Most of the yarns we are familiar with are spun, twisted and plied.
We’re pretty used to that by now.
But there is a whole other yarn construction that is not as well know and might be a little overlooked.
Chainette yarns. “What is chainette yarn?” you ask?
Take a look at your shoe laces. Chainette yarns are made in a similar manner. If you are familiar with knitted icord, that’s another similar construction. Basically, it’s a tiny knitted tube, then you knit or crochet the tiny knitted tube!
This allows fibers that don’t naturally have much elasticity to hold their shape once they have been made into a garment, becasue the stretchiness inherent in knitting is then passed along to the yarn fiber. The knitted tube also brings more loft to the fiber, creating air pockets that give the yarn and the finished project a more lively look than the fiber might otherwise provide.
Plus those air pockets also bring added thermal value, which is a technical term that means it makes it warmer.
Linen and hemp are notorious for relaxing. Yarns made with chainette construction are going to still have the drape and relaxed qualities inherent to the plant fiber, but will have much less growth or stretching, so you can more readily rely on your sizing if you are making a garment.
Cotton can be a heavy yarn, especially if you are making a garment with something lager than fingering or crochet thread! But chainette can help to make a yarn that is sizeable, but with infusion of air pockets that you get with the knitted tube, it makes a yarn that takes up more space, but is light.
Chainette yarn is not limited to use with plant fibers however! When alpaca and llama yarns are made in this manner, an entire new effect of stitch definition and, well SQUISH happen! And it’s super FUN!
Currently I have 3 different chainette yarns in the shop, so stop in and take a look! Let’s get you making something beautiful with a yarn that you didn’t expect!
Love,
SuziQue