Sunday, September 6, 2009

Alpaca Scarf - Start to Finish

My goal for this scarf project was to see if I would be happy spinning and knitting with a single ply yarn. My thoughts have always been that a single would slant and perhaps even fall apart.
I started with a couple year's growth of white alpaca fleece from the handsome Target who lives with Chris and Jenn in St. Louis, Michigan.

To Target's fleece I added a few pounds of white merino that I purchased from the McMurrays' who have the shop Genopalette on Etsy. They always provide me with the most awesome, clean sheep fleece imaginable.
So below is little Max with this huge bag of top beautifully processed at Zeilingers' in Frankenmuch, Michigan.

I dyed up a few pounds of the top in my crock pot and have some still listed in my shop (This isn't the same dye lot as my scarf)

I spun 2.6 ounces of the dyed top rather tight for me. I was really afraid it would fall apart, but I didn't need to worry. I washed the yarn in hot water and agitated it a little so that it would felt some. It did just that, stayed together, but retained its lovely softness.

....and here, TA,DAHHHHHH, is my scarf.

It is for sale in my shop here if you want to look more.
In conclusion - YES! I will continue to knit with a single ply yarn, but I will probably always worry about the possibility of a slant - probably never doing a vest or sweater, anything large....

Map