the components I chose for stitch patterns, but seeing how the fabric drapes and holds body gives me ideas for design tweaks I can make before embarking on the shawl.  Using a twisted knit between the YOs in both patterns will enhance the overall pattern and perhaps a modification to the YOs.   

I finished off my shawl swatch with a stitch that looks like buds, which goes very nicely with my other pattern, but it looked sloppy and sad before I wet blocked.  It was helped by the wet block, but like everything, the extra polish of steam blocking and stretching to final shape made a complete, and positive, difference.

Jill Wolcott

If you are interested in knowing more about this, I’m redoing swatches, and you can follow my latest results on my GMT project page on Ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/projects/JillWolcott-Knits/gmt.

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog:  http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
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Meet the Yarn: For Better or Worsted

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

For Better or Worsted is so yummy to knit!  Again, we find that 10% cashmere, blended with 80% superwash Merino and 10% nylon.  This yarn is cushy and so soft a couple times I had to actually look at my hand to make sure I had the yarn tensioned in my fingers!

As I look at the yarns on my yarn shelf, there isn’t much in the way of worsted yarn.  I love DK, sport, fingering, lace.  I think of worsted as being best for hats, mittens, and other accessories. Because I like stitch patterns, worsted is sometimes just a touch too large for what I want to accomplish, but really, I have nothing against worsted; one of my favorite projects is done in a worsted weight!  When I make something out of worsted I wonder why I don’t use it more, but for me it is primarily best in accessories.  

For Better or Worsted is a 4-ply yarn, with a WPI of 11.  If you look at the other other yarns I’ve introduced here, the WPI is between 13 and 23, and this is the first 4-ply yarn.  It isn’t the first round yarn, but I don't believe it would be as round and cushy without that fourth ply. 

This got me really curious about plies.  It isn’t easy to find information on more than 3-ply yarn, so I appreciated the concise information I found here on Yarnsub.com:

Four-ply plus

The more plies in a yarn, the stronger, more durable and more rounded it becomes, giving good structure to textured stitches and cables. The more plies you add, the more dense the yarn becomes, as all available space within the column of yarn is used up.

I was also  curious about twist per inch.  I count 14 or 15 TPI in For Better or Worsted. Comparably, Cricket has 11 TPI and Lucero (washed) has 10 TPI.  Here’s some information on twist which is useful, even if it is related to thread/yarn for textiles:

Twist may be defined as the spiral disposition of the components of a thread which is usually the result of relative rotation of the two ends. Twist is generally expressed as the number of turns per unit length of yarn, e.g. turns per inch (tpi), turns per metre (tpm), etc.

What exactly does twist do a yarn?

1. The twist in a yarn binds the fibres together and helps to keep them in the respective positions. It thus gives coherence to yarn.

2. Twist gives sufficient strength to the yarn.

3. Twist is also used to bring about novel effects that are prominently visible when the yarn is converted to fabric. This is achieved primarily by having a combination of yarns with different twist levels and twist directions in the fabric.

As I finished my first swatch I grabbed my yarn tail and attempted to break the yarn as I always do (unless fiber content tells me it won’t).  That was not possible and I had to reach into my knitting box for scissors.  This is a strong yarn!

Here are the results from my exploration swatches and my project swatches.  I got curious about the garter stitch because there was so little row change.  I put my swatch up with a small amount of weight on the blocking wire and left it to hang for the weekend.  The Garter/Dressed numbers in the Blocked and Difference columns tell the result.  The difference is from Unblocked.

Garter Stitch Blocked vs. Unblocked

Garter Stitch Dressed

Stockinette Stitch Blocked vs. Unblocked

Seed Stitch Blocked vs. Unblocked

Double Seed Stitch with 1x1 Rib, Unblocked

Cross Stitch

I made my long-time favorite shawlette, Taos, in For Better or Worsted.  Taos in its original design is easy to wear as a flat small rectangular shawl or with the drawstring at the neckline pulled up.  I always wear it with it drawn up just enough to bring the ends to the front of my shoulders so I don’t have to worry about Taos staying in place.  While working on another design in worsted weight yarn I became enamored of making large buttonholes by increasing, so I did a version of Taos with that option, which will be added to the pattern soon.

Taos by Jill Wolcott

The problem with buttonholes in knits is 1) finding the perfect button, and 2) getting the buttonhole to the right size and having it do its job without gaping, pulling, or coming undone. The buttonhole can be used with a shawl pin too!  The buttonhole closure option gives a little different feel to how Taos is worn. 

Taos with buttonhole by Jill Wolcott

Notice how the roundness of the yarn works with the tonal coloration and what high relief there is in the garter, the eyelets, and the cross-stitch pattern.  Whatever you make in For Better or Worsted, these are things you can easily take advantage of in your knitting.

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog:  http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
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Meet the Yarn: Lucero

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

Getting a new yarn in the mail is always fun.  I didn’t mind a bit that it was coming “au natural”, or what is called griege goods in the textile/fashion industry.  

This is the latest yarn in the Anzula Luxury Fibers yarn catalog, Lucero.  You may have seen it making appearances on social media.  Always beautiful in dyed yarn, the Stellina adds such depth to the soft natural color that this yarn is just beautiful au natural.  You can imagine it in your favorite Anzula Luxury Fibers color.

I took a photo of the skein when it arrived:

then threw it on the swift and made cakes:

I knew what I wanted to do with it, so I went directly to a swatch of my project concept.  You can read about me blocking it here.  I didn’t like the gauge I got with a US size 6[4mm], so I started over on a US size 5[3.75mm].  If this makes you sigh, you haven’t knit with this yarn!  I am always happy to be knitting with lovely, soft, enjoyable yarn, so I really didn’t mind redoing my swatch at all.  I was actually disappointed that I couldn’t redo it right away, but I had other knitting to do.

Since I was enjoying this yarn, I decided to undo my swatch and wet block the yarn so I could reuse it.  I love it when it is all crimped up, and it looks kind of disappointing when it nearly smooth again.

Ever wonder why we do that wet blocking to yarn after we rip it?  It is so the crimps don’t inhibit the yarn when you are re-knitting it.  If I hadn’t wet and steam blocked it I wouldn’t have bothered to wet block the yarn before reusing it.  I hung it with a tiny bit of weight hanging from it, and I could steam it if I wanted to smooth it more.

In the meantime, I worked on my usual flat gauge swatches, just to get a feel for Lucero in a variety of stitch patterns.  I used a US size 3[3.25mm] needle.  There were really no surprises in this DK weight, 3-ply yarn, except maybe how much texture there was!  I decided to work my main project stitch pattern flat on US size 5[3.75mm] needles.  This eyelet pattern [you can get the instructions and chart to swatch here] works up nicely; I think I favor seed over stockinette on the larger needles though.  We’ll see when it is blocked.

So the numbers are in.

There isn’t a lot of change from unblocked to blocked.  When I picked up my blocked swatches, I nearly swooned with how soft my knitting felt!  I noted how the garter didn’t stretch out as it often does.  I also noted how smooth and lovely my Stockinette now looked on the swatch using larger needles.

I pulled out the in-the-round swatch I am working on.  There is the tiniest bit of difference in the unblocked and blocked feel of the swatches.  Cashmere does love a good bath!  I took my gauge on that unblocked swatch just out of curiosity.  At this point I only have Stockinette.  I used the same needles as I did for the flat swatches, using the magic loop.  

These are the numbers:  25 sts and 30.5 rows to 4” OR 6.25 sts and 7.625 rows to 1”.  If I get the same sort of shift as I did on the flat swatch, I think my blocked numbers would be 6 sts and 7.5 rows to 1”.  So if you have ever wondered why your gauge taken flat did not foretell your in-the-round gauge, there it is.

Have you been following my Meet the Yarn posts?  Do you ever look at the WPI and ply information?  Lucero is 16 WPI and a 3-ply yarn.  Remember, I am working with Au Natural, which means the yarn hasn’t been dyed.  I decided to do a WPI card for the yarn I blocked, which might be similar to after dyeing.  That yarn is 13 WPI.

I think we should be paying a little more attention to the yarn ply when we are looking at yarns and what we think they will do.  I am noticing a distinct difference between 2-ply and 3-ply yarns.  Look for more on that on my blog on January 31.

Look at my blog on January 24 (it always posts just after 5 pm PST) for a sneak peak at my Lucero project. 

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog:  http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
Twitter: @jillwolcottknit
Instagram: @jillwolcottknits
Pinterest: Jill Wolcott Knits
www.JillWolcottKnits.com