Filatura Di Crosa - Centolavaggi

[franzi1981]

I thought I'll ask here... does anyone have any experience with Filatura Di Crosa's Centolavaggi?

According to my trusted LYS owner, it'd be perfect for the lace project I'm planning. But I don't know, something makes me think that this wool sounds very scary. Probably the 1400m / 100g thing more than anything else.

So, any experience? Any tips, do's and don'ts? Or does it just behave like "normal" 8-ply yarn? I never worked with any lace weight yarn.

Comments

[horusporus]

I've never knitted with that, but the yardage sounds similar to Baruffa Cashwool, which I do have, and that's finer than laceweight, it's actually cobweb-weight!

Mind you, it was for my first lacework, but I didn't find it too troublesome. But it is superfine, so you have to be careful when you're tugging at it, and if it comes in hanks, LAY IT OUT PROPERLY when you're winding it. Cobweb yarn is a major major PITA if it gets snarled or tangled.

That sorted, cobweb yarns would give you an even finer end product than lace, so that may be a point to consider (warmth; coverage; prettiness; ?)

[franzi1981]

It's going to be a spring/summer shawl, so warmth and coverage isn't a concern :)

I'm used to yarn ripping while i knit - I recently knitted something with yarn that was very fine and loosely plied.

Thanks for the advice with the winding - I do have to wind it and I'm already afraid of that a bit. But I guess I'll manage.

[horusporus]

no worries. Have fun and good luck! Oh yes, forget about having a centre-pull ball - that fine and it'll be more prone to breaking.

(I also had to do the winding by hand. Be sure you have either a lot of time (a whole evening maybe) or you can leave it undisturbed. this advice comes from rl trauma, lol.)

[sedge]

I haven't used it, but it's got a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Ravelry (82 votes).

It does seem to be cobweb weight. I don't know what your usual yarn-winding habits are, but I would avoid doing a center-pull ball (that way can lie madness when it comes to laceweight and finer).

[franzi1981]

I've never done any winding! I'm going to ask my mum for help, from what I can tell, looking at the stuff she wound (when the last bit was all tangled up) she's not doing center-pull balls *G*

[sedge]

I would recommend if at all possible asking your LYS if they have a swift and ball-winder; most yarn shops do. If yes, you should be able to wind it there (or have them wind it) since you bought the yarn from them. If you didn't buy the yarn from them, you might be able to use the setup anyway for a small fee (depending on the shop's policy).

The swift will make the skein less likely to tangle; the ball-winder will make the process less interminable (though you wouldn't want to go really fast with the ball=winder; that can make for pileups and tangles with such fine yarn).

[franzi1981]

I will ask them! But I'm not very hopeful, as she mentioned I'd need to wind it (I still have to order the yarn with her *G*) and when I said I've never done that, she explained me how to do it with the help of a chair or an extra pair of hands, instead of offering a swift and ball winder.

Which she'd be nice enough to do if she had one. But yes, I'll ask.

Thanks! :)

[sedge]

Ah; that sounds to me like she doesn't have one.

Well, it is possible to do by hand, of course.

[sedge]

Oh, and you'll probably want extra-pointy needles. They can make the maneuvers used for lace a lot easier.

[franzi1981]

Yep! I'm going to use my knitpicks for that :)

[isolabela]

Was reading through these comments because I too am looking to start a lace project, I just need to pick the yarn (this stuff looks gorgeous!). Really, though, I'm only commenting to love on your Xanatos icon :3

[franzi1981]

:) Yay for fellow Xanatos lovers!

[anatsuno]

I bought it twice, but only one skein has been knitted so far, and since I knit it WITH another strand of another yarn, I can't really comment on using it alone. I used my swift and ball-winder to go from skein to ball each time without a problem, but yeah, I'd definitely advise you to use the external end to start knitting rather than the end from the center. The balls /would/ eventually collapse in a mess.

btw, it IS cobweb, for sure. very very very soft, too, since it's pure merino. The shawl I used it for is knit out of a strand of red centolavaggi and a pink-to-red strand of rougher lace weight Evilla yarn - I was banking on the merino cobweb softening the hand of my rougher lace weight and it worked like a charm; because I knit the whole shawl with big needles in garter stitch, it is also squishy and drapey. I love it! And might well do it all over again in green to use um my second centolavaggi ball. :))

have fun!

[franzi1981]

Thanks! I will :)

I'm a bit scared now of the winding, but I'm hoping I can borrow a swift from my mum's LYS and that should do nicely.

I imagine there'll also be lots of cursing, but what's knitting without cursing? *G*

[tantekoo]

I haven't used Centolavaggi yet, but, having wound a hank of likewise-teeny laceweight (Schaefer Trenna), I wish to encourage you not to fear!

What you may want to do if you use a swift/winder is get a TP/paper towel core, cut it to size, and stick it over the center of your winder before getting started. This will give any super-fine yarn more stability-- and while you will still want to pull from the outside, you won't have to worry about the collapse of the inside at all.

Also: do not be afraid to wind at regular, or even faster speed. If you slow down due to nervousness, you run the risk of the winding action getting sloppy, which will make for an unhappy ball. Ask me how I know! 8}

[franzi1981]

Thank you! I don't think I can borrow a swift/winder from anywhere, so I'll have to do it by hand... but thanks for the tips!!!

I'm sure I'll manage :)