LTK Yarn

[pageta]

So today I was the lucky recipient of some 3-ply LTK yarn that I have been coveting. I have knit soakers in yarn from my LYS, not from anything online that everyone talks about all the time. So with the yarn I was using from my LYS, I was getting 6 sts/inch with size 6 needls and 5.5 sts/inch with size 7s. I'm working on a gauge swatch of the LTK 3-ply with size 6 needles, and I don't think I'm knitting loose at all, but I'm getting 19 sts/4 inches which is 4.75/inch. I just learned the continental style of knitting, and I have to knit loose in order to get it to work. I cannot knit loose enough with this LTK yarn to do the continental style. I feel like I'm knitting very loosely English style, and it still feels very tight when I knit, like I can barely get the needle in the loop. This yarn is much more "scratchy" than the other yarn I was using, which means it "grabs" a lot more. I'm having a hard time understanding how anyone could get 5.5 sts/inch with this yarn. Am I just inept or is there some trick to knitting tighter with this yarn? I'm using Addi turbo needles, so it's not like the needles are slowing me down (bamboo vs. metal).

[littleturtlemama]

are you sure you've got the 3 ply and not a 2 ply? It would make sense that you can't get gauge if you've got the 2 ply, but I've never had anyone tell me they had problems that far off gauge.

It does seem "grabby" (that's a good way to put it) at first, becuase of the super high lanolin content (which yarn shop yarns won't have, for the most part, becuase they are so processed) But once youw ash it once, any trace of that graby/scratchy feel will vanishand you'll have nothing but yummy softness :inlove:

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I wondered that same thing so I took a portion of the yarn and "unspun" it to see how many plys there are and I counted three. I did finally figure out how to do the continental method with it, but even with size 4 needles I got 21 sts/4 inches. I have some 3-ply and 2-ply on it's way, so I'll keep practicing and then once that gets here, I'll know for sure what I have. I love the colors, and I think it will perform much better since it feels more "raw." I am getting used to the grabbiness of it. I just wish I could get gauge with the needles I already have.

[lifetapestry]

I do think that perceptions of softness and scratchiness are pretty variable.

I actually started knitting with very grabby yarn (including LTK) and bamboo needles, so I think that wool that isn't grabby, especially when I'm knitting with addi's, is too slick and "fake." So I think some of your experience is just that a different kind of yarn may require you to sort of re-learn your knitting skills (that what keeps knitting non-boring).

I tend to think that the LTK wool knits very differently than the kinds of commercial yarn you are used to. It is very lofty, which is one reason why I think it is more difficult to get a really small gauge (I used size 8 needles with a 4 stitches/inch gauge for the bird's nest soaker in my gallery). The loftiness keeps the yarn from really squishing down like some others do. But that same loftiness is what makes the LTK wool perform beautifully-- it is wonderfully moisture resistant, doesn't felt from use, and doesn't pill badly (in my experience, it does pill, but the pills slough off and the wool looks new again. It takes dye beautifully.

However, I will respectfully disagree with Theresa in that I do think the wool is scratchy, even after it is knitted up, washed, and used. Over time, it does soften up some, but it is a "sturdy" wool that feels a bit scratchy to my skin, compared to other yarns. If I rub it on my face or other sensitive areas, I get a bit of a rash, and I'm not sensitive to lanolin. I do not mean to suggest that my perception of scratchiness is universal or ultimately correct. I know that other people have thought that wool that I think is soft is scratchy.

Karla

[littleturtlemama]

No worries Karla :) I definitely fall into the "there's a yarn for everyone" camp, LOL, and I appreciate that you give your input as well. I think of yarn like wine-everyone's tastes vary.

I'm still puzzled that the gauge is off so much though :?:

[pageta]

I have some other "new" yarn that I'm doing a gauge sample with also. It is cotton and very smooth. The label says 26 sts/36 rows with size 2 to 4 needles, and I'm getting 24 sts with size 2 needles. So I guess I'm knitting pretty loose. Each time I knit up a gauge, I get better. I keep going back and forth between these two yarns (cotton and LTK) and eventually I think I'll get it.

My last LTK gauge swatch I did with size 4 and then size 6 needles. I really do like the size 4 gauge better because there are fewer holes. I'm going to keep working with it and see if I can tighten up and get it to work with the size 6 needles (so I don't have to go out and buy another set). I'll keep you posted.

[littleturtlemama]

How do you tension the yarn in your fingers? I know you siad you're working on continenetal, so in that case it normally goes over your left pointer, under middle and ring, and then around your pinky. For right handed tension, it goes over the pointer, under middle, over ring and under pinky. It sounds to me like you don't have enough tnesion on the yarn, and this should help keep it a bit tighter :)

[pageta]

Tension is something I haven't mastered yet as a knitter. I range all over the place, from so tight I can't get the needle under the yarn to knit a stitch to the opposite extreme. When I knit English style, I actually hold the yarn between my index and middle finger. That's just what I developed on my own since I didn't have a book to teach me how to hold my yarn. Generally my tension is pretty consistent when I knit English style. Now I do have pictures for how to hold the yarn, however, (Sally Melville Knitting Experience books) and I'm also learning the continental style with those same books. When I knit continental style, I usually wrap it around my pinky twice and then go over my index finger once (vs. around the pink once and over the index finger twice). Purling I totally have not figured out yet.

When I do these gauge swatches, I go back and forth between styles. Right now, I start out with English style because I am more familiar with that. Once I get it to work, I try to match the same tension with continental style. There's two things going on here: getting a feel for new yarn and learning a new way to knit. I'm working on my 3rd or 4th gauge swatch now, and each time I get better. I'm going to keep knitting gauge swatches until I get a consistent gauge that I'm happy with. I don't care if it takes me 10 swatches: I really like this yarn and I'm determined to figure out how to knit it the way I want. In the mean time, my order with both types (2-ply and 3-ply) may arrive and then I'll know for sure what I'm working with right now.

[littleturtlemama]

hey tana, I meant to say before, if there are three strands,it's definitely 3 ply :)

I'd suggest trying to tension the way I described-sort of weaving the yarn between your fingers on the englishmethod really helps stay even, and it also keeps you from dropping the yarnbetween stitches. (A lot fo new knitters do this, they put the right needle in,drop the needle, pick up yarn, knit the stitch, then drop the yarn to move the needle again.) When it's secured in your fingers like I descirbed, you won't drop it it all (which will lead to better tension.)

I applaud your persistence :bigups: I can't tell you how many students I've had who refudse to do gauge swatches and then go crazy when the thing they've worked so hard on won't fit anyone becuase the gauge is so off!

[pageta]

Okay, I did another gauge swatch last night. I pulled as hard as I could on the yarn so my arms were very tired. The yarn is like tough elastic - it stretches so I haven't been able to get it so tight that I couldn't get the needle in to knit it (like I did with the other yarn), but I have to work to stretch it. That was on size 6 needles and I managed to get 20 sts/4 inches (not 22). I did knit some soakers at 24 - I just adjusted the pattern to match the gauge I was getting, and then later I bought larger needles. Maybe I'll just adjust them the other way so I can knit them at 20. Obviously it would take less time to knit a soaker at 20 than it would at 24. :) I'll try once more on the size 4 needles I have because I do have size 2 that I could do the ribbing on if I needed to. I really like the yarn and think it will make much nicer soakers than the ones I already have. I always thought they were kind of thin, and I think this yarn will knit up more like I want.

[pageta]

Update: So now I'm knitting away with this yarn and using pretty tight tension. I measured how many sts per inch I'm getting on the soaker I'm currently working on, and I have 24 sts over 4 inches. Guess I could loosen up a little! Seriously, I did my gauge flat because I didn't want to cast on enough sts in order to do it in the round. Is my gauge different because I'm still getting the hang of continental, or is it really that different between flat knit and circular knit items?

[littleturtlemama]

ohh, dearie, there is a WORLD of difference between flat and circ gauges. Purl stitches are notoriously looser, so when you are working circ and eliminating that purl looseness, your tension snaps right up :)

Her'es a trick to do a circ swatch without actually working in the round
cast on the number you want in your swatch, then knit across, instead of turning and purling back, slide the stitches across so they are ready to knit again, and loop the yarn very LOOSELY across the back. Knit, and repeat this fo rthe entire swatch. The yarn'll stay in one continuous strand so you can rip it out afterwards, and you'll get an all-knit stockinette swatch :bigups:

[pageta]

Well, that makes sense. I may just rip back up to the ribbing (I'm only about 12 rows past it) - not just for this reason but a few others as well. Off to post in the Pit of Despair...