Where to Buy and How to Choose Yarn and Needles

You can purchase yarn and needles at any of the following shops: Ewe First Yarn Company off Bogard Road just at the Mat-Su Resort sign in Wasilla; Aurora Beads on Swanson Street in Wasilla; Fantastic Fibers on Cobb Street and Just Sew on Alaska Street in Palmer; JoAnn’s in the Creekside Plaza in Wasilla; Fred Meyer in Wasilla.

Yarns

Choosing a yarn for a project may seem an overwhelming challenge, but it’s not.  Here’s a bit of information to get you started.  We’ll talk about yarns in each of the classes, and the Fiber Lecture will touch on all those new fibers out there.

First and foremost, you must choose the right weight of yarn.  Do you need bulky, worsted, DK, sport, baby, fingering, sock, lace?  This information points you in the right direction.  Read the yarn label to see what weight the yarn is.  Most yarn companies have begun using the following standardized symbols for weight.  Even patterns now use these symbols.  So, if you match the pattern symbol to the yarn label symbol, you’re off to a good start.

The gauge symbol on a yarn label shows stitches over 4 inches, so you have to divide by 4 to get stitches per one inch, which is usually the gauge a pattern asks for.

Next, to help you choose a yarn, determine the garment type, who it is for, how it will be handled, and especially how it will be laundered.

Wool is the best yarn, in my humble opinion. But it can be itchy and can’t be tossed in the washer and dryer.

Wool blends (yarn with some wool content, and then other fibers—acrylic, nylon, etc.) are softer, and many can be washed and dried.

Cotton is a great yarn, but it can be heavy and it stretches. Cotton blends with acrylic or modal or tencel lighten up the yarn nicely. They can usually be washed and dried without trouble.

Acrylic yarns are soft, can be washed and dried, but can pill over time. They’re good choices for kids who will spit up all over or outgrow the item right away. They are not your best choice for a garment you plan to put a lot of time into, and hope to keep wearing for years to come.

As you learn to knit, choose an acrylic, or a less expensive wool blend. Once you get the hang of all this, and learn a bit about fibers, you’ll be able to choose best for your next projects.

Universal Laundering Symbols

Needles

Each yarn will recommend a particular needle size. The label will tell you what gauge (number of stitches and rows to 4 inches) you will be getting with their yarn and recommended needle size. Every pattern will tell you what gauge you need to get when knitting that pattern.

Sometimes YOU won’t get the same gauge as on the yarn label using their recommended needle size.  If this happens, try a size smaller or larger needle until you DO get the gauge you need for your pattern.  This is MOST important when making a garment as it will not fit if you don’t get gauge!

As you learn to knit, buy the needles recommended on the yarn label. That will be close enough for our beginning projects. Once we get to sweaters, however, you’ll have to have accurate gauge swatching in your tool kit! This is something we talk about extensively in the Math and Fiber Lectures.

I prefer and recommend that you buy wooden or bamboo needles. They are warmer on your hands, and softer, in that they bend just a bit as you work. You hands will thank you.  The new ‘plastics’ on the market are OK, too.

Metal needles are cold on your hands, slippery, and the “knob” at the end makes them bottom heavy—they can fall out of  your knitting easily.

Circular needles, which come in wood or a ‘plastic’ material, are required for garments knit in the round.  However, they are also interchangeable with straight needles—anything that is knit on straight needles can be knit on circular needles. They allow you to hold your hands/arms at a better angle than straight needles, and they hold the bulk of your knitting in your lap, not at the ends of the needles (this is especially nice when you’re knitting a big sweater or an afghan—all that weight rests nicely in your lap, on the cable connecting the needles).

Double pointed needles (again wood is the best!) are for knitting smaller items in the round. They can be used as straight needles in some projects, but they’re shorter and don’t have the ‘stop’ at the end—your stitches can just slide off the other end!