Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Please Tell me the Article is Wrong

Hi folks, Has anyone else read the Clara Parkes article titled " Discovering Alpaca" in the latest (Winter '07) Interweave Knits Magazine?

In the article (pg. 14) she mentions: " ... any kind of ribbing in pure alpaca will be decorative only- the yarn won't reliably keep your fabric snug."

I just finished knitting three pairs of fingerless gloves in alpaca using 1X1 ribbing for the cuff. Did I just waste my time? Has anyone else knit gloves or mitts with 100 % alpaca with some ribbing and worn them? Has the ribbing stretched out over time? Gee whiz, I hope Ms. Parkes is wrong about ribbing with alpaca.

4 comments:

vickan said...

I´m sorry to say, yes, alpaca strech, i knitted theese http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickanflickan71/1499308213/in/set-72157602586115698/ and I´m sorry to say, they have gotten a lot bigger, the best thing is to mix alpacka if you want your mittens to keep ther shape.

Nanda said...

i've never knit with 100% alpaca but i do know there are many Blue Sky Alpaca patterns made with their 100% alpaca that feature substantial ribbing (like, on the short sleeves or at the bottom of a sweater). so, i'm a little dubious, and yet i think the world of clara and her opinion, so who knows? i wouldn't worry about your mitts, i'm sure they're just lovely!

Anonymous said...

I've knit a pair of mitts with 100% blue sky alpaca and haven't had a problem with them stretching or growing and they were all rib. I would be careful and not wet block them since you don't want to encourage them to grow but other than that I wouldn't worry.

Anonymous said...

I knit many of my mitts in alpaca and yes, the ribbing doesn't keep the fabric all that snug. Still, they are the softest, most luscious mitts ever and if I need mitts that are skin-tight, I wear a different pair.