Superfine and superbulky yarns: More similar than you might think

I recently went from a project on fingering weight yarn to a project on super bulky yarn. I was surprised at how similar these yarn weights are, when you think about it.

1. Difficulty finding projects
It seems like most projects are aimed at the DK-to-worsted part of the yarn spectrum. Although superfine and superbulky yarns are on opposite ends of the spectrum, they both fall on those tails of the bell curve. Their respective weights limit the number and kinds of projects you can make with them.

2. Problems using the needles
Both yarns made my hands hurt to knit for very long. The tiny needles I used for the superfine yarn (#1) are so little that my fingers ache from manipulating them. And the big honkin' needles I used for the superbulky yarn (#17) were so heavy that my hands ached from holding them up.

3. Take up a surprising amount of room in the stash
Superfine yarn can be deceiving. It just looks like one little skein, but it's actually 650 yards of yarn - A month's worth of knitting, in my case. Superbulky yarns are deceptive in the opposite direction. You have this enormous skein of yarn hogging up all the room in your stash, but it only amounts to 100 yards.

4. And yet…
Oddly enough, both of my projects (one superfine, one superbulky) were cowls. I made a Honey Cowl in a yarn (Madelinetosh Merino Light) that worked up at 8 stitches to the inch. It took me a month. Then I made a basic cowl in a yarn (Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick) that worked up at two stitches to the inch. It took me two nights.

It's a little bit more than sheer coincidence: A cowl is a great thing to knit when you don't know what to knit!

Image courtesy Flickr/Mr. T. in DC