Yarn Detective on the Case

October 5, 2010

I was tooling along on my second sock doing the increases for the gusset and was on the instep where the lace pattern is when I noticed a big ugly white caterpillar of yarn wrapped around the purple sock yarn! Yuck! There had been hints of extra white here and there previously. I figured it was caused by the heathering of the yarn getting a bit heavy-handed. The bits of white did not stand out in the overall scheme of things.

I don’t know a lot about spinning and especially not commercial spinning but I thought it might be the bamboo fiber that did not get carded into the wool very well. This lumpy caterpillar of fiber was too offensive, though.

I undid the row of lace and went back as far as the middle of the sole. I removed the little rascal and tied the yarn on the wrong side. It was enough so that I can do a thorough job of weaving in the ends. It will not be noticeable down there in my shoe but I wondered about the durability of any kind of join in a sock. I was also unsure if the bamboo would allow a spit-splice to “take” with any longevity.

I then reflected on the fact that I had seen this Zitron “Pro Natura” yarn in quite a few sale bins in the yarn shops and offered at a discount on several online stores. Hmmm… a clue? Earlier last week, a fellow knitter at the afternoon group had noticed that there was a “tie” in the yarn near the outside wrappings of the ball. I was already more than half way through my first sock. Yikes! I just hoped that there weren’t any more surprises hidden inside the ball. And nearing the cuff of the second sock there have not been anymore.

Lesson learned: It pays to inspect your yarn before purchasing. Of course you cannot see all of the yarn unless it is in a skein. But I bet that several knitters with sharper eyes than me passed over that ball of sock yarn because they had noticed the tie. I am rather trusting when it comes to yarn purchasing. If I check for anything it is for the similarity of hue and tone on hand painted yarn. Bring the magnifying glass my dear Dr. Watson, we are going yarn shopping!