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Foss Plus has the pleasure to be
dealer for COTTON/SPANDEX yarns.
If you’ve never worked with Cotton
Spandex before, you’re in for a whole new experience! This wonderful yarn has
incredible stretch and is great for so many different garments!
cotton/spandex yarn comes in 3 different yarn sizes: 10/1 (thinnest
strand), 16/2 (middle weight), and 10/3 which is the thickest strand. When I say
"thinnest strand", don’t be misled because 2 strands knit together
will give quite an amazing fabric!
A good way to remember the numbers is to think on a scale of 1 to 3 with 10/ONE
as the thinnest, the 16/TWO is the middle size strand, and the 10/THREE is the
thickest. The one, two, and three refer to the number of ply.
The 16/2 is about the size of a strand of 2/24 acrylic and the 10/1 is similar
to a heavy thread, and the 10/3 is about the size of 2 strands of the 10/1.
All weights knit very easily on the machine whether alone or with other yarns,
and knit right off the cone without tangles. It's fun to combine any of the yarn
strands along with any other type of yarn to create new and unique fabrics.
The swatch: Making a swatch for taking the gauge is a little different from what
you are used to because of the shrinkage. Knit a swatch as you normally would -
at least 60 stitches by 100 rows. After knitting, stretch the swatch lengthwise
to set the stitches. Then iron or steam the swatch which will cause
quite a bit of shrinkage in itself and give the fabric a whole different look
and feel. You can actually watch it shrink up right before your eyes,
especially the 10/1. I gently place my iron right on the fabric and haven’t
had a problem with the elastic in the yarn. Use steam or a spray bottle. You
might want to make notes because you’ll want to use the same methods for the
actual garment as you used for the swatch.
Machine wash and dry the swatch. I use warm water with a cold rinse, dry on the
permanent press cycle, and take the swatch or garment out just before completely
dry to let finish by air drying. Sometimes too long in the dryer causes wrinkles
in the fabric. After all that, then take the gauge. The 10/1(the thinnest
strand) has so much elasticity that I like to use a medium warm iron rather than
a hot iron, but this will depend on the fabric that you like.
Be sure to stretch your swatch lengthwise to set the stitches after it comes off
the machine. Steam it or iron it, machine wash and dry, and you'll be amazed at
the wonderful fabric! As with any cotton except mercerized, you can expect
shrinkage, and just adjust to it accordingly.
Look of the swatch: When the swatch comes right off the machine you'll have an
open-weave, thin, lacy looking fabric, but after processing the swatch you'll
have a nice, soft fabric with lots of stretch. At first the pattern pieces look
like they’ll be way too big or too long, but after processing, I guarantee the
finished garment will be much smaller. Just to give you an example, in the
ironing process alone I found that my 2 strands of 16/2 in size medium Stirrup
Pants shrank during the ironing by 5 inches in length, and about an inch in
width. The stirrup strap itself shrank from 4 ¼ inches wide by 5 ½ inches long
to 3 5/8 wide by 4 inches long (which had to be redesigned because it was too
wide!)
The small amount of yarn needed for a pair of Stirrup Pants or Leggings will
surprise you. A size Medium using 2 strands of 16/2 only takes about 11 ounces
of yarn total. The Newborn size only took 2 ounces! Socks take a very little
amount.
I’ve been combining the Cotton Spandex with a variety of other yarn weights
and contents such as cotton, wool, wool blends,
acrylics, and I love the results. Plying different color shades or yarn contents
together rather than just running the 2 strands together might work best for
those that prefer more of a muted look. If plying the Cotton Spandex with a
strand in another yarn content, put the cotton spandex on the bottom, and feed
it up through the other cone of yarn The other way, it just doesn’t seem to
come off the cone as easily.
Using weights: I prefer to use hardly any weight because the regular claw
weights are way too heavy. When starting out at the
waist band area of my stirrup pants, I e-wrapped the stitches and then used a
Brother/Knitking cast on comb (which I recommend for most other machines as
well!) until I hung the hem. Then try using clips, clothespins, or other
lightweight gadgets on the edges just to help the end stitches form nicely and
knit correctly. Otherwise, the edges will be pulled out of proportion.
Tensions: The Stirrup Pant pattern instructions are the same no matter which of
the three yarn sizes you knit with. The difference is which tension to use. All
you have to do is choose the yarn you wish to work with, get the gauge pretty
close, and then follow the pattern directions. On my 930 I knit the 2 strands of
10/1 at tension 9 (T9) for a nice, smooth, stretchy fabric that resembles
aerobic clothing.
The 10/1 being the thinnest strand has much more elasticity and shrinkage than
the other two. For making smaller items such as
gloves I like 2 strands of the 10/1 at around T 4 or 5. I found that anything
with length to it will shrink up too much unless knit at T 9. Three
strands of 10/1 at T 10 will give a "girdle-like" material that would
be great for ski pants!
Two strands of 16/2 at T 6 makes a wonderfully soft fabric in a nice, medium
weight that's comfortable and has great stretch. One strand of 16/2 and 1 strand
of 2/24 acrylic at T 7 or 8 will also result in a very nice fabric that will
keep its shape! One strand of 2/24 acrylic knit with a strand of the 10/1 at T 7
or 8 gives a lightweight, but warm and "fuzzy-ish" fabric. If used for
pants, you won't have bagging at the knee!
I knit 2 strands of the 10/3 at T 8, and I couldn't believe the very dense but
wonderfully stretchy fabric. It's great for fall and winter weight pants,
especially for colder climates.
I also loved the fabric from 1 strand of the 10/1 knit along with a strand of
14/2 cotton at T 9. It's a soft, lightweight and very
stretchy fabric that really keeps its shape. Even though the 14/2 is just a thin
strand of cotton, the resulting stretch in surprising.
Combining 5 or 6 strands of a thin cotton like 14/2 along with one strand of the
10/1 on the bulky machine will provide a terrific fabric that really keeps its
shape. I was very pleased to see how great bulky mock rib looks and how well it
keeps its shape.
When E-wrapping, hold the yarn so there's no tension on it because you don't
want it to be too tightly wrapped around the needles. That way there's
never a problem knitting across the first tow. If you don't have one of the
Brother/Knitking cast on combs (which I
like to use on my Singer/Studio machines too!), pull the needles out to furthest
position after knitting each of the first 3 rows to
prevent dropped stitches.
If you normally machine wash and dry your garments inside out, remember to turn
Cotton spandex items right side out about halfway through the drying process or
you'll end up with creases along the outside edges on the wrong side. Remove
items just before completely dry and let finish by air drying.
Looking at the cone of some colors, you can see the sheen of the elastic in
along with the cotton strand, especially on dark colors. After processing,
however, it disappears right into the fabric, so don't worry!
I cautioned you on steaming or ironing the fabric before it's machine washed and
dried, which will give you a smooth fabric.
However, I tested one strand of the thicker 10/3, did not iron it first, and got
more of a terrycloth-type texture similar to that of
babies one-piece outfits. Don't be afraid to experiment. You may create a whole
new fabric!
If you purchased one cone of Cotton Spandex and want to wind off so you can use
2 strands, insert a paper towel cardboard tube cut to the right length and place
it into the center when you remove the ball from your winder. That way you can
pull from the outside of the ball as working from the center might create
tangles when you first start out due to the curly strand. Besides, the center
will tend to fill right in because of the elasticity.
Most of the 10/1 comes on regular size cones that can sit on a knitting table.
The 16/2 and 10/3 come on taller cones that can be placed on the floor to allow
the yarn to flow freely. Keep the same upper tension settings as you normally
would.
Use for: stretchy tee tops, aerobic clothing, babies one-piece outfits, cushion
covers, furniture covers, undershirts, camisoles, hanger covers, head bands,
sweat bands, gloves, socks, jogging suits, button or doorknob covers, shoe
protectors, stretch belts, hats, or hat covers, plant pot covers, stretchy hair
donuts, slip stitch knit cords, cut and sew fabric, lawn furniture covers, skirt
or pant waistbands, just in cuffs or ribbings, cast or toe cover, or whatever
you can think of!!!
Written by Donna Paradis
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