Types of yarn Fibres
All types of yarn for knitting or crocheting are made from natural or synthetic fibres. Different types of yarn fibres have specific qualities — some good, some not so good. Often, manufacturers blend different types of yarn fibre to offset an undesirable characteristic.
When choosing a yarn type for your knitting project, consider the following:
Wool: Wool (made from the fleece of sheep) is the queen of yarns, and it remains a popular choice for knitters. Here are some of your wool yarn options:
Lamb’s wool: Comes from a young lamb’s first shearing.
Merino wool: Considered the finest of the fine breeds.
Pure new wool/virgin wool: Wool that’s made directly from animal fleece and not recycled from existing wool garments.
Shetland wool: Made from the small and hardy native sheep of Scotland’s Shetland Islands.
Icelandic wool: A rustic, soft yarn.
Washable wool: Treated chemically or electronically to destroy the outer fuzzy layer of fibres
Fleece: Examples include mohair and cashmere, which come from Angora and Kashmir goats, respectively. Angora comes from the hair of Angora rabbits.
Silk, cotton, linen, and rayon: The slippery, smooth, and often shiny yarns.
Synthetic: Including nylon, acrylic, and polyester. Straddling the border between natural and synthetic are soy, bamboo, corn, and other unusual yarns made by using plant-based materials.
Novelty: Novelty yarns are easy to recognize because their appearance is so different from traditional yarns:
Ribbon: A knitted ribbon in rayon or a rayon blend.
Bouclé: This highly bumpy, textured yarn is composed of loops.
Chenille: Although tricky to knit with, this yarn has an attractive appearance and velvety texture.
Thick-thin: Alternates between very thick and thin sections, which lends a bumpy look to knitted fabric.
Railroad ribbon: Has tiny “tracks” of fiber strung between two parallel strands of thread.
Faux fur: Fluffy fibre strands on a strong base thread of nylon resemble faux fur when knitted.
Tweed: Has a background color flecked with bits of fibre in different colors.
Heather: Blended from a number of different-colored or dyed fleeces, and then spun.
Marled (ragg): A plied yarn in which the plies are different colours
Variegated: Dyed in several different colors or shades of a single colour
There are no products to list in this category.