When is yarn too old?

There's some yarn in a storage locker (one of those shed-row-store-it-
yourself places) that I would love to use because most of these are no
longer manufactured. However, since it might be 15+ years old and
under questionable storage conditions, is it able to be salvaged? It
contains skeins with a variety of fibers from mohair to silk to wools
and many blends. What can I do to make sure I am not dragging bugs or
worse (spiders) into my house??? I have heard of freezing yarn and
even one extreme example of submerging the yarn in water mixed with
bug killer for a day or two. I am talking about a HUGE stash of
hundreds of skeins of gorgeous yarn so I am willing to make a large
effort to salvage them. Any thoughts or experiences with this
problem? All input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

If the stash is that huge, maybe you could select some skeins of different
fibers, and seal each one up separately in an air-tight container (e.g., a
ziplock bag) and see if anything is crawling around inside after a week.
After that, you might check the yarn to see if moth larvae have been there
and left (damage most likely on the outer layers of the skein I would
think)--very frustrating to start to knit with something, and then discover
that the yarn breaks every 10 feet or so, because it has moth holes in it!

Georgia

wrote in message
...
There's some yarn in a storage locker (one of those shed-row-store-it-
yourself places) that I would love to use because most of these are no
longer manufactured. However, since it might be 15+ years old and
under questionable storage conditions, is it able to be salvaged? It
contains skeins with a variety of fibers from mohair to silk to wools
and many blends. What can I do to make sure I am not dragging bugs or
worse (spiders) into my house??? I have heard of freezing yarn and
even one extreme example of submerging the yarn in water mixed with
bug killer for a day or two. I am talking about a HUGE stash of
hundreds of skeins of gorgeous yarn so I am willing to make a large
effort to salvage them. Any thoughts or experiences with this
problem? All input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

In article
,
wrote:
There's some yarn in a storage locker (one of those shed-row-store-it-
yourself places) that I would love to use because most of these are no
longer manufactured. However, since it might be 15+ years old and
under questionable storage conditions, is it able to be salvaged?

Age alone should not be a problem. Yarn that has been knitted into
sweaters has lasted 40 years and more, yarn that was knitted in
the twelfth century and buried for centuries was still (mostly) yarn
in the 21st century... if it's wool and seems dry and fragile, steam
it - the moisture will strengthen it again.

It contains skeins with a variety of fibers from mohair to silk
to wools and many blends. What can I do to make sure I am not
dragging bugs or worse (spiders) into my house??? I have heard
of freezing yarn and even one extreme example of submerging the
yarn in water mixed with bug killer for a day or two.
I am talking about a HUGE stash of hundreds of skeins of gorgeous
yarn so I am willing to make a large effort to salvage them.
Any thoughts or experiences with this problem? All input would
be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Fortunately the Ziploc people are making absolutely huge Ziploc
backs now, so you can bag up the entire stash and then work on
one bagful at a time, or even one skein, transferring one at
a time into a smaller Ziploc bag. Or you could get a large
supply of the gallon-sized bags and bag the entire stash
separately to begin with. But if you have limited time to get
the stash out of the locker, the big Ziploc bags are the way
to go - you can just load the yarn directly into them and use
the bags to carry them home.

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn
for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick
any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for
10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The
Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the
yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)

I've used freeze/microwave to treat yarn I bought at the thrift
shop just to be sure, and then kept it in the Ziploc bag anyway,
for added security. I have clear plastic boxes (Sterilite, mostly)
that hold those slippery Ziploc bags and stack neatly. I have
the stash pretty well sorted by type - a box for sock yarns,
a box or two for worsted weight, and so on.

=Tamar

"Richard Eney" wrote in message
news:QpSdnaMsxcQeq53VnZ2dnUVZ_j6dnZ2d@radix...

....

Age alone should not be a problem. Yarn that has been knitted into
sweaters has lasted 40 years and more, yarn that was knitted in
the twelfth century and buried for centuries was still (mostly) yarn
in the 21st century...

Yes ...

if it's wool and seems dry and fragile, steam
it - the moisture will strengthen it again.

Oh, never thought about that, thanks.

....

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn
for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick
any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for
10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The
Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the
yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)

Never thought about microwaving either. Mind you, I've only had a microwave
for a few weeks :-)

Thanks for that idea too.I've frozen yarn and fleece and it works but the
microwave could be a double security.

Mary

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn
for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick
any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for
10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The
Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the
yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)

I've used freeze/microwave to treat yarn I bought at the thrift
shop just to be sure, and then kept it in the Ziploc bag anyway,
for added security. I have clear plastic boxes (Sterilite, mostly)
that hold those slippery Ziploc bags and stack neatly. I have
the stash pretty well sorted by type - a box for sock yarns,
a box or two for worsted weight, and so on.

=Tamar

Brilliant! I had never considered "nuking" the critters, if any there
be. However, as one who tried to dry socks in a microwave once, TEST
a scrap first or you will wind up with a "poly-puddle!" This was
decades ago, before the microwaves became so programmable, and they
were cheap socks but still it was amazing to watch them melt. Ah,
simpler times, when the world was not so jaded and watching a battle
of technologies - microwave vs machine knit socks - still had the
power to enthrall.

Oh, speaking of microwaves and unconventional uses for them, my
grandmother would always pre-treat (for color-fastness and shrinkage)
her seam binding tapes by leaving them on the card, bending the card
and soaking it briefly in hot water and vinegar and let them dry. I
could never figure out why she wanted a microwave when she really
didn't need one until I saw her putting the wet cards into the
microwave and dry them that way. She said it managed both color and
shrinking much better than her way. Old dogs not only learn new
tricks but can teach them, too, to paraphrase her.

Now I can bug-proof my yarn and remember my grandmother and her "radar
range," as they were known then. I spent over $1,000 (they were
costly) but I gained $millions in memories for myself and my
grandchildren when we do "spiny projects" that require a microwave.
While we watch the yarn going around and around, I will have you to
thank for turning a chore into a pleasure!

Many thanks for this idea! Keep 'em comin' because this "old dog"
loves "new tricks"

Oleta

In article ,
Oleta wrote:

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn
for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick
any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for
10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The
Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the
yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)
=Tamar

Brilliant! I had never considered "nuking" the critters, if any there
be. However, as one who tried to dry socks in a microwave once, TEST
a scrap first or you will wind up with a "poly-puddle!" This was
decades ago, before the microwaves became so programmable, and they
were cheap socks but still it was amazing to watch them melt.

Oops! :-) With the digital settings on modern microwaves, it's
easy to set it for 10 seconds. I've done lots of acrylic (there are
other bugs besides wool-eaters) and it's always been fine at 10 seconds.
If I'm nervous I do 5 seconds twice.


Now I can bug-proof my yarn and remember my grandmother and her
"radar range," as they were known then.

I always wondered what those were! I didn't have a microwave until
some time in the late 1980s when I got a brand new one at a yard sale.
I wouldn't voluntarily live without one now, if only because of the
major safety feature - if I get distracted or forget something is
cooking, it turns itself off instead of burning or boiling dry.

=Tamar

I'd be careful with the microwave.

I'm sure it's fairly safe for organic materials, but synthetics could cause
a fire.

Reminds me of a story I heard about a lady who heard she could combat a
yeast infection in her panties by zapping them in the microwave (in addition
to medical treatments, blah blah...

She did it with a nylon pair and set the house on fire. Worst part was
explaining it to the fire department!

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Richard Eney" wrote in message
news:QpSdnaMsxcQeq53VnZ2dnUVZ_j6dnZ2d@radix...

...

Age alone should not be a problem. Yarn that has been knitted into
sweaters has lasted 40 years and more, yarn that was knitted in
the twelfth century and buried for centuries was still (mostly) yarn
in the 21st century...

Yes ...

if it's wool and seems dry and fragile, steam
it - the moisture will strengthen it again.

Oh, never thought about that, thanks.

...

The freezer/microwave method seems pretty secure. Freeze the yarn
for several days, thaw it (in a sealed bag) for three days to trick
any eggs into hatching, then microwave each skein separately for
10 seconds. You can then repeat the cycle if you want to. (The
Yarn Harlot repeats the cycle three times; she also unballs the
yarn into skeins and vacuums them.)

Never thought about microwaving either. Mind you, I've only had a
microwave for a few weeks :-)

Thanks for that idea too.I've frozen yarn and fleece and it works but the
microwave could be a double security.

Mary

Lately i knitted up some wool that was in my bags for 27 [ twenty
seven ] years , i didn`t do any freezing of warming ,,, i just sat by
the evening new and re-rolled every ball ,,,
They were all ok and i made a nice shawl +bag from it ,,,
mirjam

In article ,
wrote:
Lately i knitted up some wool that was in my bags for 27 [ twenty
seven ] years , i didn`t do any freezing of warming ,,, i just sat by
the evening new and re-rolled every ball ,,,
They were all ok and i made a nice shawl +bag from it ,,,

The freezing and warming etc is to kill bugs in yarn that has been
poorly kept. You keep your yarn well. Well kept yarn doesn't need
that treatment, though it may be dry and need steaming.

=Tamar

Richard Eney wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

Lately i knitted up some wool that was in my bags for 27 [ twenty
seven ] years , i didn`t do any freezing of warming ,,, i just sat by
the evening new and re-rolled every ball ,,,
They were all ok and i made a nice shawl +bag from it ,,,


The freezing and warming etc is to kill bugs in yarn that has been
poorly kept. You keep your yarn well. Well kept yarn doesn't need
that treatment, though it may be dry and need steaming.

=Tamar


OTOH, although polyesters and nylons are indestructible except by
burning or other great heat, natural fibres may rot if they are left for
a long time in a moist or humid environment. I would be inclined to
give a good tug on each one before I went to the trouble of treating it
for possible bugs.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **