Читать книгу Creative Crochet Projects - Stephanie Pokorny - Страница 8

The first part of starting any crochet pattern is deciding what yarn to use and how much of it is needed. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to figure out as most patterns will list off the suggested weight, brand, color, and amount of yarn needed to complete the project as shown. For best results, you will want to choose the same yarn or something you know to be quite similar to the suggested yarn. If you are unfamiliar with the yarn, the people at your local craft stores and independent yarn shops are a great source for knowledge on this subject! Yarn weights can feel daunting to understand, but the system is not overly difficult once you become familiar with it. Yarn is given three denotations that help you understand its weight: a word description, a numerical weight, and a “ply” count. The word description and numerical weight are typically how the United States describes yarn. Ply count is most often used outside the U.S. This is not a steadfast rule, but a basic generalization of what you will encounter. Using the chart on here, we can summarize, for example, that medium weight, or worsted weight yarn is the same as #4 yarn and 10–12 ply yarn.

At times, a pattern will instruct you to work “holding the yarn double stranded.” This simply means that you will lay two strands of yarn next to each other (from different skeins or balls) and work the pattern as directed, holding the two strands as one. This is often done to achieve a stiffer finished project where structure is important to the final piece.

Keep in mind that different fiber compositions behave differently in finished items. Therefore, you will want to choose a yarn with the same or similar composition as the recommended yarn. Yarn has many compositions. Acrylic yarns are a great place to start, as they are soft, affordable, and last quite long through machine washings. Cotton yarns can be stiffer but produce items that are breathable and good for warmer weather. Natural fibers such as wool, alpaca, and angora can be pricey but create heirloom quality garments that feel luxurious. Note that even though two yarns may be marked as medium/worsted/#4 on the label, true weight can vary greatly amongst different manufacturers. This is why checking gauge every time is of utmost importance. This will be discussed later in this section.