Not strictly knitting per se but it does involve yarn. >.>

[firestar]

But I'm looking to get into weaving with pre-spun yarn and I'm wondering if I would be working with 4ply, DK or finer yarns like 2ply, if anyone here can help me out with that.

Comments

[squirelawrence]

It depends entirely on what you're weaving. Unlike most knitting projects, in weaving you can be using two different yarns at once - one for the warp, or the threads attached to the loom running the length of the piece, and the weft, or the threads that run crosswise through the warp threads. About the only two rules of thumb are (1) warp threads are generally smooth, non-stretchy, high-strength yarns (sock yarns work well) and (2) weaving eats up a lot of yarn.

Good luck!

[firestar]

Okay, good to know, thank you. :)

[twistedchick]

You will want your warp to be smooth yarn, as well as strong -- not something that frays or is fancy -- because it will be moving through the shed or heddle(s) as it progresses and if it can get stuck or caught on something *it will*. If you use a fine but strong warp yarn -- something nylon or bamboo or silk -- your weft yarn will probably cover most of it up, and the result will be 'weft-faced'. (The opposite is warp-faced, and the middle version is balanced.) I have worked with hand-dyed cotton to make light shawls (works well); also, with various weights of wool for heavier shawls, which come out closer to blanket weight at times.

And it does take a lot of yarn. It's really good for using up stash.

[firestar]

Thank you. I will keep all of that in mind. <3

[adonnchaid]

Generally speaking, you don't use the same sorts of yarns for weaving as you do for knitting. If you've never done any weaving before, I'd recommend using something tightly spun and not too stretchy as a warp (cotton, cottolin, linen, worsted spun wool). Weft can be pretty much anything you want it to be since it doesn't have the same sort of stresses put on it as warp yarn does.

This isn't to say that experienced weavers can't use fragile or softly spun yarns as warp, it just means that, as in all fiber work, there's a learning curve on what the yarn and equipment will and won't do.

Somebody mentioned that weaving uses lots of yarn, and that's a "well, maybe" sort of thing. It depends on how wide a piece you're going to weave and how long a piece you want it to be. For a multi-yard weaving of a balanced weave (like a clothing fabric), you can estimate a take-up and loom waste of about 10%. If you're doing rugs, it takes less warp and much more weft. Well, unless it's rag rugs, then it's a different calculation entirely :)

What sort of loom will you be weaving on? Knowing that makes a big difference in how you do the yarn calculations.

[firestar]

Worsted is 4 ply, yes? I think I have some cotton in that or it might be DK, I'll have to check. Well, that and how stretchy my stash is. XD

I'm going to be working on a cardboard loom for now. Looking around it seems like looms are pretty expensive and I'd rather not fork out for weaving isn't for me and cardboard looms can be made any size really, so I'll be trying that for now.

[adonnchaid]

Worsted is how the fibers are aligned before they are spun, and can be any number of plies :)

Good luck with your weaving!

[firestar]

Ah, okay. It's not a term I come across much in my regular knitting spaces which are mostly offline and worsted is more of an American term than a British one, I think. It always confuses me when I see it. >.>