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Great Yarn for Knitters

Updated on December 31, 2017
kimberlyschimmel profile image

Kimberly is an enthusiastic knitter who also crochets, teaches knitting, sews, does alterations,and designs/tests knit and crochet patterns.

Try New Yarns Regularly

Get Creative with New Yarns

When I see a new yarn in my local shops, I try it out with a small, one-skein project. For cotton or linen yarn I usually make a dishcloth. For wool or acrylic, a scarf or cowl is the usual choice. Here are two great acrylic yarns I just tried:

Lion Brand Hometown, U.S.A.

This bulky yarn is good for quick winter projects. Although knitting with big needles (10 mm and bigger) is not my favorite kind of knitting, Hometown feels soft and makes the giant needles tolerable for the duration of a project. I chose to make a reproduction of Katniss' hunting cowl from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in blue instead of the movie's creamy tan color. The herringbone stitch (see picture below) really looks nice with only a couple of stitches per inch.

Use this yarn for fast winter hats and scarves. It would also make a wonderfully soft sweater for those of you who live in the north, although in North Carolina I would only be able to wear such a sweater for a few weeks in January or February!

Caron Simply Soft Light

The label says this is lightweight yarn. While regular Caron Simply Soft is a light worsted weight, Simply Soft Light knits like a light sport or fingering (sock) yarn. I used size 9 needles, (larger than recommended 5) to make a loosely knit, almost lacy fabric for "Rogue's Purple Scarf" from The Ravelry pattern database.

See the Yarns - Hometown USA and Simply Soft Light

Click thumbnail to view full-size
Herringbone Stitch in Hometown USA yarn on size 17 needlesRogue's skinny scarf hanging from tree to show off lengthCloser view of skinny scarf
Herringbone Stitch in Hometown USA yarn on size 17 needles
Herringbone Stitch in Hometown USA yarn on size 17 needles
Rogue's skinny scarf hanging from tree to show off length
Rogue's skinny scarf hanging from tree to show off length
Closer view of skinny scarf
Closer view of skinny scarf

How to Knit Herringbone Stitch

Knit Flat on Two Needles

Work on even or odd numbers of stitches:

Row 1 (and all right side rows): Knit 2 stitches together through back loops. Drop only the first stitch of the two from the left needle, leaving the second stitch. Knit the stitch you left together with the next stitch through back loops, dropping only the first stitch from left needle as before. Continue pattern to last stitch. Knit last stitch.

Row 2 (wrong side rows): Purl 2 stitches together. Dropping only the first stitch of the two from left needle. Purl stitch you left together with next stitch, dropping only first stitch from left needles as before. Continue pattern to last stitch, Purl last stitch.

Repeat these two rows, ending after a wrong side row. Cast off.

working

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