Silk Shawl ?

Has anyone knitted a shawl from silk? I have two hanks of hand dyed silk
yarn that want to be a shawl. Would it block properly to open up the
stitches? Would it be better to use a less "lacy" pattern?
DA

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"DA" wrote in message
...
Has anyone knitted a shawl from silk? I have two hanks of hand dyed silk
yarn that want to be a shawl. Would it block properly to open up the
stitches? Would it be better to use a less "lacy" pattern?
DA

Quietly slipping in to answer you, DA!
I've not made a shawl from one hundred percent silk, but I've made MANY
from silk blends, ie, silk/merino, silk/alpaca...
For ^those^, a lacey pattern screamed to be knitted....
JM2C,
Noreen
ducking back out...
back soon!

Quietly slipping in to answer you, DA!
I've not made a shawl from one hundred percent silk, but I've made MANY
from silk blends, ie, silk/merino, silk/alpaca...
For ^those^, a lacey pattern screamed to be knitted....
JM2C,
Noreen
ducking back out...
back soon!

I have used silk/___, blocked them in the same manner as wool, etc. With
pure silk, you have a different hand to the fabric.
DA

I made a sweater out of 100% silk yarn once. I gave it to the Salvation Army
after a year or so because it kept growing, and growing, and growing. (Hmm.
Recommended gauge was 7 sts/inch. I'm sure I didn't knit it that
tightly--perhaps that was the problem.)

Georgia

"DA" wrote in message
...
Has anyone knitted a shawl from silk? I have two hanks of hand dyed silk
yarn that want to be a shawl. Would it block properly to open up the
stitches? Would it be better to use a less "lacy" pattern?
DA

--
This property protected by Smith and Wesson four days a week - - you
guess which days.

I made a sweater out of 100% silk yarn once. I gave it to the Salvation
Army
after a year or so because it kept growing, and growing, and growing.
(Hmm.
Recommended gauge was 7 sts/inch. I'm sure I didn't knit it that
tightly--perhaps that was the problem.)

Georgia

Thanks, Georgia. This is exactly the sort of information I need. It is
also the reason for questioning the method of finishing. The hand of silk
would seem to me to require a firm stitch and more dense pattern.
DA

As I recall, that stuff was a b***h to knit, too. Dragged a lot--more than
cotton. I still have some and though I won't knit with it, I made some
great cording for a crewel embroidery pillow that needed refurbishing.

(Oop. Actually I did knit something with it a couple of months ago: I needed
a "silk or wool cloth" to rub on PVC pipe to make static electricitiy with.
Hedging my bets, I knitted up a pot-holder sized object on #17s with a
strand of silk, a strand of wool, and a strand of mohair. The discharge of
static electricity is supposed to relieve arthritis pain. Seems to work,
though no one can explain why it should.)

Georgia

"DA" wrote in message
...


I made a sweater out of 100% silk yarn once. I gave it to the Salvation
Army
after a year or so because it kept growing, and growing, and growing.
(Hmm.
Recommended gauge was 7 sts/inch. I'm sure I didn't knit it that
tightly--perhaps that was the problem.)

Georgia

Thanks, Georgia. This is exactly the sort of information I need. It is
also the reason for questioning the method of finishing. The hand of silk
would seem to me to require a firm stitch and more dense pattern.
DA

In article 7xwAf.746934$xm3.374397@attbi_s21,
Georgia wrote:
I made a sweater out of 100% silk yarn once. I gave it to the Salvation Army
after a year or so because it kept growing, and growing, and growing. (Hmm.
Recommended gauge was 7 sts/inch. I'm sure I didn't knit it that
tightly--perhaps that was the problem.)

There is silk and there is silk. Not all silk is good quality!
There is some silk that is basically junk.

I have a sweater that I bought many years ago, with a label that says
it is 100% silk. It is worsted-weight, and it pills like anything.
If it weren't for the label, I'd think it was acrylic. Since it is a
plain brown, and comfortably large, I like it anyway. I machine wash
it (cold) and hang it to dry. It stays the same size (baggy). The
gauge is close to 7 sts/inch.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has knitted silk shawls and found that the
instructions to iron them with a hot iron bring up the sheen of the
silk and improved the appearance, even after blocking.

=Tamar