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KNITTING WITH SURI

Sue Simonton of Little Gidding Farm Provided This Valuable Information About Knitting With Suri

WHY KNIT WITH SURI?  WHAT CAN I EXPECT?

  • Fine suri yarn is a beautiful lustrous yarn
  • Like cashmere in its softness and silk in its drape and luster.
  • It takes color as beautifully as silk or kid mohair. 

WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES OF SURI YARN?

  • Its drape and weight make it perfect for garments that drape rather than cling.
  • Fine and open work garments are warm.
  • Not as elastic as wool but more elastic than silk, cotton or bamboo.
  • Suri blocks and holds its shape, that is it is resilient if it is not made of heavy yarn and not knit loosely.

WHAT DOES FINE MEAN?

  • Fibers are classed by micron. British cashmere is < 19 microns. Vicuna <14 microns.
  • Alpaca, including suri, includes a wide range of fineness and the fleece is classed accordingly.

The Suri Network, along with the Australians, the Canadians, and Peruvians class fibers as follows:
Grade #1,Suri Ultimate, <20 microns (μm),
Grade #2, Suri Superfine, 20 -22.9 μm,
Grade #3, Suri Classic, 23-25.9μm,
Grade # 4, 26-28.9μm.
Grade #5, 29-31.9μm, G6 32-35μm.

Classing or grading provides guidelines for sorting fiber into micron, color and staple length.
The fibers’ micron grade will determine how the yarn is used as well as its price.
Fine Suri, Grades #1 or #2 can be worn next to the skin, a Grade #3, if it is carefully sorted with few
fibers over 30, can make a comfortable garment—coarser fiber is best used for rugs or felting.


HOW DO I USE MY FINE SURI YARN? HOW DO I FIND PATTERNS?

  • Suri—fine, lustrous, sound, consistent in handle and staple length is a luxury fiber.
  • This yarn is ideally suited to shawls and scarves but also lace sweaters, christening bonnets and dresses, and wedding veils.
  • Whether spun in a fine lace weight (250 yds/oz) or a light fingering (75–100 yds.oz) it should adapt easily to patterns for such garments. Attention to needle size is important.
  • Go down a needle size or two from a pattern created for wool. Always check gauge!
  • Patterns for silk and fine cotton should behave much the same as suri as these yarns do not have the elasticity of wool. Patterns for huacaya fall somewhere in between—not as elastic as wool, not as silky as suri or silk. So again, check the gauge.

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY STRONGER (COARSER) YARNS?

  • Heavier garments of stronger (coarser) fiber do not work well when made of pure Suri.
  • Lovely drape in a finer yarn is a weighty drag unless care is taken to knit very firmly.
  • Pure Suri in the heavier weights of yarn, worsted and bulky, becomes rather like string.
  • Suri can be blended with wool, preferably a wool of similar staple length and micron count and one with some luster. This makes the yarn lighter, more resilient, suitable for outerwear.
  • Patterns for this weight are most likely to be for wool so checking gauge and needle size is important.

WHAT NEEDLES SHOULD I CHOOSE?

  • For knitting Suri yarn smooth wooden or bamboo needles are good; for lace projects addi lace needles are wonderful.
  • As Suri is a slippery yarn, the addi lace needles have just enough drag to hold the yarnon the needle and are still fast and addi lace needles now come in a full range of sizes.
  • The size needle can very according to the project. The finer the needle the more stable the finished piece.


Suri Network
Phone: (970) 586-5876
Fax: (970) 591-0007

P.O. Box 1984

Estes Park, Colorado
80517
Copyright 2021  Suri Network


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