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Knitting Yarns for Wizard Knits...Very... particularly if you are aiming for an authentic looking garment. You may consider this project as nothing more than knitting a quick costume prop but why spend the money and invest the time if your completed sweater or scarf just does not look as good as it could be? Even a new knitter can benefit from using good yarn for their first knitting project. Hobbie's wizard wear patterns are drafted to use double knitting or worsted weight yarns. The yarn selected for your project determines the quality of the completed project. It will also ease the frustration associated with working on your first knitting project. Quality yarn is easier to work with and produces much nicer knit fabric than inexpensive fibers. There are many economically priced yarns which beautiful sweaters and scarves. Do not waste your time and effort buying the least expensive yarn you can find. Actually, you will probably not find authentic colors in "cheap" yarns - be they wool or synthetic fibers. Spend a few more dollars on the materials, and you will have worth keeping" to wear again or pass on to another Wizarding fan. In other words...it is not difficult to find wool for your knitting project - definitely not as hard as this video would have you think!
Natural or Synthetic Fibers - Which Do You Prefer? While wool and cotton are the most widely used, and relatively inexpensive knitting yarns for this type of costume project, there are other fibers you could use to create a one-of-a-kind garment. Depending on your budget and preferences, your sweaters, vest, cardigans, and scarves can also be knit in the following natural fibers: alpaca, cashmere and silk. When using the above fibers, it is no longer a costume prop - it becomes an heirloom quality item! A website visitor once asked why we did not offer the Wizard School sweater in cashmere. Actually we can offer Hobbie's wizard wear items in any fiber, including cashmere. However, the average sized sweater, knit in a sports weight cashmere yarn would cost nearly three hundred dollars in materials alone. The alpaca is definitely the least expensive choice of these luxury fibers. It also available in a quite a few Wizarding colors. Our favorite wool for costuming purposes is Patons® Classic Merino wool. It is available in a large selection of shades - 46 shades at last count. It knits up smoothly, creates a beautiful knit fabric with a soft hand. We have seen it at prices from $4.99 on sale to a high $7.25 a skein online. Patons® Merino is available at Michael's Craft Stores, Joann Fabrics, and A.C. Moore. It has great yardage and depending on the style of wizard wear you intend to make, very economical as well. Interested in knitting a wizard sweater or vest? We use the Dark Grey Mix #00225 for Wizard School sweaters and vests. Here are the details on what will surely become your favorite knitting yarn:
A Misses' size 14-16" vest requires approximately 12 ounces or four skeins of the main color plus one skein each of the House colors. A Child's size 10 school sweater needs about four skeins and a Misses size 10 school sweater knits up with a little more than five skeins. Always purchase all your materials from the same dye lot! If you cannot find the entire amount in the same dye lot, use the odd lot skein for the cuffs and neckband as long as the color is barely distinguishable from the rest of the yarn. Colors can vary a great deal from one dye lot to another, even in the same shade. Synthetics fibers - a.k.a. acrylics, nylons etc. - are substantially more less expensive than natural fibers. Some brands are quite cheap. On the other hand, high quality acrylics and acrylic/wool blends from premier manufacturers can be as expensive as wool. Both the inexpensive and pricier acrylics and blands are available in a myriad of eye popping and traditional colors. However, the colors are not going to be as "true" to the House colors. As a result, for Wizarding purposes, the more authentic color palette will be found in the natural fibers. What are the benefits of a sweater knit with synthetics fibers? It is perfect for those who are allergic to wool, lightweight, quite warm and a breeze to care for. Are there any other yarns? Sure...There are many other double knitting or worsted weight knitting yarns available to knit our wizard wear sweaters and scarves - both in natural and synthetic fibers. Brown Sheep's Nature Spun is another favorite. So is Plymouth's Galway. All manufacturers carry a shade of medium grey. Only one minor problem exists with any selection - can you find the perfect House colors? If you cannot find contrast colors in the same brand, use another brand...but make sure both the main color and the House colors are wool or acrylic AND that the weight of the yarn is the same as well.
Yarns & Yarn Weights For quick and easy knitting, select a double knitting or worsted weight yarn. These generally knit up on US size 6 through 9 needles. Do not mix natural and synthetic fibers within the same sweater unless you plan on never laundering or dry cleaning the finished sweater. If you decided on wool...knit the entire sweater in wool. Take the time to shop around for your yarn. Ordering online is fine if you already know what your yarn will look like but do not rely on your web browser to give you a true color rendition. In our research for materials to knit the wizard sweaters, we have been very surprised to find that some colors we ignored were "spot on" when actually seen in person and others, which looked just right were in fact all wrong. Consider supporting your local yarn shop. Yes, the yarn will be slightly more expensive but the tradeoff is well worth the extra money spent. Bought too much yarn? You can take it back. Need help with your knitting? You can ask a question. One of our favorite reasons for visiting the local needlecraft store? the bargain basket - where odd skeins, previous dye lots and discontinued designer yarns are available for sale. We have knit spectacular, one-of-a-kind sweaters from bargain basket finds. Don't be afraid to substitute yarns but stay within the same weight group. You will still have to knit a sample to verify that the stitch and row gauge matches the numbers in the pattern. If you cannot find the yarn specified in the knitting instructions, use the needle size and the stitch and row gauge as a guide to selecting a different yarn. When substituting yarns, remember to match the yardage called for with the original yarn. Check the skein band for all the required information. Printed on the band are:
Need to learn a new knitting technique? Check out the The StitchGuide.com complete with videos, instructions, illustrations and practice patterns. Chooose your craft, "search" and your will find everything you ever wanted to know on the subject. Where To Buy Yarns Our personal preference is to support any local yarn shop. For many, however, the nearest yarn shop is quite a distance away but why not make an outing of it? Check out your local Hancock Fabrics and Joann Fabrics for Lion Brand and Coats & Clark [Red Heart] yarns. These are economical yarns for those who are looking to knit an inexpensive costume prop. Michaels craft stores also carry Lion Brand and Red Heart yarns. JoAnn carries the following yarn brands: If shopping online, Herrschners is a great place to look for Plymouth yarns. Their yarn department is divided into categories of yarns by: If you happen to live in the central Wisconsin area, Herrschners has an Outlet Store! Brown Sheep Yarns Brown Sheep Yarns - Lamb's Pride Worsted: 85% wool/15% mohair. Knits up at 4.5 to 5 stitches to the inch on size US 7 or 8 knitting needles. Our selection for the New Style sweaters: Lion Brand Yarns: Wool Ease[80%Acrylic/20%wool] in Chunky and Worsted Weight; Kool Wool [50% Merino Wool/50% Acrylic], a yarn with a beautiful cable twist. New style colors: Original colors: Quick to knit and very affordable. Excellent yardage. More colors to come as we coordinate them...We will knit and price a size Medium sample garment as soon as possible. Lion Brand can be found at your neighborhood Hancock Fabrics. Red Heart by Coats & Clark is an inexpensive, worsted weight yarn which will knit up into an low-cost costume prop. 100% acrylic, machine wash and dry, and only $2.19 per 6oz skein at Joann Fabrics! The Grey Heather [color 0400] is perfect for the original wizard school uniform sweater - you only need 2 [348 yd., 6oz] skeins to knit the vest - and US #8 knitting needles. Solid colors come in 482 yd., 8oz skeins. Other suggested colors: Leave the Knitting Yarns page to return to "Knitting"
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