"Ask the Expert" Yarn Questions From Our Site Visitors

1 - How do you keep chenille yarn from unraveling when you tie off the yarn at the end.
You can keep chenille yarn from unraveling by removing a couple inches of the fuzz threads/yarn at the end of a piece of yarn. This will reveal the center core threads that are holding the yarn threads together. Knot the core threads together close to the fuzz threads. 

2 - My daughter learned how to weave using her fingers. We have a lot of long columns of woven pieces and I would like to put them together to make a baby blanket. Any suggestions?
The easiest method to join your woven strips would be to place the two edges together and use a small overcast stitch over the edges – this will produce a slight ridge along the seam when the pieces are opened flat. You could also use a decorative fagoting stitch by placing the two strips together and stitching between them

3 - I am having a problem with the hanks of yarn becoming one huge knot when I try to unwind it Do you have any suggestions as how to eliminate this problem?
The easiest way to keep a hank of yarn from becoming a mess is to place it on a yarn umbrella swift and then unwind the hank into a ball or use a ball winder.

4 - My pattern calls for worsted knitting wool - what ply is this?
Knitting worsted is usually 4 ply yarn.

5 - I become very frustrated with magazines and books which only state the brand name of the yarn and not the weight of the yarn. Oftentimes, it is a yarn that either I have never heard of or I would have to order through the mail. Sometimes I wonder if these publishers realize that people might not buy their book or magazine for this very reason. Lately, I have been having a very hard time finding patterns that actually tell you the weight of the yarn, so that you can substitute another brand. Is there a way or some resource for substituting yarns when they only tell you of their exotic brand as opposed to the weight? Some of these patterns are beautiful, but I don't want to have to wait three weeks for an order of yarn to come in, or the yarn suggested is just too expensive.
The problem you described is exactly why we write all our patterns for yarn weight and not yarn brand. To substitute a yarn in a pattern, select the yarn you want to use and work a gauge swatch according to the pattern hook/needle. Compare your swatch to the pattern gauge and adjust your hook/needle up or down until you get the pattern gauge. If there is a large difference between the pattern hook/needle and your gauge swatch hook/needle, the resulting fabric may come out too loose or too stiff and it would be better to select a different yarn.

6 - I am making a scarf from alpaca yarn and noticed that after a few hours, my hands were faded slightly blue from the yarn.  Since I've already started the scarf is there a way to remove the excess dye from the yarn after I've finished my project?  Since the yarn is a multicolored blue blend and the scarf is going to be made completely from this yarn, I'm not concerned about color fastness when washing – I just don't want a blue neck after wearing it for a while. Thanks.
I had a similar problem when I made a shawl out of silk. When I finished the shawl and blocked it, a tremendous amount of blue washed out of the yarn and changed the color of the shawl. I contacted the manufacturer or the hand dyed yarn and was told that it had not been properly rinsed when processed. To set the remaining dye, I soaked the shawl in a solution of cider vinegar and water (your can also use a solution of salt and water) and then thoroughly rinsed it.

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