The composition of the material plays an important role in knitted products. Therefore, before you start knitting, it is advisable to understand the basic properties of the fibers in the yarn.
Wool yarn will always be in demand for making warm winter clothes. However, the wool yarn is not the same. It can be very soft, and sometimes it is prickly, causing discomfort. In addition, pellets appear more often in wool products; during washing, they can stretch or shrink. In order not to spoil the future thing, you should learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of the main types of wool.
Cashmere
Cashmere is combed, exclusively in the spring, down of mountain goats living in Nepal, India and Mongolia. Due to the difficult climatic conditions, the goat's undercoat has good frost resistance.
Down yarn is spun and dyed only by hand. And no matter what bright colors the yarn is dyed, the thin fibers that rise above the product will level out the saturation. Another feature of cashmere items is dullness. The addition of artificial fibers to the yarn will give a little shine. Which is not always a disadvantage.
Due to too few raw materials and manual processing, cashmere prices "bite". It is not for nothing that cashmere is called "pure gold" in Asia.
Merino
This yarn is obtained by shearing a merino sheep. The peculiarity of this breed is its fine wool. Even human hair is several times thicker than the wool of this sheep breed. Thanks to this, merino wool products are surprisingly soft. It is hypoallergenic and suitable for both newborns and people with allergies.
Merino wool has a twisted structure, which is the best way to affect the elasticity and strength of the yarn. And from here comes a nuance that should be taken into account. After washing, the merino is very stretched, but you should not be afraid of this. Having laid out on a horizontal surface, for drying, the product must be slightly crumpled, squeezed and after drying it will take its original form.
The disadvantages of this yarn are the price and rare skeins of yarn with a composition of 100% merino.
Alpaca
Alpaca wool yarn is valued all over the world. Due to the long and dense pile, the products are very durable and warm, but at the same time with good heat regulation.
For some "roughness", this yarn is rarely dyed in bright colors, trying to keep its authenticity. Moreover, in nature there are more than 20 shades of wool in alpacas.
In stores, they most often sell alpaca yarn with the addition of acrylic, cotton, and so on, so that future products are softer to the touch.
Very expensive types of yarn include - "alpaca baby", baby alpaca wool and "alpaca silk", with the addition of silk threads.
Angora
Angora yarn is obtained from the fluff of rabbits of the same breed. The thread of the yarn is very soft and delicate, but at the same time not strong. Due to the fragility of the thread, you cannot find 100% angora yarn in stores. Most often, the composition of the yarn includes mohair or viscose. In the more expensive segment, there is a thread of silk. Thanks to this, the properties of the yarn are improved, and things look sophisticated and feminine, while warming even on the coldest days. Angora yarn is also suitable for knitting children's clothes.
To make things last a long time, needlewomen recommend washing them with hair shampoo.
Mohair
From the wool of Angora goats, a very warm, fluffy and strong yarn is obtained - mohair. The natural color of the material ranges from white to cinnamon and even gray.
Due to some features of the yarn in its pure form and its high cost, acrylic thread, elastic or artificial, is added to it. Mohair also differs in the degree of hardness. The softest is the wool of kids up to two years of age. She is also the most expensive.
An interesting feature of the yarn is that the product retains heat, even if it gets wet.
Vegetable fibers - cotton, linen, bamboo
Cotton
The most versatile and unpretentious knitting yarn for both adults and children is cotton. Clothes made of cotton are pleasant to the body, unpretentious in care and do not frighten at their cost. And the palette of colors presented in the store is pleasing to the eye.
Linen
Like cotton, linen is very popular with knitters. It is perfect for knitting summer clothes, as it has good hygroscopicity and breathability. The downside is the difficulty of staining it. As a result, skeins of flax of a natural shade are usually sold on sale.
Bamboo
Bamboo threads are often added to yarns for knitting children's clothes, or they are combined with cotton and linen. Thanks to bamboo, the yarn becomes stronger, softer and more pleasant to the body.
