Yarn for socks

I was wondering- has anybody here used Alpaca yarn to make socks
with? I've used a lot of wool, and was wondering if Alpaca had
similar qualities, such as being water-repellent and holding in body
heat. Would Alpaca wear as well as wool? Has anyone tried it?
Thanks!
Marie and the cats

Hi Marie,

I've not used it for socks, but I have made a sweater out of it. It's
REALLY warm. It pills a lot though, and feels pretty heavy. I don't
know how it would work with socks.

Hesira

On Oct 11, 1:43 pm, "
wrote:
I was wondering- has anybody here used Alpaca yarn to make socks
with? I've used a lot of wool, and was wondering if Alpaca had
similar qualities, such as being water-repellent and holding in body
heat. Would Alpaca wear as well as wool? Has anyone tried it?
Thanks!
Marie and the cats

Hmm. I had a lot of alpaca left over from sweaters, so I made socks with it.
At the time, I didn't have the patience to knit on #1 or #2 US needles, so I
doubled the yarn and knitted them up on #6s. THey are very sturdy, and very
warm, and do not stretch too much or grow (like the legwarmers I made,
undoubled, on #4s--ooh, that was a sad story. It took me so long to finish
them that they had moth holes in them by the time I was done.)
Anyway, the only thing I would warn you about if you double the yarn is be
careful you don't felt them when you wash them, because then they will be
too small and too warm!

Georgia

wrote in message
ps.com...
I was wondering- has anybody here used Alpaca yarn to make socks
with? I've used a lot of wool, and was wondering if Alpaca had
similar qualities, such as being water-repellent and holding in body
heat. Would Alpaca wear as well as wool? Has anyone tried it?
Thanks!
Marie and the cats

hi, I personally wouldn't use 100% alpaca for socks, as it lacks wool's
'memory' and they would probably stretch and sag. I'd blend it with
something else if I was spinning for socks. My sister on the other hand has
a pair of socks that she says are alpaca (no idea if they're 100% or what)
and she loves them, doesn't care that they sag.

taueret

--
NSW, Australia
http://taueret.typepad.com


wrote in message
ps.com...
I was wondering- has anybody here used Alpaca yarn to make socks
with?

I made a wonderful pair of socks with alpaca -- leftovers from a
sweater. However, I made them with a same-size strand of a wool
blend, so they are soft and thick and warm but still hold their
shape. Also, rather than traditional socks I made a pair of two-
needle socks to wear with Birkenstocks. I purposely made them too
large so I could toss them into the washer and dryer, and they shrunk
down to fit me very nicely. I love being able to wear my Birks in the
winter!

"YarnWright" wrote in message
...
. . .
Marie,
I HAVE, but wouldn't recommend it.. the alpaca tends to 'grow/stretch' and
really, it's, unless you've GOT an alpaca, too expensive for socks that
will
wear out....
JM2C,
Noreen

I didn't know that alpaca stretched, thanks for that.

Mary

Thanks everybody! I learned a lot from all of your input.
I was curious about the alpaca because the Super Joanns out here
has a new line of alpaca yarn that is on sale, and living in the
desert, it is hard to find pure wool. Didn't have time to order
anything on line. But I did get lucky and found some Galway at the
LYS so I bought a couple of balls of that to use.
Making my big son a pair of socks for his size 14 feet! Did NOT
want to use fine fingering weight yarn and size 2 needles for that!
He wants pure wool socks. Sigh....I also bought a spool of the
reinforcement thread that I used on the heel and toes of the first
sock which I almost finished today. That was actually pretty easy to
combine with the yarn and knit with. And it blends in so well, you
wouldn't even know it was there.
Thanks again everyone! Happy knitting!
Marie and the cats



On Oct 12, 3:20 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"YarnWright" wrote in message

...

. . .
Marie,
I HAVE, but wouldn't recommend it.. the alpaca tends to 'grow/stretch' and
really, it's, unless you've GOT an alpaca, too expensive for socks that
will
wear out....
JM2C,
Noreen

I didn't know that alpaca stretched, thanks for that.

Mar

wrote in message
oups.com...

... I also bought a spool of the
reinforcement thread that I used on the heel and toes of the first
sock which I almost finished today.

What's the reinforcement thread?

Mary

Hi Mary, well, the reinforcement thread I got says *wooly nylon* on
the outside. It looks like a big spool of hand sewing thread and is
added to the sock yarn to give it added strength. Just knit with both
of the yarns held together.I used it on the heels and toes of my sons
socks and will start using it on the toes of my socks because thats
where I wear mine out the most!
Marie and the cats



On Oct 12, 11:35 am, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
wrote in message

oups.com...



... I also bought a spool of the
reinforcement thread that I used on the heel and toes of the first
sock which I almost finished today.

What's the reinforcement thread?

Mary

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Mary, well, the reinforcement thread I got says *wooly nylon* on
the outside. It looks like a big spool of hand sewing thread and is
added to the sock yarn to give it added strength. Just knit with both
of the yarns held together.I used it on the heels and toes of my sons
socks and will start using it on the toes of my socks because thats
where I wear mine out the most!
Marie and the cats

What an excellent idea!

One day I might get round to wearing socks :-)

Mary
and the hens