What to do with very tiny yarn in very tiny skeins?

[Fozziebear54]

My family recently cleaned out our closets and forgotten storage boxes for a yardsale, and my mom handed me a bag full of thin yarn in pretty colors. The catch? When I say thin, I mean really thin. I just compared it to some leftover laceweight I have, and the laceweight was thicker. The other catch? It's in 20 yard mini-skeins.

Originally when I saw it, I didn't know the yarn was so thin. I was planning various fair isle schemes, or possibly some massively striped socks. But doing it in thinner-than-laceweight yarn? I think not. All of the mini-skeins still have their label, so I searched for the company. Apparently I have embroidery yarn from around 30 years ago.

I don't cross stitch or anything of the kind, so if I want to use this, knitting is really my only option. Do I make lots of knitted toys and give them outlandishly colored embellishments? Do I take a bunch of these mini-skeins and make lots of small things by holding several strands together? Or do I lose my mind completely, order US 00 needles, and make something with an insanely small gauge?

(I have no pictures right now, but I can take one if it would help.)

[Jane2]

Why not double the yarn (or triple it even) and make flowers? They could become pins (by attaching a clip or a safety pin on the back) or with the flowers just sewn on to a knitted cap, sweater, etc.

Or you could save it and use the yarn for duplicate stitch, to embellish your clothes/accessories.

A note about doubling the yarn: it does not increase the gauge by two. It only increases by 1.7. (I was fascinated when I found that out - not sure why.)

You didn't say whether the yarn was acrylic or wool.
If it is wool you could felt it. And make it even smaller!

Sorry, I can't think of anything more. I am getting the giggles at the thought of you peering closely at a pattern being knit on US 00 needles - in a padded room.

[thebagfairy]

You could use it for embroidery thread

Sorry, I can't think of anything more. I am getting the giggles at the thought of you peering closely at a pattern being knit on US 00 needles - in a padded room.

Omigosh, that reminds me of a pattern I saw online for a knit, beaded purse using 0000US needles(wouldn't that cut your hands?!)and instructions for above 1000 rows, literally. Mental...

[Fozziebear54]

Bagfairy: I wish I knew how to use it as embroidery thread. I'm willing to bet that it was originally my grandmother's yarn, and she used to do all sorts of crafterly things with yarn - embroidery, cross stitch included. Sadly, my skill with that ends with those cross stitching kits that are designed for eight-year-olds.

Jane: I didn't know that about doubling yarn not exactly doubling the gauge. I'm trying to think of an explanation that makes sense. It's probably something simple, like the yarns smoosh together slightly instead of remaining completely distinct entities. Neat fact. Oh, and it's 100% wool yarn.

Layering the yarn and making small things like flowers is probably the way I'll have to go. That, and using it to stitch in accents. I was half-hoping someone would try to convince me to go the way of the small needles (the colors are oh-so-pretty and deserving of proper treatment), but you're right, it'd be a quick road to insanity.



Along those lines... Have either of you seen that website for hand-knit Barbie clothes made on anything ranging from US 0000 to US 00? There was even a pattern for a Fair Isle sweater. I can't imagine anyone knitting that without the padded room. o_0

[thebagfairy]

Barbie fair-isle on 0000 needles...sounds like knitter's hell to me!

[kitty824]

the perdita cuffs in the summer knitty use embroidery thread... I made a couple and it is really tiny knitting, but they aren't huge, so it's not as bad as you'd imagine.

[Fozziebear54]

Ooh, that's a good one. I think some of my friends would like a wrist thingy like that. Thanks for the suggestion!

Is there some sort of way other than swatching like mad that I can figure out what size of that cotton thread my wool is equivalent to?

[Lothruin]

Mini knitting is actually really fun!  I picked up a bundle (and I mean that literally, there were about a dozen dpns stuffed into a carved wooden... needle container...) of antique tiny dpns at a garage sale last summer.  There are 00, 000 and 0000 needles.  With some homespun wool thread from the Amana colonies, I get about 13 stitches to an inch.  Really fun, and not as bad as you'd think.

[lupinbunny]

there's the perdita cuffs, and IW Knits has a free pattern on their site for divine beaded purses that i think uses a very fine yarn.

[knightswhosayknit]

And since you were considering something fair isle-y, you could modify perdita to have more colorwork rather than (I think?) lace.