scarf fringe

I'll start this off with -- this is only the second scarf I've done twisted fringe on...

Got the directions from the internet -

The pink yarn - salvaged from sweater 60%acrilic 31%mohair and 8% nylon

The white - salvaged from sweater 50%lambswool 40%angora rabbit hair 10% nylon

As you can tell, the pink stayed twisted.  The white... didn't  The white was originally 4 ends that I twisted 2 and 2 and put together.  The original twist stayed in, but the combining of the 2 came undone.

Note:  The knots on the top of the white "twists"  I put in after the scarf came out of the wash - just to stabilize while I'm figuring out where to go from here.

Does this outcome have something to do with the original twist in the yarn - or the fiber content - or did I do it wrong on the whites and not the pinks?  As far as I know, I did them the same...

What I'll probably do with this is undo if I can, the pink and do a mix within a section.  I had one fringe that had a pink yarn in it from the weft and that stayed together. 

What am I missing ?  :)

Comments

Sat, 12/04/2010 - 00:47

debmcclintock

1st, thanks for the photo, that makes it easier to try to troubleshoot

here's a link to a great conversation some folks had about twisting the fringe.  It make give you some pointers

My question... is did you twist your pairs in one direction and then combined them and twist them in the opposite direction and knot them?  That is what really helps hold the twist. (doesn't matter if you did it manually or with a twist assist device)

The fact that one yarn held the twist and the other did not just may be because one fiber was more grabby structurally than another (like that technical term?). Hence when you twisted it and washed it the fiber itself held the twist.  If you did your twist combos the twist should have held in both yarns. Sometimes some yarns need more twist than others, this might be the case for the white.

Hopefully someone else will also give some ideas.  Plan B can always be braiding the yarns together but I like your original path.  Read thru the link above and check how you twist to how others describe how they do it.

Good luck!  Deb

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 09:27

kerstinfroberg

You wrote: " The white was originally 4 ends that I twisted 2 and 2 and put together.  The original twist stayed in, but the combining of the 2 came undone."

I'm not sure I understand what (rather "how") you did, so let me guess: you had 4 strands -gave one of them more twist, then gavthe second one more twist - let those two twist back on themselves, giving you one double strand. Did the same to the two left - which gave you two (double) strands. Then you wanted the two to twist together, so you gave them more twist, wanted them to twist back on each other, giving you one twisted strand.

Assuming this is right: if your yarns have Z-twist (which in my experience is the most common in singles yarns), then the *first* twisting (combining the first two white yarns) should be done Z (to give them more of their original twist. When the two strands then twist together, you get one strand having S-twist.

The two resultant strands should them be twisted in the S direction (ie opposite your first twisting direction). This will result in one fringe strand having Z twist.

Could it be that you put in more Z-twist in the second twisting?

(I have a blog post about this, with pictures, here)

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 12:44

ridinteacher

salvaged angora yarn

OK, I think I may have it figured out now.  I started looking closer at the yarn. (This is salvaged from a sweater, yarn)  The piece on the left is straight from the sweater - The piece on the right is picked apart.  Turns out the one strand was really 3 tiny singles laying alongside each other. 

What I had done was I grouped 2 of the original and twisted, another 2 and twisted and then did the opposite twist to make a twisted fringe. 

Wet finished it ended up being two pieces of plied yarn each made from 6 tiny singles. 

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 14:33

kerstinfroberg

OK - then I can't see other than it ought to have worked... sorry! Can't think of any other good explanation... (sorry not to be of better help)

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 16:39

ridinteacher

I think it had something to do with the twist.  The tiny little singles are small enough I can't tell the direction of the twist. 

 

Sun, 12/05/2010 - 23:35

Michael White

Question, from reading your first posting, did you knot the yarn after twisting and before wet finishing?

Michael

Mon, 12/06/2010 - 00:49

ridinteacher

I knotted the twists on the ends before I wet finished it.  After it came out and they were untwisted I put the knots in at the top in panic - probably unfounded - that the weaving would loosen up while I decided on my next step.    They looked really good before it went into the washer - actually they looked nicer than the pink twists.  Tells you how much I know :)