Yarns About Yarn
Ever wondered where yarn actually comes from?
Ever wondered where yarn comes from? If you're already mouthing the word "sheep," you're not alone -- I always associated yarn with wool, too. But in fact sheep wool accounts for only a tiny portion of the yarn out there. Just to name a few, there are:
-- alpaca or llama wool
-- angora rabbit wool
-- acrylic or cotton (man-made) yarns
That's what got me thinking. Where does all this stuff come from, anyway?
The Basics of Yarn
Most knitting yarn is spun yarn, made by twisting fibers together (if you look closely at a strand of yarn, you'll probably see exactly this going on). The spinning wheel is actually a prehistoric invention, and spinning yarn was an early force in the industrial revolution Bet you didn't know your craft had such an illustrious history!
When you hear a reference to a yarn "ply," they're talking about how many strands of spun yarn they've twisted (plied) together to create the ball of yarn in your lap. In other words, they take a series of strands of spun yarn and twist them together to make a thicker yarn. So when you hear about your yarn's ply, now you'll know what they mean -- how many strands they had to twist together to achieve that thickness!
Natural Fibers
The most common fibers used for natural yarn are sheep wool, alpaca or llama wool, angora, and cashmere. Each has its own special process to become the finished product on your shelf.
Sheep wool
You know how your hair gets after a five day camping trip? That's a sheep's natural state. In other words, wool contains a high level of grease called lanolin, which is pretty valuable in and of itself (check the ingredients on your favorite lotion or hand cream). Of course, it also contains a lot of filth, dead skin, and sweat. Yum, yum.
Before it's processed, the wool is cleaned (for obvious reasons). Sometimes they leave some of the lanolin in, especially if they're looking to produce a very waterproof yarn (such as in fabric for fisherman mittens).
Mostly, though, the cleaned wool becomes yarn through separation. They toss it onto a wood table consisting of slats spread a foot apart. Small pieces will fall off the larger part, or fleece, and collect beneath the table. Hired hands then use wooden rollers to remove the dirty and ugly parts of the fleece. What's left? It's what they're going to spin into yarn.
And that's just for sheep -- can you believe how much work goes into that one ball of yarn? Curious about the rest? Don't worry! Part two of my "how yarn is made" rant is on its way!