The Knitting Fiend

I swatched Taiga Deluxe Wool Yarn Cherry testing both a chevron design and stockinette.

I don’t think I mentioned it before, but when I took my Taiga skeins to knit club, this skein almost didn’t make it home. Stephanie kept petting it and petting it, and begged to swatch it. But, I was firm and said “No, I’m going to swatch it!” So there!

The yarn knits up into a smooth soft, delicate fabric which would be suitable for feminine tops or fine men’s vests. I’d like it for baby things and socks, except it’s hand wash only and I personally think 95% of baby items should be machine washable. (I make exceptions for christening gowns and other special items the baby is only going to wear once.)

I knit this on US size 3 needles and got 27 st = rows = 35 rows = 4″. I like this gauge for vests and sweaters knit in stockinette or eyelet patterns. I would knit it at a firmer gauge if I were knitting cables.

Ok, looking around, I’m seeing eyebrows raised. I know what you suspicious people are all wondering: “We’ve never heard of these yarns. We know you never heard of these yarns. So, how do we know they are really wool?”

So, having seen the raised eyebrows, I decided to do the “Bleach test”. I’ve often read that you can test for wool by dunking it in chlorine bleach. Evidently 100% wool will dissolve 100%; 80% wool will dissolve 80% etc. So, if it’s pure wool, you should be able to dissolve it.

I figured: “What the heck, why not check?”

I grabbed my camera and a snip or wool and trotted down to the “wool testing laboratory”. There, I found the wool verification fluid (aka Clorox bleach), a test vessel (aka plastic cup) and a level surface (aka top of washing machine.) I poured some wool verification fluid into the test vessel, and dropped a snip of the Taiga Deluxe wool into the cup.

I waited about 30 seconds and the yarn didn’t seem to be degrading instantly. Naturally I thought “Yikes! It’s not wool! Consumer fraud! I have a major breaking story!” Also, having just knit a sweater with the less expensive “pure wool” I was eager to test that out too. So, I dashed upstairs and got a snip of the the Taiga pure wool, and dashed downstairs.

Naturally, as when I returned to “the test lab”, I glanced into the first “test vessel” and then took a photo. See above center. I thought: “Hhmm.. That strand is looking bad. And see the bits of foam around the yarn? Maybe it takes more than 30 seconds to dissolve.”

Still, I had the snip of the pure wool. So, why not check that out too? I poured Clorox into another cup and dunked the Taiga pure wool I’d used for my Olympic sweater in the bleach and went up to have some coffee.

I returned downstairs and took a picture of the contents of both test vessels. Diagnosis: Pure wool, just as the label states.

Stumble it (and place in Knitting/crochet!)

6 Comments »

1. A good test for seeing if yarn is wool or acrylic is to burn a small piece, with a candle or on a gas stove. If it melts, it’s acrylic, and if it burns and crumbles away, it’s wool. I have no idea what it does with part wool, part acrylic…but it might be worth trying. I’ve never heard of the bleach test before, but it sounds useful.

   Great blog!
   -Rena, 15 years old, Knitting Olympics athlete

   Comment by Rena (0 comments.) — 2/25/2006 @ 8:46 pm

2. Hi Lucia,
   I have been a lurker of your blog for a while. I learned about Taiga yarns from you and actually bought some to find out how they are. Result? I am now making a sweater for my husband using the Delux wool. I am a tight knitter and get a gauge of 8.5 sts per inch using 2.5mm (I know, my blog friends already said I was crazy!). I just love this yarn. But I do hope that they would gradually increase the range of colours available.

   Comment by Agnes (4 comments.) — 2/26/2006 @ 1:35 am

3. I’m hoping they increase the range of colors too. I assume that will happens if the venture is a success. Knitpicks also had very few colors when they started.

   I’m not surprised to hear you like it at 8.5 st/inch. I like it at just under 7 st/inch but I think that’s near the “loose” end of the nice range. I’d definitely go tighter for cables, and I wouldn’t ever go looser than 7st/inch in stockinette.

   Comment by lucia — 2/26/2006 @ 7:43 am

4. I had an email exchange from the folks at Taiga yarns last week after I received the yarns I ordered (which I am very pleased with). They said that in a couple of weeks, they’re going to be offering more yarns - I think silk and cashmere were mentioned. They also said they were thinking about doing translations of the Russian knitting magazines that they offer, but that it will make them cost more. And they sent me a link to a website I had already discovered that shows Russian knitting terms (in Cyrillic) and translates them.They seem to be nice and working hard on the customer satisfaction end. I’m glad you called attention to them, Lucia.

   Comment by Sherri (0 comments.) — 2/27/2006 @ 8:48 pm

5. I ordered a bunch of this yarn after swatching. I’m going to knit Jim a V neck of some sort. As usual, I don’t know the details until after I design, but the raglan styles I made before fit him so well, I’ll probably make a raglan.

   I caan’t wait for them to get silk and cashmere! I think the shawl lovers will go wild!

   Comment by lucia — 2/28/2006 @ 6:31 am

6. Very interesting info about the bleach test for wool. I have several “mystery skeins” in my stash that I have received from various sources. I will have to try this test to help determine the yarn content. Thanks.

   Comment by Persnickety Knitter (1 comments.) — 3/2/2006 @ 12:04 pm

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