Know the fibre before the yarn
48 fibre sheets — where it comes from, how to recognise it, what it is good for, and its physical facts with their source. The engine consumes yarn only through your swatch; here is the story.
Translated from Italian. A native knitter has not reviewed this translation yet.
Animal
Alpaca
Alpaca
Very warm, soft and with a luminous halo, but heavy and with little memory: lovely for shawls and garments that fall elegantly, best avoide…
Angora rabbit
Angora (rabbit)
The hollow hair of the Angora rabbit: incredibly soft, very warm and light, with a cloud-like halo no other fibre can give. In return it sh…
Bluefaced Leicester sheep
BFL Wool (Bluefaced)
A lustrous, hard-wearing English wool, springy and pleasant to knit. An excellent all-rounder: it combines the backbone of a longwool with …
Camel
Camel
The luxurious warmth of the steppes: a very fine, very light undercoat in a warm natural caramel colour. It is far warmer than its weight s…
Cashmere goat
Cashmere
Soft luxury by definition: warm, light and enveloping, with a creamy handle out of proportion to its weight. It is a comfort garment to tre…
Sheep
Classic / Rustic Wool
Honest wool without frills: springy, sturdy and warm, a little lively on the skin. It has the character of its breed and holds up very well…
Llama
Llama
The sturdy cousin of alpaca: warm, soft and light, with a fluid, rich drape. It has little elastic memory, so it tends to stretch: it is at…
Merino sheep
Merino Wool
Wool par excellence: springy, warm, resilient and soft enough not to prickle. It is the easiest choice for starting to knit, because it for…
Angora goat
Mohair (Angora goat)
Extremely light and wrapped in a soft, airy halo that fills the garment with air. It shines like silk and is very warm, but the long hair c…
Musk ox
Qiviut (musk ox)
The Arctic fibre above all others: the undercoat of the musk ox, among the warmest and lightest there are. Very rare and precious, it does …
Silkworm
Silk
The fibre of lustre and drape: cool, strong and sumptuous, it slides and falls like no other. It has no elasticity and does not spring back…
Merino sheep
Superwash Wool (Treated)
The easy everyday wool: machine washable, soft and even, with no risk of felting. The other side of the coin is that it tends to grow and l…
Wild silk moth
Tussah Silk (Raw/Wild Silk)
The rustic, wild silk: less slippery and less glossy than classic silk, but with a warm golden sheen and more body. It has no elasticity at…
Vicuña
Vicuña / Guanaco
The rarest and most precious fibre in the world: very warm, light and so soft it feels like a caress. A luxury to save for exceptional comf…
Yak
Yak
The warmth of cashmere with a character that is both rustic and noble. It comes from the soft undercoat of the high-altitude yak, has deep …