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I found a pattern for a scarf & throw for recycled sari silk mixed with mohair. Ijust happened to have a few skeins of mohair about the pace, you know, as you do. Got to the 2nd skein of sari silk didn't like how it was looking or feeling so ripped it out. Looked at the scarf pattern & thought well if I double the width it will look better. NO. Again just into 2nd skein realised it's too heavy. So now rethinking & redisigning the pattern which is a simple drop stitch. 7 rows of garter, drop stitch row & final row of garter. How about just 2 or 3 max rows of garter. The silk will last longer & the fabric not so heavy. Back to the needles after frogging once again.

Knit away, knit away

Hi Martin,  I bought an entire box of this stuff on e-bay last year. Like you I was very disappointed in the feel of the finished fabric.  It felt very rough – not at all what I had expected from silk.  I did a couple of things that seemed to help. First I took some of the twist out of the yarn as I worked -- I would just hold up my project and unspin some of the twist in the fibers - I combined that with a larger needle size -- between the two I ended up with a fabric I could live with. I made several purses/diaper bags out of the yarn. They looked great and I am sure they will be very sturdy. I found the pattern on Knitty -- it was a quick and easy project.http://www.knitty.com/issuefall04/PATTunbiased.html

ben

Sari silk is wonderful. It's one of our biggest sellers. The colours that each hank offers is amazing and it really insires people. A friend of mine just knitted a huge knitting bag with it. It can be brittle so often you need to be gentle and if you are making a garment you have to consider the weight - it's quite heavy so drops after wearing.

Gerard

I knit

Martin, It's all the rage right now.  And for good reason.  It's woven silk, stripped out, cut and respun.  Can't get anymore integrity out of fibre than that.  You'll get, as you have already found out, a matte finished cloth rather than a shiny cloth as you would with fresh singles or plyed silk.  Can't beat it for shirts, boxers, shells (if you walk *that* path), etc.  It's gonna wear like iron just because of it's past.

What we're doing as spinners is using the recycled silk sari thread plyed with fresh fibre singles - silk or wool or angora or cashmere - and then weaving/knitting with it.  It's really a very 'green' resource and highly regarded.

 Good for you for experimenting . . . 

~Der Gefährliche Schal-Stricker

Yahoo Id: stickywarp2001

First Time = A Mistake

2nd Time = A Mistake

3rd Time = A Pattern!

Martin, when you get a swatch knitted up I'd like to see a pic of it, if possible.  Would be interested to see what it looks like.