Yarn combinations and knitting strength - What Can I Knit?

The other day we received a message from one of our customers, a relatively new knitter who had difficulty finding his head and tail in what to knit with the different qualities. It gave us the opportunity to tackle one of our old items on the to-do list, namely to make an overview of knitting strengths in different combinations of our yarns.

We have therefore made a good pile of knitting samples to show what knitting strength you can achieve with the various combinations - and then we come up with suggestions for some of our favorite designs that go with it. At the bottom of the post you can see an overview of knitting strengths in different yarn combinations.

Remember that knitting strength is indicative and individual!
Always make sure to make your own knitting test to find out which needle to knit on.

Run length and yarn thickness

The designation "weight" is about the thickness of the yarn in relation to its weight, and this is typically how you assess which yarn should be used for a given recipe. Here you often look at the length of the yarn (i.e. how many meters of yarn there are of 50 or 100 g). The ratio between length and weight says something about the thickness of the yarn, and it is therefore absolutely essential to consider when choosing yarn. In addition, it is also important in relation to calculating the amount of yarn when you have to buy yarn.

At Sysleriget we have qualities with several different running lengths, but in this post we focus mostly on 3 of them, namely Fingering weight, DK-weight and Lace weight

Fingering weight yarn

Fingering weight yarn has a running length of approximately 400 m per 100g . It can fluctuate and be a little more or a little less, but what fingering weight yarn has in common is that it is a relatively thin yarn that can be knitted both alone and together with a follower thread. If it is knitted alone, you can reach a knitting strength of 26-32 m / 10 cm. Together with a follower thread Silk Mohair, you achieve a knitting strength of 20-23 m / 10 cm.

We currently have 5 qualities in this thickness: Merino Singles , Sock , Deluxe Fingering , Pure Silk and Merino Silk . These are all perfectly interchangeable, and the choice between them each depends on what you are going to knit and what expression you want (e.g. whether it should be light and fluffy, shiny or have a certain fall).

With our fingering weight qualities, we get the following knitting strength with one thread:

Merino Singles / Sock: 28 mx 38 p / 10 x 10 cm on needle 3 mm
Deluxe Fingering: 28 mx 40 p on needle 3 mm
Pure Silk: 28-32 m on needles 2.5-3.5 mm

Design proposal (knit strength 28 m)

Below is a small list of fine and popular designs that can be knitted in one strand of fingering weight yarn. Many choose Pure Silk, which is extremely delicious and luxurious, but you can also choose Sock or Singles.

June Top Light (PetiteKnit)
Office Tee (Knit Sequins)
Cumulus Tee (PetiteKnit)
Euphoria Top (PopKnit)

Design proposal (knit strength 21 m)

With the knitting strength of 21 m on 10 cm, you can make a sea of ​​different models. We have collected some of our favorites below, all of which can be knitted with a combination of a Fingering-weight and a strand of Silk Mohair.

No Dikkedarer Sweater (PetiteKnit)
Stockholm Sweater (PetiteKnit)
Formation Sweater (PopKnit)
October Sweater (PetiteKnit)
Quiet Moments Sweater (Knit Sequins)
It's A Kind Of Magic Sweater (PopKnit)
Sweater No. 8 (My Favorite Things Knitwear) - obs. knit in double rib with knitting tension 22 m, but the yarn combination is the same
Ribbed Jumper (Anne Ventzel) - note this is knitted in pearl rib with knitting strength 22, but the yarn combination is the same.

A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
Many people choose to knit the hand-dyed yarn together with thread of conventionally dyed yarn. By, for example, choosing a wool thread that matches the base color of a bold hand-dyed Silk Mohair, the play of colors in the hand-dyed is highlighted, which therefore really comes into its own. Jawoll from Lang Yarns is a delicious solid color sock yarn at a really good price. We have a large selection of colors in Jawoll from Lang Yarns, and there are endless combination possibilities with our hand-dyed Silk Mohair.

In the same way, you can also choose a thread of hand-dyed wool and add a plain or undyed silk mohair (as in the picture with the Monday Sweater. We are currently working on a post where we show, among other things, the difference between these two combinations.

Tip! Look for a follower thread that matches the base color of the hand-dyed yarn to get a really nice color play

DK-weight yarn

You may have come across the term DK thickness (or DK weight) when talking about yarn. And it's not about the yarn being Danish. In contrast, DK means double knit , which quite simply means that it is twice as thick as fingering weight. DK-gauge yarn typically runs around 200 m / 100 g, and you can achieve a knitting strength of 21 m with just one thread.

If you knit DK-gauge yarn together with a trailing thread, you can achieve a knitting strength of 15-18 m depending on needle size. In this combination there is also a wide range of beautiful designs, including:

Novice Slipover (PetiteKnit)
Champagne Cardigan (PetiteKnit)
Sweater No. 11 (My Favorite Things Knitwear)
Klint Classic (Anne Ventzel)
Wednesday Sweater (PetiteKnit)

We currently have 2 qualities in DK thickness and 1 on the way, which we will reveal soon. The existing qualities are Deluxe DK and Sock DK and on the stairs there is something really delicious with wool.

Sysleriget Deluxe DK can be knitted together with Silk Mohair, as Malene has done in her Novice Slipover with a knitting strength of 17 m. It can also be knitted together with Deluxe Lace for a less fluffy expression, which has a slightly heavier fall than the combination with silk mohair. For his Structure_Loop_Sweater, Sidsel has used this combination and achieved a knitting strength of 19 m.

Sock DK is a really good yarn for children's knitting and socks. It can be knitted in one thread with a knitting strength of 21 m. It is a hard-wearing yarn that can also withstand being put in the machine on the wool programme. Incidentally, we often use both Sock and Sock DK for knitting for our own children.

A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
As mentioned above, you can also use Jawoll for the thicker sweaters and cardigans, here with double thread together with a single thread of Silk Mohair (i.e. 3 threads together in total). In this way, you get the solid color base, which makes the hand-dyed silk mohair come into its own.

Tip! When you knit a hand-dyed silk mohair together with a DK gauge wool yarn, you will get a less marked play of colors from the Silk Mohair, because there is more solid color to "swallow" the play of colors. It can be used quite actively to tone down the play of colors and give a more subtle expression in the finished knit. See, for example, Mrs Broundal's Wednesday Sweater in the picture here, which is knitted with Unicorn Party together with Peruvian Highland Wool.

Lace-weight yarn

Lace-weight yarn has a running length of approximately 800 m / 100 g. These thin yarn qualities are often used as a follower thread together with either a fingering-weight or a DK-weight thread.

We love our Silk Mohair, which is the absolute softest we've seen on the market (and it sheds significantly less than many others). The running length is 420 m / 50 g, and thus one fat silk mohair has the same number of meters as one fat Merino Singles/Sock/Deluxe Fingering etc. You can therefore calculate the same number of fat if you have to knit the two qualities together.

Deluxe Lace is our other thin grade. It works really well as an alternative to silk mohair if you want a less fluffy look but at the same time need the extra hold that a trailing thread contributes. Deluxe Lace provides a heavier fall in the work that can be incredibly elegant (see Structure_Loop_Sweater in the image).

With Merino Singles and Deluxe Lace you can easily reach a knitting strength of 21-23 m.

Summary: Overview of knitting properties

In the chart below you can see what knitting strength you can achieve with combinations of yarn thicknesses. The form is read from the top. Under each category (lace, fingering and DK) you can see the recommended knitting tension when knitted alone or together with another thread.

IMPORTANT!!

And then just the obligatory and boring, but really important disclaimer: Remember(!!) to make your own knitting test. It is crucial that your knitting tension is suitable if your sweater is to end up having the measurements prescribed by the recipe. Even a few stitches of variation can make a huge difference and result in you getting a sweater that is way too big or small.

Everything in this post is based on my knitting tests and my own knitting strength, and there is no guarantee that you will get the same result. You are always welcome to write to sidsel@sysleriget.dk with questions