Hello all!

I've been searching for chunkier yarns to weave with. Most of the smooth/mercerized yarns I've found are very fine, which is great for detail on bands, but I'm trying to experiment with a range of yarns at the moment, to see which ones I enjoy working with the most.

Just thought I'd share this with my fellow backstrap weavers, the Patons Smoothie DK yarn is great for use on a backstrap loom! The range of colours seems excellent and its smoothness means it doesn't stick. The finished product feels a lot like the thicker mercerized cottons, despite being 100% acrylic. 

Here in the UK it sells for about £2.50 per 100g in Hobbycraft, and it's widely available on ebay. It measures in at 14wpi (6wpc). I think it would make a great yarn for beginners who find it more difficult to manipulate very fine yarns and who need something that won't get sticky! Also good for BIG projects I imagine!  :)

Comments

Tue, 01/25/2011 - 14:56

jordanj (not verified)

I saw this Patons Smoothie (I'm not sure it was DK, it seemed finer) and was wondering about how it would work, so thanks for the head's up! I thought maybe the plying was a bit loose, but maybe the acrylic holds up better than a cotton would? 

Thanks again!

Tue, 01/25/2011 - 16:19

bolivian warmi

Thanks Toby. With all this we can build up a nice base of resources and I can use it on my blog too. Please post pictures of something made with this yarn if you can some time.

Another online source for this yarn I was told by Barry at Rav is here.

Fri, 02/25/2011 - 10:52

tobytottle (not verified)

Thanks for the link Laverne, great to see the whole range of this yarn available online!

jordanj, you're right, the plying is a little on the loose side, but I've never found it a problem in the two little practice pieces I've completed with it so far.

The only yarn in the photo below that isn't Patons Smoothie is the orange in the borders! It weaves up extremely quickly, as you can imagine, being such a thick yarn.

This is the most recent practice band I've woven, using a pattern I designed myself! *cue self pride!* I'm happy that I feel really comfortable with the double weave technique at last. If anyone's interested I'll happily post the pattern.

The photo below is an earlier piece, employing the warp substitution technique, both yarns are Patons Smoothie here. I much prefer the double weave technique though, look at the length of those floats on the back!

I need to do something with those long, ragged warp ends, so now I'm off to learn weft twining before I go to work!

 

Fri, 02/25/2011 - 11:42

bolivian warmi

Nice to see what you have been up to Toby. The warp substitution technique is a nice intro to the double weave. I know what you mean about the floats. I hate them too but if you space your designs carefully you can at least minimize that. In any case you seem to have the hang of the double weave and I like your design. Looks like the Patons yarn works well.

Tue, 03/08/2011 - 02:12

jordanj (not verified)

Oh, nice double weave design! Bet that would make a cushy back strap!