Thin Down Thick Singles Yarns for Sewing Up

Bulky yarns have their advantages, and disadvantages. They knit up quick, but bulky yarn can be fiddly to work with. My Modern Garden Cardigan was knit in Debbie Bliss Como, a super-bulky wool/cashmere blend with a scant 46 yards per 50g. This is thick, lovely stuff. So thick, I had trouble fitting it through darning needles... or the holes on my buttons.

There are a number of solutions to this dilemma. If this yarn were made up of multiple plies, I could separate one of those plies to use as thread - but this is a singles yarn. I could find some thread in a similar shade to sew on my buttons. Or, I could find a different yarn in a matching (or contrasting!) shade. In fact, using a different color to sew on buttons can add an interesting pop to a project. But, that wasn't what I was after in this case, and my spindle was just nearby...

I decided to try and spin myself some coordinating thread for the cardigan. It would be perfectly color-matched, and wash and wear just the same as the rest of the sweater would. In fact, it would match the original yarn perfectly in every way - because that's what it's made of!


This doesn't work for just any yarn, of course - it must be a singles (one-ply) yarn. Also, the yarn I made isn't the most robust - like the yarn I spun from, this thread is soft and lofty and pulls apart with a strong enough tug. But, with enough passes through the holes of the buttons, it secures the buttons onto my cardigan well enough and it matches perfectly. Problem solved!


~Joyuna