Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Wax Or Yarn Spray?

I received a couple of emails and a comment about the difference of yarn spray vs. wax for machine knitting.  It really is a personal preference.

I don't like having the wax in my tension mast, they pop out, crack, chip and etc.  Also feel they can at times interfere with the tension.  When I do use wax it is a big cake that I run the yarn over when I am winding yarn into a center pull ball.  Obviously you can't do that with coned yarn, that's when I got hooked on spray.

Lori-Lyn Yarn Spray has been around for a while and it is a shame it is no longer available.  The Lori-Lyn Machine Lube is excellent.  I have used "Super Lube" which is a silicone spray and had success.

Whatever spray you decide on, a little goes a L O N G way.  Typically a light spray on the outside, top & bottom of a self wound yarn cake is all I use (just s spritz).  For coned yarn, I leave it in the bag, spray the the same way (sometimes 1/2 way through a cone another light spritz).  Yarn spray dries quickly and you are ready to go.

Another thing I like about yarn spray is the reduction of the yarn fibers and friction/drag that some yarns are known to produce.  Stitches knit smooth and even, I actually use less machine lube too!

A bottle of the (click here)> INDUSTRIAL SUPER YARN SPRAY sold by Distinctive Knits should be more than enough for many, many garments.

Try them both and see which YOU prefer.

4 comments:

  1. will any food grade silicone spray do? There are very few knitting machine resources in Australia where we can buy these things that are safe - we don't seem to have the same brands as in the states or UK either

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  2. While it is doubtful that anybody who is involved with knitting for fun or money will ever clear their closet of all that remnant knitting yarn, there really are some great uses for it if you use your imagination. sportsragg billigt

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