Yarn & Fiber

Yarn weight refers to the thickness of the yarn and helps determine the size and drape of your finished project. Use this handy guide to help you choose the perfect yarn for your next project.

To make sure you have all the yarn you need (and avoid extra trips to the store), here’s how to estimate the amount required:

Check the Pattern
Most patterns provide the total amount of yarn required, usually in weight (grams or ounces) or length (meters or yards) for each size.

Know Your Yarn’s Details
Look at the yarn label for its yardage or meterage per ball to match it to the pattern’s requirements.

Do the Math
Divide the total yarn required by the yardage/meterage per ball of your chosen yarn. Round up to ensure you have enough.

Plan for Extras
Always buy an extra ball, especially if the yarn is from a dye lot, to ensure color consistency and account for swatching or unexpected needs.

Example: If your project requires 800 meters and each ball has 200 meters, you’ll need 4 balls (800 ÷ 200 = 4).

Don’t forget to check out these video tips:

• How to calculate how much yarn you’ll need.

• How to choose the right yarn for your projects.

Yes, absolutely! You can use a different yarn than what the pattern suggests, but it’s important to choose a yarn that matches the pattern’s needs. You can check out this handy website to find yarn substitutes.

Here are also some tips for substituting your yarn:

Match the Yarn Weight
Check the original yarn’s weight (e.g., Lace, Fingering, DK, Worsted) and choose a substitute from the same weight category. This ensures your project has the right size and drape. Use a yarn weight chart for guidance if needed.

Check the Gauge
Knit a swatch with your chosen yarn and needles to ensure it matches the pattern's gauge. Adjust needle size if needed. Matching gauge is crucial for the correct size and fit.

Consider Fiber Content
Fiber types (e.g., wool, cotton, acrylic) affect the texture, elasticity, and warmth of your finished piece. Choose a fiber similar to the original yarn to achieve a similar look and feel.

Calculate Yardage / Meterage

Compare the yardage and weight of the original yarn with your substitute. Make sure to buy enough yarn to complete your project, as substitutions may have different yardage per skein.

Test the Technique
If the project involves specific textures or techniques (e.g., cables, lace), knit a small test section to see how the new yarn behaves.

Yarn labels provide important details about the yarn, such as the dye lot (ensures color consistency), fiber content (type of material), and yardage (length of yarn in the skein).

I’ve made a detailed video explaining yarn labels—check it out here.

Here are some tips for blocking, steam blocking, and hand washing your knitted garments.

You can also check out this video for more guidance.

Tips for blocking

When you’ve knitted something the yarn gets twisted into a new shape and no matter how evenly we try to knit, tension can still vary. This is where the transformative magic of wet blocking comes to save the day!

When your new knits get to take a bath it will allow the stitches to relax and settle into their new shape, which will make the surface settle more evenly and look better.

Wet blocking especially does wonders to color and cable work since this is generally where you’ll see a lot of tension in the yarn, block it, and all that will open up and bloom to its full potential.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Fill a sink or tub with lukewarm water, if the yarn is non-superwash you can also use warm water, check this on the yarn label. Submerge the knit into the water and gently press the knit to squeeze out any air bubbles to make sure that all the fibers absorb the water.

2. Let the knit soak for a good 10-15 minutes. If the yarn is a bit coarse you can also add in some wool detergent into the mix which will help soften the fabric.

3. Rinse the knit with clean water if you used wool detergent, and then press and squeeze out any excess water. But be careful to not pull, rub or wring it as this may felt and stretch out the knit (meter long sleeves anyone? Yup - been there, done that!).

4. Roll the damp knit up into a towel burrito-style and pretend you’re stomping grapes as you try to get as much water out from the knit as possible.

5. Lay the knitted garment flat on top of for example a garbage bag or something that doesn’t absorb the water. This will force the moisture to evaporate out, leaving it on a towel will make it dry slower as the dampness just gets absorbed into the towel.

6. Gently shape the garment to the desired measurements while it's wet, and it will adapt to its new shape.

Steam blocking

Sometimes you might be really happy with the finished size and look of a piece straight off the needles, and there’s no rule that says that you always have to wet block your handmade knits.

If you’re in a hurry (or just feeling impatient), you could try steam blocking as a more gentle and less fussy alternative. Steam blocking works really well when you want to keep the three dimensionality and texture of a stitch pattern, like for example brioche stitch.

To steam block, place a damp kitchen towel that’s not dripping wet, but it should be damp enough to create a proper steam once in contact with the iron, on top of the knitted fabric. Then gently press the iron over the fabric and watch the steam open up the texture and smooth out the surface on your knitted piece.

Washing your handmade knits

1. Fill a sink with clean lukewarm water, and use detergent that is specifically made for wool, this can usually be bought at yarn shops.

2. Submerge the fabric completely, you can gently squeeze out any air bubbles. Also, avoid placing any wool item under running water as this motion may felt the wool.

3. Let the garment soak for 10-15 minutes and then rinse with clean water (or skip this step if you used a rinseless wool detergent).

4. Squeeze out any excess water, but remember to not wring or rub the fabric as this may felt or stretch it out.

5. Lift it out of the water, making sure to support its weight evenly so that the wet fabric doesn’t stretch the garment.

6. Roll the garment in a towel “burrito-style” to squeeze out even more moisture.