All you wanted to know about yarn...

might be found in this book:


The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn I'm lucky enough to have received a review copy of the book, and it's proven to be wonderful reading - and fantastic for reference as well :) The book is broken into four sections - Fiber Foundations, Making Yarn, Ply me a River and Putting it all Together.

The first section provides information about protein fibers, cellulose fibers, cellulosic fibers and synthetic fibers - it talks about the origins of these different fiber types, some of their characteristics, lovely drawings (where appropriate) of the originating animal or plant and plenty of photos.

The second section explains the process that goes into making yarns with brief information on fiber prep and different dye methods.

The third section is where the fun begins :) it talks briefly about singles to 4-ply yarns - and after the intro to that particular ply-type, are some lovely patterns with nice engaging photos. Also included in this section are info and patterns for cabled yarns, textured yarns, boucle yarns, brushed yarns (kidsilk haze, anyone?), and chenille. At the very end, there is some talk about felting along with a pair of projects to send you on your way.

The very last section is a nice summary and reference section complete with tips on how to remove odors from your yarn - because if you're like me, you don't like it when your wool doesn't smell wooly ;)