This post on how to choose the perfect yarn for your lace project is an excerpt from the upcoming Lace Workbook for Beginners: Lace Knitting Simplified. Be ready because you’re about to master lace without tears!

Most of the beginner lace knitters will freak out when it’s time to pick a yarn for your brand new and exciting project. I guess the reason behind that is how popular and well-known teachers emphasize how IMPORTANT it is to pick the CORRECT one. We will get stuck in the “important” and “correct” parts.

I will now take the pressure off and say what my granny said to me. “Just try and see if you like it”. Yes. It’s that easy.

I won’t leave you hanging though, in case you’re determined to find an ideal yarn for your lacework.

There’s a simple rule that will help you choose among any weights of yarns. If you know and use this one rule, you will always end up with the yarn that will compliment your lace knitting (and your cable work for that matter, but that’s another story). Want to know the secret rule?

Check the twists and the fuzziness of the yarn – more twists and less fuzziness in yarn means more detailed and defined lace patterns.

Tip for shopping online: look for words “excellent stitch definition”.

For example, this picture below. Yarn on picture A has clearly more fuzziness and less twists than yarn on a picture B.

Let’s practice. Here are few examples – yarn A and yarn B. Which of these is more defined?

Answer

____________

Answer

____________

Answer

____________

Now let’s talk about yarn weights.

For your first lace project, I recommend you to start with some thicker yarn and move down from there as follows:

1. Fingering weight yarn
2. Lace weight yarn
3. Cobweb weight yarn

Now, to save you from all the future pains – if you happen to find two yarns with almost the same definition and you don’t know which one is the “correct” one, here’s another rule for you.

Pick the one that has the color you love the most.

It’s that easy!

(Or better yet. Take both. I would.)

Lace Workbook for Beginners is coming!

There’s never been a book about lace knitting like this before. Lace Workbook for Beginners is the *only* workbook on the market that gives desperately needed self-confidence to tackle any lace project designed specifically for the beginner knitter. This is the exact same way how my Nana taught me to knit lace when I was a child. She made me …

• do exercises with pen and paper,
• read written instructions,
• practice charts, and
• knit different patterns with various yarns.

You’ll get an overview of the basics: you’ll learn how to choose your tools, how to read knitting patterns and charts, what are the basic lace stitches, and how to fix mistakes. You’re going to study how to “read” your knitting and master cast on and bind off processes. And after all that, you’re going to practice with loads of lace knitting exercises to ensure your success in all of your future lace knitting projects.

The official release date is February 26, but be on my list to get exclusive savings and early bird bonuses.