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Knitting and other yarn carfts - Yarn making & use: spin, dye, knit, weave etc.
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Posted by Leah on February 11, 2008, 8:25 am
wrote:
>I want to carry some yarn in my shop, but am not sure what would be
>wanted. And because of space restrictions I will have to be fairly
>selective. The previous owners did not carry any since they do not
>knit or crochet.
As others have said, you can't go wrong with sock yarn. However,
having more than one variety at more than one price might be a good
idea. Some people are on a tighter budget, and will not want to
invest $40 in fingering weight yarn like Mountain Colors Bearfoot,
which I was just gifted 2 skeins @ $20 each for my anniversary because
I mentioned the yardage might be too short to make a pair of socks for
my larger feet with only 1 skein. I like the idea of Opal, with it's
automatic colorways, but there is also Meilenweit by Lana Grossa which
is automatic colorways but not nearly as expensive ($12-$15 versus
Opal's $20).
>I could carry the Paton line which I have not seen in the craft
>stores or Plymouth brand.
I've tried Plymouth's Encore DK, and I really like it. It's
affordable and only 25% wool, not too heavy for my desert area, but
does have the stretch and some of the warmth of wool for the really
cold days we get here.
>Then there are the recycled silk yarns and the other specialty yarns
>like Alpaca, etc.
I'm not that big on recycled silk. I've heard it stinks, so I've been
cautious re trying it. As for other novelty yarns, fuzzy scarves are
still somewhat "in" in my area, though not in the really furry manner,
more like a wool/mohair mix that has a little bit of fuzz, and a lot
of warmth in a light weight. I've made some scarves for a local shop
in mohair mix yarns. I've have to mention we've had bad customer
service from Crystal Palace. They mark their yarns as being able to
be dry cleaned, but no one there has a clue about solvent
restrictions. I had to arbitrarily label scarves I made for sale the
circled P for dry cleaning, because all the other mohair mix yarns I
use are labeled that way, while Crystal Palace didn't know and didn't
care about solvent restrictions.
>I personally like the Caron yarns, with Lion brand next and they are
>easy for me to get. I will not have any competition for at least a 50
>mile radius if not more. And the majority of the customers are
>tourists.
I also like acrylic. Some people put it down, but I make my afghans
out of acrylic, and they wear like iron and are easy to care for.
You might also want a wool that will felt, as felting is very popular
in my area right now. I've tried and really like Brown Sheep's
Naturespun for felting. I've also tried Lion Brand's wool for felting
and liked it. I think Brown Sheep has more colors available, while
Lion Brand has some multicolor wool yarns that make a nice effect when
felted. Anything labled "superwash" will not felt. White and off
white wool, even if not marked superwash also won't felt well. They
tend to full, which means they shrink down a little and get fuzzy, but
I can still see stitch definition, and it's not nearly as consistent
as the colored yarns when felting.
>So if YOU were on vacation and found a needlework shop, what would YOU
>be looking for and be willing to buy?
You might put some thought into a small selection of knitting needles
and crochet hooks. Not all crochet hooks are created equal. There
are 2 head types, the one called the Boye type because Boye is most
often found with it, where they have a very large bulbous head on an
extremely skinny neck; my Boye "H" hook has a neck narrower than my
size "F" Susan Bates type. The other head type is the Susan Bates.
Lion brand also has the same head type as Susan Baets. It's an even
neck that doens't narrow down and a head that's not nearly as bulbous
as the Boye. Some people swear by Boye, and others like me can't use
them and get even work, so I use the Susan Bates head types. The
fancier wooden Brittany crochet hooks are the Susan Bates head type,
at least my set is. So if you are the only shop around selling
crochet hooks, you may want to carry a small selection of both head
types, since anyone beginning to crochet may need to try both head
types to see which one works for them. I have often on vacation
bought hooks and needles because I wasn't matching gauge, or the
pattern called for a second hook size that I failed to read in the
instructions before going off on vacation and I needed to buy hooks or
needles to continue the project while I was out.
HTH
Leah
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