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Knitting Friday - Splicing Superwash Wool
Or, a post which will write itself; because I'm just going to expand on a posting I did on Ravelry, with some background.
First, I obviously came late to the superwash dance because the whole world seemed to have known before me that superwash wool will not splice. (Splicing is fraying the ends of two skeins of wool [or at least 40% wool yarn] wetting these ends, joining them and then rolling them vigorously in your palms until they felt and join. Google "splicing in knitting" for more info.) Now, I knew that superwash wool was wool you can wash on warm in the washing machine but the penny never went into the slot to join the dots: this wool has to be chemically treated so warm water does not cause it to felt. Ergo: since splicing is micro felting, this won't work either.
Fast forward to a sale on superwash wool at Knit Picks. In fact, not one sale but two. Well, these yarns are probably on constant sale but I never noticed them (bag and kit sales) until I wanted to buy $5 cable needles and had two choices: $4.99 in shipping or spend $50 dollars and get free shipping. You can guess which option I chose. I found two 10-skein bags of Swish DK superwash at $28 each. Now I can make excuses as to why I even considered buying more yarn especially after taking a blood oath not to, but why bother; I put in the order.
However, I didn't start using this yarn and discovering my superwash ignorance until I had placed a second $50 order for KP superwash Stroll sock yarn. (Hey, this was even a better bargain so don't go paging Dr. Freud.)
OK, this introduction is just about over. So there I was, waiting for my second order and finally starting to make my usual top-down shell in the lime green Swish DK. I knit these tops fast and the second order still hadn't arrived when I was ready to blithely splice the second skein to the first. Oh, the primal scream I uttered!. The damn thing would not splice! So I tried again. And, once more a no-go.
After a frantic SOS on Ravelry I got this reply which I would paraphrase as: No, dummy, you can't splice superwash. What a jerk you are!
So, there I was with 20 skeins of unsplicable superwash and 16 skeins more being shipped. In desperation, I thought: Come on, primate, use your brain!
And I did. First, I did a bit of research to discover that superwash is chemically prepared two ways. One way the wool is chemically treated; the other way I forget but I knew I was SOL if KP used this method. So assuming the KP superwash was chemically treated, I did some more thinking:
1. Superwash will not felt in warm water. A given.
2. If the wool is dipped in a chemical for treatment can you remove the chemical? A possibility.
3. What would happen if I used boiling water on the ends? Since superwash washes in "warm" could "boiling" remove the chemical? The challenge.
Below is what I did as I posted it on Ravelry:
Warning: Boiling water is used in this method; please take every safety precaution if you try it.
After ordering a load of superwash wool from Knit Picks (Swish DK and Stroll sock yarn), I learned through a Ravelry posting that superwash wool will not splice. Being a lazy knitter (I hate ends!) and after doing a bit of research, I decided to try and splice KP superwash.
Here’s what I did. First, I got my supplies: a tray with a rim (so the water would not spill), a mug which could hold boiling water, a paper towel, a metal spoon (optional.) Then I prepared the yarn as I would for regular splicing but I made the split ends longer than usual (3+”.) With the work area and the yarn ends ready, I boiled water to a big bubble boil. (I put semi-warm tap water in a mug only ½ filled and then placed it in the microwave.) As soon as possible after the water boiled, I submerged the yarn ends in the very hot water for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Then I removed the ends, placed them on the paper towel to absorb some of the water and started to roll the ends in my palms as is usual in splicing. If the ends needed more moisture, I used the spoon to get a few drops from the mug. (This stage took slightly longer than splicing with regular wool.)
And it worked. I’ve spliced three times with the Swish DK and one time with the Stroll. In none of the yarns can I see the splice and I’m already wearing a top with the spliced wool.
I don’t think I messed up the superwashability of the yarn with this method (but then I wash all wools by hand anyway) if they used this method at KP.
End of the Ravelry post.
At first, I got some dismissive replies from Ravelers: Oh, this is too much work. Oh, I like the braided join/Russian join better. (Note: I have never found either of these joins, no matter how well they are done, not obvious in a stockinette pattern.) Then yesterday, I got a more favorable response which makes me happy because I was hoping someone else could use, and possibly refine, this method.
Now that I know this works with boiling water (not my favorite "play" item), I'm going to try very hot tap water, hoping I can "bring down the heat" and safety concerns.
So that's it for this Knitting Friday. Hope this splicing superwash method is helpful. Happy knitting!
First, I obviously came late to the superwash dance because the whole world seemed to have known before me that superwash wool will not splice. (Splicing is fraying the ends of two skeins of wool [or at least 40% wool yarn] wetting these ends, joining them and then rolling them vigorously in your palms until they felt and join. Google "splicing in knitting" for more info.) Now, I knew that superwash wool was wool you can wash on warm in the washing machine but the penny never went into the slot to join the dots: this wool has to be chemically treated so warm water does not cause it to felt. Ergo: since splicing is micro felting, this won't work either.
Fast forward to a sale on superwash wool at Knit Picks. In fact, not one sale but two. Well, these yarns are probably on constant sale but I never noticed them (bag and kit sales) until I wanted to buy $5 cable needles and had two choices: $4.99 in shipping or spend $50 dollars and get free shipping. You can guess which option I chose. I found two 10-skein bags of Swish DK superwash at $28 each. Now I can make excuses as to why I even considered buying more yarn especially after taking a blood oath not to, but why bother; I put in the order.
However, I didn't start using this yarn and discovering my superwash ignorance until I had placed a second $50 order for KP superwash Stroll sock yarn. (Hey, this was even a better bargain so don't go paging Dr. Freud.)
OK, this introduction is just about over. So there I was, waiting for my second order and finally starting to make my usual top-down shell in the lime green Swish DK. I knit these tops fast and the second order still hadn't arrived when I was ready to blithely splice the second skein to the first. Oh, the primal scream I uttered!. The damn thing would not splice! So I tried again. And, once more a no-go.
After a frantic SOS on Ravelry I got this reply which I would paraphrase as: No, dummy, you can't splice superwash. What a jerk you are!
So, there I was with 20 skeins of unsplicable superwash and 16 skeins more being shipped. In desperation, I thought: Come on, primate, use your brain!
And I did. First, I did a bit of research to discover that superwash is chemically prepared two ways. One way the wool is chemically treated; the other way I forget but I knew I was SOL if KP used this method. So assuming the KP superwash was chemically treated, I did some more thinking:
1. Superwash will not felt in warm water. A given.
2. If the wool is dipped in a chemical for treatment can you remove the chemical? A possibility.
3. What would happen if I used boiling water on the ends? Since superwash washes in "warm" could "boiling" remove the chemical? The challenge.
Below is what I did as I posted it on Ravelry:
Warning: Boiling water is used in this method; please take every safety precaution if you try it.
After ordering a load of superwash wool from Knit Picks (Swish DK and Stroll sock yarn), I learned through a Ravelry posting that superwash wool will not splice. Being a lazy knitter (I hate ends!) and after doing a bit of research, I decided to try and splice KP superwash.
Here’s what I did. First, I got my supplies: a tray with a rim (so the water would not spill), a mug which could hold boiling water, a paper towel, a metal spoon (optional.) Then I prepared the yarn as I would for regular splicing but I made the split ends longer than usual (3+”.) With the work area and the yarn ends ready, I boiled water to a big bubble boil. (I put semi-warm tap water in a mug only ½ filled and then placed it in the microwave.) As soon as possible after the water boiled, I submerged the yarn ends in the very hot water for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Then I removed the ends, placed them on the paper towel to absorb some of the water and started to roll the ends in my palms as is usual in splicing. If the ends needed more moisture, I used the spoon to get a few drops from the mug. (This stage took slightly longer than splicing with regular wool.)
And it worked. I’ve spliced three times with the Swish DK and one time with the Stroll. In none of the yarns can I see the splice and I’m already wearing a top with the spliced wool.
I don’t think I messed up the superwashability of the yarn with this method (but then I wash all wools by hand anyway) if they used this method at KP.
End of the Ravelry post.
At first, I got some dismissive replies from Ravelers: Oh, this is too much work. Oh, I like the braided join/Russian join better. (Note: I have never found either of these joins, no matter how well they are done, not obvious in a stockinette pattern.) Then yesterday, I got a more favorable response which makes me happy because I was hoping someone else could use, and possibly refine, this method.
Now that I know this works with boiling water (not my favorite "play" item), I'm going to try very hot tap water, hoping I can "bring down the heat" and safety concerns.
So that's it for this Knitting Friday. Hope this splicing superwash method is helpful. Happy knitting!
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