Learned several lessons with this one...

[sharpchick_2011]

I posted my questions about how the yarn was twisted so tightly from the winding...

Here is a photo of the last row before I bound off.



You can see how tightly wound it was in those first five stitches, as opposed to the width of the yarn as it was on the hank before winding. That continued over and over throughout the knitting of the scarf.

When I asked at the yarn store how many balls I'd need for the finished scarf, she said one.

So I bought one.

And got a 37.5 inch scarf.



Don't know any toddlers who will be dancing over this color combo, so I think I now have a very expensive table runner. Or a huge hot pad.

But I learned some lessons here...

130 yards of Camp Stove is enough to make half a scarf.

Any future purchases of this yarn will be wound by hand.

Comments

[ginny_t]

The thing about winding by hand is that it is actually a circular twisting motion. When a skein is wound into a cake using a swift and a ball winder, the yarn isn't actually twisted any further.

Did you ever use a yo-yo? If you want the twist on your yo-yo to stay loose for sleeping, you can't hold the yo-yo in one hand and wrap the string around it with the other. That messes with the twist. This is the same principle.

I honestly have no idea what happened in this case. I do know that the way I knit can affect the twist of the yarn. Knitting continental supposedly increases twist, and thrown knitting supposedly decreases it. It's the opposite for me.

This particular yarn looks like it might be inconsistently twisted for a certain look. That's also a possibility.

As for the amount of yarn needed for a scarf, did the people at your LYS tell you what needles to use and how many stitches? Those affect the amount of yarn you need.

Also, I always knit from the middle of the ball (unless it has no animal fibre [except silk] at all, in which case it doesn't have enough texture to hold its shape and turns into a mess). As long as it's not wound too tightly, it'll go fine.

[sharpchick_2011]

Yes, they told me the needle size to use, and how many stitches to cast on.

I was surprised when I was told only one ball of yarn would be needed for the scarf, because the other scarf I'm working on has taken two. (I'm using the fingertip to fingertip measurement for scarf length, regardless of whether the intended wearer is a child or an adult.)

The yarn in the hank was not twisted - I had time to wait while other customers were in front of me and examine the hank. The twisting had to have occurred when the yarn shop wound the yarn into a ball for me. Knitting with it was a frequent challenge, because when I came to the tightly twisted parts, the yarn coming from the ball started twisting also as I pulled it out.

The only option I have for winding my own right now is the back of a kitchen chair and my own two hands.

[indeliblesasha]

I almost never have my yarn wound, I always do it myself by hand. It gives a lot more control on how the tension is and I make pretty kickass center-pull balls :D

I sometimes use a chair, but usually I just sit on the edge of the couch and spread my knees out and put the hank around them, (on in my recliner with my feet up if I'm feeling slouchy) it lets me control the tension on the hank while the yarn is unwinding too, and then I can move the ball around however I want while I wind it by hand.

As far as the scarf only taking one ball: Did they know you intended to knit it in garter stitch? I could see it very easily being a one-skein-scarf in stockinette, though still not an especially long one.

[indeliblesasha]

Also, I want to echo the others who are suggesting you pull it out. I have discovered that it is completely worthwhile to frog disappointing projects, and make them into something I love. Also it will give you the chance to get the yarn back to a twist that you're happy with.

[momijizukamori]

re: continental versus English - it depends on how the yarn was twisted when it was manufactured. Someone did an interesting experiment with this on Ravelry, which I will have to go find the post for - but iirc, European yarn brands mostly had twist in the direction that worked with continental, and NA yarn brands had it that worked with English.

[momijizukamori]

Here's the post - I thought it had included brand info commentary, but apparrently I was mis-remembering. The poster does mention they got the idea from trying to knit with a spun-single they'd bought in Poland and having problems with untwisting, though.

[ginny_t]

A single is a different thing, even in North America. It's twisted the opposite way of a plied yarn because you twist in the opposite direction of spinning when you ply yarns together.

I knit quite a few things out of singles in a row this past autumn, and I noticed the difference.