Informative Banderoles
Before you begin to knit you can get lots of important information from the banderole - on
the yarn in general and about this specific ball.
Apart from the name of the yarn you'll find information on the materials used, the length
of yarn and the material consumption.
The recommendations for the needles to use and the tension check are non-committal
guidelines. Which needles are the right ones for you and the tension depends very much on
your own personal knitting style (see Knitting Tip: Tension
Sample).
To ensure that you can enjoy your knitted pullovers as long as possible, you should pay
attention to the care instructions given on the banderole. It's easiest if you keep one of
the original banderoles and note on it which garments you have made from this yarn (see
Knitting Tip: Tips on Care).
In the case of printed yarns you will also have a tip for an even colour gradient (see
Knitting Tip: Print Yarns).
And not to forget one of the most important details on the banderole - the colour and
batch number.
Colour and Batch Number
With the colour and batch number on the banderole a ball of yarn can be identified
exactly.
The colour number is allocated to a certain colour of the yarn, whereas the batch number
shows the dye lot that coloured this particular ball. All balls from one dye lot have the
same batch number and are absolutely identical in colour. Balls with the same colour
number, but with different batch numbers can vary slightly in tone.
Therefore, if at all possible, make sure you use balls with an identical batch number.
What if you have varying batch numbers?
Sometimes you can't avoid working balls with different batch numbers in one garment.
However, if you follow these tips, this will not necessary mean that your knitted garment
will have noticeable differences in colour:
First, sort all the balls according to batch numbers so you can steer how the various
tones are used. If you knit the ribs and cuffs with one and the basic pattern with another
batch number, the difference in shade will hardly be seen. This is also the case if the
entire front is knitted with one and the back with another batch number.
Even if you've almost finished your garment before you notice that there won't be enough
yarn, there is a trick to avoid visible colour variations: over 12 rows, alternate every
two rows between the old and the new batch. The colour variations are then mingled and can
hardly be seen.
Starting a New Ball
Always begin a new ball at the beginning of a row. This way you can finish off the ends
making them disappear in the seam. Threads that have been ended in the middle of a row
often make their unsightly way to the right side of a garment and stitches around these
are often irregular.
Another Tip
Start knitting the yarn from the inside to out. The advantage here is that the ball stays
still. You'll certainly appreciate this little luxury if you are working with more than
one ball. Pull the end of the yarn carefully out of the centre of the ball. Sometimes you
need nimble fingers and a lot of patience, but usually it works well.
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