In which I learn: yarn is not fabric (yet) [Another journal]

I have finished crocheting my first piece of clothing. That is wonderful, but what is less wonderful is that I’ve somehow forgotten I’m actually a small creature and my attempts to make this sweater a bit oversize have resulted in something that does not fit due to being too large.I think it may be salvageable, but I’m finding it difficult to drag myself back to the project after “finishing” it and finding it lacking.

Fabric never does me bad like this. Well, it does, but I’m used to how it misbehaves. Example: for some of this crochet project I planned to dye the yarn, so it wouldn’t just be plain white.

“I’ll get to it when I need it,” I thought. You see, with fabric the dyeing process can be a hassle (above a certain quantity of yardage, fabric is always a hassle), but it is straightforward. Yarn though? It’s not fabric.

A photo of a hank of white yarn tied in three places sitting on a scrap of cardboard. The yanr has been spritzed at with a bottle of pink dye so it's white and splotchy pink. — I decided to go for a “many hanks” situation, so I’d be able to get to more of the yarn with the dye.

With yarn, you have to turn it from a tidy skein into a hank (or several),which means unwinding an entire skein and spending quite a lot of the dyeing process trying not to tangle everything. Then, when you’re done, re-winding it.

A photo of a pile of yarn hanks on a wet scrap of cardboard. They have been spritzed with dye in teal and pink and are covered in messy blotches of those colours, more pinks than teal. — I knew as I was going that I was going to have a hell of a time untangling each of these, even though I’d tried to reduce the possibility through how I tied the hanks.

I survived though. Here is some evidence. I have not colour corrected these for shit, which is fine because tbh the resulting colours are some of the literal worst to get accurate (I hate you, teal and peach).

A photo of a hanger that has several smaller hanks of yarn draped on it, most hooked over clothespins clipped to the hanger. The yarn is a light pink with patches of deeper pinks and blues. — I did feel smart about the drying situation (this is after they were rinsed well and taken through the dryer in a bag).

A photo of a hand holding a hand-wrapped skein of peachy-pink yarn with flecks of darker rose and shades of teal. — I will say, frustrating as it can be, winding a centre-pull skein feels very cool to do.

What is hilarious is that, in the end, I almost perfectly matched a skein of store bought yarn. Not my intention! I doubt I could replicate!! Notes for myself I guess: this is SEI Tumble Die in maybe? Aqua?? (the colour is not labelled) and RIT Rose Pink in a misting bottle.

A photo of a crocheted item, the bulk of which is a sort of marled yarn in a very light peach with flecks of teal and pink and yellow. A gold crochet hook is pointing at two rows stitched perpendicular to the rest, which are a light peach with flecks of pink and teal. — I would be so happy if this had been at all intentional. What I ACTUALLY wanted was a complementary pattern/colour scheme.

Anyway, fibre arts remain fun and frustrating in equal measures, which is why they have me by the throat. You can see the sweater when I’ve fixed it. This whole thing could have gone sideways and it DIDN’T, which means I’ve learned nothing and will probably approach yarn with the same “fuck it” energy next time I have to dye a batch.

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Another journal

In which I learn: yarn is not fabric (yet)

December