In Praise of Vanilla
In further support of my newfound
I really enjoyed making these. And the finished socks are a delightful super-fine weight - as in, they can be worn with any shoes, not just clogs or Birkenstocks. Which got me thinking: It was time ro revisit my roots, and say hello to some old friends, yarn-wise.
As a lucky-pants knitting designer, I'm now in a position to request yarn from the people who make it, and have them send it to me. The color, amount, and type are up to me to choose, from pretty much anyplace I can think of - mine for the asking. But this wasn't always the case. And it hasn't been very long since then. Spending time with this simple, unpretentious yarn reminded me of whence I came, yarn wise, and recalled some hard and important lessons I learned when I started out as a designer.
Before I made friends with yarn companies, I was
I turned to readily-available craft store yarns, which were at least new, if not luxurious. And you know what? They really worked just fine. There is a reason these mass-produced yarns are sold everywhere, including the store where you get your groceries and your motor oil. I learned that as long as I stuck to fiber content I could easily pronounce, I could make good knitting with some of them.
Now that I am blessed with the luxury of working with gorgeous artisanal skeins, it was good for me to be reminded of some simpler ones. I came up with a short list of the favorite yarns from my old days. These are honest, unpretentious skeins. They have short ingredient lists, but long yardage. They have limited palettes, but reliable performance. Are they heirloom quality? No way. But then, not everything I knit is (or should be) an heirloom. Sometimes I just want to grab a skein of something non-cherished to practice on. And when I'm less emotionally connected to the yarn, some surprising things have happened with my knitting. Turns out if I'm not treating some perfect skein of cashmere with all the reverence it deserves, I'm a whole lot more likely to create something daring and new. If I'm going to gut and rework the same stupid armhole shaping five times, I don't want to do it with yarn that's fancy. Just something serviceable, and well, vanilla.
Herewith, I salute my favorite craft-store yarns: Cheap and Cheerful, and Ready to Serve:
The aforementioned sock yarn. It comes in cream, black, and a host of engineered stripes that look like the inside of a goat's stomach. I have no idea what the Aloe thing is about, but the 75% wool, 25% nylon blend is positively utilitarian. I have a pair of socks in one of the intestinal colorways that I swear are 11 years old.
Ahh, Good old Patons Classic Wool. Knitting with this yarn is like having coffee with an old friend; There's almost no mindset it can't improve. Smooth, elastic, and reliable. Cable it, strand it, felt it. It does everything Cascade 220 can do, only backwards, and in heels. And the colors aren't bad either, once you get past the scary variegated ones. This is the stalwart I turn to when I have a bona fide knitting emergency, and can't even wait for the shipping of something else. I don't know about you, but a fit of startitis can strike at any time - I actually try to keep a sweater's worth on hand in case of Sudden Inspiration/The Apocalypse/Early Craft Store Closing Time.
And while I'm lovin' on the Canadian yarns, let's not forget this little gem. The colors are actually very pretty (well, the solids, anyway - the multis are somewhat on the cat-vomit side of things). I don't know what causes a cotton to be "mercerized", but Patons Grace has a gorgeous pearly luster that other cotton yarns lack. When I think of summer knitting, this is the yarn I think of first. Super-pretty for lace, and the delicate gauge keeps things from getting too heavy. It's also the perfect waste yarn, because it never sticks to the stitches you're holding with it, or breaks if you have to get rough.
I'd be a fool not to love Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool. Its gauge is listed as worsted, but I've pressed it into service as a DK before, and loved the result. The colors are absolutely gorgeous, all 7 of them, because they are all the natural colors of sheep. And sheep, as we all know, are extremely snappy dressers (though not great at accessorizing). And let's not forget the absolutely staggering yardage on one of these skeins, at 465 yds!
Probably the weirdest yarn on my favorites list, Kashmira (there is nothing cashmere-like about it, by the way) comes from Turkey, by way of JoAnn fabrics. It's always on sale. It only comes is black, white, sometimes red, and a truly heinous multi of green, white and black, which should be avoided at all costs. It's sold as a worsted weight, but it's not. It's a true DK, with - get this - 10 plies, twisted almost horizontally. That crazy twist gives it the most incredible sproing, while the superfine plies make it Uber-smooth. Perfect for colorwork (if you don't mind dyeing your own colors). It also has crazy-generous yardage, at 284 yds per skein. Get yourself a pile to keep in the bomb shelter.
The great thing about vanilla yarns is that you can keep them on hand, in amounts that prevent you from being precious with them. All painters need canvas. I encourage you to stock up, with impunity. Especially if it's on sale. Then you can be twice as smug.
Now you tell me: What's YOUR favorite flavor of Vanilla?
Ditto on the Patons Grace! Love the stuff. And you're right: it makes PERFECT waste yarn. Clara can tell you what mercerized means.
And Patons Classic? One of my faves for class samples.
-JC
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I can't tell you how much I love this post. Thank you so very much. Not only does everyone not have the money for fancy-pants yarn, but not everyone needs to spend that much every time. I love to celebrate the stay-at-home, the every-day, the nothing-much, the made-to-last. Here's to good enough.
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I love this post! It made me smile when I read about the Patons Classic Wool. I too have sweater quantities
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I am so grateful for the internet because I have been able to hoop-up with awesome people like yourself. I have always wanted to learn to make some socks but got stuck on the instructions and the place that I purchased my yarn is over an hour drive north from here. I want to wish you a great day!
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Thank you for this post. I refuse to be embarrassed when using craft store yarn. I am not going to use Artisan yarn when I make socks for my daughters & grandchildren, but Heart & Sole is a real workhorse. Been making them for many years, thrown in washing machine & dryer & still going strong with nary a hole. Even the goat stomach varieties turn out well!
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I am printing this list and heading to my local craft store. I think I can now compete my bomb shelter supplies without skipping a mortgage payment....though I do not look forward to the day, many months into the apocalypse, when my husband reaches for another tin of crackers and comes away with nothing but yarn.
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Thank you!!! Not everyone can afford or even wants to knit with seriously exotic yarns for which one must choose: yarn or food.
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Thank you for this list! I also refuse to be embarrassed by craft store yarn and I think acrylics have their place in the stash, too. I'd like to add the Debra Norville Sensations sock yarn to the list. It's soft, can take machine washing and drying and comes in lots of bright colors if you enjoy vanilla socks with attitude. It also makes beautiful baby sweaters.
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Thanks for this post! It's refreshing to hear from the knitting elite
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Thank you for letting me look at my craft store bought yarn in a different light. I have been using it for "practicing" my craft. Even though I feel I am ready to splurge now and again, I'll keep the old stand-bys in my stash.
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Mary, you almost make me wish I didn't have a stash!
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i live in germany, so none of those yarns are available to me. but i too have oodles of vanilla 'uschi' sock wool bought at my local supermarket when i first 'discovered' sock knitting. i'd love to use some on that there pair of socks - are you publishing that pattern? or could you give us a hint as to the lace stitch you used?
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Glad you posted this! I ADORE the Kashmiran yarn, wish it was more available, it is the sturdiest most sproinky yarn ever and Patons is a wonderful yarn too, I am in fact using right now for Gansey sweaters for new twin boys. Great stuff, love it more than some of the really pricy stuff.
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